I Am the Light of the World
Explore the illuminating power of Jesus in our lives, guiding us out of darkness and revealing the path to true enlightenment and understanding.
Transcript
Growing up, I enjoyed your typical childhood game of tag or hide-and-seek, but for some reason, it felt like everyone enjoyed it more in the dark. Tag in the dark, hide-and-seek in the dark, even Monopoly in the dark. Not me. I wasn’t afraid of the dark, but I didn’t like not seeing where I was going. I mean, it was hard enough being a big kid trying to avoid getting tagged or being found, but to do it all in the dark where you couldn’t see? No thank you. I simply wanted to enjoy the game. Now, this trend unfortunately continued into college. At one of the retreats I attended, we decided to play Capture the Flag...in the dark. I was hesitant at first, but after a couple of rounds, it didn’t seem too bad. Maybe I misunderstood this whole in-the-dark concept and didn’t give it a fair chance. I mean, after a while, your eyes adjust, and you can see a little better in the dark. So, after a few rounds, we started a new round, and about 20-30 minutes into the game I found an opportunity to capture the opposing team’s flag. No one was guarding it. It seemed to be the perfect opportunity. I made a dart for it and out of nowhere an unexpected force blindsided me. My entire body got flung in a different direction and I involuntarily collapsed to the ground laying there with a throbbing pain in my head. It took me a couple of minutes to realize what happened. Flashlights came on and saw what happened. An opposing defender flanked us and collided with me… head-on. I probably had close to 100 pounds over the defender plus momentum, but I got dropped. And like every fun game that is played in the dark, it comes to an end when someone gets hurt. From that day on I told myself, no more games in the dark. How is it any fun when you can’t see what’s going on?!?!
As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t necessarily afraid of the dark, but I didn’t like the feeling of not knowing where I was going or what was surrounding me. It made no sense that we weren’t using one of God’s best creations, the very first thing He created, the gift of light. I mean, in all honesty, apart from using my iPhone to check Facebook, watch YouTube, I probably use it as a flashlight to find things under the bed or in a dark closet. Light is a great tool and serves a great purpose in our lives. It also serves a great purpose for our spirituality too!
In the last few weeks here, we’ve been exploring Jesus’ “I Am” statements. These are bold proclamations Jesus made about himself to help us understand who he is. These statements are significant because they reveal something about Jesus’ identity. Today, we’re going to look at his second “I Am” statement in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world”. Even if you don’t know anything about Jesus’ “I Am” statements, you’ve got to admit that this is a bold statement. If we take it a face value, we can potentially interpret it as Jesus saying that he’s the sun sitting in the middle of our solar system providing light, heat, and energy all essential for survival. But to better understand what Jesus is actually saying, we have to understand the context. When we do, it makes so much more sense. So, if you’re ready to dive in, let’s see what’s going on.
FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES:
In John 7 we’re told that the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles is approaching. There’s some information about what this festival is about on the back of your bulletin, and you can read more about it in passages like Leviticus 23:33-43. The Festival of Tabernacles was a celebration held at the end of the harvest around late September to mid-October. It was one of three important festivals in the Jewish calendar. People would travel back to Jerusalem to celebrate it. The festival lasted eight days and participants would construct and live in little tents made with branches. This festival focused on two primary things.
First, the festival marked the end of the harvest. It was a time to be joyous and thank God for providing them with a harvest. After the Jewish people completed harvesting all the crops that they sowed and tended, they would attend the festival to honor God.
And second, the festival commemorated the 40 years their ancestors spent in the desert after being freed from Egypt. Earlier, I mentioned how the participants would construct tents made of branches to remember God’s providence while the Israelites wandered the desert. This reminded them that God provided food, water, and protection from both enemies and the natural elements. But God didn’t intend for them to be nomads and live in the desert. God had a plan for them. Kevin Burris describes that “dwelling in the temporary structures incited thanksgiving for what God has done in bringing them into their permanent homes in the promised Land.” Wandering the journey was part of the journey that eventually led them to the land God promised them.
But the Israelites had no way to navigate themselves away from Egypt to the Promised Land. They didn’t have GPS, compasses, or maps. They only had God. And as they depended on God for food, water, and protection, they were dependent on God to guide them to the promised Lland. Earlier, for today’s scripture reading, John read from Exodus 13:20-22 describing to us how God led them during the day as a pillar of cloud and at night he would lead them in a pillar of fire. This was one of the visible symbols of God’s presence with his people and this was one of the things that was celebrated at the Festival of Tabernacles. The people tried to capture the pillar of fire during the festival. George Beasley-Murray, a Bible scholar, describes how significant and extravagant the celebration was. The description is a bit lengthy so sit back and listen and use your imagination of what this festival was like.
“He who has not seen the joy of the place has not seen joy in his whole life-time…Golden lamps were there, and four golden bowls were on each of them, and four ladders were by each;
young men from the priestly group had jugs of oil in their hands containing about 120 logs and poured oil from them into the individual bowls. Wicks were made from the discarded trousers of the priests…
There was no court in Jerusalem that was not bright from the light…Men danced with torches in their hands and sang songs and praises…
the [priests] stood with zithers and harps and cymbals and trumpets and other musical instruments…the dancing and singing lasted all night till dawn, and it was the endeavor of the pious not to sleep any night of the feast.
It evidently did not lack the element of entertainment…The nightly celebration ended with two appointed priests with trumpets slowly descending the steps of the court…they repeatedly called out ‘we are Yahweh’s, and our eyes are directed on Yahweh!’”
(Word Biblical Commentary: John, George Beasley-Murray, p. 127)
For me, the image of the lit beacons from the third part of the Lord of the Rings comes to mind. And a close second that’s more modern expression are fire emojis. Lots and lots of fire emojis. But here’s an illustration of what the festival might have actually looked like. For the Jews, they were trying to capture what their ancestors experienced, but for Jesus, the festival was the best image to show the people what they were going to experience in him. Jesus was connecting Old Testament prophecies like Isaiah 9:2, which says,
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
To him. Jesus was revealing them how he was going to fulfill that prophecy. It was the best image to draw the parallel between what God did in the Old Testament of sustaining life in the desert and what Jesus was going to do to sustain eternal life after death. It was the best place to draw the parallel between what God did in the Old Testament of guiding the Israelites from slavery to freedom and what Jesus was going to do in guiding all of humanity from sin to holiness. The Feast of Tabernacles was the perfect image for Jesus to declare the second “I Am” statement,
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
It showed that Jesus was God in the present dwelling with his people as he did when they were in the desert. And just as he dwelled with the Israelites in the desert so that he could guide them to the promised land, he was dwelling with his people now guiding them from darkness to light. From sin to holiness. From death into life. That is the significance of this statement. And it leads me to wonder about a few things.
APPLICATION
Where do you want to go in life? Where do I ultimately want to end up? Who or what is taking me there? These questions remind me of a trip that Pang and I took a few years ago. We took a road trip to Ohio and on our way there and back, the route that we took depended on how many Marshalls and TJ Maxx’s we were going to hit. It’s a store we both enjoy shopping at so we tried to find the most stores on the way and the way back. Of course, it took us longer to get there and back because we let other things determine where we were going, but we eventually made it because we still had the destination in mind. But for some of us, we have a destination in mind, but the route or guide that we are following we are following leads us somewhere completely different. It might be worth us thinking over these two questions: where do I ultimately want to end up and who is taking me there? God blesses us with great things, but sometimes these great things distract us from what’s important. Let us be reminded that the things we desire for don’t promise to be with us forever, but God does so let us look to Jesus to guide us to him. Let me pray for us.