Jesus as the “light of the world” is His second I am statement. Jesus was “the light of men” and that “the light shines in the darkness” (John 1:4-5). Jesus told His hearers to put their trust in the light while they had Him with them, so they might become “son of light” (John 12:35-36). Jesus’ concluding testimony is that He came into the world as light so that no one who believes in Him should remain in darkness. Yet, according to Jesus the evangelist, the verdict is this: “the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deed were evil” (John 3:19-21).
Jesus made this statement twice, first in John 8:12:
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life”.
And then again in John 9:3-5:
Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world”.
In John 8:1-12, this is the story of the adulteress woman, and in John 9:1-5 Jesus is talking to His disciples about a blind man and who had sinned to cause the blindness, which was also sixth sign that we discussed in the study of Jesus’ 7 signs.
After the incident with the woman taken in adultery, Jesus announced the second of the seven “I Am” passages of this Gospel. We have already heard him say, “I am the bread of life” (chapter 6), and we will yet encounter “I am the gate” (chapter 10), “I am the good shepherd” (chapter 10), “I am the resurrection and the life” (chapter 11), “I am the way and the truth and the life” (chapter 14), and “I am the true vine” (chapter 15). For Jesus to apply such words to himself is to a claim to deity.
Chapters five, six and seven of John’s Gospel have picked up three major Old Testament wilderness reminders of how God dealt with his people: the comparison between manna and the bread of life in chapter 6; the comparison between water in the desert and the water of the Holy Spirit in chapter 7; and here in chapter 8 a comparison with the pillar of fire which led the people through the wilderness and Jesus, the light of the world. The Feast of Tabernacles was also known as the Feast of Lights because of the many ceremonies that involved various kinds of lighting. From the earliest verses of the first chapter in this Gospel, John has been fascinated with the link between light and life.
John 9:4-5 shows us the contrast between blindness and sight to the contrast between night and day. Jesus was the sent one, and the disciples assisted him in his work. But this will soon end when night comes. Night probably refers to the difficult days of the passion week, particularly the cross. If we had only this text, we might conclude that the disciples could function in God’s work only so long as Jesus was with them in the world; then all would be darkness.
Interpreters tiptoe around the possible meaning of these verses. The clue may lie in the hermeneutical principle of progressive revelation. The Lord had not yet explained the role of the Holy Spirit in illuminating their future ministry. At this point he focused their attention only on him, his divine mission, and their involvement during the short period of earthly ministry. Later in this Gospel he explained that light would shine again after the resurrection and the ascension as the Holy Spirit reproduced the light of the world through them.
This does not mean that Jesus stops being the light of the world once he has ascended. It means, rather, that the light shines brightly while he lives out his human life up to the moment of his glorification. Throughout that period, he is the light that exposes the world, judges the world, saves the world. Those who enjoy his light will be engulfed by darkness when he is taken away.
Though we must take it as application, not interpretation, it is possible to see in these verses an emphasis on the urgency and brevity of our own time of ministry. Through the Holy Spirit the light now shines on us. Darkness will soon overwhelm the world when the Lord’s people and the Holy Spirit are taken out of the world.
The Greek word for “light” (phos) forms the foundation for many modern English words like phosphorous and photograph. The word appears seventy-three times in the New Testament, thirty-three times in John’s. The word was common in the ancient world. It was used generally to indicate brightness, especially sunlight. Some philosophers like Aristotle regularly used it as figurative light, ethical understanding, and right thinking. In The Republic, Plato sees the right-living community illuminated by the light of a fire.
New Testament usage tends to be more spiritual (figurative) than literal. Most often it is a metaphor referring to holiness, purity, or godliness. Jesus used the term in the Sermon on the Mount to describe his disciples and the holy standard of conduct that he expected them to model to the world (Matthew 5:14-16; 6:23). In John’s Gospel, however, Jesus himself is ‘the light,’ as stated in the John 1:4-5 and in Jesus’ own words in John 8:12; 9:5. In this case, the light is revelatory and reflects God’s character or holiness; in other words, the light refers to God’s revelation or disclosure of himself to the world in the incarnation.
In John 1:4 we find the first appearance of our key word: life. The revelation of the Lamb was also the revelation of life. No fewer than thirty-six times in John, we find the word zoe. Jesus Christ the Creator provides physical life; Jesus Christ the Redeemer provides spiritual life; and Jesus Christ the Savior provides eternal life. In verse 4 John also introduced another key word: light. The life becomes the light of men. Notice these positive terms. What a wonderful contrast to death and darkness.
In the Word, God’s person and power were revealed to humanity. Here again we see a reference to creation since, in the Genesis account, light was the first evidence of God’s creative work. God is always the source of light and life. Christ the Son, the Creator, provides life and light to humanity. He alone is the life-giver and the light-bearer.
In John 1:5, this verse John picked up a common first-century theme, the symbols of light and darkness representing good and evil. The word understood might be rendered “overcome.” All the forces of Satan tried to prevent life and extinguish the light, but they could not.
Now in John 3:19-21 we see the verdict. People reject Christ because of evil deeds and because they hate the light. God does not label their deeds evil because they love darkness; they love darkness because that is their very nature.
We talk about “giving the invitation” but God demands repentance. What possible excuses keep people from Christ? Failure to understand their need? No time for hearing the truth? Insufficient evidence to affirm the gospel? This passage tells us they refuse light because it shows up the darkness in their own lives. The contrast of our text continues:
- Believers possess eternal life but unbelievers do not.
- Believers are not condemned, but unbelievers are condemned already.
Believers live in the light while unbelievers live in the darkness. Those who practice the truth, who continuously live in the light of God’s spirit, demonstrate that their righteousness has been brought about by God. Paul emphasized this point to Christians in Ephesus: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
John has been writing about changed lives, the message of Jesus to Nicodemus. Salvation is the work of God internally through the Holy Spirit, but it demonstrates itself outwardly in godly living.