I AM (#2): The Light of the World
October 19, 2023
John 8:12-30 | 1 John 2:7-11
By now, you may have noticed that the progression of John is much different than the other gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke can all be split up in time-based pieces or even drawn with geographical lines (Jesus going from place-to-place).
John often feels much more like a long conversation or pieces of conversation strung together. We could spend a whole year taking John in really slowly. Sometime perhaps you should.
For now, take in this passage, but note its beginning point: Jesus’ second I AM statement (see this entry if you missed the intro to the I AM statements).
In it, he returns us back to the creation story, not just that God created light in creation, but that Jesus himself is the light. John continues this theme in his Revelation when saying that there will no longer be need of the sun in the sky, but that Jesus himself is the source of light.
These are not metaphysical or scientific statements. John is simply but strongly saying that Jesus is the source of the “thing” that makes all things known, seen, and understood.
As you’ll see, the Pharisees and Jewish leaders have their doubts even while others come to Jesus to believe.
John 8:12-30
Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Then the Pharisees said to him, “Because you are testifying about yourself, your testimony isn’t valid.”
Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, since I know where I came from and where I’m going. You don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. You judge according to human standards, but I judge no one. Even if I do judge, my judgment is truthful, because I’m not alone. My judgments come from me and from the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the witness of two people is true. I am one witness concerning myself, and the Father who sent me is the other.”
They asked him, “Where is your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t know me and you don’t know my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” He spoke these words while he was teaching in the temple area known as the treasury. No one arrested him, because his time hadn’t yet come.
Jesus continued, “I’m going away. You will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you can’t come.”
The Jewish leaders said, “He isn’t going to kill himself, is he? Is that why he said, ‘Where I’m going, you can’t come’?”
He said to them, “You are from below; I’m from above. You are from this world; I’m not from this world. This is why I told you that you would die in your sins. If you don’t believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.”
“Who are you?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “I’m exactly who I have claimed to be from the beginning. I have many things to say in judgment concerning you. The one who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” They didn’t know he was speaking about his Father. So Jesus said to them, “When the Human One is lifted up, then you will know that I Am. Then you will know that I do nothing on my own, but I say just what the Father has taught me. He who sent me is with me. He doesn’t leave me by myself, because I always do what makes him happy.” While Jesus was saying these things, many people came to believe in him.
1 John 2:7-11
Dear friends, I’m not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the message you heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines. The one who claims to be in the light while hating a brother or sister is in the darkness even now. The person loving a brother and sister stays in the light, and there is nothing in the light that causes a person to stumble. But the person who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and lives in the darkness, and doesn’t know where to go because the darkness blinds the eyes.
Prayer
God,
Thank you for light. Thank you for the light of the morning and throughout the day. Thank you for the colors that come only because of light. Thank you for the sun, the moon, and the stars. Thank you for all that exists around us to make things beautiful.
But thank you also for the light of understanding, of truth, and wisdom. Not that I have all that, but I do like learning more and understanding more.
So help me, God: Help me to see more and know more, not simply as an acquisition of stuff, but to be a better person, more understanding, and more loving.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.