Key Verse: Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 CSB)
At this point in John’s gospel, the Jewish people were celebrating the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. It was a time to look back and celebrate God’s direction and guidance of His people through the wilderness. As part of this feast, people lit huge torches and lamps that symbolized the pillar of fire that led their ancestors through the wilderness, remembering that, “The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and night” (Exodus 13:21).
With this as the backdrop, Jesus makes an incredible statement. He said to the people, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (v.12).
What was Jesus trying to communicate to the people through these words? First, Jesus was seeking to draw people to understand His true identity. Through the prophet Isaiah, God had said about the coming Messiah that, “I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6b). Jesus’ words about His identity clearly have a Messianic connection.
But Jesus wasn’t just claiming to be the Messiah through this statement. All throughout the Scripture, the concept of light most often speaks to God’s revelation of Himself to people in some form or another. David said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). The Apostle John wrote that, “God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him” (1 John 1:5). For Jesus to claim to be the light of the world was to tie His true identity to God Himself, the one “who alone is immortal and who dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16).
With this in mind, it helps us better understand and appreciate what Jesus says next. “Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (v.12b). Just like the Jewish people followed God’s light through the pillar of fire in the wilderness, Jesus invites us to follow Him and walk in the light of life.
What does that look like? To follow Jesus as the light of the world includes allowing His Word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). We must look to God to reveal His steps for us so that we can walk in the way He wants us to go.
This path includes the pursuit of holiness in every area of our life. John wrote, “If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth” (1 John 1:6). To follow Jesus means to walk in the light of His holiness.
So what does that mean for you today? What does it look like for you to follow the light of the world and to walk in the light of life? Will you allow God to direct you today? Will you seek to walk in holiness without compromise? Invite God’s Spirit to specifically show you what this looks like, and to give you His power to be led by Him today.
Prayer: Jesus, you are the light of the world. I choose to follow you today. Guide my steps. Show me the path I should walk. Empower me to walk in the light rather than in darkness. Thank you that in you I have the light of life. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
