Sunday's Message: I AM - Jesus in Seven Words (“I am the light for the world!” (John 8:12-20))

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven statements beginning with the words I am. Each of these “I am” proclamations furthers our understanding of Jesus’ ministry in the world. They also link Jesus to the Old Testament revelation of God. 

In the Old Testament, God revealed His name to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). Thus, in Judaism, “I AM” is unquestionably understood as a name for God. Whenever Jesus made an “I am” statement in which He claimed attributes of deity, He was identifying Himself as God. 

During seven messages, we’ll consider the following “I am” statements found in John’s gospel:

• June 12 – “I am the bread that gives life!” (John 6:35, 41-51)
• June 19 – “I am the light for the world!” (John 8:12-20)
• June 26 – “I am the gate for the sheep.” (John 10:1-10)
• July 3  – “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11-18
• July 10  – “I am the one who raises the dead to life!” (John 11:1-44)
• July 17  – “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” (John 14:1-14)
• July 24  – “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1-8)

In this second message, we considered the statement, “I am the light for the world!” The sermon text and podcast is below:

Now, if you were here last week, then you know that we’ve started a new series of messages entitled: I AM – Jesus in Seven Words. You see, over seven weeks in June and July, we’ll be looking at the seven times Jesus said “I AM” in the Gospel John and then followed it with some image that can help folks better understand who he was. And last Sunday, we started this off by looking at the first time he made one of these “I AM” statements, and I’m talking about the time when “Jesus replied: I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry.No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.” [John 6:35, CEV] And as y’all may remember, this image, you know, the image of the bread that gives life, well, it can help us understand that Jesus really is the source of life, namely eternal life, one that we can claim when we respond to God’s call and simply believe, and one that will enable us to enter a new and a living relationship with God. Now that’s what came out of our first discussion.

And this morning, we’re going to look at the second of these “I AM” statements, the one that stands right at the beginning of this passage written by the Evangelist John:

Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.”

The Pharisees objected, “You are the only one speaking for yourself, and what you say isn’t true!”

Jesus replied:

Even if I do speak for myself, what I say is true! I know where I came from and where I am going. But you don’t know where I am from or where I am going. You judge in the same way that everyone else does, but I don’t judge anyone. If I did judge, I would judge fairly, because I would not be doing it alone. The Father who sent me is here with me. Your Law requires two witnesses to prove that something is true. I am one of my witnesses, and the Father who sent me is the other one.

“Where is your Father?” they asked.

“You don’t know me or my Father!” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father.”

Jesus said this while he was still teaching in the place where the temple treasures were stored. But no one arrested him, because his time had not yet come. [John 8:12-20, CEV]

You see, this morning, we’re going to talk about Jesus saying, “I am the light for the world!” [John 8:12c, CEV]

And just like we did last week when we looked at Jesus as the bread that gives life, we’re going to consider this statement by answering three questions. You see, first, we’ll talk about what Jesus meant when he said “I am the light for the world!” [John 8:12c, CEV] And then second, we’ll consider how we can respond. And then third, we’ll take the what and the how, and look at why it’s important for us to choose the light. Now this is what we’ll be doing for the next ten minutes or so.

Of course, there’s no way we can ever make sense of the how and why until we answer the first question: What did Jesus mean when he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” [John 8:12c, CEV] In other words, what’s all this business about light and darkness and life? And what did Jesus actually have in mind when he didn’t just compare himself to light, which anyone could do, but actually said, “I am the light for the world”? [John 8:12c, CEV] Good question.

And I’ll tell you, I think we can start to understand what he was getting at with this business about being “the light” when we look at some scripture found in the Old Testament and within the Gospel of John itself. For example, back in Old Testament times, the image of “light” was a really big deal. I mean, in the beginning and I’m talking about the very beginning “God said, ‘I command light to shine!’ And light started shining.” [Genesis 1:3, CEV] And later in the Old Testament, light was associated with divine instruction, you know, like when the Psalmist wrote,

Your word is a lamp

that gives light

    wherever I walk. [Psalm 119:105, CEV]

As a matter of fact, in other places, Old Testament writers used light as a symbol for God himself. And I think that was what the Psalmist had in mind when he wrote,

Our Lord and our God,

you are like the sun

    and also like a shield.

You treat us with kindness

    and with honor,

never denying any good thing

    to those who live right. [Psalm 84:11]

Now, that’s all in the Old Testament. Let’s just say light was pretty important back in the day. 

But I’ll tell you, that fades in comparison (no pun intended) when we look at some of the stuff the Evangelist John wrote. For example, right at the beginning of his gospel, John offered all three images we’re looking at right now, and I’m talking about “light” and “darkness” and “life.” I mean, just listen to how the Gospel of John begins: 

In the beginning was the one

    who is called the Word.

The Word was with God

    and was truly God.

From the very beginning

    the Word was with God.

And with this Word,

    God created all things.

Nothing was made

    without the Word.

Everything that was created

    received its life from him,

and his life gave light

    to everyone.

The light keeps shining

    in the dark,

and darkness has never

    put it out. [John 1:1-5, CEV]

Now that’s what John wrote. And a little later, also in John, during his conversation with Nicodemas,

Jesus said, 

The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light. People who do evil hate the light and won’t come to the light, because it clearly shows what they have done. [John 3:19-20, CEV]

You see, for John, light would sure seem to be the way God entered our time and space.

And I’ll tell you, when we carry all this idea into the passage we’re looking at this morning, I think Jesus was making a pretty profound statement when he said “I am the light for the world.” You see, I believe he’s saying that he, in and of himself, represented the very presence of God. And when he came, he brought that presence into our space. And through that presence, the world received the possibility of life, new life, eternal life; in fact, the same kind of life we talked about last week when he said that he was bread that brings life. Now that was what God did for the world.

But you know, again according to John, even though Jesus was the light that entered into this world, the very people to whom he came, man, they preferred to stay hidden in the dark. You see, the light came, but people preferred darkness to light. Now, I think that’s exactly what he had in mind when he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” [John 8:12c, CEV] And for me, that’s the answer to the first question.

And how can we respond? In other words, how can we respond to the light that entered a dark world? How can we respond to the one who came to us, bringing life? Now, in a nutshell, that’s the second question.

And I’ll tell you, in the scripture that precedes and the scripture that follows what Jesus said, I think John has given us two excellent examples of what not to do. You see, whether it’s the incredible hypocrisy of those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law who brought a woman caught in adultery with stones in their hands only to hear Jesus say, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” [John 8:7b, CEV] or the intentional ignorance of those Pharisees in our passage who totally ignored what Jesus said about himself and the life he was offering and instead focused on whether or not he was speaking for himself, I think these are two textbook examples of people who should have known better intentionally choosing the darkness rather than the light. And you know, this is something that we can also do when we run around chucking stones at people whom we don’t like while trying to keep our own garbage neatly out-of-sight or when we ignore all those things that should unite us and focus on all the secondary stuff that will keep us apart. And you know, I think these are just two examples of intentionally deciding to live and to walk in the dark. I’ll tell you, I believe this is  something we can choose to do. But that’s not our only choice. 

You see, we also have the ability to choose to live in the light. I mean, we can choose to live in the light even though we know there’ll be times when the light’s going to seem more like a florescent bulb than a flickering candle and we’re going to have to face all those flaws and blemishes we’d prefer to keep hidden. You see, we can choose to do this, because we believe, man, we trust that this light is also the source of life. It’s the way we enter into a living and growing relationship with God. In fact, it’s the ultimate gift of our Father, but not just for me or for you, but for the entire world, including those whom we believe should be stoned as well as those who’ve chosen to live in the dark. You see, right here and right now, as a matter of fact, every minute of every day, we have a choice, and it’s remarkably simple. We can decide either to hide in the dark or to live in the light. You see, in my opinion, that’s how we can respond to what Jesus said about himself. And that’s the answer to the second question.

Which leaves us with question number three: Why is it important for us to choose the light? In other words, why is it important for us to step away from the comfort and security found in the dark and step into the harsh and unavoidable reality that we’re going to find in the light? Why is this important for us to do?

Well, for me, it really comes down to two very clear and simple reasons and I’ll tell you, both involve change. I mean, for one, stepping into the light is going to change the way we see ourselves and others. You see, when we’re hidden in the dark, man, we can pretend. We can pretend that, like those Pharisees and teachers of the law, we’re so much better than others and that we have the right to throw stones, because what they’re doing is wrong and what we’re doing is hidden. And we can pretend that what we want to do is exactly what God wants us to do and what we want to ignore, well, those things and people, man, they don’t matter to God anyway. You see, in the dark, we can pretend. But when we choose to step into the light, pretending is no longer possible. In fact, as we look around, I believe we’re going to be able to see the same kind of thing the Apostle Paul understood when he wrote this to the Romans: All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. [Roman 3:23, CEV] I’ll tell you, that may be one of the few things all humanity shares. But I’ll tell you something else, that awareness is really a good thing, because without it, we may never be able to appreciate divine love and grace and mercy, all those wonderful things that Paul described to the Romans in the very next verse. Remember, he wrote, “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” [Roman 3:23, CEV]  But then he continued, “But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” [Romans 3:24, CEV] I guess, it’s only when we step into the light that we can appreciate the fact that God loves us, warts and all. And that, brothers and sisters, is what life is all about. You see, the light of Christ can change the way we see ourselves and others. And that’s one.

And two, I think it can also change the way we live our lives. I mean, once we step into the light, we’ll be able to do something we could never do in the dark. You see, we’ll now be able to reflect the light for the world and to share the bread that gives life to all those who are lost and who are hungry. As a matter of fact, we’ll be like all those disciples we’ve known from our past, and I’m talking about those men and women, those fathers and mothers who touched our lives by simply doing what Jesus told them to do, when he said, “You are the light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and no one lights a lamp and puts it under a clay pot. Instead, it is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so others will see the good you do and will praise your Father in heaven.” [Matthew 5:14-16, CEV] You see, as men and women, with all our strengths and weakness, and as brothers and sisters who are loved by God in spite of our flaws and faults, we can decide to work together and to reflect the light for the world to those who shiver in the dark. And I’ll tell you, that’s the reason it’s so important for us to choose the light.

Of course, having said all that, it will always be tempting to remain in the dark. Not only is it comfortable, it allows us to pretend that we’re better than others. But you know, when we understand what Jesus meant when he talked about being the light, that through him God entered our time and space to bring life, and when we understand how we can respond, that we always have a choice either to stay in the dark or to step into the light, and when we understand why that response is important, you know, that our decision will change not only our view of ourselves and others but also the lives we live, I believe this decision to step out will be a whole lot easier. And for me, that’s the what and the how and the why behind the statement, “I am the light for the world!” [John 8:12c, CEV]