Light of the World

“I am the light of the world…”   (John 8:12)

 

Light of the World

 

Good teachers relish teaching moments. These are times when circumstances lend themselves to discovery. Something happens in class or in life, and an inquiring mind asks a relevant question so poignant that it leads to a fountain of discovery. Jesus constantly looked for teaching moments and used them to reveal Himself.

 

In John, we find teaching moments systematized. For example, in chapter 6, Jesus performs a miracle, the feeding of five thousand people (6:5–13). Then someone asks a significant question (6:30–31), which provides the perfect moment for Jesus’ statement “I am the bread of life” (6:35). Each of the five miracles mentioned by John provide teaching moments.

 

Some teaching moments are connected to events. In John, chapter 7, Jesus goes to the Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem. A part of that feast was a ritual called the Illumination of the Temple. It was an all night event that included large lights that could be seen for miles. The ritual involved music and great festivity. The attention of the entire city that night would have been on the temple and the light, shining like the glory of the fire, cloud, and the Presence in the Tabernacle of the Old Testament. It was at that grand ceremony that Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

 

The “I am” passages in John declare not only that Jesus is divine but also that He is the essence of life. He is not just sustenance (bread) but also the essence of life (light). There is a mystical nature to these passages that only the enlightened can truly savor.    —John Connor