Since chapter 6, John had
been using images from the past experiences of the children of Israel in their
wilderness wandering. First the manna in John 6, then the water from the rock in
John 7, and now in John 8, the pillar of fire. In the celebration of the
Tabernacle there were two great parts. One was the pouring of water from the
golden vessel, to commemorate the provision of water for the children of Israel
in the wilderness wondering. Now we see the other part of the celebration: the
illumination of the temple. And John 8:20 tells us that the treasury was the
place where Christ’s pronouncement took place.
In the treasury there
were thirteen great trumpet-shaped treasure chests. There were narrow at the
top and broad at the bottom. Each treasure chest was intended to receive the
giving of the people for different purpose e.g. to upkeep the temple, to
receive offering for different sacrifices, and some were even for whatever leftover
the people had and still wanted to give to the Lord, etc. It was also here in
the treasury that four great torches were set up. They would be lit. The light
from these torches would remind the people of the great pillar of fire that
guided the children in the wilderness wondering. It was here that the human traffic
would be the heaviest, making it an appropriate place for Christ to make His
proclamation. So here Jesus raised His voice above the heavy human traffic and
made one of His seven “I Am” claims in John’s Gospel. “I am the Light of the
world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light
of life.” In this, Christ has made known one of the supreme
realities of His existence. What a way to help people to focus their attention on
this one truth they needed to know and understand!
In
saying that “I am the light of the world…,” Jesus was identifying Himself with
the Shekinah glory of God that the children of Israel experienced in the wilderness.
Like the pillar of fire that guided the people in the wilderness, He is the
light for us today in this world of darkness. The promise here is this: if we
walk with Him as our guide, we won’t be floundering in darkness like the rest
of the people in the world. We will have a definite guide in every situation of
life. How we need this light in this dark world!
He further
elaborates in verse 12, saying that “…he who follows Me will not walk in the
darkness, but will have the Light of life.” Like the pillar of fire for the
children of Israel, Christ is the pillar of fire for us believers today. No
matter how dark the world may be, we can experience His light illuminating the path
in our journey. Not only will this light of life be there to guide us, He will
also be in us. To help us shine for Him everywhere we go, and to help others in
their journey of life as well. What an honor! Ephesians 5:18 tells us that “Once
we were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
Unfortunately, there were among Jesus’ audience, some
who did not think that His claim was that wonderful. The Pharisees in particular.
So they challenged Jesus. They said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your
testimony is not true.” They got technical and went into the Jewish judiciary system
which stated that every truth must be verified by two people. Hence they told
Jesus that what He claimed to be could not stand, because He was claiming it
for Himself. Jesus responded in verse 14 by revealing that there was yet another
witness, God the Father Himself. Christ never acted alone. He had and has always
acted in consort with the Father. The immediate reaction of the Pharisees was “Where
is Your Father?” The answer is pure and simple, in Jesus Christ, God the Father
is unfolded. If anyone wants to know God the Father, all he needs is to be
connected to Christ. For in Him the fullness of the Godhead – Father, Son and
Holy Spirit - dwell bodily. And we are complete in Him. From verse 20, we deduced
that God has a definite moment for everything. Since it was not the moment for Christ
to give His life yet, so no one came forward to seize Him. It tells us that
when we are in the
will of God, we can safely, securely and serenely go about the task He has
assigned us.
Without the light of Christ we will
walk in eternal darkness. John in his letters tell us the importance of continual
walking in the Light. If we walk in the light as God is in the light, we will have
fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, His Son, will cleanse us
from all sins. We walk in the light simply by looking upward, and walking
continuously with him. As we do so, His light will flow in and through us to
others. This continual engagement with Him will prepare us to participate in
the glory at His coming. Yes, Jesus is the answer to man’s darkness!
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