The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4487

My highlighted verses: John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, now continues to present Jesus Christ as God, which is the theme of this Gospel of John. We pick up the action as Jesus once again begins to teach in the temple.

Note: There is some disagreement among scholars as to the placement of the following verse, but in this case it is right where it belongs. "Then spake Jesus" simply means "later on".

John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Remember when Jesus was at Jacob's Well and the woman from Samaria came to draw water, and He used that outward occurrence to talk about Himself as the "Living Water"?  Remember when He used the feeding of the 5,000 with the 5 loaves of bread to talk about Himself as the "Bread" which came down from heaven?

Well, now Jesus is standing in the treasury (see vs. 20) "where stood two colossal golden lamp-stands, on which hung a multitude of lamps, lighted after the evening sacrifice and probably every evening during the Feast of Tabernacles, diffusing their brilliancy, it is said, over all the city." (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown)

It is here, "later on", when this brilliant display of light is shining forth, that Jesus said, "I AM the light of the world". What a great and fitting analogy! Was He a great teacher or what?

Now don't miss that He said He was the light of the whole WORLD, not just Israel. And remember John had declared Him and bear witness of that Light in chapter 1. He declared that God is light!

1 John 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Then John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, would say of John the Baptist that he was not the Light, but he was sent to bear witness of the Light, Jesus.
John 1:8
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

"Every man" means the whole world!
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He was that light which came into the world in Gen. 1:3.  There was darkness in the world following Satan's rebellion in the world that then was (II Pet. 3) and God brought Light into the world to dispel that darkness.

Now let's look at the second half of verse 12.

John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
If you follow Jesus, the Light, then you will NEVER walk in darkness. It will always be DAY because of the Light! You will always be in the KNOW!  You are a child of the day, the Light!
1 Thes. 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
He comes as a surprise to those who don't know when He's coming, but not to us!
1 Thes. 5:4
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

[5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.
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