Daily Reading: (John 8:12):
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Something incredible just happened if you will go back and place yourself at the exact location of where Jesus spoke these words. We do as we focus on verses 2-4.
“At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery” (John 8:2-4).
The Court of the Women is the place where Jesus proclaimed that He is the light of the whole world.
The timing of this proclamation was during the Feast of Tabernacles. Which meant there was a brilliant menorah/candelabra that was lit. The candelabra provided light throughout the entirety of the Court. There was a great ceremony called the “Illumination of the Temple,” which involved the ritual lighting of four golden oil-fed lamps in the Court of Women. These lamps were huge menorahs/candelabras (seventy-five feet high). The reason they would light the candelabra was to remind God’s people of the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night that guided His people in the wilderness.
Here in one of the three most holy festivals Jesus pronounces that He is God. As God was with His people in the Exodus, Jesus is the Light of the World, tabernacling among His people now.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people,”the Greek word for “again” is (autos) and it means the same. So, if Jesus is speaking to the same people, they must have witnessed and heard something before the “I am the Light of the World” statement. In verse 3 a woman who was caught in adultery was brought before Jesus with the Pharisees (religious leaders) wanting to have her executed by stoning her to death. Have you ever wondered where is the guy who was involved in the same act?
When Jesus walked the earth, gender inequality was so entrenched in Jewish society that an adulteress could be stoned without trial and men could divorce their wives for virtually any reason. Some of the religious leaders taught that women were ignorant and that there was no point teaching them because they had weak minds. Then along came Jesus.
The Law states this woman could be killed for her adulterous actions. What does Jesus do? Jesus says: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).If you want to bring her sins in front of everyone you religious leaders, how about we take a second and talk about yours first. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you” (John 8:10)?
What is so beautiful about this is the light of the world clearly is not there to expose our sins because that is not what Jesus did with the woman caught in adultery. Jesus is the Light that brings the lost out of darkness. Jesus’ light exposes our perfection in Him and unveils the truth that our sins have been completely removed.
This tells us that we don’t have to be fearful when we come into God’s presence. He is not there waiting to punish us for our mistakes and failures. His light is not for exposing our sins and shame, or for condemning us. No, Jesus’ glorious light (John 8:12) shows us how perfectly His blood has washed away our sins (John 8:10/1 John 1:7)! That is why Jesus could tell the woman that He did not condemn her—because He would be condemned for her at the cross.
“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12b).
If you have lived long enough you probably have been a part of a remodeling project of some kind. What is amazing to me is the minute you redo one part of your house everything else stands out that needs to be redone. What has become beautiful has the opportunity to impact what is around it. What is beautiful can lead to what is near being redone and completely changed. Jesus, the light of the world, lifts us up and gives us a confident expectation of good even in our darkest hour. As we let our light shine before others, they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.
Jesus said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” “Follows Me” it really isn’t the best translation from the Greek to English. “Follows” means whoever becomes my disciple. Because it isn’t that when we mess up or we make a mistake that God leaves us in the dark. Whoever is a disciple of Jesus will not pass one’s life in darkness or you won’t live your life having a want of light but will have the light always. It means as a believer in Jesus Christ you possess the Light of Life. In the darkness of the world, our lives are really able to contrast that darkness and bring forth the Light of the World. It gives those who are walking round in darkness an introduction to the Light of the World, and if they will receive the Light (Jesus Christ) they will never be in the dark anymore.
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