Jesus in John
March 23, 2022
John, the writer of this Gospel, often told us about an incident or miracle from Jesus, then he told us how Jesus taught about it. In the Gospel of John, when Jesus says, “I AM,” He’s telling us about God.
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” -John 8:12
Jesus sheds a whole lot of light on who God is! We also discover here that He takes the commonplace—like bread and light and water—and uses them to speak of the remarkable.
He said:
- “I am the bread of life” (6:35).
- “I am the light of the world” (8:12).
- He said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (10:9).
- “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (10:11).
- “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25).
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (14:6).
- And finally, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (15:5).
In the Old Testament, Jehovah God said, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus reveals here that He is “the light of the world”—probably the highest statement He’s made about Himself so far. He just exposed the sin of the scribes and Pharisees who brought the guilty woman to Him. They were just as guilty, and they had to run. He’s just turned on the light, and sin and rats and bats and bedbugs cannot stand the light!
First John 1:5 tells us “God is light.” He’s holy, righteous, and just. Just as the sun is physical light, the Lord Jesus Christ is spiritual light. Just as we have enough sense to turn on a light in a dark room, any sinner, though he be a fool, can come into the presence of Jesus Christ.
Jesus promises that whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness. The religious leaders scoffed at Jesus’ claim, calling Him a demon one minute and illegitimate the next. They understood very little of what He was saying. First Corinthians 15:47-48 explains that human knowledge today can be understood by anyone who has a human nature. But divine knowledge must be loved to be understood, and only the Spirit of God can take the things of Christ and show them to us.
Jesus summarizes His argument with a sober word: “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).