WHO JESUS THOUGHT HE WAS--LIGHT

Who did Jesus think He was? In the last blog post, I stated from John 6:35, that Jesus said, "I am the bread of life."

Now we find His second "I AM" statement in John 8:12 and 9:5. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."

One thing I didn't mention in the earlier blog post about who Jesus thought He was--the statement, I am, is not just using the verb "to be." In Exodus 3, we find God revealing His name to Moses. And there we find God giving the name, Yahweh (Jehovah), to Moses, and the meaning was "I AM." God exists. He always has been, always is, always will be--no beginning or termination point.

That is what Jesus is referring to in these 7 "I am" statements in the Gospel of John. Basically in all of them, He is stating, "I AM God"--"I am the always existing God." WHAT A POWERFUL STATEMENT!

But with this, in each of these, He gives another description of Himself. Here He is the light of the world.

The world needs light to see--to keep from stumbling and to point the way. The Psalmist says, "Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Ps. 119)

In saying, "I am the light of the world," Jesus is saying, "If you want to have light, goodness, rightness with you always, then I am that. You will find genuine light, pure light, the true way through me."

Who created light and distinguished it from the day? God (Genesis 1) did. And who always seeks to point people to light (the good, the best, the righteous, the true, the moral)? God does.

There is a lot of darkness in our world--always has been. But God wants us to have One who will always point out the way--always be the light for us to see--always be for us what we need to see the dangers in life and come out without stumbling and falling. That is Jesus.

John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (NIV) Sounds much better than any flashlight or candle we could ever have. Sounds like coming from one who has our best interests in mind, to help us seek the best and find the best and refrain what will cause us harm.

John 9:5, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (NIV)

If Jesus is God, and I believe He is (that's another hard topic to understand), then the light is always with us who believe, who follow, who trust, because God is always present. Jesus was here on earth physically for some 30 years, but He is always available to us, to give us light, through prayer and His Holy Spirit.

God is the light of the world. Jesus is the light of the world.

Do you need light? Do you need direction? Do you need a clearer path to walk through the hazards of life? Then look to the One who said, "I am the light of the world."