A Tour Through John, Lesson 18

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/tour-john-lesson-18/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p>12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” </p><ul><li>"<i>Again</i> Jesus spoke" ties in to 7:38. <ul><li>Remember that 7:53-8:11 is not in the original; it interrupts the flow.</li><li>Thus the statement is spoken in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles.</li></ul></li><li>In the second "I am statement," Christ claims to be the light of the world (v.12).<ul><li>Just as the pillar of fire led the Israelites through the desert after the Exodus, so Jesus will lead his people.</li><li>Hence the emphasis on <i>following the light</i>. (The Israelites followed the pillar.)</li><li>For more on the background to the "I am" statements, in addition to previous comments on John 6:35, see Isaiah 41:4 and 43:10-11, where the OT Greek LXX reads <i>ego eimi</i> ("I am").</li><li>Jesus does not say, "Look -- there's the light," or "I've found the light!" Rather, he boldly claims, "I <i>am </i>the light."</li><li>The Bible teaches that because God is our light (Psalm 27:1), Jesus is the light (John 8:12). Further, the Word is a light (Psalm 119:105), and as we live out the truth, we ourselves are to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).</li><li>The truth that Jesus is the light of the world (v.12) will be vividly illustrated in chapter 9 when Jesus heals the man born blind (9:5).</li></ul></li></ul><p>13 Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who