The Light of the World, Part 2
John 8v12
5th December 2025
Last time, we considered this prophecy:
Isaiah 9v1-2
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in
the future he will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the Way of the Sea,
beyond the Jordan —
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in
the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Jesus claimed to be that great light:
John 8v12
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."
The people of Galilee had walked in darkness for over 700 years since Isaiah's prophecy. In 26 A.D. Jesus began to teach, heal, and demonstrate the character of God so they need never walk in darkness again. Because Jesus came to them, and lived among them, they could see the truth – the truth about God, the truth about themselves, the truth about the world, the truth about how to live their lives enjoying God’s favour, the truth about life – real life, abundant life, life with God. And He taught them the truth about life after death.
They had a choice – to follow Jesus or to reject Him. Light or darkness. We have the same choice today.
There’s a lot of darkness in England now, in our generation, isn’t there? There are a lot of foolish ideas, a lot of foolish laws, a lot of foolish politicians, a lot of foolishness in the media, in newspapers, films and TV programmes and on the news. There’s lot of wickedness, cruelty, selfishness, loneliness, crime, drugs and sin. Darkness. And Jesus is the light of the world. His promise still holds good, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
To everybody who believes in Jesus, He promises:
John 8v31-32
... "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
Every day, people who tire of the darkness of this world, of the lies, foolishness, emptiness and pain all around them, and in their own experience, choose instead to follow Jesus. Every day, people accept His teaching, discover the truth, and find freedom – freedom from despair, freedom from false ideas, freedom from sin, freedom from disgust at the state of the country, and freedom from from self-disgust. They find truth, meaning and hope because Jesus, the light of the world, has shone upon them.
John said this about Jesus:
John 1v12
… to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God.
All who will receive Jesus today and follow Him will become children of God. God the Father, the perfect Father, will become their Father.
We all have a choice. John tells us:
John 3v18-19
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s
one and only Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
We can all choose to stay in the darkness. Or we can choose to believe in Jesus, the light of the world. There is no third option. We accept Jesus or we reject Him.
The apostle Paul, who had once been so spiritually blind that he'd persecuted Christians, understood about darkness. He wrote:
2 Corinthians 4v4
The god of this age [by which he meant the devil] has blinded the minds
of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the good news of the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Paul knew that he, like everybody else, couldn’t understand the truth without Jesus. He knew that he’d done terrible things before Jesus saved him, because he’d lacked knowledge and understanding that only Jesus brings. Paul also understood light. He also wrote:
2 Corinthians 4v6
… God made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
What love! What grace! This is the experience of every Christian. We could never have understood the truth had God not revealed it to us. We have been born again because we chose Jesus, but we could never have chosen Him if God had not shone His light in our hearts.
If you've never understood about Jesus, about God, and about the forgiveness of sins, please pray, asking God to shine His light in your heart. He surely will.