Jesus, Light of the World.  John 8.12-20  

“I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”                                                         John 8.12   John 8.12-20:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208.12-20&version=HCSB  

Jesus is seated in the Temple Courts as he continues teaching the people who have gathered round him.  In order to picture it, we must describe something of the Temple, of which we have no comparison today.  Grand? Yes.  Magnificent?  Yes, in white marble and gold.  On the outer part of the Temple are the surrounding courts—first, the Court of the Gentiles, and then the Court of Women, the Court of Israel, and then the Holy Place, and finally, the Holy of Holies.  In the Court of Women, there are treasure boxes, where moneys are collected, and this is where we find Jesus teaching, as indicated in verse 20. 

There are also four grand candelabra in this Court of Women, which, when lit, shine brightly throughout Jerusalem!  Against this backdrop, Jesus makes his second “I Am” statement:  I am the light of the world.

Light attracts.   Light illuminates.                                                                                                    Light makes things clear.                                                                                           Light dispels the darkness.    Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life, Jesus says.

The other day I met with a young man who is soon to leave for college, and he does not know God.  He is a great, moral 21-year-old who respects God, but just has never made any personal move toward him.  As we talked, he commented on how much change there is in his life right now, and how he is just trying to figure it out.  I asked him if he ever prays.  ‘No,’ he said, ‘I don’t.  I sit on my bed at night and think about things, and try to sort them all out in my head, but it is on my own.’ 

‘Dang!  I can’t imagine not praying, Adam,’ I said to him.  ‘See, God is interested in everything in your life, and when you ask him, he will make sense of things … actually, being a Christian is about making Jesus the Center of things, and giving him permission to fix your priorities and plans.’  This young man needs the Light of the World.  And all of us ought give Jesus control, making him our priority, and letting him establish our plans.   Jesus, Light of our World.

Christine