Following the light of the world, Jesus
John 8:12 (NKJV)
“I Am the Light of the World”
12 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.”
Message
I. The light of the world, Jesus
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” in John 9:5 (NJKV) as well. John 1:4 (NKJV) says, “In Him was life, and the life is the light of men.” John 1:9 (NLT) says, “The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” ‘Jesus is the light’ is repeated in these verses.
II. Eternal life in Jesus
‘the light’ is the ‘life in Him’ (John 1:4). Here the ‘life’ is ‘eternal life’. ‘eternal life’ is defined in John 17:3 and is ‘the experiential relationship with the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.’
III. Following Jesus
‘He who follows Me’: what is ‘following Jesus’? We can learn His teachings from the four (4) Books of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). The Book of Acts show the works of His followers. The twenty-one (21) Books of the Letters (from Romans to Jude in the New Testaments) assist in understanding and applying His teachings. The Book of Revelation is a special book that contains revelations from God. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29) consists of three chapters and shows many key teachings of Jesus to follow. Matthew 16:24 (NLT) says,
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
This is also written in Mark 8:34, 10:21, and Luke 9:23. To write some of His teachings that I personally select for this section, there are ‘How to become a good neighbour’ (Luke 10:30-37), ‘Duty to care for the poor (food, clothes, housing)’ (Luke 16:19-31), ‘Serving to become great among followers’ (Matthew 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45), ‘Forgiving and praying for followers (their mistakes and faults)’ (John 13:4-17), etc.
IV. Darkness – the result of not following Jesus
‘darkness’ is ‘death’. ‘death’ is defined in Romans 8:6a (NIV). ‘the mind governed by the flesh (=sinful nature)’ is ‘death’.
‘walk in darkness’ is ‘live in the mind governed by one’s sinful nature’.
V. Light – the result of following Jesus
‘have the light of life’ is ‘have the mind governed by the Spirit' (Romans 8:6b NIV) and ‘have the experiential relationship with God’ (John 17:3).
