1.14 Sermon

Sermon Passage: John 8:12
Sermon Title: The Light of the World
Sermon by: Pastor Davy (Youth)
Sermon Summary:
​The second ego eimi phrase that we find in the gospel of John is in chapter 8: I am the Light of the World. First point of emphasis is the contrast between the Light and darkness. Immediately after his ego eimi phrase, Jesus says “those who follow will not walk in darkness”. To not follow Jesus is to walk in the darkness. But what comes after this is even more thought-provoking. Anyone would assume that since not follow Jesus is walking in the darkness, following Jesus would suggest that we walk in the light. But what does Jesus say? He says those who follow him will have the light of life. He doesn’t say we will walk in the Light but we will have the light of life. This Jesus says to indicate that when we are following Jesus, we still wont be perfect. We will not be walking in the Light which would indicate that we are sinless in this life but Jesus will be leading us into eternal life when we will indeed be sinless. But in the meantime, we are still sinners and prone to make mistakes and fall to the temptation of sin. So what does it mean to follow the Light? what is the Light? Light is a guide. In the Old testament, light is used in wide variety of metaphors but it is clear that God used light, by the pillar of fire, to guide the Israelites in the desert. Light is sight. Later in chapter 9, Jesus heals a blind man by using his saliva to make mud from the dirt and applying it to a blind mans eyes. then he commands him to go and wash his eyes and he is healed. When the man comes back to Jesus, he asks “Do you believe?” Most would ask, “do you see?” but Jesus intentionally asks “do you believe” because when we see, we should be naturally drawn to believe. Light is truth. When we turn on the light in a room, we don’t look at the light but we rather look at the room. it’s obvious but this is to point out the purpose of light. We don’t turn on a light to look a the light but we turn on the light to see what is in the darkness. Light reveals what is in the darkness. In this way, we must look at this world, our neighbors, through the lens of Jesus. This is the only way we can look at this world and see it as it was meant to be. To see this world through the lens of Jesus is the only way for us to love our neighbors as Jesus loves us. Jesus’ ego eimi phrases are not only revealing who Jesus is but also revealing who Jesus is in relationship to us. Because we have a genuine relationship with Jesus, we must try our best to love this world as Jesus has. Our first step in following Jesus is to see our neighbors through the Light of Jesus, which is to see them as they were made not as they present themselves to be, and to love our neighbors as Jesus does. This is why Jesus has come and why Jesus describes himself as the Light of the World.