Jesus Is Like a Floodlight

Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.” JOHN 8:12

The Old Testament era can be described as moonlight. But then Jesus came into the world, and the three years of our Lord’s public ministry can be described differently.

Jesus was in the temple when He said, “I am the light of the world” (8:20). This took place either during or immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles. During the feast, four large lamps were lit in the temple courts. The whole area was bathed in light.

D. A. Carson writes, “Men… danced through the night, holding burning torches in their hands and singing songs of praise. Some sources attest that this went on every night of the Feast of Tabernacles with the light from the temple area shedding its glow all over Jerusalem.”

This was more than the light of the moon. Today we would call these “floodlights.” People came to the temple to see these lights, much like people today would enjoy looking at Christmas lights. The lights were lit at the beginning of the feast and were put out at the end. The people went home in darkness, aided only by the light of the moon.

It seems likely that one evening during the feast, after the lights went out, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12).

The coming of Jesus Christ was like a great burst of light in this dark world. In His light, the blind received their sight, the deaf came to hear, lepers were cleansed, and the dead were raised to life (Matt. 11:5). “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

How has Jesus helped you see yourself better? How has He helped you see God better? How has He helped you see the world around you (including other people) better?