An Issue with Authority

One of John’s favorite descriptions of Jesus in his Gospel is that he is the light. John describes Jesus this way twenty-two times in the book. The “light of the world” is a clear messianic title. When the people heard Jesus make this statement, they should have remembered that Isaiah describes the Messiah as “a light for the nations” who would bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Isa 49:6). So, when Jesus stands up and calls out to the crowd, “I am the light of the world,” he’s identifying himself as the Christ, the Messiah, the one who fulfills God’s promise to make the world right again.

However, the title “light of the world” does more than identify Jesus as the Messiah. It also identifies him as God. Throughout the Old Testament, God is called the light. For instance, in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord[Yahweh] is my light and my salvation.” So add that to Jesus’s claim. He’s not just a messenger from God. He is God. He’s divine.

With the claim to be God comes unique authority, which we see by understanding more specifically what Jesus means when he says he’s the light of the world.

In chapter 6 Jesus replayed the history of the nation of Israel. He fed them miraculously with bread in the wilderness. He crossed a sea miraculously. The crowds grumbled and complained, then acted in unbelief.

In chapter 7 he celebrated the Festival of Shelters, which commemorated a specific time in Israel’s history—the time of wandering in the wilderness, being fed miraculously by God after miraculously crossing a sea. It was a time characterized by grumbling, complaining, and unbelief.

Also in chapter 7, while celebrating the way God provided for them in the wilderness, Jesus invites thirsty people to come to him and drink—in the same way God provided water for the nation when they were thirsty.

Now here in Chapter 8 we see this little word again (v. 12) that connects these words back to Jesus’s statement about the water in chapter 7. We should understand this metaphor in the context of Israel’s wilderness wanderings. After God brought the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, they found themselves trapped on the banks of the Red Sea with Pharaoh closing in on them from behind. They began to doubt, to grumble, and to disbelieve the word of God. Moses told them to trust in God and watch his salvation:

Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long. (Exod 14:19-20)

From this point forward God leads his people through the wilderness and to the promised land with a cloud and a pillar of fire. They just have to follow him.

When Jesus calls himself the “light of the world,” he is not just identifying himself as God; he’s commanding them to follow him. Jesus is telling them, in no uncertain terms, the only way for them to leave slavery is to submit to him. The only way for them to make it through the desert and reach the promised land is to submit to him. His claim of authority is no different today. The only way to escape slavery to sin is to follow Jesus. The only way to know where to walk and also make it to heaven is to follow Jesus.

C. S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else” (“Is Theology Poetry?,” 141). By claiming to be the light of the world, Jesus is saying, “Only by me can you see and understand everything else. Only by me can you see and understand this world.” Apart from Jesus, this world is simply unknowable. The parts only make sense because of Jesus. Your life will only make sense as you submit to Jesus. Until the light of the world illuminates your world, you’ll never make sense of the world.

The imagery here is pretty simple—if our world didn’t have the sun, not only would we not know the sun, but we wouldn’t see to understand our world. Jesus is like the sun. We can’t make sense of a world that has so much evil and so much good without Jesus. Jesus helps us see it. He helps us understand it. In Jesus’s light we can embrace the reality that this world is broken because of sin, but we can do so with hope, for Jesus has promised to fix it. Our hope isn’t a fool’s dream. It’s rooted in the reality of the resurrection. Jesus already defeated death, so we have confidence he will one day banish death forever. Jesus is the light of the world, and only by following him can we see.