I do not have a green thumb.
My mom is a gardener, and she loves spending hours outside planting seeds, watering plants, pruning back leaves, and harvesting vegetables for the family to eat. The entire backyard is filled with fruit trees and wood planter boxes, and we’ve enjoyed many servings of green beans, corn, and sugar snap peas from the garden.
I, on the other hand, can barely keep a houseplant alive for a few weeks or maybe a few months, if I’m lucky. I can’t tell you how many succulents or snake plants I’ve killed over the last few years. I try to water them and take care of them, but over time they all slowly shrivel up and die. The only plant I’ve managed to keep alive is a small pothos, and he’s been going strong for a little less than a year and half.
One thing I’ve discovered throughout my houseplant woes is that I often don’t give my plants enough sunlight. Most plants need a good amount of light to grow and thrive. And this is also true with other living organisms—animals, insects, human beings. Light is a basic necessity of life on earth, and without it, most life would probably cease to exist.
Believe or not, the sun is not the greatest source of light there is. There is a more powerful and more beneficial source of light in existence. This better Light of the World is the Son.
Of course, by Son, I’m referring to Jesus. During His earthly ministry, Jesus was teaching in the temple when He declared to everyone who was present that He was this greater light source.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12, ESV
What is Jesus saying by claiming to be the Light of the World? Surely, this doesn’t mean He is glowing brighter and burning hotter than the celestial body that hangs in our sky. What does this title tell us about who Jesus is and what He does in our lives?
First, Jesus is declaring his divine identity. When Jesus is speaking in the temple, it is during the Jews’ annual Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:3). This particular festival commemorates and celebrates how God provided for Israel and guided them through the wilderness after their escape from Egyptian slavery. During this time, God provided for His people in many ways, one of which being appearing as a pillar of fire so that Israel was able to travel through the wilderness by night (Exodus 13:21-22).
God was a light to the people of Israel. This is reiterated throughout the Old Testament in passages, such as Psalm 27:1 and Isaiah 60:19-20. In John 8, Jesus is declaring that He is the light, thereby suggesting to everyone in the crowd that He is God.
In this verse, Jesus is also fulfilling messianic prophecy. Isaiah prophesied that in a time when Israel was in deep darkness, a great light would come and shine upon them, particularly in the region of Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2). Matthew confirms that this centuries-old prophecy refers to Jesus in His Gospel (Matthew 4:12-16). During Jesus’ time on earth, Israel was in a very dark place—under the oppressive rule of Rome—and Jesus spent most of His ministry in and around Galilee. By announcing that He is the “Light of the World,” He is basically saying that He is their long-awaited Messiah.
What else does this title tells us about Jesus? It informs us about His character and His activity. In the Bible, light is often used as a symbol for purity and holiness, which points to the fact that Jesus was holy, sinless, and pure in heart during His earthly life (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5). Light penetrates, exposes, and illuminates darkness. In a similar manner, Jesus exposes evil and darkness and illuminates our dead souls so that we might find life in Him. Light often provides clarity and guidance, and Jesus, as our Light, reveals the will of the Father to us and helps us to avoid sin and pursue righteousness. And like I mentioned earlier, light is a necessity for life, and it’s only in Jesus that we can find meaning for our existence and receive life everlasting (John 3:16). Jesus is the Light of the World.
“Jesus is light and life breaking into darkness and death.”[1]
The world we live in today is also a very dark place. Sure, we may not be living under the oppressive regime of a cruel empire, but we do live in a culture that is marked by confusion and chaos, a culture that is growing more and more resistant to all that is light and true. Like my houseplants which struggled due to a lack of sunlight, we cannot survive or thrive in this world without Jesus. He is our Light. He is our Messiah. He is our Lord. He shines in the darkness, He guides us in all truth, and He is our source of life—not only to Israel, but to the entire world.
Put your faith and trust in Jesus, the Light of the World, and He will guide you through the darkness and bring you into everlasting glory.
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John 12:46
[1] Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Jesus: 9 Encounters with the Hero of the Gospels (Wheaton: Crossway, 2022), 54.
