NAMES AND TITLES OF CHRIST
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
DR. JIM DIXON
JOHN 8:12
FEBRUARY 15, 1998
The Feast of Tabernacles was the third of the great feasts of Israel. The first being Passover and the second being Pentecost. Now, the Feast of Tabernacles was a 7-day festival. On the evening of the first day there was a special ceremony called the Illumination of the Temple. For that ceremony, for the Illumination of the Temple, four large candelabras were brought into one of the outer courts of the temple, the court of the women. These four large candelabras were brought in along with great vats of oil. These candelabras were so great and so large that it took ladders to reach the top. These candelabras, as soon as the night came, these candelabras were lit and they became flaming torches that illuminated the temple mount and radiated light over the entire city of Jerusalem, piercing the darkness, lighting the streets and squares of the city.
The candelabras remained lit all night long and the light flooded the city all night long. The people stayed up all night. They danced and they sang, and they ate. It was a great celebration. It was the one night of the year, in conjunction with the Feast of Tabernacles, this illumination of the temple was the one night of the year when the light pierced the darkness and evening was held at bay. It was in that context, it was on that occasion the Bible tells us, that Jesus made the great declaration, “I am the Light of the World.”
As we examine this incredible title this morning, I have two teachings because in the Bible the word light has two meanings. The first is this. Light refers to moral truth. When we say that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, when Jesus Christ said, “I am the Light of the World,” He was saying that He is the source of moral truth and that He is the very embodiment of moral truth. He is moral truth incarnate.
Now, in the biblical world and in the Greek world, truth was virtually synonymous with light and to be enlightened was to come to a knowledge of the truth. Now, historians tell us that there was a. of history in Europe called the “Enlightenment.” This was the 1600s and the 1700s in Europe. This. of the Enlightenment was also called “the age of reason.” It was the time of Decant and Russo and Voltaire and Locke. It was the time when there was great progress in astronomy and chemistry and mathematics and physics. It was the time when philosophers wrote down the sum of knowledge and put that knowledge into encyclopedias. It was a time of books, a time of learning, a stress on education called the Enlightenment. But the light was pale. The light was dim because, you see, there was no focus on Jesus Christ who is the Light of the World and there was an absence of moral truth. There are, even today, people who think that they can find enlightenment solely from academia.
Perhaps some of you have heard of Sir Thomas Phillips. He decided that he would acquire a copy of every book ever written. Of course, this was in the 19th century when books were less plentiful, but the job was still formidable. Sir Thomas Phillips acquired more than 100,000 different books and more than 60,000 manuscripts. Scholars came from all over the world to Middlehill, the estate of Sir Thomas Phillips. They came to his mansion there which had been converted into a massive library greater than the combined libraries of Cambridge University. Scholars came there to see these rare books and to read these precious manuscripts. It is a fact that Sir Thomas Phillips not only acquired these books and manuscripts, but he read many of them. He was a man of incredible knowledge, and he was renowned for his knowledge of everything from science to philosophy.
He died in 1872 at the age of 80. His books are still being purchased today, books from the Phillips Library. But he died in the darkness. Despite all of his knowledge and despite all of his books, he died in the darkness. He lived a debauched life. When he died, he was not missed, for he had no love of God, and he had no love of people. He had abandoned even those who were closest to him. He had abandoned his wife. He had abandoned his three daughters. He had neglected them because his whole life was given to books and to the acquisition of knowledge, but knowledge is not the same as truth. It’s certainly not the same as ultimate truth. It’s not the same as moral truth.
You understand. You understand that when Jesus Christ said, “I am the Light of the World,” He was not speaking academically although academics are important, and he was not speaking scientifically although science studies the work of is hands. Jesus was not even speaking philosophically although all wisdom has its source in Him. You see, Jesus was speaking morally. “I am the Light of the World.” Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Jesus is the Light of the World, and we see moral truth in Him.
Now, the word morality comes from the Latin word “morales.” This word described customs of conduct, standards of behavior. And so, morality has to do with conduct. Morality has to do with behavior. Society, all societies established laws for the purpose of morality. All societies establish laws in order to affect conduct and behavior. Some of those laws seem a little unusual, and of course the laws of society are constantly changing.
I read where in Cushing, Oklahoma there used to be a law that you could not drink beer in your underwear. I don’t know what was behind that law. I mean I don’t know whether you were allowed to drink milk in your underwear, but I do know this. It had something to do with morality. There used to be a law in Atlanta, Georgia that made it illegal to tie your giraffe to a telephone pole. Of course a law like that seems absolutely incredible that it was ever on the books, but we can understand how that would be improper conduct and behavior because a giraffe might chew through the telephone wires, affecting the lives of people, affecting the lives of others. And so, we establish laws to protect others and also to protect ourselves. These laws have to do with conduct. They have to do with behavior.
Of course, some of these laws are very serious. In our culture, they are changing. It used to be a matter of law—we particularly see this with regard to sexual behavior and sexual mores. It used to be in this nation and in this culture, as in many others, homosexuality was illegal. Today, homosexuality is legal, and it is not only legal, but it is considered by many people to be viable. Homosexuality is considered to be a viable alternative lifestyle. Sex prior to marriage, premarital sex which the Bible calls fornication, using the Greek word “porneia,” used to be condemned by society, not as a matter of law, not as a matter of law enforcement, but as a more of society. Women and men in this society believed it was wrong to have sex prior to marriage. That, of course, has changed. The mores of our nation have changed. Today, I would say most people no longer view sex prior to marriage as wrong unless it is just indiscriminate and overly frequent. But most people today view sex before marriage as natural and recreational. Even adultery in this culture, there are some people, and hopefully a minority of people, who kind of “wink’ at adultery because, you see, the mores and the laws of cultures are constantly changing.
In the Bible, in the Old Testament, we have the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Those represent divine law. They represent divine morals. They represent divine morality. They are as binding today as they were yesterday because the laws of God and the mores of God do not change. But the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, do not offer a summation of moral truth. They do not sum up moral truth. They are not all inclusive of moral truth. Jesus Christ is the summation of moral truth. He is the Light of the World. We really only understand moral truth in its fullness when we look at Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, even the Decalogue, even the Ten Commandments were amplified for our understanding by our Lord Jesus Christ because He is the Light of the World. So, Jesus said, “You have heard it said of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery’ but I say unto you, ‘Whoever looks upon a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart.’” The Greek word there for “look” is the word “blazon” and that Greek word is a present participle, and it means “to continue looking.” It means to “look again and again.” And so, Jesus is saying, “Whoever looks again and again upon a woman with lust in his heart has already committed adultery in his heart.”
Then Jesus goes on to say, “If your eye offends you.” and the Greek word is “skandalizo” which means “to cause to stumble or to stumble and to sin.” so Jesus is saying, “If you’re eye causes you to stumble and to sin, pluck it out!” But Jesus is not speaking with some kind of crude literalism. He is speaking metaphorically which was common in Hebraic teaching. And so, He is saying, “If your eye causes you to stumble and to sin, turn away. Don’t look. Quit looking. Stop completely. Radically. Immediately.” Jesus said, “This is serious business.” He said, “It is better to lose one member of your body now than that your entire body should suffer in hell.”
Jesus uses the word “gehenna” for hell which referred to the Hinnom Valley outside of Jerusalem where all the garbage of Jerusalem was thrown and the fires were constantly burning. If you think Jesus Christ is soft on sin—and how often I’ve heard people suggest that Jesus is kind of soft on sexual sin—they’re not reading the Bible. They’re not reading the gospels. They’re not reading the Sermon on the Mount. They’re not reading the epistles written by the apostles who walked with Jesus and whose writings were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
You see, Jesus Christ wants us to take sin seriously and He knows what righteousness requires because He is the Light of the World. He said, “You’ve heard it said of old,” ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ “Whoever kills or murders shall be liable to judgement,” but I say to you, “Whoever is angry with his brother or sister will be liable for judgement. Whoever says to his brother or sister, ‘raca,’ will be liable for counsel and whoever says to his brother or sister, ‘morose’ will be liable for hellfire.” The word raca referred to intellectual bankruptcy. Have you ever viewed anyone like that? Have you ever viewed anyone as stupid? The word morose referred to moral bankruptcy. Have you ever viewed anyone who is morally bankrupt? Jesus warns us not to do that if you’d be holy and if you would hunger and thirst after righteousness. Jesus said, “You’ve heard it said of old,” ‘Love your neighbor. Hate your enemy.’ I say to you, ‘Love your enemy.’”
You come to Jesus Christ who is the Light and you see true pure morality and the requirements of it. You see moral truth. By the standards of Christ, by the light of Christ, we see our own darkness. When we come into His light, we see our own sin and we see our own fallenness. When I come into the light of Jesus, I see my own sin and I see my own fallenness.
The good news is that Jesus Christ died for sin. He died for our fallenness. He offers grace and mercy to all who believe, to all who would receive Him as Savior and Lord. But if you’ve received Him as Savior and Lord and you’ve embraced His atonement on the cross, then the Bible says you have moved, you have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. Then Christ would have you to understand that you are now called to walk in the light. If you believe He is the Light of the World, then you are called to walk in the light. Does that mean to walk without sin? To live without sin? Obviously not since all of us have “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” It certainly means “to struggle with sin,” “to war with sin,” but it means more than that.
You know, in that little letter of 1 John, the Bible says, “This is the message we’ve heard from the beginning. God is light. In Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth, but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us but if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
You see, to walk in the light is to confess your sin. It’s not to be sinless. It means to bring your sin out into the open, into the light of Christ, seeking His forgiveness and His grace, and it means to deal honestly and openly with that sin. You see, if you’re a Christian, if you believe in Jesus Christ and if you would walk in the light, there’s no place for closet sin, no place for hidden sin. We cannot deceive Him. “Before Him, no creature is hidden but all are open and laid bare before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do,” the Bible says. We cannot deceive ourselves. We must not deceive others. Bring your sin into the light.
Sometimes this means that we are to confess our sin to one another, to find some faithful brothers and sisters who will pray intercessory prayer for us and hold us accountable. This is what it means to walk in the light, to be open and honest with sin and to deal forthrightly with sin and to hunger and thirst after righteousness. When we say He is the Light of the World, it not only means that we are to walk in the light, but it means also that we are to allow His light to shine through us. That’s why we have that incredible statement from Jesus where He said to us, where He said to all who believe, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid nor does one light a lamp to hide it under a bushel basket but to place it on a lampstand that it might give light to all who are in the house. So let your light shine amongst people.” This is the call of Christ upon His people if we believe He is the Light of the World, and we would walk in His light. We are to let His light shine through us. This means that in our actions and our thoughts, we are to provide an example, that a little bit of Jesus might be seen in us, as we seek His sanctification and as we seek to honor Him.
It also means that we are to have a prophetic voice in society. This is a very difficult concept—to be light in this world, to have a prophetic voice in society. It’s a very difficult concept. The Bible says, “The world is in darkness, and we are called to be light.” The Bible says, “The world is in decay, and we are called to be salt.” Not only in the things we do but in the things we say. Of course, if we would serve Jesus, then we cannot be self-righteous, knowing that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are not to condemn. Jesus said, “Judge not that you be not judged.” The Greek in that phrase means, “condemn not that you be not condemned.” And yet, on the other hand, we are called to be light, and we are called to declare sin, sin, to distinguish between right and wrong and to seek to do this lovingly. That’s a difficult call.
How often within recent weeks, with regard to the President and the governor, how often have you heard this statement: “Personal morality has nothing to do with public service or job performance.” How often have you heard that statement? If I’ve heard it once, if I’ve read it once, I’ve read it a thousand times! It’s in the newspapers. It’s in the magazines. “Personal morality has nothing to do with public service or job performance.” What a tragic statement! Particularly when applied to this nation’s highest office and the allegations concerning that office. Particularly when applied to this state’s highest office and the allegations concerning that office. I mean, can it really be that we’ve slid so far that we do not care, that we do not care about those who represent us in the world? Can it be that we’ve slipped so far that we don’t care about the personal morality of our President or Governor who represent us all over the world? Can it be that we’ve slipped that far?
And, of course, they are only allegations, but we should be concerned with such allegations. We should be concerned with moral truth. I know it’s hard because Jesus said, “This is the testimony that light has come into the world and mankind loved darkness rather than light.” The world loves darkness rather than light. Why does the world love darkness? Why does the world hate light? It’s not because of the love and compassion that is in the light. It’s because of the truth that is in the light and the world hates truth. The world hates moral truth. And so, you know, our call in Christ is to be light, by example, by deeds and by statements made, seeking to speak the truth in love for the sake of humanity and for the sake of a culture and a nation and a world which God desperately loves. A tough call.
Jesus is the Light of the World. He wants that light to shine through us and He wants us to walk in the light, dealing honestly with sin in our own lives first and only then in the world. The word light not only refers to moral truth, and I know our time is brief, but the word light not only refers to moral truth, but it also refers to life. If it is true that in the Greek world, the word light was closely associated with truth, it is also true that in the Greek world the word light was closely associated with life. This is why, in John’s gospel, the first chapter, the Bible says, “In Him was life and the life was the light of man.” This is why, in our verse of scripture for today, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Light was associated with life. And of course, we understand this in the physical realm. Without light, there can be no physical life. Scientists believe that even the dinosaurs became extinct because of the absence of light, that a meteor or an asteroid collided with our planet sometime between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary periods, and that created this dust canopy that rose heavenward and enveloped the earth in dust, keeping the light of the sun from reaching the surface of the planet, slowing down the . process of photosynthesis, destroying plant life and thereby herbivores and ultimately carnivores. Of course, it’s only a theory called the Cretaceous Tertiary Mass Extinction Theory, but this much is not theory. This much is true. Without light, there cannot be life.
If that is true in the physical world, it is also true in the spiritual world. If you would have eternal life, you must come into the light. If you would have life in all of its abundance, life that cannot be quenched, life that will last forever and ever, you must come into the light. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and you might have it abundantly.”
You know, this past week Barbara and I were in Washington, D.C. for the National Prayer Breakfast. It’s always an encouraging thing to see so many senators and congressmen who love Christ, both Democrats and Republicans, women and men who love Christ. And I tell you there are many. There are many Bible studies taking place today in our nation’s capitol. At that National Prayer Breakfast, there were many wonderful testimonies. Connie Mack, Senator from Florida, gave an incredible testimony of how he found life in Jesus Christ when he saw the light and how he moved from darkness to life when he asked Jesus to be His Lord and Savior.
One of the more incredible moments was near the end when a man came up to the podium and asked to speak. There was a great multitude there. This man asked to speak. He was given the microphone and he would say he just had to tell everyone that he had accepted Jesus Christ. Through the testimonies given, he had asked Jesus to be His Lord and Savior. He said, “Pray for me because I am a Jewish man.” He said, “Not only am I a Jewish man but I am a Jewish rabbi.” He said, “If my congregation were here, I would no longer have a congregation, having said what I just said. If my wife were here, perhaps I would no longer have a wife, having said what I just said.” But, you see, he had made a commitment to come into the light and to find the life of Christ. Not an easy commitment. Not easy for anybody.
You know, we are told, as we saw before, that in Christ we are the light of the world. This means that we are to take the gospel, the light of the gospel to our community, to our city, to our nation and to this world. We are entrusted with the light of the gospel for the sake of life, for the sake of eternal life. You have been entrusted with the sacred trust as you are the light of the world. You have been called to take the gospel to people around you. What an incredible call that is. I know that many of you have gone to see the movie Titanic. We’ll wrap things up with this. Many of you have gone to see the movie Titanic, an amazingly successful movie, nominated for 14 Academy Awards. I believe that ties a record. It has grossed $337 million at the American box office, and it has become the third highest grossing movie of all time, exceeded only by Star Wars and ET. Certainly, Leonardo DiCaprio has become the nation’s latest heart throb with young women all across the country. Kate Winslet has been nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress. The movie has been nominated for Best Picture.
The movie Titanic has smashed many of the old myths, the myth that a 3-hour movie can’t be a blockbuster at the box office, the myth that blockbuster movies are usually action movies and they’re driven by men. This movie, the Titanic, has been seen mostly by women. The myth that young people will not come out to see a. piece. Young people, the youth of America have come out in droves to see this movie. The myth that people will not go see a movie when they know the ending. Of course, everybody knows what happened to the Titanic, but people have come out in droves. Of course, we are told that one of the reasons for this movie’s incredible success is that there is a fascination with the whole event of the Titanic and its descent into the Atlantic on April 15, 1912. This is true in this nation. Around the world there is a fascination with what happened to this allegedly unsinkable ship.
According to the USA Today, more literature has been written about the Titanic and the sinking of the Titanic than any other events in history with the exception of the life of Jesus Christ and the Civil War. The third most written about event in history. Isn’t that incredible. According to the USA Today.
Many stories have been told about the Titanic, but I want to share a brief one with you, as we close, that perhaps you’ve never heard. It concerns a man named John Harper. John Harper was a Scotsman who loved Jesus Christ. John Harper founded the Harper Brothers Publishing Company. At home I have many books that were published by Harper Brothers. John Harper died on the Titanic that night of April 15. He went down in the Atlantic that night but not before sharing Christ with some people around him.
John Harper was the newly appointed Pastor of the Moody Bible Church in Chicago, Illinois, one of the great churches of America. He was coming across the Atlantic on the Titanic that night. A few days, a few weeks after the sinking of the ship, a Scotsman who survived the Titanic’s catastrophe, that Scotsman appeared in Hamilton, Canada and gave his testimony saying that he was adrift when the Titanic went down, clinging to some driftwood. Another man who was holding onto some driftwood near him, a man named John Harper, began to talk to him as they were freezing in the cold water of the Atlantic. John Harper asked him if he was ready to die and if he knew he was going to heaven. The man said, “No, I don’t know whether I’m going to heaven and I’m not ready to die.” John Harper told him about Jesus. Even as they were freezing in that water, he told him about Jesus and led this Scotsman to Jesus Christ. This man said, “I was John Harper’s last convert.”
I think the reason I like that little story is because John Harper was a torch bearer. He was a light in this world as long as he drew breath. You understand. I think you know that you have the same call in your life as a Christian. You’ve been called to be a torch bearer. You’ve been called to be a light in this world as long as you draw breath. I have been so called as well.
Let this be a time of commitment for us when we take seriously the truth that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, that He is the source of moral truth, and He is the source of life itself. Let us take seriously the call to walk in the light and bringing our sin and setting it openly in front of the cross that we might hunger and thirst for righteousness. Let’s take seriously the call to take the light of the gospel to the nations beginning with friends and associates who are around us every day. Let’s close with a word of prayer.