In the verses we read we saw the claim that Jesus is the light of the world. Weirdly, he’s not really asked about that. Those listening just start asking him about who he is and why they should listen to him.
The reason for that is that for him to say that Jesus is the light of the world is to make an enormous claim – a claim even bigger than the people listening to him realised.
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church Wirral in June 2025. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
See the light of the world (12)
You may have noticed that I’ve skipped John 7:53-8:11.
We’ll look into that in our afternoon service, but for now I’ll say two things:
- There’s no reason to doubt that it is truly Scripture.
- But for all sorts of reasons, it shouldn’t be here at this point in John’s gospel.
That’s not heresy! We’ll look more into that later.
So as you look at the page in your Bible, imagine those verses were somewhere else.
Jesus is still at the Feast of Shelters (or Tabernacles, or Booths) in Jerusalem. We saw last time: Read John 7:37-38. The Feast of Shelters was joyous, celebrating God’s provisions in another year’s harvest.
And because of a prophecy at the end of the book of Zechariah, water and light were a huge part of the festival. Read Zechariah 14:6-9, 16.
So there would be fiery torches lighting up the area, looking forward to a day when there was “light at evening”. And they’d carry water jars in procession in the temple looking forward to that “living water” flowing out. So when Jesus commanded everyone to go to him for “living water”, he was owning the feast in a huge way. But the Pharisees ridiculed the idea. Read John 7:52.
Light from Galilee
But maybe they should have expected more from Galilee. Read Isaiah 9:1-2, 6.
So now imagine ancient Jerusalem, with no street lights, lit with the glow of light coming from the temple on the hill, shedding light to be seen from miles around.
And up steps Jesus, with ancient history and prophecy in the smoke-filled air: Read John 8:12.
He is the great light dawned on those living in the land of darkness (Isaiah 9). He is King over the whole earth (Zechariah 14). And the light he gives is the light of life (John 1), just as he sends the living waters of the Holy Spirit into those he loves.
In saying that Jesus is the light of the world, you can rejoice in all the fullness of meaning it brings:
- If your life feels like you’re heading for shipwreck, Jesus is a lighthouse leading to safety: He is the hope of security, and the very refuge you’re hoping for.
- When your life is a stream of information coming at you and you don’t know who to trust, Jesus is light: He is truth. He gives understanding rather than darkness. When you see the world truly – including your own sin and the sins of others – it’s like a light going on.
Suddenly things make sense when you see them as Jesus does. - I’ve got seedlings and young plants in the greenhouse, and they strain towards the sun. The sun gives life to all living things; Christ is the light you are drawn to, and the light that gives you life.
- When things go wrong or people do bad things, we often speak of ‘dark days’. But Jesus is the light of the world. There is no darkness in him. No shadow.
He is the purity and life and hope that everyone craves, and he invites you to go to him for light and life, for hope and goodness. See the light of the world and go to him.
Walk in his light towards him; walk in his ways, illuminated by his love and glory, rejoicing that he has called you.
Know Jesus, Know God (13-20)
Unbelief can be a stubborn thing. Read John 8:12-13.
They don’t engage with his claim to be the light of the world. Basically, they just say, “Anyone can talk big. You’ve no proof.” It’s true that people can make all sorts of claims. “There’s a guy works down the chip-shop swears he’s Elvis.”
So Jesus replies: Read John 8:14-15.
Jesus is the eternal Son of God, sent from heaven, the light of the world: He knows what he’s talking about. He understands both the physical and the spiritual realms because he holds them in his divine will. But them? They “judge by human standards” (literally, “by flesh”). They try to make judgments about amazing things only by what they can see.
Modern society is no different, of course.
- Science is a God-given gift for us to understand the world around us. It’s beautiful, because God created things beautifully. But too often science is seen as a closed system; it won’t allow for anything that can’t be analysed or explained under the sun. It refuses to acknowledge the supernatural, judging by human standards things beyond human sight.
- Again, our culture’s obsession with social media and imagery drives all sorts of over-sexualised morality, depression caused by unrealistic comparisons, and anxieties over identity. All because everything is judged by what you can see.
So when Jesus says, “I judge no-one” he means he judges no-one the way the Pharisees did: On surface looks alone. Because Jesus most certainly does judge: He judges you.
Divine Judgement
And his judgment is perfect because of who he is. Read John 8:16-18.
Back in John 5:22-23, Jesus said, “The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all people may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.”
He went on, in John 5:36, “These very works I am doing testify about me that the Father has sent me.”
You can pick any of his miraculous signs: They all say the same thing: Jesus is the Son of God. If you still doubt, take a look at the evidence for his resurrection: It’s the moment that changed everything. It proved life after death, a supernatural reality, Jesus is the light of the world. And you must step into his light.
At last they ask him an important question: Read John 8:19-20.
They’re really not getting it, not stepping into the light. As they stand in the Temple courts in Jerusalem, where God dwelt among his people behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place in the Temple, they ask, “Where is your Father?” No wonder Jesus said they knew neither Jesus nor the Father.
But to say, “If you knew me, you would also know my Father” is a profound statement.
Divine revelation
Jesus is God. But God is not Jesus alone.
God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three are distinct persons but inseparably divine, utterly God. There is one God.
- John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Distinct persons, inseparably divine.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The eternal divine Son, the Word, is Jesus. Jesus is God.
The persons of the Trinity can’t be greater or less than each other, or else they would not be God; it’s inconceivable that God should have any potential to be better in any way. So if you could see the Son, you would see the Father. Heb 1:1 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature.
To be a Christian is to be brought into the person of God. As you repent of your sin and cry out to God for forgiveness, you are forgiven. More, you’re adopted by God; you become his child. The Holy Spirit of God dwells in you. You have union with Christ: You are in him, and he is in you.
So you are incorporated into the life of the Son, and you know him. And because he is in the Father and the Father is in him, you know the Father. You can’t see the Father; he is not part of his creation. Light can’t bounce of him, as it were. But as you look to Jesus, you look to the Father.
So you can pray to the Son, to Jesus. Worship him. Sing to him. He walks with you and strengthens you daily with his supernatural aid, his grace, by the Holy Spirit in you.
And he would have you pray to the Father – to his Father. With reverence, delight, intimacy.
Remember that prayer is time with God; and time with God is gift you were created to enjoy!
Know Jesus, know God. But there’s an obvious flip side:
No Jesus, No God (21-30)
Read John 8:21-24. When he says, “you will look for me, and you will die in your sin” it’s a travesty.
Notice he doesn’t say “sins” at that point, but “sin.” They will continue to look for the Messiah, the promised saviour from the Hebrew Scriptures. But their sin is that they rejected him when he did come. Don’t die in your sin by rejecting Jesus who has come to you today.
So v24’s “if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins” is a helpful warning:
- In Isaiah 41:4, God said “I am the LORD, the first and with the last—I am he.”
- Again, in Isaiah 43:10, “…know and believe me and understand that I am he”.
- That phrase “I am he” appears multiple times in Isaiah 40-55, each time speaking of God, the LORD.
And Jesus is owning the phrase for himself: If you don’t believe that he is God, you will die in your sins (paraphrasing v24). No Jesus, no God.
Someone said to me recently that they believed in God, but they weren’t sure about Jesus. No Jesus, no God. He is the eternal Son.
He calls you to go to him for eternal life, for forgiveness of sin, for streams of living water. Do you think you can somehow know God, but not know Jesus, when Jesus is God? Don’t die in your sin: Go to God for forgiveness now.
Who is Jesus?
Again, the Pharisees asked a crucial question: Read John 78:25-26.
He is the Son of God, sent by the Father to save you. His identity and mission are revealed clearly to you. And his mission remains the same: God has sent a saviour into the world to save sinners like you. So Jesus is still the light of the world right now.
That’s why it’s crucial for us as a church to focus on making Christ known: We preach Christ, because he is God and there is no other name under heaven by which you may be saved.
But if you’re a Christian, in union with Christ, incorporated into his life, then you’re to shine. You’re to be salt and light.
- Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
- Philippians 2:14-16 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.
So read John 8:27-30. “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he.” In his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to glory, you will see that he is God who came to save you. He is the only saviour of the world, the light and refuge you seek.
Summary
Jesus is the light of the world, light in the darkness, light of truth and hope and life. He is the only such light, because he is God.
Know Jesus, know God. If you wish to know God in any way, you must look first to Jesus. He is the representation and communication of the Father to you, sent so that you can know God. Pray to Jesus; pray to the Father. Know him.
And heed the warning: No Jesus, no God. There is no coming to God without Jesus. You can’t possibly know God without knowing him in Christ.
If you deny that Christ is God, you can’t know God, and you will die in your sins, separate from the light and life of men forever.
Read John 7:37-38, 8:12.