by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
All English Bibles would have the Lord also saying in John 9:5 “I am the light of the world.” However this verse is different in that it does not use the Ἐγώεἰμι, “I AM” phrase. Here is John 9:5 in Greek:
…φῶςεἰμιτοῦκόσμου.
(…I am[the]light of the world.).
The εἰμι (I am) used in this verse does not have the emphatic force brought into the statement compared with the Ἐγώεἰμι declaration in John 8:12. Nevertheless, the narrative in chapter 9 is about the man born blind who was healed by the Lord Jesus on a Sabbath. John 8:12 narrates that the Lord emphatically says he is the light of the world. By light everything becomes visible. But for a man born blind, light cannot be discerned. So the Lord fixed that by opening the man’s eyes. It is one of the reasons why chapter 9 can be seen as part of the context of John 8:12. Light and sight come together. The Lord Jesus made it complete and whole for the man born blind. Furthermore, John 1:4-5 narrates:
ἐν αὐτῷζωὴἦν, καὶἡζωὴἦντὸφῶςτῶνἀνθρώπων·
(4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.)
καὶτὸφῶςἐντῇσκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶἡσκοτία αὐτὸοὐ κατέλαβεν.
(5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.)
With the giving of sight to the man born blind in chapter 9, his emphatic declaration in John 8:12 and these verses in the beginning of the Gospel of John, we see the intimate relationship of the verses with each other. The darkness of the man’s eyes did not overcome the light. Rather, it was the Lord’s light which overcame and took away the darkness and the man born blind from birth could now see! Truly, the power and work of God was made manifest in him.
In another writing, the Apostle John in 1John 1:5 states a variation of the theme of light:
…ὅτιὁθεὸςφῶςἐστιν καὶσκοτία ἐν αὐτῷοὐκἔστινοὐδεμία.
(…that God is light and no darkness is ever in him.)
Here in this context, John reiterates the contrast of light and darkness and that the fellowship of believers is a fellowship of light since God is light.
The Apostle Paul writes his own take on this theme of fellowship of believers in the Lord’s light and exhorts them to imitate God and live as “children of light” (in Ephesians 5:8-13):
…ἦτεγάρ ποτεσκότος, νῦνδὲφῶςἐνκυρίῳ· ὡςτέκνα φωτὸς περιπατεῖτε,ὁγὰρ καρπὸςτοῦφωτὸςἐν πάσῃἀγαθωσύνῃ καὶδικαιοσύνῃ καὶἀληθείᾳ,…τὰδὲπάνταἐλεγχόμεναὑπὸτοῦφωτὸςφανεροῦται, πᾶνγὰρτὸφανερούμενονφῶςἐστιν. . . .
(8…for you were once darkness, but now light in [the] Lord; walk as children of light,9for the fruit of the light [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth,…13but everything being exposed by the light is made visible, for anything illuminating is light…). Note that φωτὸς, “photos” is simply the genitive form of φῶς; both meaning “light.”
In another Gospel, one may compare John 8:12’s Ἐγώεἰμιτὸφῶςτοῦκόσμου· (I AM the light of the world…) with what our Lord said in the Beatitudes to his disciples and those in the crowd listening and believing in him. Matthew 5:14 records our Lord as saying: Ὑμεῖςἐστετὸφῶςτοῦκόσμου. (You are the light of the world.). The “You” in the verse is 2nd person plural. The Lord is saying in context that the light should illuminate your good works so that men may recognize them for and in the praise and glory of God. It is parallel to the theme of making people see the manifest power and work of God (through his believers).
In his last work; also the last book in the Bible, the Apostle John saw and wrote in Revelation 21:23-24 these last things:
καὶἡ πόλιςοὐχρείαν ἔχειτοῦἡλίουοὐδὲτῆςσελήνης, ἵνα φαίνωσιν αὐτῇ, ἡγὰρδόξα τοῦθεοῦἐφώτισεν αὐτήν, καὶὁλύχνος αὐτῆςτὸἀρνίον.
23And the city will not have use of the sun nor the moon, that they may shine on it, for the glory of God illumined it. And its lamp,(is) the Lamb.
καὶ περιπατήσουσιν τὰἔθνηδιὰτοῦφωτὸς αὐτῆς· καὶοἱ βασιλεῖςτῆςγῆςφέρουσιντὴνδόξαν αὐτῶνεἰς αὐτήν·
24And the nations will walk by its light. And the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.
Here, the Apostle John speaks of the future Jerusalem with LORD and the Lamb being its light and the (Gentile) nations streaming into it to worship and be led by God’s light.
The word “light” is also very much used in the Old Testament (OT). Here are some examples of these Scripture parallels, particularly in Isaiah:
Isaiah 2:5 says:
בֵּ֖ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב לְכ֥וּ וְנֵלְכָ֖ה בְּאֹ֥ור יְהוָֽה׃
(House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the LORD.)
Isaiah 9:2 says:
הָעָם֙ הַהֹלְכִ֣ים בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ רָא֖וּ אֹ֣ור גָּדֹ֑ול יֹשְׁבֵי֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ צַלְמָ֔וֶת אֹ֖ור נָגַ֥הּ עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃
(The people walking in the darkness see a great light; those dwelling in the land of deep shadow, a light shines upon them.)
Isaiah 42:6 says:
אֲנִ֧י יְהוָ֛ה קְרָאתִ֥יךָֽ בְצֶ֖דֶק וְאַחְזֵ֣ק בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ֗ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֛ לִבְרִ֥ית עָ֖ם לְאֹ֥ור גֹּויִֽם׃
(I am the LORD who calls you in righteousness. I will strengthen your hand. I will guard you and give you for a covenant to the people; for a light to the Gentiles.)
Isaiah 49:6 says:
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר נָקֵ֨ל מִֽהְיֹותְךָ֥ לִי֙ עֶ֔בֶד לְהָקִים֙ אֶת־שִׁבְטֵ֣י יַעֲקֹ֔ב [וּנְצִירֵי כ] (וּנְצוּרֵ֥י ק) יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְהָשִׁ֑יב וּנְתַתִּ֙יךָ֙ לְאֹ֣ור גֹּויִ֔ם לִֽהְיֹ֥ות יְשׁוּעָתִ֖י עַד־קְצֵ֥ה הָאָֽרֶץ׃
He says: “It is of little account for you to become for me a servant; to raise up the clans of Jacob, to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I give you for a light to the Gentiles; to be my salvation up to the ends of the earth.”
Isaiah 60:1-3 says:
ק֥וּמִי אֹ֖ורִי כִּ֣י בָ֣א אֹורֵ֑ךְ וּכְבֹ֥וד יְהוָ֖ה עָלַ֥יִךְ זָרָֽח׃
(1Arise! Shine! For your light has come. The glory of the LORD has risen upon you.)
כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֤ה הַחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ יְכַסֶּה־אֶ֔רֶץ וַעֲרָפֶ֖ל לְאֻמִּ֑ים וְעָלַ֙יִךְ֙ יִזְרַ֣ח יְהוָ֔ה וּכְבֹודֹ֖ו עָלַ֥יִךְ יֵרָאֶֽה׃
(2For behold, the darkness conceals the earth; a heavy cloud for [the] peoples. But upon you the LORD will arise and his glory upon you will be seen.)
וְהָלְכ֥וּ גֹויִ֖ם לְאֹורֵ֑ךְ וּמְלָכִ֖ים לְנֹ֥גַהּ זַרְחֵֽךְ׃
(3And Gentiles came to your light, and kings to the brightness of your shining.)
Isaiah 60:19-20says:
לֹא־יִֽהְיֶה־לָּ֨ךְ עֹ֤וד הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ לְאֹ֣ור יֹומָ֔ם וּלְנֹ֕גַהּ הַיָּרֵ֖חַ לֹא־יָאִ֣יר לָ֑ךְ וְהָיָה־לָ֤ךְ יְהוָה֙ לְאֹ֣ור עֹולָ֔ם וֵאלֹהַ֖יִךְ לְתִפְאַרְתֵּֽךְ׃
(19The sun will no more be to you for light by day. And the brightness of the moon will not shine for you. But the LORD will be to you for an everlasting light; and your God for your glory.)
לֹא־יָבֹ֥וא עֹוד֙ שִׁמְשֵׁ֔ךְ וִירֵחֵ֖ךְ לֹ֣א יֵאָסֵ֑ף כִּ֣י יְהוָ֗ה יִֽהְיֶה־לָּךְ֙ לְאֹ֣ור עֹולָ֔ם וְשָׁלְמ֖וּ יְמֵ֥י אֶבְלֵֽךְ׃
(20Your sun will no more come in. And your moon will not be withdrawn. For the LORD will be to you for an everlasting light; and the days of your mourning completed.)
It is easy to see that these verses of Isaiah 60:19-20 prophetically resonate with Revelation 21:23-24 cited above.
Even in the intertestamental period when a number of extra-Biblical manuscripts were produced by various Jewish groups, light as a metaphor for righteousness and/or the righteous is also found. Specifically, in the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), the eschatological “War Scroll” also known as “The War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness” needs to be mentioned. This is reckoned by Biblical scholars to have been written by the Essenes of Qumran. Indeed the visit to Qumran was one of the highlights in our Israel pilgrimages (see my photos below of Qumran and the Dead Sea caves where the scrolls were found and a screen grab of part of “The War Scroll” from The Digital DSS website: http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/war; which is good for further study).
In summary, John 8:12 quotes the Lord Jesus as saying:
Ἐγώεἰμιτὸφῶςτοῦκόσμου·
(I AM the light of the world.)
From the NT and OT Scriptures, the Lord Jesus asserts that He is the source of true light, the light of all men (Jews and Gentiles alike); the light that shows the way. In fact, in the beginning, he caused this very light to be.
Previously, he revealed himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman and her folk and they recognized him as Savior of the world. He is the Lord who walked on water and calmed the wind and waves, showing control over the forces of nature. He is the living bread from heaven that gives eternal life. The Lord Jesus is indeed the very light of the world. He is God incarnate with the very same attributes of God. And in the season of Advent, we remember our Lord and Savior who comes down from heaven to really be with us as a human being. Hallelujah!
We will momentarily pause our study of the “I AM” declarations of our Lord Jesus in order to reflect on Christmastide.
God bless us all.