I am the Light of the World

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). This is what Jesus asserts to the Pharisees after he defended the adulterous woman they had deemed worthy of being stoned. What does he mean by the expression “light of the world” ? Let us discover in the Word of God what this Word of Jesus and other biblical passages in the New Testament implies that testify that Jesus is the light of life.

What does “being the light of the world” mean?

Illuminating

Without light, there is no life. We see it in the first chapter of the book of Genesis where “God said: “Let there be light. And there was light.” (Genesis 1:3), after which God began the work of creation of heaven and earth. Similarly, as men, we need light to work effectively and see if what we are doing is good or bad. John’s gospel testifies that Jesus is “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9)

Leading by example

In the rest of the verse, Jesus says: “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness...” (John 8:12) To be the light is therefore to be the model, the person to follow, to show the way. Jesus promises to those who take him as an example in this world that they will not be defeated by the darkness of this world.

Give life

This verse ends with a promise: “(...) but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) To be the light is also to be able to communicate life to those who follow us. When we believe that Jesus is the light of the world, he communicates the true life to us. What is this life? It is eternal life, that is, life in communion with God forever.

Biblical passages presenting Jesus as the light of world

John 1

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. (John 1:4-9)

John 3

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:18-19)

John 8

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

John 9

“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)

2 Corinthians 4

“For God who said: “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Ephesians 5

“This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)

You are the light of the world

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said to those listening: “you are the light of the world. (...)” (Matthew 4:4). Thus, Jesus says that all those who listen to him and believe in his word are the light of the world. The Apostle Paul insists on this point by reminding Christians: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) our part today is therefore to believe in the words of Jesus and to put them into practice so that our light shines in this world of darkness.