Studies
in John's Gospel -- Part 14
The Light of the
World
By: A.J. Higgins, M.D.
Passage:
John
9
Many sincere, well
intentioned people look upon Christians simply as
individuals who have overestimated the claims of Christ.
With a benevolent condescending manner, they are
willing to admit Christ to the higher echelon of
historical figures. With little hesitation they
would place Him among the great leaders and statesmen of
history. They would never attempt to deny His impact
upon the world today.
The Christian however
finds great difficulty in assigning a niche in history
to Christ. The very statements of the Bible seem to
prohibit any such practice. If we are to understand
words for what they are worth, and we must; if words
were given to convey truth, and they were; how then can
we hear the Lord Jesus say, "I am the light of the
world" and suppose that He is claiming anything
less than peerless value? The very expression from any
living statesman would be ludicrous. Can you imagine a
Churchill, Roosevelt, Kennedy or other western leader
claiming such importance? No man can ever hope to be a
light to more than a few followers, and that perhaps
only for a brief time.
Here
however is a man Who stepped into history from eternity
and claims to be the "true light," John 1:9;
"the light of the world," John 8:12, that
assures men of the
Here is a man Who
stepped into history from eternity and claims to be the
"true light..."
light of life; the light
that every man can follow for all time, John 12:46.
There can be no neutralizing of His claims. He is either
what He claimed to be or not.
In
John 9, we encounter a blind man who receives his sight
from the Lord Jesus Christ. As is often the case
in our Bibles, God uses a miracle in the natural sphere
to teach a deeper spiritual lesson. Make no
mistake about the reality of the miracle. Its main
purpose, however, resides in the spiritual lesson taught
from it. The chapter closes with religious leaders
questioning their spiritual sight. Bracketed
between the natural and spiritual blindness is the clear
bold statement of the Lord Jesus: "I am the light
of the world" (vs. 5).
Consider the implication of His words. If He is
the light of the world, then every other light is of
value only to the degree that it reflects what He has
said. It is not to a religion, church, philosophy, or
movement that I can turn for truth, but a person who in
His life has revealed reality. If He is the light
of life, then true life can only be found in
True life can only be
found in His life.
His light. Every life
which shrinks from the light, cowering in selfishness or
stubbornness, never knows true life.
The
chapter closes with men who refused to own His light.
The great question was their sin. They refused to
own that before God they were sinners in need of
redemption. They professed "perfect vision" in
spiritual matters. Christ said, "you say ‘we
see’, therefore your sin remains" (vs. 41).
All
of us pride ourselves in insight, wisdom, a sense of
what is right. Some may call it common sense. Ask
a man about eternal life and the way to heaven and he
will gladly tell you what he thinks. But this is just
the problem. The Lord Jesus is telling us all that
what we think is all of equal value. It is worth
nothing. We must learn spiritual values from Him.
His
light revealed the issue of sin. Men have coined
many terms and names to avoid the stigma of the word
sin. Christ dragged it from its concealed corner and
brought it out into the open. His light revealed that
men must own their helplessness before a Holy God, the
justice of God’s judgment on their sin. His
light revealed that only by His atoning death on Calvary
can men be made right with God.
Every
life not brought into His light is wasted. Every
thought and opinion not subjected to His light is vain.
Every hope for eternity not built upon His light
is doomed to destruction.
May
every reader soberly ponder the implication of the
claims of Christ. They can be submitted to or
refused, but they cannot be refuted.
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