It was the morning after the annual spectacular nighttime ceremony known as the Illumination of the Temple when Jesus, standing in the very place where the event had occurred only hours before, lifted his voice above the crowd and proclaimed the immortal words, "I am the light of the world" [John 8:12].
In ancient Israel, the Illumination of the Temple was the culmination of the annual Feast of Tabernacles. It took place in the Temple treasury before four massive candelabra topped with huge torches. According to Kent Hughes, the candelabra were as tall as the highest walls on the Temple, and at the top of the candelabra were mounted great bowls each of which held 65 liters of oil. There was a ladder for each candelabrum, and when evening came, the healthy young priests would carry the oil up to the great bowls and light the protruding wicks. Then huge flames would leap from the torches illuminating not only the Temple but all of Jerusalem. A modern day equivalent may perhaps be the Olympic flame but here there were twelve flames [perhaps one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel]. The Mishnah tells us that "Men of piety and good works would then dance before the candelabra with burning torches in their hands singing songs and praise and countless Levites would play on harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets as well as other instruments of music." Imagine the spectacle of fire, oil, heat, smoke, and perspiration as the priests whirled and danced before the enchanted and dazzled throng. Hughes continues by reminding us that this exotic rite celebrated the great pillar of fire [the glorious Shekinah cloud of God's presence] which led the Israelites during their sojourn in the wilderness and spread its fiery billows over the Tabernacle.
Then imagine Jesus Christ standing in the same location merely hours after the fires had been extinguished, with the great charred torches still in place, lifting his voice and bellowing "I am the light of the world!" There could scarcely be a more emphatic way to announce the supreme truth of the universe. Christ was saying in effect, "The pillar of fire that came between you and the Egyptians, the cloud that guided you by day in the wilderness and illuminated the night and enveloped the Tabernacle, the glorious cloud that filled Solomon's Temple is me! ... "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." He is everything suggested by this sublime metaphor of light -- and so much more.
This immense truth that Christ is the very light of this world must be foundational to our thinking as we consider Ephesians 5:8-14. "For you were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord." [v. 8] We are light! It has been said by a number of preachers including Dr. Gary Barnhouse, and perhaps you have even heard it said, that "When Christ was in the world, he was like the shining sun. When the sun sets, the moon comes up. The moon is the picture of believers, the Church. The Church shines, but not with its own light. It shines reflected light. At times the Church has been a full moon dazzling the world with almost daytime light ... and at other times the Church has been a thumbnail moon, and in those days very little light shown on the earth. But whether the Church is a full or thumbnail moon, whether waxing or waning, it reflects the light of Christ. Our light does not originate with us."
But our text suggests even more than reflection -- we actually become light ourselves: "For you were once darkness, but now you are the light in the Lord." Hughes states that "our light is derived from him -- not a ray of it comes from ourselves. But somehow our incorporation in Christ allows us to actually be light, however imperfect." Peter says that we "participate in the divine nature" [2 Peter 1:4]. Hughes continues that "so authentic is our participation, so real is our light, that in eternity we will actually be part of the light ourselves." Jesus said as much in his Mystery Parables, "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" [Matthew 13:43]. C.S. Lewis even seems to concur as he writes "Nature is mortal. We shall outlive her. When all the suns and nebulae have passed away, each one of you will still be alive. Nature is only the image, the symbol ... We are summoned to pass through nature beyond her to the splendor which she fitfully reflects." The heavens do reflect the glory of God. But we share in the glory of the Father in Christ -- and we shall be more glorious than the heavens. As Christians there is a glory awaiting us that involves, in some mysterious way, shining [not reflecting]. Somehow we are going to enter into the fame and approval of God, and we will be glorious beings far beyond description. The mysteries of Christ are endlessly amazing to ponder indeed!
But there is a caveat! Because we are light, we have a huge responsibility in the world. How are we who have been transferred from darkness to light to live? Paul commands us to "Live as children of light [for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth] and find out what pleases the Lord" [vv. 8-10]. In a word, Christ's light as it passes through the prisms of our lives should produce a sterling character. According to F.F. Bruce, goodness here implies generosity. Righteousness is integrity in all dealings with both God and man. And finally, truth is the absence of falsehood and deception. These are the ethics of light. When the light of Jesus is refracted through the prisms of our lives, there will be sanctifying shades of life for others to see. In this we "find out what pleases the Lord," and so do others.
Jesus spoke as much in his Sermon on the Mount, "You are the light of the world" [Matthew 5:14]. The more luminous our integrity -- our goodness, righteousness and truth -- the brighter the light. How can we shine more brightly? We must spend time alone with Jesus -- the Light -- in prayer, exposing our lives like Kodak film in the pre-digital era, to his presence so that his image, his very character, is melded into ours. If we do this, we can become spiritually like Moses when he descended Sinai after being alone with God -- his face shone with the light of God.
Nevertheless, the foundational fact that Jesus is the light of the world is glorious, but it also suggests the equally foundational but inglorious fact that the world is in darkness. The physical earth is shrouded with dark clouds, suspended in dark space. The darkness of the world is a spiritual darkness that dominates the entire world system, but even more horrible is that the inhabitants of the world love the darkness! The Apostle John tells us, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" [John 3:19]. Darkness by itself is one thing, but intentional darkness is far worse. To be subject to the darkness of the night before the dawn is one thing, but it is quite another thing to deliberately live in caves and refuse to come to the light. Why this preference for darkness? John tells us that the world loves darkness because its deeds are evil.
But it is this reality of the world's darkness that makes Jesus' pronouncement so thrilling. "You [emphatic: you alone] are the light of the world [and no one else!]." For us to say such a thing about ourselves without divine precedent and sanction would be the height of arrogance. But Jesus said it, and it is easily one of the most stupendous statements to ever fall from Christ's lips -- especially realizing what we are like when left to ourselves.
Our Lord goes further when He dramatizes the function of light by giving two examples -- a city perched on a hill and a light set in a home. First, believers are to function like a city set on a hill. Jesus says, "A city on a hill cannot be hidden" [v.14]. Consider the city of Quito in Ecuador, it is a city situated at 10,000 feet elevation and is clearly visible from beyond 75 miles away in any direction. It cannot be hidden. Yet when one is in this great city itself, the light from the tiny villages higher above it in the Andes is easily seen. Cities on hills cannot be easily hidden. Believers are like this. They are visible. There is no such thing as an invisible believer.
In addition to being like a hilltop city, Christians are like an ancient household lamp. Jesus goes on to say, "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it up on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house" [v. 15]. The point is unmistakable: the principal function of a household lamp and of a believer, is to provide illumination to all around. This simple metaphor is quite revealing in and of itself. Light reveals things as they really are. Light also promotes life ... both to plants in basements as well as to mending bones. Light is persistent ... it constantly assaults the earth and will penetrate the slightest crack. The darkest place is not safe from it if the tiniest opening appears. Light also awakens us.
Jesus, our Captain and our role model, did all these things and more by bringing spiritual light into the world. He did not make the darkness darker -- he simply made it felt. His life was such that men and women were made to feel what they could not feel before -- their sin, imperfection and impurity. Christ made possible a clearer distinction between good and evil. He eliminated the option of thinking ourselves good by comparison with others. He was and is the standard of comparison! At the same time, His perfectly beautiful life draws men and women to Him. We are lamps, and the Master of the House places us strategically so that it can shine to its best advantage. God does the placing. We are simply to shine where placed. In fact, it is in the darker and less promising places that light has its greatest effect.
Lastly, it is the facts and functions of light in our lives and world that bring us the greatest responsibility. Jesus was very explicit about this: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" [v. 16]. This is a command, not a suggestion. Jesus is basically saying, "If you are light, then shine!" He didn't give us a different option. Let us keep the emotion of this imperative before us as we consider what He says. The mode of shining, He tells us, is "good deeds." The word He uses is kalos, which carries the idea of attractiveness or beauty, rather than the more common agathos, which means good in quality. Jesus wants our light to shine through beautiful, attractive works! And why should we be given to beautiful, shining works? " ... that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." All glory to God! As David said, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory" [Psalm 115:1]. May that be our prayer as well.
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