Advent Day 10: John 8:12-20

Read John 8:12-20.

Ponder John 8:12-20

• Note any references to light and darkness in today’s passage. What do these verses reveal about light? 

• What do they teach you about darkness? 

• Understanding the light and darkness is one of the primary metaphors of salvation used throughout Scripture, what does this passage teach you about sin and salvation? 

• Meditate on Jesus’ declaration that he is the light of the world. What does that mean in your own words? 

Meditate on John 8:12-20

Settings are as important in Scripture as they are in novels or movies. So it’s important to note that when Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” he was standing in the temple during the Feast of Shelters. Also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, this festival was a time when the Jews meditated on how God had provided for them in the wilderness. God had been their salvation, providing water, manna and a pillar of fire that directed their steps. 

Each night of the festival, the Jews would light special symbolic lights in the temple to remind them of the pillar of fire. The fire had symbolized God’s presence, protection and guidance, and the lamps they lit each night were a reminder that called the Jews to remember and worship the God of their salvation. 

It’s in this setting that Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.” In the golden light of the lamps that recalled God’s provision and salvation in the wilderness, Jesus said he was the same light and the means of salvation. His light set people free from darkness and led to eternal life. 

The statement wasn’t lost on the Pharisees, who recognized the three main symbols of God’s provision in the wilderness—manna, water and light—and how Jesus had been applying them to himself. In John 6, Jesus had spoken about how God had provided manna in the wilderness, then declared, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). In earlier teaching during the Festival of Shelters in John 7, Jesus had compared water in the desert with the life-giving water of the Holy Spirit. And, finally, in John 8, Jesus compared himself with the pillar of fire that had led the Israelites in the wilderness. 

Jesus wasn’t saying, “Follow me and you’ll enjoy the good life.” Instead, he was proclaiming his divinity (he was and is God) and that he was the only means of salvation and the source of eternal life. 

The Jews may have lit the symbolic lights in the temple that night, but many of their hearts were darkened, and they could not see the truth of who Jesus is. We live in a dark world where sin is often celebrated and many hearts are darkened to the truth. He is still the light of the world—and the hope he promises is real and true. 

Live in the light today.