Verse of the Day 11/19

Through the Bible - Ezekiel 22-24, James 4

 

Good morning,

 

For today's verse we'll go to John 8 where Jesus makes the statement -  "I AM the light of the world".

 

John MacArthur points out that the backdrop for this is the celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacles.  Light was relevant to the situation.  The event celebrated the Israelites deliverance out of the desert and into the promised land.  Ceremonies included the daily pouring out of water by day and a lamp lighting ceremony at night.  In the courtyard where Jesus was speaking, they would light four large candelabras which directed the light upwards, lighting the sky like a searchlight.  This symbolized the pillar of fire by which God had guided Israel those forty years in the desert.

 

It was here that Jesus said:

John 8:12 (New King James Version) Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The Jews were no longer to follow the cloud (by day) or the pillar of fire by night, they were to follow Jesus, the light of the world.

John MacArthur writes, "Jesus Christ alone brings the light of salvation to a sin cursed world.  To the darkness of falsehood He is the light of truth; to the darkness of ignorance He is the light of wisdom; to the darkness of sin He is the light of holiness; to the darkness of sorrow He is the light of joy; to the darkness of death He is the light of life."

All of us come to a fork in the road at some point in our lives where we must decide whether we will follow the light of light of life or the path that leads to spiritual darkness.  May the following words from "Marvelous Light" describe our choice.

 

Into marvelous light I'm running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way

My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. now I'm free!

 

John 8:32 (New King James Version) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

John 8:12-20 (New Living Translation)

Jesus, the Light of the World

 ¹² Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

 ¹³ The Pharisees replied, "You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid."

 ¹⁴ Jesus told them, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me. ¹⁵ You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. ¹⁶ And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷ Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. ¹⁸ I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other."

 ¹⁹ "Where is your father?" they asked.

   Jesus answered, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father." ²⁰ Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.