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What did Jesus mean when He said 'I am the Light of the World'?



      

John 8:12

ESV - 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Clarify Share Report Asked July 01 2013 Mini Anonymous (via GotQuestions)

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Shea S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries
I am the Light of the world" (John 8:12) is the second of seven "I AM" declarations of Jesus, recorded only in John's gospel, that point to His unique divine identity and purpose. In declaring Hims...

July 01 2013 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Mini Mike Dumais
Know the Bible is true. That it is accurate on many levels, unforeseeable by the original authors, is further proof of it's authenticity. 

The Bible refers to God as light many times as in 1 John 1:5 " This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light.." and John 12:36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light".. or Job 24:13 “There are those who rebel against the light.." and John 1:7 "He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light,." or Matthew 17:2 "And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light."

Many of these references to light appear have another dimension to them, more than simply metaphorical or spiritual, they appear to indicate actual physical attributes of light to God as well.

We live in a scientific and technological age, it is important for apologists to understand that while the Bible is not a science text book, when it does make references that can be verified by science, archeology and secular historical texts, it is always correct.

2 Peter 3:8 - But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

So, let's test what we know from science about light and plug into the formula: 

1000 years = 1 day / square root of (1-v2 / c2).. V solves to: 299,792,457 m/s or the speed of light.

2 Peter 3:8 and Einstein's formula for Special Theory of Relativity is proof that the Bible is divinely inspired and that God's time is the universal standard of time set by the velocity of light. 

Einstein's scientific work eventually returned him to believe in God.

August 12 2014 2 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Data Doreen Lovell Evangelist and Prayer Intercessor
I am the Light of the world

Light is that which penetrates and dispels darkness. God created light (Gen. 1:3), however; a careful reading of the Scriptures reveals that the physical entity that we call “light” is actually only the second form of light in the universe, since everywhere the Bible declares that God Himself is Light.

Psalms 27:1 says ‘The Lord is my Light”. Psalm 104:2 testified of the Lord who “covered Himself” in light. In John 8:12, Yeshua (Jesus) said, “I am the light of the world”. The sun is the physical light of the world, and Yeshua (Jesus) is the Spiritual light of the world. As the light of the world, Yeshua (Jesus) exposes or brings to light sins and gives sight. In some sense God Himself is the very essence of light. Psalm 110:105 informs us that God’s Word is a light to one’s path----here the emphasis lies upon perception and understanding gained when darkness is dispelled and light revealed.

In John 3:19 it is stated that people love darkness better than light, because their deeds are evil. Such statement show that the character of light is to reveal and to provide understanding and purity, while the opposite of light (darkness) is designed to obscure, to deceive, and to harbor impurity.

In Matt 5:14, Yeshua (Jesus) said “Ye are the light of the world”; yet in John 8:12, He said “I am the Light of the world”. What appears to be a contradiction is not at all. The moon provides light for the earth just as the sun does; yet the actual source of light from both the sun and the moon is the sun---the moon reflects the light of the sun. Similarly, Yeshua (Jesus) is the source of all light; his disciples become the reflectors in a darkened world, transmitting through their lives the true light of Yeshua (Jesus).

September 12 2018 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Mini STANLEY S. DRANE
He (Jesus) lights the path ahead of us, so we can see how to live. He removes the darkness of sin from our lives.

October 01 2018 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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My picture Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church
From bible.org I learned that Christ, the eternal Word (logos, Jn 1:1), who said "Let there be light" (Gen 1:3), is Himself the "effulgence of (God's) glory" (Heb 1:3), "the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world" (Jn 1:9) (compare the statements concerning Wisdom in The Wisdom of Solomon 7:25 f and concerning Christ in Heb 1:3. As the predicted Messiah, He was to be "for alight of the Gentiles" (Isa 42:6; 49:6). His birth was the fulfillment of this prophecy (Lk 2:32). 

Jesus called Himself "the light of the world" (Jn 8:12; 9:5; 12:46); As light He was "God.... manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16 the King James Version). "The Word was God" (Jn 1:1). Jesus as logos is the eternal expression of God as a word is the expression of a thought. In the threefold essence of His being God is Life (zoe) (Jn 5:26; 6:57); God is Love (agape) (1 Jn 4:8); God is Light (phos) (1 Jn 1:5). Thus Christ, the logos, manifesting the three aspects of the Divine Nature, is Life, Love and Light, and these three are inseparable and constitute the glory which the disciples beheld in Him, "glory as of the only begotten from the Father" (Jn 1:14). 

In revealing and giving life, Christ becomes "the light of men" (Jn 1:4). God gives "the light of the knowledge of (his) glory in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 4:6), and this salvation is called "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor 4:4). Christ is thus the Teacher, Enlightener. 

Also, Sun = Jesus/the gospel Psalm 84:11; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 17:2; John 8:12; 9:5 according to Bible Universe.

If I choose to follow Jesus, the Light of Life, I'll walk in darkness no longer. I must not live to satisfy my desires. I owe the flesh nothing! I do not need to live according to its ways, so I'm abandoning its oppressive regime. 


My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires.

March 17 2019 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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