Lawrence Wright’s photograph of a sunrise draws the eye and beautifully reinforces the words of Jesus. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John’s Gospel Chapter 8 verse 12). The bitter enemies of Jesus, the party of the Pharisees, reacted to this statement by questioning the authority of Jesus. The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid." (Verse 13) Many people today would question the authority of Jesus. If you read the whole of John chapter eight you will discover Jesus’ answer to His critics, which was more than adequate.
In this article I want to concentrate on the statement itself and the Jesus’ own interpretation of it Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." We have set out our poster in such a way as to underscore the fact that Jesus commented on His own saying.
This is the second of seven “I am” statements. “I am the good shepherd” is another one. Each of these statements is a play on words. “I am” is the Old Testament Name for God Himself. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3 verses 13 & 14) In a controversial way Jesus was hinting that He was of divine origin.
The contrast between light and darkness suggests that this world is in a moral and spiritual midnight. It also suggests that Jesus was sent to change things completely. As our English Gospel is set out this saying comes immediately after the story of the woman taken in adultery. She had been caught in the act. The Jews wanted to stone her, but not the man. They ask Jesus a question to entrap Him. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do
