I Am Series 2: The Light of the World

Jesus proclaims his next “I am” statement after the Pharisees try to trap him with a difficult dilemma. They took a woman caught in adultery, probably barely covered up, scared and trembling, and brought her before him. By the law, she deserved the punishment of being stoned to death. The Pharisees saw this as an opportunity to catch Jesus in not following the Law.

Light Overcomes The Darkness

What happened next is amazing: Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground. The Pharisees and crowd waited and probably inched up toward him to see what he was writing. Suddenly he stood up. He then told them to go ahead with their plan to stone her, but that the first stone should be thrown by anyone who was without sin. Slowly the crowd dispersed as the older ones left first, realizing that the trap they set actually caught them instead. Jesus’ words exposed the darkness of sin in their hearts that led the Pharisees to create this situation. They had little regard for the woman, dragging her into the crowd, not caring about her but instead only wanting to trap Jesus.

Jesus then asked the woman “has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10 NIV). He then told her to “go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11 NIV). Jesus didn’t ignore the darkness of sin in her life, but in mercy he also didn’t condemn her. He was the only one there who was without sin and could have justified being the first to throw a stone to punish her. Instead, Jesus showed the true character of His Father and overcame the darkness of sin with the light of mercy.

Later, the crowd forms again around Jesus and he delivers his second “I am” statement:

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 8:12

The woman caught in adultery is an example of how the world is living in darkness. This darkness is evident with sin and evil displayed through hatred of social injustice, divisiveness of politics, lies and half-truths, and self-righteousness of those taking sides on issues of the day. We need light more and more in this world filled with darkness!

Light Guides Us Through The Darkness

Soon after the pandemic started in mid-2020, social injustice was put into the spotlight. Issues I had never thought about in my day-to-day life became areas I needed to learn more about: systemic racism, white fragility, critical race theory, etc. More importantly, as I talked to my brothers and sisters in the church, I saw the way these issues can divide us. I saw how they brought out hurts and struggles that we were not previously discussing. What impacted me most was hearing my brothers and sisters of color saying that they didn’t feel like the church culture gave them a safe place to discuss how they were really feeling about social injustice and their experiences with issues outside and inside the church.

I realized that I needed to search my heart. How was I really feeling about what was going on both in our society and in our fellowship? I also wrestled with my own upbringing, family culture, and experiences in different settings, both diverse and segregated. How was my past influencing how I felt about these issues? I had many discussions and worked together with others in the church to help formulate how to respond. I’m still learning about how to grow and help others through these struggles, but it’s been difficult as we see the darkness of these issues revealed.

Where can we find light to guide us through the darkness in the world around us? Jesus said “I am the light of the world”! We need Him to show us the way to live, to turn from the darkness we see in the world around us, and to follow Him in the way to true light.