Scripture:

John 8:12　Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

I. The darkness of human life:

  1. Men were born into darkness.
  2. Men do not know human life, cannot distinguish right from wrong, and do not understand themselves. Furthermore, they do not know God. These few points prove that men are in darkness. John 8:1-11 illustrates how the Pharisees did not understand themselves. They themselves were the sinners, yet they brought a female sinner to the Lord Jesus. Eventually, the Lord exposed their hidden condition. They were fully put to shame. They were going to judge others, but eventually, they were judged. Then the Lord continued to say, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Those Pharisees did not know the Lord. They did not follow the Lord. So they were in darkness. They only saw others committing sins but failed to see that they themselves were sinners.
  3. The reason men are in darkness is that men have sins and sins bring in death. They who are in death are in darkness.

II. The Lord is the light of men:

  1. Darkness needs light. Nothing else can dispel darkness. When light comes, darkness disappears.
  2. Men’s darkness issues from men’s death. Those in death are in darkness.
  3. The Lord can deliver men from sins and cause them to obtain His life. This life dispels men’s darkness as well as their death. Therefore, this life is the light of life. Chapter 8 of John reveals to us how the Lord can forgive sins and give both light and life to men. Only they who have life have feeling. To have feeling is to be in the light. Some committed sins without any feeling. One day they received the life and were brought into the light. Therefore, this life is the light of men.

III.  Follow the Lord:

  1. The Lord is the light of life. If we want to have the real shining, we have to follow Him.
  2. The first step in following the Lord is to receive the Lord as Savior, as life, and as the light of life.
  3. The second step in following the Lord is to obey Him. As soon as you receive Him, He comes right into you. Then you will start to have feeling. From this time on you must walk by obeying this inner feeling. “He who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (v. 12).