SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 9/21/25
On that day, in the treasury, a real place in real time, what he says about Himself will stand as true in every place and for all time! “Jesus spoke to them,” and He now speaks the same to us: “I AM THE light of the world!” Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 8:12
TITLE: Jesus, The Light of the World
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Because Jesus is the light of life, follow him!
POINTS:
1. Jesus: “I am the light of the world.”
2. Jesus: “Follow me.”
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.
“The scene was spectacular! - Vs 20. There were 13 trumpet-shaped chests “in the treasury” (for taxes and offerings). The treasury would have been in the Court of the Women, the largest court on the Temple grounds - just inside the outer Court of the Gentiles. During the Feast of Tabernacles, four massive 75-foot fiery candle opera lamps that stood throughout the Court were ignited every night. They lit the sky with dazzling light, refracting and flashing in and from the Temple Mount, illuminating the sky above the Temple and throughout Jerusalem. With torches in hand, the people filled the court dancing and singing at the top of their lungs every night during the feast under the light of these great lamps.”
“And it is THERE, in Jerusalem, on the temple mount, in the treasury where Jesus, surveying the lamps either being extinguished or being prepared for that evening, declared: ‘I AM THE light of the world.’”
“Jesus does ask, Who do the people say that I am? Who do you say that am? However, as we learned last week, we are intentionally focusing on the “I AM” statements of Jesus. In these, we learn what is paramount in our understanding, our knowing, and our faith. What Jesus says about Himself must inform whatever we would ever confess and believe about him. What we believe about Him and who we say He is must be informed first and forever framed by HIM and by who He says He is.”
“What is Jesus saying about himself here in John 8:12? What does He mean that He is the light of the world?”
“During their exodus, the LORD led and protected the people of Israel in the wilderness with a pillar of light, day and night. The celebration of this light is happening during this Feast of Festivals - Jesus is saying, that light that led you, I AM that light!”
“‘I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’ Jesus: I am the Servant of Isaiah 49 - I AM the light… I am the light of the world! This light of Isaiah is the Messiah! Jesus: I AM THE MESSIAH!”
“With no ambiguity. No couching of words. No over-explaining. No hidden message. A Cypher is not needed. With no reading between the lines necessary. Jesus is saying, ‘I am the Promised One of Israel, shining light into this world, bringing salvation and forgiveness.’”
“As soon as Jesus declares that He is ‘the light of the world,’ he immediately announces the imperative ‘FOLLOW ME’ followed by the immediate implication: If you follow me, you ‘will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life!’”
“FOLLOW ME - Believe in Me. Place your trust… your faith in me… submit your life to me. These are some of the most gracious words that you or I could ever hear from Jesus! ‘FOLLOW ME' - These words save a man. They change the most stubborn of men. They call a man dead in sin to repentance and eternal life!”
“Biblically, this darkness IS this world ‘alienated from the life of God.’ This is a“domain of darkness”. The darkness is a realm… a kingdom… of sin and death, lost without God. WHY should you follow Jesus? Why MUST you follow Jesus? Because if you will not, you will forever have only darkness… what John Calvin simply called A VERY DARK NIGHT.”
“Without Jesus, all we have is this ‘very dark night.’ Without Jesus, we walk in darkness! AND we are not passively living in the darkness. We love the darkness and we hate the light.”
“HE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. Jesus, the light of the world, is standing right in front of you! Oh, hear the warning of verses 21-28. (Vs. 21) If you remain in the darkness, we cannot go where Jesus has gone - heaven! (Vs. 21) If you remain in darkness, you will die in your sin! BECAUSE WE ARE ALREADY DEAD IN OUR SIN.”
“Heed the fuller warning: These men were men of piety, with all of the right religious answers, all of the holy living, all their ducks appear to be in order, but open the chambers of their heart and you would find only darkness. If we do not turn from our sin in repentance and follow Jesus, we will remain in this world.”
“The cross both saves and reveals. The cross exalts Jesus AND reveals who Jesus is! You may refuse to follow Jesus, but you will know who He is! When He was lifted up on the cross, it was clear… He is the light of the world. He is the Son of God. And the day is coming that you know Him… you will bow down before Him… IF you reject the Savior, all that will remain is darkness in judgment!”
“BUT, the Cross of Jesus does not only judge! The GOOD NEWS IS THAT the Cross of Jesus brings salvation! Because Jesus is the light of the world, and if you FOLLOW JESUS, He will rescue you from the darkness: John 1:5”
“A Savior! Jesus, the Lamb of God, in an “unflinching self-sacrifice” dies for the welfare of men. Jesus’ light shines brightest from the cross like a lighthouse throwing its beams across the dark waters of human guilt and misery. Eternity dawns on us when we hear Him speak!”
“Left in the darkness, we would have only death forevermore. BUT, NOW basking in the light of Jesus, we will get LIFE FOREVERMORE.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 13:21-22
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 119:105
Ezekiel 1:4, 13, 26-28
Isaiah 49:6
John 1:4
Isaiah 9:2
Ephesians 4:18-19
Colossians 1:13
John 3:19-20
QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “Eternity dawned on His hearers while He spoke…Oh! beloved, the light of Christ comes out brightest upon the cross. Someone called it the Ancient Lighthouse of this world’s sea. So it is. This is the lighthouse that throws its beams across the dark waters of human guilt and misery, warns men of the rocks, and guides them to the haven. A Savior!”
APPLICATION:
SINNERS, FOLLOW HIM - You MUST believe in Jesus. Your situation could not be more precarious and desperate. What is your guilt? Sex? Greed? Self-worship? Idolatry? Gluttony? What is your misery and sorrow? Death has brought you loss. Bitterness drains your life. Regret has you bowed down in darkness. You have Jesus, the light of the world, shining into all of it! Follow Jesus and you will be rescued from the darkness, and you will have Him, and He will pull you out and into everlasting life!
SAINTS, FOLLOW HIM - marvel that you have been rescued from the darkness - the light of Christ has shone on you! 1 Peter 2:9–10 “…proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” We have the joy, in following Jesus, of marveling in Him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light!
SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Your Words Are Wonderful (Psalm 119)
Praise His Name (Psalm 148)
Our Song From Age To Age
Christ Our Treasure
As You Go
NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I am the Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25
THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:
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