Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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Have you ever heard the phrase, "Jesus is the light of the world"? As with so many of the catch-phrases that Christians use, it immediately sounds reverential and wise, but when examined by the heart infused with the knowledge of God, it fails to measure up to the standard of truth that Jesus himself set.
According to Jesus, he was the light of the world only as long as he was here among us in the flesh. He said to his disciples, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (Jn. 9:5). When Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1), he departed from earth; therefore, since he is no longer living on earth, by his own testimony, he is no longer the light of the world. Do you dare to believe what your Lord said about himself, or do you fear the reaction of Christians if you trust him?
To say that Jesus is no longer the light of the world is not to say that the world has no light. On the contrary, Jesus told his followers that they were to be the light of the world, and he exhorted them not to be ashamed to shine. So, according to Jesus, whoever follows him and is still living on this earth is the light of the world. Are you doing your job? Does your light shine? Jesus did not hide his light under a bushel basket while he was here, and he told his disciples not to do so, either. He told them, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Mt. 5:16).
But this brings us the question, "How do we become the light of the world?" We are not born into this world as lights for God. We are all born in sin; we all start out in darkness. As Paul told the saints at Rome, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God". How, then, do we become the light of the world, as Jesus was?
The key to the correct answer is found in John 1:4. Speaking of Jesus, John wrote, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men." The life that the Father gave to the Son (Jn. 5:26) was what made Jesus the light of the world while he was here. Believe this! God's life in Jesus was the light of the world! Without that life from God, Jesus would not have been the light of the world even while he was here! And it is that same holy life that Jesus gives to others that makes them the light of the world in his stead.
Jesus told his disciples that just as he stayed alive only by the will of God, so they would depend upon him for their lives (Jn. 6:57). The power of life and death over Jesus is in the Father's hands; the power of life and death over everyone else is in the hands of the Son. "All power" declared Jesus, "is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Mt. 28:18).
Paul taught the saints that "the Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Rom. 8), and Jesus explained to his puzzled disciples, "the Spirit makes alive" (Jn. 6). So, if the Spirit is life, as Paul said, and if the Spirit makes us alive, as Jesus said, then we can read John 1:4 thus: "In him was God's Spirit, and the Spirit was the light of men." I have told you many times before that without the holy Ghost, no man belongs to God's family. This helps us see why that is true. Without the Spirit, we are walking dead men; we have no real life. And without life, we cannot be the light of the world because it is God's life that makes men shine. John said it: "The life was the light of men."
No, my friend, Jesus is no longer the light of the world. He shined while he was here, but now he has delegated the responsibility of being the light of the world to his called out people. If we fail to walk in the Spirit, the world will have no light. Jesus did the will of God while in "human form"; now we are here, as he once was, commanded to shine as guiding lights for men "in Christ's stead". The saints have work to do, and none of it can be done without the life of God, the holy Ghost, leading the way.
Oh, it may impress men to see those who claim to be servants of Jesus point toward heaven and to hear them proclaim solemnly that "Jesus is the light of the world." But if we look up when those fingers are pointed into heaven, we may see Jesus looking down and pointing his finger back at us. "I did my part", he may say. "Now, it is your turn, not me, you." Jesus is not so easily impressed, as men are, with Christianity's polished catch-phrases; they sound holy to unskilled ears, but the heart of Jesus rejects them when they deny the most basic truths of his gospel.
Now, go on your way today. Be filled with God's life and shine for Jesus in the midst of this dark and lost generation. It's your turn.