“Who Am I?” Part 6.2
The I AM Statements of Jesus
I Am- The Light of the World- John 8- Jesus Finds
When Jesus spoke these words, it was most likely in the darkness of the city of Jerusalem on a night of celebration. The annual Festival of Tabernacles was at hand. This was a festival the Jewish people observed for eight days in the seventh month of the calendar. It was not only a time of joyful thanksgiving for the harvest, but it was also a celebration of God’s care of their ancestors during the years of wandering in the wilderness and living in temporary dwellings. During this celebration, many lived in booths, and the priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam and pour it out on the west side of the brazen altar in the temple court. This was to remind the people how God had provided water for their ancestors during their difficult journey to Canaan.
Jesus would have used this event as an opportunity to tell the people that they could satisfy their spiritual thirst by trusting Him and receiving the gift of the Spirit: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” John 7:37-39
In addition to this activity, at night the priests would light four large candelabra in the court of the women and the glow from the light could be seen across the city. These lamps were reminders to the Jews of the Pillar of Fire by which God led Israel through the darkness. But they were also a symbol of the cloud of God’s glory that led the nation by day, a Pillar of Cloud, that hovered over the tabernacle when the people camped or moved with them during the heat of the day. In Exodus 13: 21-22 we read, “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.”
One writer said this pillar of smoke during the day and a pillar of fire at night symbolized three great things. The first was God’s Presence. In Jesus day, the cloud of God’s glory had departed from Israel. It once filled the Holy of Holies in the temple before which Jesus was standing. Christ was saying that the Lord’s presence was now among them once again. Second, it symbolized God’s Protection. God went with His people to protect them in the Old Testament. The people wandering in the Wilderness would have been two million-strong or more. The region of their wandering was known for reaching temperatures of 140 to 150 degrees during the day and freezing temperatures by night. People needed water and protection from the elements. The cloud would have spread out over the people during the day to provide cover and protection. In the same way without the special protection of Christ at the Cross, we would be consumed by the wrath of God. Just as the cloud was a protection between the people and the sun, so too is the blood of Jesus protection between His people and the burning hot wrath of God. The third thing symbolized was God’s Leading. The moving cloud was the primary means by which the people were guided by God. There were very few landmarks in the desert and even if there were, the Jews being new to the area, would not know what they were. Numbers 9: 17-23 talks about this cloud moving. “Whenever the cloud lifted about the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.”
So, What Now?
Are you following the leading of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, each day? Or do you try and get out ahead of Him, believing, at times, that maybe He is moving too slowly and that you know the best places and way to go? Will you follow His leading, His Lamp, at the pace He sets and go where He leads?
Are you in need of leading/protection/God’s presence? “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”Ps. 119:105. Now, we don’t have a pillar of fire to guide us but we do have the Word of God. Let its Light direct your paths in this dark world.
For Additional Reading: Darkness and Light as Metaphor in Scripture:
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night’. And there was evening, and there was morning –the first day.” Genesis 1:2-5
“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. II Cor. 4:6
In Him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4-5
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. “ John 3:19
“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Those who walk in the dark do not know where they are going. Put your trust in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” John 12:35-36