“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 word NEVER is a strong word. It tells me never, ever, ever…nada…zilch…ain’t gonna happen. NEVER walk in darkness…ever!!!!
Why? Because Jesus is the light…of…the world.
Because of the power of this passage I just had to do a little research in Greek as to some of the more in depth meanings of some of the words. What powerful insights that each of these words bring.
Light: (Greek – Phos) Speaks of the light of sun or day. It is a light that is NEVER quenched.
World: (Greek – Kosmos) It speaks of everything in the universe, the beauty in it, of all living people.
Jesus is the one that brings the light into this world for all of mankind so that they will not have to walk in darkness.
How do we live in this light? By following Him and only Him will we not walk in darkness…EVER
Follow: (Greek Akoloutheo) When it speaks of following Jesus, the first thing involved is a cleaving to Him in believing trust and obedience. It means to follow His leading and act according to His example
Darkness: (Greek – Skotia) This is a figurative darkness with the prevailing idea of unhappiness or ruin. This darkness represents the consequences of sin.
So to follow him means to walk in complete trust and obedience in who He is and follow His example of how we live. When we follow something or someone else it always leads us to sin which is the darkness.
The result? Having the light of life. It’s the same kind of light as before…it will never be quenched. What kind of life though?
Life: (Greek – Zoe) This is different than physical life. It’s a more noble form of the the meaning of life and expresses all of the highest and best of what Christ is and what he gives to those who believe. It’s highest state of blessedness.
To summarize: Because Christ is the unquenchable force that brings his light to all, if we walk in complete trust and obedience and live like him, we will never walk in the darkness that sin brings but have a life, greater than our physical life, filled with His complete blessings.
