12 Then again Jesus spoke to them saying, “I Am the light of the world; the one following Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)
For those who still have issues with the deity of Christ and whether He ever claimed that or not, He made it clear to those who opposed His ministry in vivid terms that he made that claim and they “took up stones” to kill Him for that more than a few times….
For the record, he made clear, absolute “I am” statements that made it plain that He equated Himself to be the Son of God in five (5) absolute statements (John 6:20; 8:24, 28, 48; 18:5). He also made seven (7) metaphorical “I am” statements about Himself, one of which we will examine in this post, that referred back to Old Testament prophecies that clearly could be claimed only by the Messiah and the Son of God.
- I am the bread of life – John 6:35, 48, 51.
- I am the light of the world – John 8:12; 9:5.
- I am the door of the sheep – John 10:7, 9.
- I am the good shepherd – John 10:11, 14.
- I am the resurrection and the life – John 11:25.
- I am the way, the truth, and the life – John 14:6.
- I am the true vine – John 15:1.
We study these truths because when we know the truth about our Lord and Saviour, we are actually learning His good doctrines. We are doing our part in Romans 12:1-2 by renewing our minds by immersing ourselves in the Word of God. Through this, the Holy Spirit will transform us, maturing us, deepening and growing our faith. This is how we become those living sacrifices who bring glory to God.