CHRIST AND OUR DARKNESS

"I AM the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life." — St. John viii. 12.

Probably nothing in all nature has been more constantly used to express spiritual ideas than light This is perhaps owing to the fact that light, besides being a great blessing in itself, is the indispensable preliminary to a great many others. "Let there be light" is the first word spoken on the day of Creation; not till that has been achieved can anything else take shape or form. Light is so indispensable to our work, so closely associated with our knowledge, so necessary to our happiness, that even when we use the word figuratively we forget that it is a figure. Darkness becomes inevitably associated with ignorance, sorrow, sin; light with knowledge, truth, happiness. All great religions, notably that of ancient Persia, have symbolised the conflict of good and evil as a strife between the powers of light and those of darkness. In the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we find light employed to signify the highest of blessings not only in the natural but in the spiritual world. On its very last page is the promise "There shall be no night there."

It is interesting to trace what Scripture says of light in relation to God Himself. At first it might seem that there is little light about Him; He dwells in the thick darkness and makes the clouds His chariot. Gradually, however, we are made to see that the darkness is not in Himself, but in men’s ' conceptions of Him. More and more of His nature is unfolded, more and more of His light revealed. Till at last we reach the emphatic testimony of St. John — "God is ' light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

The coming of the Messiah was more than once referred to as a light to illumine the world’s darkness. Isaiah had said, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." Zacharias, in the "Benedictus, speaks of Him as "the Dayspring from on high," sent "to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." St. John says, "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." These and other sayings prepare us for the gracious yet lofty claim which our Lord Himself makes here — "I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life."

The Occasion.

The circumstances under which the words were spoken are worthy of special notice. Scholars are fairly well agreed that the passage, St. John vii. 53-viii. 11, immediately preceding this verse, and containing the account of the woman taken in adultery, is an interpolation, and ought not to stand where it does. This makes our text immediately follow what is said in the previous chapter as to the events which happened at the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was a sort of national harvest-home, in which the people dwelt in booths to remind them of those their fathers had dwelt in when they first came out of Egypt. Two customs, observed at this festival, merit our attention in view of our Lord’s words. In one of them the element used was water. The people went each morning, after sacrifice, to the fountain of Siloam. The priest filled a golden pitcher from the fountain, and brought it back amid general manifestations of rejoicing, after which it was poured out beside the altar of burnt offering. In the other ceremony the symbol was fire, or light. On the evenings of the festival the temple-courts were illuminated by four great candelabra erected in the court of the women. There a sort of sacred dance was held, to the accompaniment of singing and playing on instruments. Both of these strange ceremonies were full of significance, as reminding the people of events which had occurred in the wilderness. The two chief terrors of the desert are its waterlessness and its pathlessness. God had supplied both of these wants. He had given His people water from the smitten rock, and He had given them a pillar of fire to guide them on their way. The water from the rock, then, was commemorated at the Feast of Tabernacles by the pouring out of water from the golden pitcher, while the pillar of fire was recalled by the lighting of the great lamps. In speaking of Himself and His influence, our Lord makes use of both symbols. Referring to the water, He says, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink," and adds, "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his bosom shall flow rivers of living water." That is, If you come to Me, not only will your own spiritual thirst be quenched, but you will be the means, through Me, of satisfying the spiritual thirst of other men. Then, referring to the light. He says, "I am the Light of the world," and adds, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life." That is, If you come to Me, not only will your own spiritual darkness be enlightened, but you will have within yourself, through Me, that which will make you in turn a light to yourself and others. From the simple elements of water and light, and from the associations which these called up in the hearts of the people, our Lord thus draws two lessons about His own work for and through men. He gives life to the thirsty and light to the darkened.

The figures are both suggestive, and the difference between them is no less striking than their resemblance. Water and light satisfy two great human needs, but they satisfy" them in different ways. Water cannot affect a man’s thirst till he comes and drinks it Light, on the contrary, may flash on a multitude all at once, and with no conscious effort on their part. The figure of drinking the living water, then, is expressive of a, man’s relation to Christ at a more advanced stage. But the shining of the light is better adapted to illustrate the first contact of Christ with men — a contact universal and involuntary on their part. No doubt the second part of the sentence is in the singular — "he that followeth Me." But the first part is of universal application. It is not, I am the Light of this man, or of that man, but "I am the Light of the world."

Christ the Light.

In this saying our Lord makes two separate statements. He is at once the Light of the world and the Light of life. First, He is the Light for all — good and bad, friends and enemies, followers and non-followers. Secondly, and in a fuller though narrower sense, He is the Light for a certain number — those who follow Him, believe in Him, possess Him. To these He is the Light of life — a light shining within them as a source of vitality and spiritual influence.

1. The Light of the World.

The character of Christ's influence — light. — Just because Jesus is to become so much more to men than this, He must begin by being this and no more. Light, as we saw at the outset, is the indispensable preliminary to everything else. Its function is not so much to make things different, as to show them in a new and true aspect. We must beware of unduly elaborating the metaphor of light, or of reading into it meanings other than our Lord intended. There was no thought in His mind, for example, of the healing and cleansing properties which light is now known to possess. He used the word in the simple sense of revelation and illumination. "Whatsoever doth make manifest," says St. Paul, "is light." It is in this sense that we apply the word to Christ. Compare the Old Testament with the New, and you find the Old like a dark room irradiated from time to time with intermittent flashes, the New like a room full of light, with only here and there a dark corner. The difference lies in the fact that the New, unlike the Old, is written in the full light of Christ. He sheds new light on everything. He reveals God, showing us His truth, wisdom, and power, and especially His fatherly and forgiving love. He reveals Him self, showing us in word and deed the nature and purpose of His mission to the world. He reveals sin, and its hues blacken as they are brought into the radiance of His light. He reveals the world, and tells us of the enemies we must meet and conquer, and of our brothers and our duties toward them. On all subjects of the deepest human interest — on the kingdom of God, on man’s character and chief end, on service and sacrifice — He informs and enlightens us. When He speaks on these things He gets to the heart of them. He brushes aside the non-essential and irrelevant, and takes us to the root of the matter. Whatever He touches He illumines. Nor can we confine the name "light" to His teaching alone. Even His significant words here were shortly followed by as significant an act — the restoration of sight to the blind. In His whole personality, especially as interpreted in His great sacrifice for man, there shines forth a Light greater than any mere words can express — a Light that may be rejected but cannot be ignored.

From the power of light to reveal comes its power to search, to test, to judge. It throws good and evil into strong contrast Even if Christ did nothing else, we should value Him for the searchlight He throws upon the world. Men must become better or worse after having known Christ. "His appearing separates the lovers of the day from the lovers of the night, mingled till then in the mass of mankind." He Himself spoke of the light as a judge between good and evil. "Light," He said, "is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." We see examples of this in the effect which Christ produced on different people. The Pharisee and hypocrite were repelled by Him because He reproved their deeds and showed them in their true colours. On the other hand, those who *‘did the truth,’’ with whatever of imperfection and frailty, came to the light. If Christ is the great Unifier, He is first the great Separator. With His revelation of the beauty of holiness Comes His revelation of the ugliness of evil.

The scope of Christ's influence — the world. — His appeal is world-wide; He makes no distinctions; He offers Himself to all. His gospel is, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." His claim is, "I am the Light of the world'' His commission is, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Christianity, from its very nature, cannot take its place as a local or partial religion. It rests on the universal forgiving love of God as shown forth in Jesus Christ, and accordingly makes its appeal to the world. There is that in Christianity which can appeal to the educated and to the ignorant, to the great and to the humble, to the mind of the East and the mind of the West. Christ speaks to men as men, caring little for what they have, much for what they are. Look at the history of Christianity, and you find it a faith that has been responded to by the genius of peoples so widely different as the Jew, the Greek, the Roman, the Teuton, the Celt. History is the basis of prophecy, and prophecy is already being fulfilled. We are seeing today how the Light of the world can shine over the far Eastern lands — how He has a message for India and Africa, for China and Japan. We are giving these nations many things. We are giving them the fruits of our inventive genius; we are giving them much that has enriched Western life and added to our material well-being. We are also giving them, it is to be feared, things that will profit them less. It has been said by competent observers that "when an Eastern and a Western nation infringe upon each other, the contact in some mysterious way tends to bring out the worst there is in each." Surely, then, it is of all the greater importance that we should not fail to give them, with whatever else, that which is the best of all — the Light of the world. We must be witnesses of Him "unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

2. The Light of Life.

A guiding Light. — So for we have considered our Lord as the Light of all who see Him — good and bad, saints and sinners. But His work does not end there. To some He is the Light in a fuller sense. "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness." Light can guide as well as reveal. Tennyson has told us, in "Merlin and the Gleam," of the spirit of poetry which showed him his power, and bade him follow a pure and high ideal, in dark as in bright hours.

The light retreated,

The landskip darken’d,

The melody deaden’d,

The Master whisper’d,

Follow the gleam,

"Follow the gleam" is the message of Christ also. We have seen how He had in His mind the guiding pillar in the wilderness — a light amid surrounding darkness. This same guiding office of light is recognised by the Psalmist — "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." After the same manner, too, the Wise Men were led on their way to Bethlehem by the Star. In the Pilgrim's Progress Evangelist asks Christian if he can see the wicket gate, and he answers, "No." He then asks, "Do you see yonder shining light?" and on receiving the answer, "I think I do," adds, "Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shalt thou see the gate." So, too, it was with Newman when he sang —

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’ encircling gloom.

                   Lead Thou me on!

To those that follow Him, Christ is a guiding Light. He leads us on from less to more; He warns us of hidden dangers; He sheds radiance on our path. "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness."

An indwelling Light. — The final words, "shall have the Light of life," transcend even the figure of a guiding Light. Indeed, we need not unduly press the idea of following; elsewhere He speaks of coming to the light, believing in the light, abiding in the light. And here He seems to suggest that His followers will have an experience transcending that of the people of Israel. They had but an external means of knowing which way they were to go. His disciples, on the other hand, are to have a light within them, enabling them to choose what is right, and to walk as children of light. To have the Light of life implies that it is not merely in front but within. As Milton puts the thought —

He that has light within his own clear breast

May sit i’ the centre, and enjoy bright day;

But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts

Benighted walks under the mid-day sun;

Himself is his own dungeon.

George Fox and the early Quakers insisted strongly on this doctrine of the "inner light." They believed that that same light which revealed and made manifest would, if yielded to, lead out of sin to life. The doctrine is profoundly true. As St. John beautifully shows in his first Epistle, walking in the light and abiding in the light are connected at once with fellowship with God and love of our fellow-men. The man who obeys the light becomes himself luminous. The same Jesus who said, "I am the Light of the world," said also, "Ye are the light of the world" — a light which in its turn is meant to reveal and to guide and to inspire.

Heaven doth with us as we with torches do;

Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues

Did not go forth of us, ’twere all alike

As if we had them not

And so the process goes on, each lighted torch lighting another in turn. In all ages and in all nations some men have been lights in the world. They have shone before men, and given light to them, passing on the radiance received from Him whose life is the Light of men. Every Christian can shine. The influence of even the humblest life may be incalculable.

How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

Thus, though the image of light seem at first to suggest a very elementary relation between Christ and ourselves, it may carry us farther than we think. Let us not be satisfied with yielding homage to Him as the Light of the world. Let each of us make Him the Light for his or her individual soul. To such He will become not merely a light above, like the sun in the heavens; nor even a light in front, like a guiding lamp on a winter’s night; but a light within. "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord."