On Jesus as the Light of the World during the Feast of Tabernacles

On Jesus as the Light of the World During the Feast of Tabernacles.

“I AM the Light of the World! Whoever follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life!” (John 8:12).

I Am The Light Of This World – YouTube

I AM: the outlandish claim of Jesus to be co-equal to the eternal God in heaven; the personal Name of Yahweh given to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14; an abbreviated version of the Great I AM, Yahweh, I AM WHO I AM, I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; the scandalous self-declaration of Jesus that He has eternal kinship with the God of Israel; the claim of Jesus that He was divine, and not merely a super-prophet, master teacher, or faith healer; the bombshell self-revelation that He is at one with the Father; an important part of Jesus’ self-identity that He used 23 times in the Gospel of John; the verbal name tag that Jesus liked to wear in both public and private settings.

I am like bread, and light, and a door, and a good shepherd, and the resurrected life, and the way to living truth, and the true vine. Yes, Jesus loved to boldly claim His divinity with another reference to Yahweh. He used this I AM formula a total of 23 times in the Gospel of John, including these seven homespun metaphors: I AM the Bread of Life (6:35); the Light of the World (8:12); the Door (10:7,9); the Good Shepherd (10:14); the Resurrection and the Life (11:25); the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6); and the True Vine (15:1). In these statements, every time Jesus says “I AM” to the people, He is referring to His equality to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Moses, of Creation. It’s fascinating that Jesus loved using these simple, commonplace metaphors to unpack who He is and what He is here to do. Nothing fancy, abstract, erudite. It’s almost as if He is saying to the people, “Okay, okay, I know the I AM Name is a bit obscure, elusive and mysterious. You could be forgiven for wondering… I AM what? God, fill in the blanks, please. You are what, exactly?” Jesus is continuing the revelation of God by filling in the blanks a bit more, so God’s Name is not quite so elusive or open-ended. The simple I AM metaphors are helpful in that way, and the humility of Jesus in using these simple ideas did much to continue the conversation between the Son of God and the people, and to inspire many helpful a-ha moments with His followers.

The Light Show. No holy Feast in the Hebrew Bible captured the meaning of joy and light quite like the autumn festival known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The faithful Jews were primed for joy and celebration since this Feast was just five days after their very solemn Day of Atonement. Light was a featured component of this required Feast of the Lord since it celebrated the momentous time when the light of the Shekinah glory fell on the Temple during Solomon’s dedication, and the light of God’s presence descended from heaven to light the fire on the altar (1 Kings 8, 2 Chron. 7). Light was therefore a dominant theme throughout this Feast. The Feast of Tabernacles became the most popular Feast with the Jewish people, the most highly anticipated Feast, because it was so filled with joy and the dramatics of the Light Ceremony.

Little Lights Everywhere. Place yourself in the crowded Temple during Jesus’ day. It is filled to overflowing with Jewish pilgrims who have come from every village in Israel, and many faithful Jews have traveled in large caravans from foreign countries to be a part of the festivities. Because the Feast includes the Festival of Booths to commemorate the Lord’s presence and care during the 40-year wilderness journey, there are makeshift booths everywhere, lining the streets of Jerusalem and dotting the countryside surrounding the city. Literally hundreds of campfires lit up the hills and fields near Jerusalem, and all the pilgrims grew increasingly excited as the night fell.

Giant Lampstands and Torch Dances in the Temple. The crowded Temple during the Feast at night captured the hearts of the people, for this is what they would see and experience in the courtyard… There were four towering lampstands in the center of the court, stories high, each with four branches of oil lamps. Their wicks were made from the worn-out linen garments of the priests. Each lampstand had four long ladders leading up to the lamps, all of which were kept burning throughout the night. The giant lampstands were continually being filled by young priests carrying large pitchers of olive oil. The brilliant lights beaming from these huge lampstands could be seen throughout Jerusalem. The drama continues… All night long, for six straight nights, elders of the Sanhedrin performed impressive torch dances while the bright lights of the lampstands illumined the Temple and the streets of the city. It called to mind the Shekinah glory from Solomon’s day, as well as the glory of the Lord shining in the night sky during their historic wilderness wanderings.

Inspired Songs. To add to the excitement during the Light Ceremony, after the torch dances a group of priests would stand at the top of the fifteen steps that led down to the courtyard. At the sound of the Temple musicians on their flutes, trumpets and harps, the priests would sing the fifteen Psalms of Degrees (Psalms 120-134). With every new psalm, they descended to the next step until they completed the psalms at the bottom step. Can you imagine the excitement in the crowd as they repeated this Light Ceremony every night from the 2nd night to the final 7th night? It was all done in the spirit of joyful celebration and worship, and it was the best show in town.

Messiah and Shekinah Light. Joy and light were not the only themes during the Feast of the Tabernacles. The other main theme was Messiah. During the Light Ceremony the people were dramatically reminded of the prophesied return of the Shekinah light during the days of the promised Messiah (Ezek. 43:1-6).  So in the Jewish mind light and Messiah were intimately connected. The people would know about the rabbinic insight that light was often used in Scripture as a reference to the Messiah… Star out of Jacob, Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the Nations, the Light of Israel, the Refiner’s Fire, the Burning Lamp.  After six nights of the Light Ceremony, the anticipation of the Messiah was at a fever pitch during this Feast.

“I Am The Light Of This World” Jorma Kaukonen Live on BRI TV

I Am the Living Fulfillment of All This Light! Jesus chose that particular day, the day immediately after the Feast of the Tabernacles, to teach in the Temple. This was just after the national focus on light and Messiah. On what was known as the Eighth Day, Jesus declared in the Temple, “I AM the light of the world!” (John 8:12). Not only did He claim here, with His I AM statement, that He was in spiritual union with and equal to Yahweh, but He also claimed that He was what this whole Light Ceremony was all about! He said that He lights up the world just like these lampstands lit up the Temple. In being The Light, Jesus is claiming to be the fulfillment of messianic Scripture. He is claiming to be the Messiah! Later that same day, Jesus repeated this claim when He healed the blind man… “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). Could Jesus have been any clearer as to His divine identity? It was just as Matthew put it, “You who spend your days shrouded in darkness can now say, ‘We have seen a brilliant light.’ And those who live in the dark shadowland of death can now say, ‘The dawning light arises on us.” (Matt. 4:16, Isaiah 9:2).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… The true light which gives light to everyone.” (John 1:1-5, 9).