July 17, 2025
Read John 12:46, ESV in context
The way Jesus spoke during His time on Earth was so beautiful. Simple, unpretentious, and a deep well of meaning. He created matter ex nihilo (out of nothing) – and yet His posture was one of love, service, and thought-provoking simplicity.
Here, He tells us a profound truth:
He came, specifically, into the world as light, so that we wouldn’t have to. The Bible often uses darkness as a metaphor. It can mean emotional despair - where the soul feels lost and hollow. It can mean evil - where injustice, hatred, and abuse take root. It can mean dissatisfaction - where nothing the world offers is ever enough. It can mean blindness - not being able to see truth, purpose, or hope.
Jesus says He came into the world as light, so that whoever believes in Him, may not remain in darkness. After the fall of man in Genesis 3, we all come into a world filled with darkness. Sin, death, decay, evil, hopelessness, dissatisfaction.
But there is hope. There is light.
Earlier in John chapter 8 verse 12, he says it like this:
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"
John opens the book writing of Jesus in Chapter 1 at verse 4-5 with this:
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
And again at verse 9,
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
If you could somehow travel at the speed of light - roughly 670 million miles per hour- time, according to Einstein’s theory of relativity, would cease to move from your perspective.
That means no aging, no past or future - just an eternal now.
Physicists call it "time dilation,” but its implications go far beyond science. When Jesus calls Himself the Light of the world, it’s not just a poetic metaphor. He’s speaking as the One who exists outside of time, unbound by decay, limitation, or sequence. He is the eternal I AM - there at creation, present in your need, present in your healing.
This echoes Moses’ encounter at the burning bush. In Exodus 3:13-14 (ESV), Moses asks, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God replies, “I AM WHO I AM… Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
It’s a simple, but infinitely deep expression of the eternal nature of God. In His Light, the fear of running out of time disappears. In His Light, time’s grip releases; your past finds redemption, and your future rests secure in the I AM.
Darkness cannot stop light. It has no power to delay, deflect, or dilute it. Light doesn’t negotiate with shadows - it sends them fleeing.
A single beam cuts cleanly through miles of pitch black without being changed. This is the nature of Jesus.
His truth isn’t weakened by cultural confusion. His presence isn’t diminished by your doubt. When He says you don’t have to remain in darkness, He’s offering an unshakable reality.
Wherever He goes, darkness flees.
But let’s consider one other fascinating truth - darkness, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t exist. It isn’t real. Read that again.
You may think you see something – but you don’t. Darkness is simply the absence of light.
This is the incredible nature of Jesus - He’s speaking so profoundly - planting deep truth into our hearts - that what we see - this darkness that we are IN - is merely the absence of Him.
This is why when we follow Him, we have the light. And His light cuts through every layer of perceived darkness without slowing down. Through depression. Through doubt. Through pride. Through fear. Even when your world distorts what’s real, His truth travels undeterred. You can trust it.
So when Jesus says, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” - it’s infinite truth. You don’t have to stay confused, lost, tired, or numb. Light has come. The kind that exists outside of time. The kind that never slows down. The kind that brings life.
Let it in. Follow Him.
Read His word. Pray. You don’t have to overthink it.
He will meet you right where you are – and you will no longer remain in darkness.
