The Tupelo journal., 1902-11-07
CHRIST THE LIGHT.
Reveals and Cleanses Sin and Leads
the Way Back to God.
Sermon IN One of the Six Startling
Claims of Jesus by the sHish-
way and Byway'
Preacher,

IeXt:- am the Llght or the world
John SIP.
The great, glowing sun mounts the
heavens, and the darkness fees before
IL, but Jesus is the Light of the
world.
Scientists tell us that the light and
heat of the sun will fail some day,
but Jesus, the Light of the world,
is from everlasting to everlasting.
Gods Word tells us hat the
heavens and earth shall pass away,
but in hat new Jerusalem which
John saw in prophetic vision there
was no sun or moon, for it had no
need thereof, "for the glory of God
did tighten it, and the Lamb is the
Light thereof Paul bears witness
of the literal brightness of the glory
of Jesus in his defense before King
Agrippa when he says: "At midday,
O king, l saw in the way a light
from Heaven, above the brightness
of the sun, shining round about me,
and . l heard a voice speaking
unto me and He said: / am
Jesus, whom thou ~persecutest."
Notwithstanding the light of the
sun shines upon the just and the I'M
just, the people of the world, out OF
fellowship with God, "walk in dark
ness" for God is light and in Him
is no darkness at all" The natural
eye may behold the beauty of the
sun of the heavens, but if the minds
"eye be evil, thy whole body shall
be full of darkness. If, therefore, the
light that is in thee be darkness, how
great is that darkness?" Nowadays
we hear so much about "this enlight-
ened age and the world is rejoicing
in it's intellectualisEl, its commercial
ism. its electrical and mechanical
achievements, its f~raternallsm, and
its ecelesiasticism, and turning from
the H~eaven-sent Light, it is binding
itself with its w feeble, hickering
flame. The world in the light of its
own ~imaginings is seeking the way
Of success and happiness, with Heaven
as the intended goal, while the eter-
nal truth of God remains that Jesus
is the Light of the world and only
can reveal the way to God. The
light streams from His cradle, the
cross and the tomb, and "if we walk
IN the light. as He is in the light, we
have fellowship one with another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ ~cleanscth
us from all sin" Yes, the Light of
the world is Jesus.
Text Setting.-What a wonderful
lJ.-o+.o, =. that of
our text: II am the Light of the
world" According to the twentieth
verse of the chapter from which it is
taken. Jesus had been sitting in the
treasury of the temple teaching.
Close beside Him were two colossal
lamp-stands, ~gorgeorsly gilded, on
which hung a multitude of lamps,
lighted after the evening sacrifice
during the feast of tabernacleS, and
diffusing their b~rilliancy, it is said,
over all the city. The scene which
was familiar TO the eyes of Jesus is
probably accurately described by
Canon Farrar, who says: Round
these lamps, the people, in their joy
Gus enthusiasm. and even the state
lest priests and Pharisees, joined in
festival dances; while, to the sound
of flutes and other music, the Lev
titles. drawn up in array on the fifteen
steps which led up to the court,
ohanted the beautiful Psalms which
early received the title of Songs of
Degrees In allusion to these great
lamps, on which some circumstance
of the moment may have concentrate
ed the attention of the hearers,
Christ exclaimed to them: 4 am the
Light of the world"
A Familiar Figure.-Isaiah spoke Of
the Light which was to come into the
world, and aged Simeon catches up
the song when the infant Jesus is
placed in his arms in the temple and
he reioices in the fulfillment of pro-
phecy.. Malachi writes of the Sun
of righteousness which was to rise
and shine forth with healing in His
wings. Light as the manifestation
of Gods presence was plainly set
forth in all Jewish history from the
remarkable vision of Abraham when
the smoking furnace and burning
lamp passed between the pieces of
his sacrifice down to the burning
bush of Moses experience, the pillar
of fire that went before the children
of Israel, and the Shekinah glory
that rested over the mercy seat be-
tween the cherubim on the ark which
occupied a place in the holy of holes
0f {Lo fobornon1o opd oftarr,, al, -
the temple built by Solomon. David
in his Psalms refers to God as a Sun,
and the great luminary of the earth
is used as frequent metaphor in il
Illustrating Divine truth.
While John is the only one of the
Gospel writer's who records the di-
rect declaration of Jesus hat He
was the Light of the world, Matthew
and Luke use terms which convey
hat thought. The latter gives us
the words of Isaiah as repeated by
Simeon, as already referred to, and
Matthew quotes the same prophet.
He shows that Jesus going to Caper-
naum to live was fulfillment of the
word of Isaiah, who wrote: "The
land of Zabulon, and the land of
Nephthalim, by way of the sea-. be-
You'd Jordon, Galilee of the Gentiles;
the people which sat in darkness saw
a great light; and to them which sat
in the region and shadow of death,
light is sprung up"
In Johns Gospel Jesus proclaims
Himself the Light of the world,
while in Matthew'S account, He de-
clares that His disciples are the light