Explaining Jesus to Muslims
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17. Jesus, Light of the World

Jesus said:

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  (John 8:12)

700 years before Isaiah prophesied about Jesus and said:

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."    (Isaiah 9:2)

600 years after Jesus the Quran declared:

"And we caused Jesus son of Mary to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was revealed before him, and we bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and light, confirming that which was before it in the Torah - a guidance and admonition to those who ward off evil."                                                                   (Sura 5:46)

To understand what it means for Jesus to be the light of the world, we need to know what the terms light and darkness mean in the figurative sense.

God is light
God lives in light that no one can approach. In the physical world there are the two realms of light and darkness, and so it is in the spiritual world. God's realm is light, and it is characterized by truth, justice, freedom and life. Satan's realm is darkness, and it is characterized by error, evil, slavery and sin. When God created the world, he said:

"'Let there be light,' and there was light.God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness."   (Genesis 1:3-4)

Satan is darkness
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (human beings), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."              (Ephesians 6:12)

The realm of darkness is ruled by Satan and demons, spirits to whom men sacrifice and invoke blessings. Villages and children are given spirit names, a surrender of their souls to the powers of darkness.

Many religions and philosophies are doctrines that come from demons. Their aim is to keep people in darkness away from the light of God's truth. All men are born into this realm of darkness and the only way out of the darkness is through faith in Jesus, the light of the world.

Hell is a place of outer darkness, while Paradise is a place that needs no sun or moon to light it, because the glory of God shines on it and Jesus is its lamp.

Jesus, the Light of the world
Into this dark evil world which is under Satan's power, the Son of God came to bring light to all people. God is light and Jesus came to reveal this light to us. Satan's kingdom is threatened by this, so he does all in his power to stop people from seeing the light and becoming Christians. Every man must choose whether he wants to live in the light or in the darkness. Most people choose the darkness. The prophet Yahaya was sent by God to testify concerning Jesus:

"There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.(Yahya)

He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world."       (John 1:6-9)

Jesus said the following concerning his role as the Saviour of the world and the Light of the world:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."  (John 3:16-21)

And not long before his crucifixion he said to his disciples:

"You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." (John 12:35-36)

To be a "son of light" is to belong to God who is light. It also means someone who is enlightened because of his relationship with God.

"But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day (of Jesus coming again) should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5)

Coming out of darkness into the light
People are in darkness under Satan's power, they have been blinded by false traditions, false religions and false philosophies. So Jesus said to the apostle Paul when sending him on his mission to preach to the nations:

"I am sending you to them to open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."                (Acts 26:18)

Later the apostle Paul wrote the following to the Christians in Corinth:

"Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."                        (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

The glory of God can only be seen by those who put their faith in Jesus, who is the image of God. Those who reject the gospel fail to see God's glory, because it can only be seen in Jesus. To the Christians in Colossae Paul wrote:

"Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:12-14)

Christians live in the light
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth."     (Ephesians 5:8-9)

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9)