Small words can make a huge difference in meaning. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” He did not say, “I am ‘a’ light ‘in’ the world. Some of the Jews believed Jesus was a light in the world, and that was technically true, but it was so far from the whole truth that it was no better than a lie. The Pharisee would let Jesus be considered a good man, a great teacher, and even a prophet. They were willing to let a partial truth camouflage their own lies. They knew that even those who hate the light can be a light to someone at sometime in their life. The Pharisees could not stand that Jesus claimed to be the source of all light because His light revealed their works of darkness. Because they refused to acknowledge that the light of the world was Jesus, He had to die. They planned to extinguish the light.

There are many forms of light both physical and spiritual, and they are all limited by time and space. A lamp only lights the room it is in, and for the time it is lit. When Jesus said He was the light, He was claiming to be the origin of all light. Jesus, as the source of all creation, was also the source of all light. While Jesus walked the earth, light surrounded Him everywhere. His light was in the place He was at. However His light was not limit to time and space, and it was not limited to His earthly presence. He was the light of all the world before He walked the earth in human form and He was still the light of the world once He returned to His Father.

Jesus is the light of the world, yet much of the world and its peoples are still in darkness. The world need so many lights in so many places. When the Jesus lives in us, we become that needed light in the world.