The Gospel Proclamation Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards, I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.... Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also. ....
Gaze on Jesus Jesus calls Himself “the Light of the world”. All worldly darkness will disappear if we walk hand in hand with Jesus. The devil will fly from us and Jesus will prevent us from falling into temptations that come our way. In this Gospel passage Christ bears witness to the fact that He is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity and that He and God the Father are two persons. Jesus knows His divine heritage and His destiny of which the Pharisees are ignorant. So they always try to find fault with Him. Jesus reveals Himself further by saying that God the Father from whom He came, approves everything that Jesus says or does (because Jesus never does anything that God dislikes). Further, there is a very close relationship between the two of them. The Pharisees try to corner Jesus, but Jesus’ divine wisdom avoids their cunningness and hints that God the Father and Jesus are one and the same God. This passage enlightens us that Jesus and God the Father are one and the same God, but they are two persons in one God. This revelation which is a mystery, could be understood by faith alone. Just as Jesus is the divine Light of the New Testament, Daniel is the prophet who enlightened king Nebuchadnazzar by interpreting his dreams, which made the king to believe in the true God. Just as the Pharisees in Jesus’ time saw things through worldly eyes only, the worldly-wise magicians during king Nebuchadnazzar’s time failed to see the truth regarding the king’s dream. Daniel’s interpretation revealed that the king’s kingdom and the other kingdom that followed would all be destroyed and finally the God of the Universe will set up a divine kingdom which will be everlasting . It is this same kingdom which Jesus speaks of and which the Holy Trinity will reign over for ever.
Prayer Starter Our witness for Christ is a light in a dark world.
