Gospel of John, Chapter 7 (The Light of the World)

Chapter 7 of the Gospel of John has at least three familiar stories playing in the background. First, because the Jews are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, we have the story of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. Another story, which we saw briefly in the prologue, is the first creation story of Genesis. The third story to look out for is the ministry of Jesus, represented in miniature and related to the other two stories.

The chapter begins with Jesus' brothers prodding him to go to feast. "No one works in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you do these things, manifest yourself to the world." (John 7:4) He declines, because His "time is not yet here." But, then a strange thing happens. Jesus does go up to the feast. Obviously, since Jesus can't tell a lie -- that would be asking him to contradict his very nature -- the time must be right for him to go to the feast. But he goes in secret. This is how Jesus' incarnation began. As an infant and a child, he was largely anonymous. The world did not know him, and those who did know him simply thought of him as the son of Mary and Joseph -- destined to be a simple carpenter.

Then, on the fourth day, Jesus wows them. "About the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The Jews marveled at it, saying, 'How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?'" (John 7:14-15) Imagine that. This is the carpenter's son, who has never gone to school, and was the last one they expected to have anything to say.

The focus on time is very important in this chapter. We saw how Jesus was concerned about the right time. Well, this is a seven day feast, and we're on day four. What happens on the fourth day of creation?

And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night; and let there be signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day." (Genesis 1:14-19)

We see in this passage, Christ's identity and the meaning of his ministry. He is the Light of the World. But light was already created on the first day. What's so important about the fourth day? Well, for the first three days of creation, we don't really have life. We have light, darkness, air, sea, land and plants. Nothing very active. But, starting on day four, we start to see life. First the sun, then birds, fish, animals and finally man. We sometimes think of the sun as being static, but the truth is that it's a big, amazing nuclear reactor that powers our entire planet and, in a sense, gives it life. The sun itself isn't static. It's pure energy.

That's how Jesus' ministry affected all of history. His life and ministry are the hinge of history, when the feast is half over. At this appointed time, he gives creation His Life. He existed from all eternity, but by His Incarnation, he showed us for the first time what it truly meant to be made in the image of God. He showed us what we were meant to be, how to live. In the flesh, He is the Truth, and so when He assumes human form and nature, He is like the sun, which is light and gives light to the world.

The next time Jesus speaks is on the last and greatest day -- the seventh day of the feast. He tells the assembly, If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink." The seventh day is when God rests from creation, because his work is completed. Similarly, when Christ's new creation is finished, he sends the Holy Spirit. Remember, water is an image of the Holy Spirit throughout John's Gospel. At Pentecost, Jesus' new creation being completed, the Holy Spirit descends on His disciples.

The story I haven't touched on so far is Moses in the desert. We all know that the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. In that time, Moses was the one who was the giver of the Law, God's Truth. It was Moses who struck the rock at Meribah, from which sprung forth water. Moses' journey with the Israelites to the promised land is a prefigurement of Christ's journey with us to Heaven. This is why we see the Pharisee's muttering (or murmured) against Jesus (John 7:32) in the way the Israelites muttered at Moses. This is why we see Moses mentioned four times and the law mentioned five times in this chapter. Jesus, of course, surpasses Moses in that he is not just someone who conveys the law and speaks for God, but he is the Law, the Truth, the Word -- the Light of the World.