Studying 'Light', Because Jesus is the Light of the World

There are so many verses with 'light' in the Bible. In fact the word occurs 277 times: 22 times in Isaiah (although the most is Job, with 37), 16 in John (tied for the most in the New Testament), 9 in Revelation and 5 in 1 John. So it occurs a lot in the books John wrote.

Here are some suggestions for studying 'light'.

I'm going to start off with John 8 and 9 because that's what I was looking at for the devotion I am leading for our homeschool coop.

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8 (ESV – all ESV unless noted otherwise)

1. What did Jesus say about himself?

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. From John 9

2. What did Jesus say about himself?

3. What did Jesus do?

4. Read John 9:8-41. Looking at vv. 35-41, What did the formerly blind man say to Jesus? What was his response to Jesus? What did Jesus say about those who see and those who are blind?

5. Let's look at some other passages with 'light'. For each of these, write down what it says about light and who is associated with the light. Note any contrasts or how the light is related to other things.

Matthew 4:15-16

John 1:1-9

John 3:19-21

John 12:35-36

1 John 1:5-7

6. Read Isaiah 49:5-6 and Matthew 5:14-16. For each of these, who is supposed to be light? What is the desired result?

7. Spend some time talking with God about what you saw in his word.

Obviously this is just the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more you could look at with 'light'. If you are interested in more study, I suggest looking at all the verses with light:

-in the gospels

-in the books John wrote: John, 1 John, and Revelation

-in the New Testament

-in the Old Testament

-or pick a different book

I think Bible Gateway is a good resource for doing a word study. You can look up all the verses with light in whatever version you like (at least most translations).

If you do this study, I would love to hear about how God uses it in your life.