Читать книгу New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of John vol. 2 - William Barclay - Страница 15

THE LIGHT THAT PEOPLE FAILED TO RECOGNIZE

John 8:12–20 (contd)

JESUS said: ‘He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but he will have the light of life.’ The light of life means two things. The Greek can mean either the light which issues from the source of life or the light which gives life. In this passage, it means both. Jesus is the very light of God come among men and women; and he is the light which gives them life. Just as the flower can never blossom when it never sees the sunlight, so our lives can never flower with the grace and beauty they ought to have until they are irradiated with the light of the presence of Jesus.

In this passage, Jesus talks of following himself. We often speak of following Jesus; we often urge others to do so. What do we mean? The Greek for to follow is akolouthein; and its meanings combine to shed a flood of light on what it means to follow Jesus. Akolouthein has five different but closely connected meanings.

(1) It is often used of a soldier following his captain. On the long route marches, into battle, in campaigns in strange lands, the soldier follows wherever the captain may lead. Christians are the soldiers whose commander is Christ.

(2) It is often used of a slave accompanying his master. Wherever the master goes, the slave is in attendance upon him, always ready to spring to his service and to carry out the tasks he gives him to do. He is literally at his master’s beck and call. Christians are the slaves whose joy it is always to serve Christ.

(3) It is often used of accepting a wise counsellor’s opinion. When people are in doubt they go to the expert, and if they are wise they accept the judgment they receive. Christians are people who guide their lives and conduct by the counsel of Christ.

(4) It is often used of giving obedience to the laws of a city or a state. To be useful members of any society or citizens of any community, we must agree to abide by its laws. Christians, being citizens of the kingdom of heaven, accept the law of the kingdom and of Christ as the law which governs their lives.

(5) It is often used of following a teacher’s line of argument, or of following the gist of someone’s speech. Christians are people who have understood the meaning of the teaching of Christ. They have not listened in dull incomprehension or with slack inattention. They take the message into their minds and understand, receive the words into their memories and remember, and hide them in their hearts and obey.

To be followers of Christ is to give body, soul and spirit into the obedience of the Master; and to follow him is to walk in the light. When we walk alone, we are bound to stumble and grope, for so many of life’s problems are beyond our solution. When we walk alone, we are bound to take the wrong way, because we have no secure map of life. We need the heavenly wisdom to walk the earthly way. Those who have a sure guide and an accurate map are the ones who are bound to come in safety to their journey’s end. Jesus Christ is that guide; he alone possesses the map to life. To follow him is to walk in safety through life and afterwards to enter into glory.