Church Fathers Commentary John 8:12

"Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." — John 8:12 (ASV)

Alcuin of York: Having absolved the woman from her sin, He graciously revealed His divine nature further, so that no one who saw He was truly a man would doubt His power to forgive sins; then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the Light of the world.

The Venerable Bede: It should be noted here that He does not say He is the light of Angels, or of heaven, but the Light of the world—that is, of mankind who live in darkness. As we read, To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

St. John Chrysostom: Since they had used Galilee as an objection against Him and doubted that He was one of the prophets, as if that were all He claimed to be, He wished to show that He was not merely one of the prophets, but the Lord of the whole earth. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the Light of the world—not of Galilee, or of Palestine, or of Judea.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Manichaeans suppose that the sun of the natural world is our Lord Christ, but the Catholic Church rejects such a notion. Our Lord Christ was not made the sun; rather, the sun was made by Him, for all things were made by Him.

For our sake, He who is the light that made the sun came to be under the sun. He hid Himself under the cloud of the flesh, not to obscure His light, but to temper it. Speaking, then, through the cloud of the flesh, the unfailing Light, the Light of wisdom, says to humanity, I am the Light of the world.

Theophylact of Ohrid: You may use these words against Nestorius, for our Lord does not say, “In Me is the light of the world,” but rather, I am the Light of the world. He who appeared as a man was both the Son of God and the Light of the world—not, as Nestorius mistakenly holds, the Son of God dwelling in a mere man.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He withdraws you, however, from the eyes of the flesh to the eyes of the heart when He adds, He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He does not think it is enough to say one “shall have light,” but adds the words “of life.” These words of our Lord agree with those of the Psalm: In Your light shall we see light; for with You is the well of life.

For bodily use, light is one thing and a well is another; a well serves the mouth, while light serves the eyes. With God, however, the light and the well are the same. He who shines on you so that you may see Him is the same One who flows to you so that you may drink Him.

What He promises is in the future tense, while what we must do is in the present. When He says, He that follows Me... shall have, this means we follow by faith now to possess by sight hereafter. The visible sun accompanies you only if you go westward, where it also goes. But even if you follow it, it will forsake you at its setting. Your God, however, is everywhere, completely present; He will not abandon you if you do not abandon Him.

The darkness to be feared is not of the eyes, but of the mind. And if we speak of the eyes, it is the inner eyes, not the outer ones—not those by which we distinguish white from black, but those by which we discern just from unjust.

St. John Chrysostom: Walk not in darkness means, spiritually, do not remain in error. Here He tacitly praises Nicodemus and the officers and censures those who had plotted against Him, as they are in darkness and error, unable to come to the light.