'I am the Light of the World'

Question 1

What theme from the prologue does this passage continue?

Answer 1

The theme of Light and Darkness

Question 2

What two prophecies does Jesus put into action here?

Answer 2

Isaiah 49:6 and Isaiah 42:7

Question 3

What was prophecised in Isaiah 49:6?

Answer 3

That the Messiah would be ‘a light to the gentiles’

Question 4

What was said about the Messiah in Isaiah 42:7?

Answer 4

That he would ‘open eyes that are blind’

Question 5

What did 1st century Jews believe about illness?

Answer 5

They believed that those who fell ill were being punished for their sins. If someone was born with an illness, it was their parents who were being punished, since Jews do not believe in reincarnation

Question 6

How does the bread of life discourse link to the problem of evil?

Answer 6

The disciples give Jesus the opportunity to propose a theodicy on why there is suffering in the world

Question 7

Jesus rejects the idea that illness is punishment for a sin. What does he believe instead?

Answer 7

He thinks it is an opportunity for God’s works to be displayed

Question 8

What theodicy could the bread of life discourse be linked to?

Answer 8

The Iranaean theodicy

Question 9

What is the Iranaean theodicy?

Answer 9

Proposes that God causes evil and suffering so that goodness might come out of it

Question 10

How does Raymond Brown interpret this passage?

Answer 10

Symbolically

Question 11

What does Raymond Brown believe the man’s blindness represents?

Answer 11

Ignorance; specifically the way the Gentiles are ignorant to the God of the OT. This is not their fault unless they they insist on remaining ignorant when Jesus arrives to open their eyes

Question 12

What is this passage really about?

Answer 12

It is about the first Gentile Christians who believe, contrasting them with the Jews who don’t believe in Jesus and remain in the darkness of ignorance, even though they have the OT scripture to guide them

Question 13

Give Raymond Brown’s quote on the blind man and the Pharisee?

Answer 13

The blind man knows little and yet learns much; the Pharisees know everything and can be taught nothing

Question 14

Why was it appropriate for Jesus to talk about light at this time?

Answer 14

Because the speech took place during the Feast of Tabernacles. This was a harvest festival where the temple would be lit up with torches

Question 15

What is the symbloic importance of the speech taking place during the Feast of Tabernacles?

Answer 15

Because the Temple is brightly lit, but the people worshipping there are in darkness. The real Temple is Jesus himself and he is giving out light through his teachings

Question 16

What does Augustine of Hippo think being born blind is a reference to?

Answer 16

He thought it was a refernce to original sin. Because Augustine believed all humans shared in this original sin, this means that: ‘The blind man is the human race’

Question 17

What Jesus claim to be in this passage?

Answer 17

The cure for blindness, physically and spiritually

Question 18

What does this passage say will happen to those who believe in Jesus?

Answer 18

They will ‘never walk in darkness’ because they wil receive eternal life

Question 19

How does Jesus hint at his own cruciifixion in the bread of life discourse?

Answer 19

By referring to the coming of ‘night’. As all the synoptics describe darkness falling over the world for three hours when Jesus dies

Question 20

What is the likely reason for John’s gospel not including the idea that darkness fell on the world for three hours following the death of Jesus?

Answer 20

The rather sophisticated author probably saw this feature as too clumsily literal. The darkness he’s talking about is the spiritual darkness of ignorance and moral confusion, rather than a mere solar eclipse

Question 21

What did the light of the world discourse inspire the use of in Christian worship?

Answer 21

Candles

Question 22

What is the paschal candle?

Answer 22

Lit on Easter Sunday and other services throughout the year. When people are baptised, the baptism candle is lit using the paschal candle. This symbolises light passing out into the world and going to the next generation. It is also lit at funerals, representing the hope of eternal life

Question 23

What happpens to the paschal candle the night before Good Friday?

Answer 23

The candle is extinguished and the church is in darkness for three days, representing Christ’s death. A new paschal candle is lit on the Sunday to represent his resurrection

Question 24

Where else has light been used to represent awakening from ignorance aside from John’s Gospel?

Answer 24

In the 18th century enlightenment

Question 25

What was the enlightenment?

Answer 25

A great transformation in the way Europeans saw themselves, their world and the future

Question 26

What did the enlightenment involve?

Answer 26

This involved rejecting religion and traditional authority, putting reason ahead of revelation, following science as a means of discovering truth and making human well-being the central concern of morality

Question 27

How did the great enlightenment scholars view human knowledge?

Answer 27

They saw it as a light, pushing back the darkness of superstition

Question 28

What does enlightenment mean in the Buddhist sense?

Answer 28

It means seeing reality as it really is, free from the distorting patterns of fear, desire and aversion

Question 29

How do Buddhists seek enlightenment?

Answer 29

Through detachment

Question 30

What do Buddhists believe detachment will lead to?

Answer 30

The state of Nibbana, which is blissful but without passion or self-centredness

Question 31

What do Christians think about the intellectual and Buddhist perspectives on enlightenment?

Answer 31

They think they are all just reflections of the true light; Jesus Christ

Question 32

How do Christians look to explain the 19th century enlightment?

Answer 32

They claim that whenever human beings see something clearly, it is Jesus who lights up their minds

Question 33

What is Christian Triumphalism?

Answer 33

The belief that even people who don’t think they are Christians are being Christians really when they are at their best

Question 34

Why is it a somewhat fair view to see Jesus as the light of the world?

Answer 34

Because his teachings are clearer and more illuminating than any of the sacred scriptures or moral guides

Question 35

Why is Jesus presented as the light of the WORLD?

Answer 35

Because his message is for the Gentiles just as much as it is for the Jews. The Christian message is universal, which is why Jesus’ Disciples set out to spread the word

Question 36

Why do Christian missionaries put themselves at risk to bring the gospel to everyone?

Answer 36

Because Jesus’ messages of forgiveness and love are relevant to everyone. Even people who don’t encounter the Christian message answer to their consciences - and the conscience is also the voice of Christ

Question 37

Make the case that Jesus’ message was not universal

Answer 37

• He lived at a particular place and time
• He was attacking problems with the Jewish religion as it was in the first century
• For centuries, people had never heard the word of Jesus or his message, but still managed to be good and treat each other decently

Question 38

What is the problem with Christian triumphalism?

Answer 38

It is an arrogant viewpoint

Question 39

What is the problem with Christian missionary work?

Answer 39

It has often forced people to change their religion, which is shameful. Jesus wasn’t the only moral teacher and there are other ways to Enlightenment than converting to Christianity