The Feast of Booths commemorates how God illuminated his people’s way with a pillar of fire when they left Egypt. This can help us understand what Jesus means when He says that He is the light of the world.
by Rev. Dirk Meijer
In the Old Testament, the Israelites would customarily go to Jerusalem once a year to celebrate the Feast of Booths together (Leviticus 23). They then took tree branches and built booths in which they stayed for a week.
This feast had to remind them of the exodus from the land of Egypt. God himself was with them: during the day in a pillar of cloud that protected them from the sun, and at night in a pillar of fire that gave them light. The pillar of fire showed that God himself is the light for his people. The Israelites had to commemorate it every year during the Feast of Booths.
The Feast of Booths in the time of the New Testament
In the New Testament, the Jews had the custom where they would set alight a bunch of chandeliers during the Feast of Booths which illuminated the whole temple area. They did it to commemorate the pillar of fire in the wilderness. These chandeliers specifically stood in the part of the temple where the treasury was. In the evening the light from these chandeliers could be seen from afar.
During the Feast of Booths the Jews reflected on everything from the past. However, they also had an expectation for their future with the Lord. In the Old Testament, the Lord promised them that He would send them a Savior. This Savior among others shall be described as the “light for the nations” (Isaiah 42) and the “sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4).
Jesus says: “I am the light of the world.”
Jesus himself went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths (John 7:2; 10). During this time Jesus himself says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
With these simple words Jesus made known exactly who He is. Of all the lights that the people at the Feast of Booths had seen, He is the brightest. He is the fulfilment of the pillar of fire in the Old Testament. Jesus is the Light of the nations of which Isaiah prophesied. He is the Sun of Righteousness of which Malachi spoke of. He is the Messiah who was to come.
Jesus really is God
In John 8:13 we read the reaction of the Pharisees: “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” It is no wonder that they were so upset with Jesus when He said that He is the Light of the world, because in essence Jesus had blatantly said: “I am God”. This corresponds with how God revealed himself to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14). This is made extra clear when Jesus later says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
Jesus is our light
Jesus is not just the light of the world. He is the Light. He is the only One who could overcome the darkness of our sin, because: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). During the three hours of darkness on the cross, He wiped out the price of sin for us. The light that broke through after those three hours of darkness testified that Christ truly is the Light that overcame. Jesus affirmed it with his own words: “It is finished,” (John 19:30).
We need to follow the Light
Since Jesus is the light of the world, we are called to follow Him. As Israel – through faith – followed the pillar of fire in the wilderness, we too ought to follow Christ through faith. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see that Jesus is the Light. We must not close our eyes and run away from the Light like the unbelievers do. We cannot walk in darkness and say that we follow Jesus.
For everyone who follows the Light, there is a glorious promise: “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” (John 8:12). This life is the eternal life, and if we have then received the Light of life, we must walk in the light. For “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin,” (1 John 1:7). Let us follow Christ wherever He may lead us!
