Until John, we have been using older manuscripts of Ryle's Expository Thoughts. Just recently, though, EP Publishing has put out a lightly updated version of Ryle's work, which I am now working from. If you are interested in a physical copy of the Expository Thoughts, you can find it HERE.

John 8:12-20

1. Let us notice what the Lord Jesus says of Himself. He proclaims, “I am the light of the world.”
2. Let us notice what the Lord Jesus says of those that follow Him. He promises, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
3. Let us notice what the Lord Jesus says of His enemies. He tells the Pharisees that with all their pretended wisdom, they were ignorant of God. “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”

"As the sun is to the whole solar system—the center of light, and heat, and life, and fertility—so has [Jesus] come into the world to be to sinners."

"The lights with which many please themselves shall go out in the valley of the shadow of death and prove worse than useless. But the light Christ gives to everyone that follows Him will never fail."

"The great secret of knowing God is to draw near to Him through Jesus Christ. Approached from this side there is nothing that need make us afraid. Viewed from this standpoint, God is the sinner’s friend."

Questions:

1. We see the great truth that Jesus is the light of the world, and by implication, the world needs this light for it sits in great darkness. There are, and always have been, many voices in the world that seek our attention and allegiance, but only Jesus is the light we need. What false lights are most tempting to us?
2. In these verses, Jesus tells the Pharisees that because they do not know Jesus, they do not know the Father. Ryle points out that many, even today, are living and dying in a kind of fog, but to know Jesus is to know the Father. Do we know where we are going? Is Jesus, the light of the world, directing our steps with His truth?
3. Ryle points out a helpful thing for us to consider. He says that many think they have to understand everything to become a Christian, but he challenges us to, like children, follow him. Do we find ourselves needing to understand every detail of a thing before we follow, or, with the light of God's Word and the clarity it does bring, are we following him as we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily?