Abstract
The Motif of Light in the Gospel of John. The metaphor of light is an important component of the theological and especially christological language of the Fourth Gospel. Jesus’ proclamation “I am the light of the world” occurs here in three variations, and other statements about light (and darkness) or day (and night) with more or less clear symbolic meaning pervade the whole of John’s writing. A clue to answering the question in what sense Jesus is the light, i.e. the source and orientation of life, is provided by the second part of Jesus’ statement in John 8:12: “he who follows me will not walk in darkness…” After clarifying the concept of following, the article shows how the Johannine statements about light form a coherent whole. The motif of light as an image of life (John 1:4, 9) helps to present life as a reality not immanent to people but coming from outside to them. Thus it points out Jesus’ soteriological significance as well as the indispensable quality of his earthly, historical existence, to which the fourth evangelist pays so noticeable interest.
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