Study of Christ

Study of Christ
By Jan Ciągliński

“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 9:4-5

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Study of Christ was a study Ciągliński did for a painting of Christ’s miracle at the Pool of Siloam. There, Jesus encounters a man blind from birth. His disciples ask whose sin caused the blindness, but Jesus redirects the question: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). Then Jesus declares, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

This miracle is more than physical healing—it’s a revelation of who Jesus is. He doesn’t just restore sight; He brings light and life to any form of darkness we may face. As Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught: “God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things. It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn.” The Savior’s light does not shame us; it heals us. And when Christ lights our path, He also invites us to reflect that light to others.

In John 9, the healed man gradually comes to see more than just the world around him—he begins to see who Jesus really is. At first, he calls Him a prophet. Later, he worships Him as Lord. The light of Christ opens not just his eyes, but his heart. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” The light of Jesus transforms our understanding—it gives meaning, direction and hope.

Jesus is still the Light of the World. He shines in our darkness, patiently illuminating the path when we can’t find it on our own. No matter how oppressive, disheartening and frightening the darkness surrounding us may seem, it cannot stand before the brilliant light of the Son of the living God, in whom “there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

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