The Light of the World
Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 36:35
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· 7 viewsJesus declares Himself to be the Light of the World. He lights the way to LIFE & HEAVEN for those who follow Him, because that's who He is. Do we treasure Jesus to as the very light of life?
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REFLECTION: PSALM 36:7-9
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
SCRIPTURE READING: John 8:12-20
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
MEMORY: Matthew 6:9-11
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread,
BENEDICTION: 1 Cor 15.58
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever been in such pitch black darkness that you struggled to see what was in front of you?
It can be alarming - disconcerting even.
But the smallest bit of light gives you a sense of direction and gives you your bearing.
TRANSITION
The picture that we see unfold in our text this morning is NOT that of a small night light helping you NOT to stub your toe in a mountain cabin in the middle of the night...
No,
It is the LIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHTER THAN THE NOONDAY SUN.
Sent directly from Heaven
Sent directly into To OUR CLEAR & PRESENT DARKNESS
Sent directly to purify us, lead us, and fill us to point others to
Sent directly to reveal us that CHRIST IS THE TREASURE WE’VE BEEN LONGING FOR
1. JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
1. JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
What a claim!
“The Light of the World!”
Significant in several ways - let’s explore 2 to see if we can get under the weight of this.
First - the Scriptures leading up to this moment.
First - the Scriptures leading up to this moment.
God is called light multiple times in the Old Testament.
Almost the last verse in the Old Testament (Malachi 4:2) says in regard to Jesus:
2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Fast forward with me a few hundred years.
We actually covered this a few years ago when we came to Advent.
When Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms in the temple he WORSHIPED THE FATHER! part of his song rang out like this:
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
If you can think back to when we began this wonderful study in John’s gospel, John said...
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
“SEEN HIS GLORY”
It is plausible and widely accepted that John is partly referring to what happened on a mountaintop when he, Peter, and James went with Jesus.
They witnessed Christ transfigured before them.
Matthew 17 records that our Precious Lord ‘s face shone like the sun. His clothes became white as “light”!
Second - the scene where Jesus claims this incredible authority!
Second - the scene where Jesus claims this incredible authority!
If I were to hold up basketball to you right now. (Just imagine that!)
Apart from it being a little strange since I’m not a prop preacher…
What do you suppose the value of that basketball would be?
Well on the higher end at Academy Sports is a WILSON INDOOR EVO NEXT ball. It sells for $100.
If I gave that to you, it would be worth about $100.
If I signed it before I gave it to you, it would no doubt be worth LESS!
But if Michael Jordan just held it in his hand…and offered it to you…different story, right?
What if he signed it?
I saw one online for $12,000.
What if it was from his last game?
I don’t know…but his jersey from the game is up for auction for between 3 and 5 million$.
Same object. Same purpose. But the one offering it makes all the difference. And the story of the item also factors in too right?
When Jesus said, I am the light of the world, He’s very intentionally saying this in a certain way at a certain place.
TWO GREAT CEREMONIES during the FEAST OF TABERNACLES.
1. THE POURING OUT OF WATER…this is where Jesus issued that incredible invitation:
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
2. THE ILLUMINATION OF THE TEMPLE.
took place in the treasury at the beginning of the feast.
A spectacular celebration—both in its concept and in its annual observance.
In the center of the treasury, there were four great torches were set up.
These torches were probably as high as the highest walls of the temple.
At the top of these golden candelabra were great bowls holding sixty-five liters (more than 17 gallons) of oil.
Young, healthy priests would climb a ladder to fill these bowls then light the protruding wicks.
The great flames that leapt out of these torches illumined the whole temple and much of Jerusalem.
It was spectacular!
The Mishnah describes what happened after the torches were lit:
Men of piety and good works used to dance before them with burning torches in their hands singing songs and praises and countless Levites played on harps, lyres, cymbals, and trumpets and instruments of music.
They would dance until dawn as they celebrated the great pillar of fire that led the people of Israel through the wilderness.
NOW IMAGINE JESUS STANDING RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF THIS.
with the charred torches still in place,
raising His voice above the crowd and proclaim, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Throughout the Old Testament, to the final words of that testament. God points us to Himself as the Light.
God used the light of a special star to guide the wise to the prize of JESUS.
Jesus is announced as the LIGHT by a worshiper in the temple when he came for circumcision.
Then this dramatic way to announce one of the 7 I am’s of John’s Gospel. God is telling us WHO HE IS!
What a way to focus people’s attention on one of the truths they needed to understand!
I hope He has our attention this morning.
Jesus is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
Not education...
Not money...
Not pedigree...
Not ethnicity...
Not innovation...
Not religion...
None of these things are the answer to what the world needs in and of themselves. They are clouds without water.
CHRIST IS THE LIGHT AND HE LIGHTS THE WAY!
…and He is lighting the way to LIFE!
9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
2. CHRISTIANS WALK IN THE LIGHT OF JESUS
2. CHRISTIANS WALK IN THE LIGHT OF JESUS
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But 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.
The light shining in our lives is Christ’s light by the Holy Spirit!
What a privilege! We are CHILDREN OF LIGHT!
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
We are the LIGHT OF THE WORLD…SHINING FOR ALL TO SEE JESUS!
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
This world may be a dark, crooked, and twisted place at times…but we don’t stick our heads in the sand and wail about the sky falling...
(Phil 2:15) We surrender our bodies and minds to the Lord’s leading - as instruments of his grace.
We ask the LORD to help us live out blameless lives by His power - not intentionally entangling ourselves with the filth of this world that is anti-Christ…WHY?
BECAUSE WE STAND OUT LIKE SORE THUMBS…LIKE BRIGHT LIGHTS IN A DARK CITY...
LIKE Tall Candelabra in burning with fire to light up everything around us FOR THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST.
What a SAVIOR!
Only a God who left His throne above
to take upon the sin of the whole world
who hung, bled, and died on Calvary’s cross
and invites us to come and place our faith and trust in Him
to repent of running our own lives toward destruction...
ONLY THIS GOD CAN CLAIM WITH AUTHORITY THAT HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD AND HIS FOLLOWERS ARE HEADING TO REAL LIFE!
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Are you looking to Christ to light up your life this morning?
Is He your all? Does He affect the way you see EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING AROUND YOU?
If you were to outside this morning and stare directly into to the sun (DO NOT DO THIS)…it would affect the way you see everything else around you.
If you did it long enough, it would ruin your vision.
And yet, we use lasers now - concentrated, refracted LIGHT to correct our vision and bring clarity!
Beloved - that who CHRIST IS…not just what He does!
Christ changes our vision for the better...
That we might discover a life!
It’s in HIM that WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING!
WOW!
JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
JESUS’S FOLLOWERS ARE TRULY LIVING LIFE!
But there was also Darkness mentioned in our text this morning…one we cannot avoid.
Let’s read the remaining discourse - Jesus continues to go back and forth with the Pharisees and Sadducees.
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
3. WITHOUT CHRIST, THERE IS ONLY DARKNESS
3. WITHOUT CHRIST, THERE IS ONLY DARKNESS
KEEP YOUR BIBLES OPEN AND NOTE A FEW THINGS JESUS SAYS HERE:
(v21) Don’t miss the opportunity.
You can’t just come to me on your own time. (v21) You will seek me and not find me.
Without Christ, you will die in your sin. Unless you believe that Jesus is the Son of God - you’re only hope for salvation - you are without hope.
If you die in your sin, there is NO HOPE FOR YOU TO ENTER HEAVEN!
Jesus continues to make the case just as he did in vv 13-20, that He is God’s only Son - He is God incarnate - truly God and truly man.
CALL FOR INVITATION
CALL TO RESPOND
CALL TO RESPOND
If you are here this morning and JESUS WOULD LOOK AT YOU AND SAY, “You are of this world…not my Kingdom”…if you know that’s you - I wouldn’t take one step out of this building…I wouldn’t scroll past this stream online without seriously contemplating that reality.
Without Christ, I am headed for destruction, everlasting torment, separation from the God who loved my soul enough to send His only son to provide a way for me to cherish Him and be forgiven.
That’s the bad news...
THE GOOD NEWS IS
the just and gracious Creator of the universe has looked on hopelessly sinful men and women
and has sent his Son, Jesus, God in the flesh,
to bear his judgment against sin on the cross
and to show his power over sin in his resurrection
so that anyone anywhere who turns from their sin and from themselves
and trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord
can be forgiven of their sin
and reconciled to God for all of eternity.
Friend - if you aren’t WITH JESUS today - cry out to Him for mercy and trust Him. Don’t struggle like so many of his detractors and MISS WHO HE IS!
---- Sisters and Brothers.
Do you believe that Christ is the LIGHT of the World?
If we really believe that, shouldn’t that impact OUR AFFECTIONS & PASSIONS?
If Christ is not a means to an end…but THE MEANS AND THE END! Should our gaze be on HIM SO MUCH that everything else looks differently?
Is Christ our magnificent, spectacular obsession?
Do you believe Followers of Jesus are the only ones headed toward true and everlasting life?
If we really believe that, shouldn’t that impact our behavior and consumption?
I mean a people who believe this should be a people who are reading, studying, hearing, memorizing, and meditating on God’s Word - His revelation of Himself to us.
This peculiar people would put aside the constant barrage of worldly messages they are receiving, and spend time meditating on and memorizing God’s Word…that they might know, love and obey JESUS as living sacrifices.
Do you believe that those who don’t follow Jesus are headed toward destruction and death?
If we really believe that, wouldn’t we tell everyone we could about the LIGHT that points to LIFE EVERLASTING?
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
Hide it under a bushel, NO, I’m gonna let it shine!
Let it shine till Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine!
Do we believe?