John 8:12-20
Notes
Transcript
I am the Light of the World
I am the Light of the World
Good evening my friends.
This evening we come back to the gospel of John for the second of the Great I Am sayings of Jesus.
So if you have your Bible, go to John chapter 8 and lets look at the 2nd one where Jesus makes the proclamation “I am the light of the world.”
In the context of the chapter, the beginning of Chapter 8 Jesus tells us that he was at the Mount of Olives, verse 1.
It is here that he is approached with the Woman caught in adultery. They brought her to Jesus to test him concerning the law given by Moses that such a women should be stoned… they wanted to know that Jesus would say and do about this...
And it is here that Jesus utters the phrase John 8:7
7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
And after hearing this the leaders departed from the scene the oldest to the youngest. And Jesus will ask her, where are those who condemn you.. has no one condemened you? She said no one Lord.... Jesus reply to here is this verse 11 John 8:11
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
And here is were we begin, Jesus says to them verse 12 John 8:12
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.”
Chapter 7 tells us that it was during the time of the Feast of the Tabernacles, and it was during this time that worshippers awaited the lighting of the golden lamp stand that was outside of the Temple…this lampstand is different from the one in the Temple, but this takes place in the courtyard of the temple, specially in the courtyard of the women.
So people are waiting for the lighting of these lamps…it was to remind the people of God leading the people through the wilderness at night by a pillar of fire.
So the lighting of the lamps was a sign of Israel’s re commitment to the Lord of life. So it was a very festive time, dancing and singing… honor and praising the Lord for his leadership.
And it is during this time, Jesus makes the declaration…
I am the light of the world. What does this mean?
I am sure the Pharisees must have lost their mind when Jesus said this…But when Jesus says this he is saying he is the luminary himself. A role that was said to be God and God alone.
So, when Jesus tells them “I am the light of the world”, he is telling them He is God. And just as those who followed the light in the wilderness found life, so those who come unto Jesus finds a life through his light.
Jesus goes on to say that whosoever would follow him would not walk in darkness, but would have the light of life.
He is the one who lives life, and he is the one who gave them the festivals himself. Remember he is the eternal one.
What Jesus is saying here is reminiscent of the praise songs to God in the Psalms. He is the light of life Ps 56:13
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
And then light is the symbol of God’s ability to bring victory to our lives.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Light is always the symbol and or description for how good our God is… He wants to deliver us from darkness and bring us into the light.
Now look at what is said after this Verses 13-14
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.
So the Pharisees complain, they say that Jesus words are unlawful since he bore witness of himself.
A witness according to the Scriptures needed to be the witness of 2 or 3 in order to be considered truthful, but that applied to man and not the pure holy nature of God.
But for even Jesus, there truly was more than his Words that bore witness to who he was…
A. John the Baptist bore witness to Jesus.
B. The works Jesus did bore witness to who He was.
C. The Father bore witness to who Jesus was.. this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
D. The Scriptures point to the witness of who Jesus is as well...
But these self righteous Judges would not receive any of them. if God the father revealed himself in a pillar of fire before them, I think they would doubt...
Verse 14 is important for Jesus says I know where I came from and where I am doing… but you do not know where I came from and where I am going… They were spiritually blind to Jesus.
Verses 15-16 John 8:15-16
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.
They looked to the flesh, but the lack of spiritual eyes prevented them from seeing the truth.
Jesus says here that the purpose of His coming wasn’t to judge...
Remember John 3:16-17
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
The coming of Jesus was to bring salvation to the world, not condemnation. But His very coming placed people into decisive opinions about Him. They either accepted him or rejected him.
But we also know this…Jesus says even if he did come to Judge, it would be a pure, a true judgement since it was set in place by the Father.
Jesus is elevated by the Father, we know that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
As such, His role actually brings judgment based on is he is received or rejected. The purpose of Jesus has not changed, he came ot be the Savior of the world.
42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Now lets look at verses 17-19 John 8:17-19
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.”
Jesus takes them back to their own law and the very law they quote would approve of Jesus testimony because not only does Jesus say I bear witness of myself, but my Father does also..
And in verse 19, The Pharisees aks, who is your Father...
They are so blind...
Jesus worlds are powerful, you neither know me or my Father, for if they had recognized Jesus they would have recognized the Father was there as well.
‘Wow, what words of condemnation Jesus gives unto them..
In history people are judged on the works they did.. We say… oh this must have been this ones or that one based on what we see or read...
But Jesus has done who many great works that speak to His divine nature and yet he is rejected.
And we come to the last verse here
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.
The gavel fell, the Pharisees have condemned him, they wanted Jesus out of their way. They wanted to seize him, but His hour had not come..
In reality the purpose for which he came is not complete yet to go to the cross and as such no one could touch him until the time set by the Father was complete.