The I Am's of Jesus (I am the Light of the world)
Notes
Transcript
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Coming into this place on a Sunday morning right out of the gate we are asking the question, “Who is Jesus”? It is an appropriate question since we want to know who he is and there are lots of people who think they know who Jesus is because they watched a special on TV and there are “new discoveries” in archeology that could point to something different. I am here to tell you this morning that we already know who Jesus is; and we can know who Jesus is by what he said about himself.
What better way to find out about someone than what they say about themselves?
This series we are going through is called, “The I Am’s of Jesus”. Jesus made some statements about himself which are recorded in the book of John.
The book of John is an interesting book. It is one of the 4 Gospels, meaning the good news. It is a book that describes the life of Jesus. It is a biography about Jesus. The book of John was the last of the Gospels produced. It was written in the neighborhood of 85- 100 ad which means that this is still first person accounts, especially since it is believed that the disciple, John actually did write it.
The purpose of the book is to prove who Jesus is, the son of God and for people who read it to believe it as fact.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The purpose of John’s good news is so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Today we are going to be looking at one of the early I Am statements that Jesus made.
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.”
We are looking at the book of john to get these statements where
all they had was sun, moon or fire the significance of light
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
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.
What word jumps out at you in this section of scripture?
LIGHT What an interesting word to use. This is really significant.. Why?
We see light in the first couple verses of the Bible
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
This is significant.. Why?
Light is so important. Light is crucial for our survival. If the sun stopped shining the plants would die, they produce oxygen and anything that requires oxygen would die too. Light is important.
I depend on light in order to have my vegetable garden grow. Light creates the heat that melts the snow on our roofs and driveways. I have plants in my window of my office that actually bend toward the light because they thrive with the light.
We go into the sun to improve our moods and we soak up the light so that we can get tan even though its dangerous for us. Our chickens even enjoy the sunlight as sometimes they lay on their sides and lift up their wings to soak up the sunlight.
But When we talk about light the way a first century person would we cannot really truly compare. We don’t really have the ability to understand how these folks understood light and dark. You see for them, there were two sources of light. The sun and fire. That was it. No flashlight, no led’s no night lights. They had a very clear understanding of the difference between light and the darkness.
So Dark was DARK and it was understood that it was dark. Ever been in the dark? I do not like being in the dark.. I don’t like being able to see what is around me.
Ever have the lights go out and there is nothing? Light is important.
When we were getting rid of our old van one of the main things we wanted to know was, how will the headlights work in the dark? We live out in the country, there are no streetlights. Night time is dark! So we wanted to make sure that we would be able to see when we were driving at night because it is important to be able to see.
For the first century person, they understood the dark in a way that we may never understand. We have the light and we take it for granted.
One of the interesting things about this little speech Jesus gives is that it is taking place in the temple, in the area that everyone was allowed to go. There were certain areas that non Jews could go to, where women could go to, this is where Jesus was teaching. But the really interesting thing about this speech is when it is taking place.
There was a Jewish holiday going on. It was called the feast of Tabernacles (Explain it) The feast of Tabernacles was also called the festival of booths.
Jesus was speaking during the the feast of Tabernacles (Explain it)
Temple, during the feast of Tabernacles (Explain it)
The feast of Tabernacles, the harvest festival, was one of the most popular and important festival after the Captivity, the 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
The feast of Tabernacles, the harvest festival of the Jewish Church, was the most popular and important festival after the Captivity. At Jerusalem it was a gala day. It was to the autumn pilgrims, who arrived on the 14th (of the month Tisri, the feast beginning on the 15th) day, like entrance into a silvan city. Roofs and courtyards, streets and squares, roads and gardens, were green with boughs of citron and myrtle, palm and willow. The booths recalled the pilgrimage through the wilderness. The ingathering of fruits prophesied of the spiritual harvest.
At Jerusalem it was a gala day. It happened in autumn after the harvest was brought in. It was a celebration of how God had provided for them. Pilgrims entered the city that would be decorated with all kinds of fruits and vegetables, anything from the harvest. Boughs and reefs decorated the city to praise God for giving them this harvest. They spent a week living outside of their homes in little booths that God commanded that they build, which would be like the living conditions they were in as they were in the wilderness for 40 years. It was an amazing week of celebrations.
One of the really neat things that happened was this. At night during this week, the priests would light giant torches in the courtyard of the temple, like giant minoras and the people would dance and play music during the night. The wicks for the torches were actually made from the priests worn out clothes. It was a big deal when the lit those torches because a tremendous light was cast even outside of the temple It would have been celebrated.
These giant torches could have reminded the people of the pillar of fire that led Israel by night in the wilderness where without it, it would have been impossible.
Sounds like a great week to celebrate. And the people would look forward to it every year. So that festival is going on.
Can you imagine? Now just to let you know. There was a lot of hype surrounding this Jesus fellow. And when everyone came into Jerusalem for the festival the people were talking about him. “What’s he gonna do? What’s he gonna say? This should be really interesting.
Can you imagine? Now just to let you know. There was a lot of hype surrounding this Jesus fellow. And when everyone came into Jerusalem for the festival the people were talking about him. “What’s he gonna do? What’s he gonna say? This should be really interesting.
It is in this context where Jesus begins to teach.
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.”
When Jesus said he was the light, everyone knew what he was talking about. He was calling himself the light that people should follow.
Follow the light. Follow the light just like your ancestors followed the pillar of fire in the desert, follow me. Follow my ways for you. Follow the light.
He was calling himself the light that people should follow.
Following implies moving. It implies that there is an action. Following Christ is not passive but it is active. Follow the light. When you are walking, you are moving in a direction. Usually you have a place you want to go, or you have something or someone that you want to follow.
We are all walking in one direction or another. The way Jesus puts this he is saying that you either follow the light (me), or you are walking in darkness. It is either light or darkness, there is no in between. You can’t walk in the gray.
This is a pretty unpopular thing to say. But it is the reality of our condition before God. We are either for Him or against Him and no matter our motives, no matter how sincere we are, there is only one true light and that is Jesus. And he says it right here so He either is the light, or he is a liar or disillusioned. Have you ever thought about it that way? Jesus is being very direct. He usually is. He is stating beyond the shadow of a doubt of who he thinks he is. He is the light. We have to either believe him, and believing him means following Him, or, we ignore him and walk in darkness.
The issue is that we are all going somewhere Jesus uses the term walking. We are either walking in light or in darkness. And we all know that in life there are obstacles aren’t there?
There are always going to be obstacles in life. IF you are walking in the light then you see the obstacles, you know how to avoid them, you can navigate them.
If you walk in darkness you don’t see them. You trip, you get hurt.
Walking in darkness has no direction.. Walking in darkness is aimless, it’s uncomfortable. Even if we think we can get away with it. I feel like I know my house pretty well. So well that I can usually walk around with no lights on and can manage.
There was a bag of stuff In my bedroom that someone placed along the wall. I didn’t know it was there. I walked thinking I knew where I was going but when I tore over this thing I broke a glass picture frame. Even through I have walked this path, this direction hundreds of times, I didn’t see the obstacle in the dark that made me trip.
Last week There was a bag of stuff In my bedroom that someone placed along the wall. I didn’t know it was there. I walked thinking I knew where I was going but when I tore over this thing I broke a glass picture frame. Even through I have walked this path, this direction hundreds of times, I didn’t see the obstacle in the dark that made me trip.
If I had a light on I would have seen the obstacle and I would have been able to easily walk around it. It’s a simple illustration, really. Light equals clarity.
But Jesus is saying so much more than this. When he says he is the light, he isn’t saying he is A light, meaning one of many, He is saying that he is THE light. Big difference.
What Jesus is saying is that he is equal with God. And this causes a stir with a group of very religious people.
13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”
The Pharisees, the ultra religious leadership knew what Jesus was saying with what He was saying and they call him out.
We are all walking in one direction or another.
Obstacles.
If I had a light on I would have seen the obstacle and I would have been able to easily walk around it. It’s a simple illustration, really. Light equals clarity.
There was a rule in the law that said that two or three people had to be witnesses to whatever you were claiming. They were telling Jesus, You can’t bear witness to yourself, you have to have others agree with you.
He was calling himself the light that people should follow.
13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”
Bearing witness about yourself does not mean that it isn’t true. It was true. But it does mean that the Pharisees are looking for a way / any excuse to get out of Jesus’ plain words.
And this is what so many people do today. We look for excuses to not follow the light.
The Pharisees used the “letter of the law” to put Jesus off. Text in the law.
We use excuses like, well that was a long time ago. Or, well that isn’t really what Jesus meant. Some go so far as saying, “well the bible was put together by people that had an agenda. Anything to get away from following what Jesus simply said about himself.
30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
We cannot make excuses not to look at Jesus as the true light when it is so plain in Scripture. Jesus isn’t the only one who calls himself this.
This idea of light is not just in this little section of Scripture. John talks about the savior being the light of the world.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
This idea of light is really interesting to me.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
Jesus says “I am the light of the world. And he says to follow me so that you don’t walk in darkness but walk into light.
The word—To follow points to a soldier following a commander, a slave following the steps of a master, accepting wise counsellors opinion, obedience to city laws.
To follow means a soldier following a commander, a slave following the steps of a master, accepting wise counsellors opinion, obedience to city laws.
Following it.
What does this mean to you and me? Well, if Jesus says that he is the light and I have to follow him or else I am following darkness that means that I want to find out everything I can find out about Jesus. I find out about Jesus by reading the bible.
Reading the word
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
When you read the word of God you are hearing from God’s mouth right into your heart. And it is always beneficial to you. Are you spending any time at all in the word of God? If you aren’t then you need to make the choice to. There has never been a time in history when the word of God has been more available. Unless you are a kid that belongs to me in this room I bet pretty much every one of you has a phone with which you can access youversion or any bible app for free to put on your phone. You have the bible available to you.
This is the main way you get to know God. The number one way. Find out about Jesus. Not from what you hear up here, but for yourself. Especially the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read them, slowly. Read them a couple of times because your mind is wandering. The light is worth knowing.
What else does walking in the light mean?
What else does walking in the light mean?
It means acting like Jesus; doing what is right
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
James
Read the word and then do it. Simple right?
I don’t think I need to spend too much time on this. Do what is right. Act out your faith. This is a great wwjd moment. What would Jesus do? We are instructed to do it.
Walking in the light means praying
Spend literal time talking to God. It doesn’t have to be formal. God is relational. He wants to have a relationship with you. He is a personal God and wants for you to be with him personally. It is not a ritual, it is not a ceremony, it is life together.
Walking in the light means sharing your faith. Here is wha Jesus, the light says about it.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
This is just a couple of things.
Are you walking in light or in darkness? Are you living for Jesus? Not saying, have you surrendered your life to Jesus. I am asking, are you living for Jesus… there is a difference. Are you taking it so seriously that you want every part of your life to be touched by CHrist? That is a scary prayer isn’t it? Jesus, touch every area of my life so that you can be glorified.
Jesus is still the light. The One the true light. There is no other. If you aren’t following Jesus then you are walking in darkness. Yes, darkness. You cannot find your way around. You cannot see. Only when you follow the light will you be able to follow what is right.
