Speaker 1: 0:00

Have you ever been in a situation where you ran out of light? I've told the story before of when my family was out on a hike and the hike took longer than we expected and it got dark out and we had to pull out our cell phone flashlights. But I wonder if you have been in a situation where you weren't planning on the light running out, but it took longer and you became very reliant on a source of light. Maybe it was your cell phone and maybe you're like, oh, how much battery do I have, because it's the end of the day, I'm at 12%. Hopefully my flashlight can guide us to where we need to go. Maybe you've seen what is kind of a common trope in certain types of especially in serial TV shows, where your characters get lost in a cave of some sort and somehow you can still see them and they kind of don't crash into the walls, but they're going around and they don't know their way out. They feel trapped, they're exploring, and then someone says I see light and there's light at the end of the tunnel, and so everybody goes to the light and they're saved because they've found a way out. They're lost in the dark, they're trapped in the dark they cannot get out. Yet there is light at the end of the tunnel. Yet there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Speaker 1: 1:26

We're going to go into this text in just a moment, in John 8, and we're going to have the second of the I am statements. Particularly, it says I am the light of the world. You might remember earlier, I am the bread of life. Different people debate how much thematic connection there are between these I am statements, but they definitely have this recurrence throughout the book of John. And here Jesus is going to respond. And if you remember, last week Pastor Ian took us. Pastor Ian took us through the end of chapter 7. And at the end of chapter 7, it said, in verse 52, it said they replied Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee. Jesus is in a place where he is interacting and people are challenging his authority. If you remember, we had those that believed, those that questioned and those that rejected I don't remember his exact words, but something along those lines. And Jesus here is giving a response. Jesus here is giving an answer, so to speak, and he's going to teach about who he is, and he's facing those that doubt, those that challenge. And so we're going to look at this text where Jesus declares himself as the light of the world, and we're going to explore what that means and how that plays out as background before we look at the text together as background.

Speaker 1: 3:04

I just want to point out something we understand, we intuit it makes sense the illustration of the light. I open with examples from various things, but you get it very easily because it's human nature. In fact, the theme of light being good and darkness being bad is not unique to Christianity. In fact, it occurs in most religions around the world, in many folk tales and all of these kinds of things, and that's because we understand this picture. So when Jesus is going to make this claim in just a moment, this does not land on deaf ears. It's actually landing on ears of understanding, because in the Old Testament itself, in numerous places, it gives this theme of light, of a light coming from God, and we'll look a little bit at that. But as it lands on these Pharisees, on the religious leaders that are there and on the crowds that are there, there is going to be a context, a filter by which they see all this. So let's start, and it's a little bit, because it's going to be verse 12 through verse 30, it's a little bit long. We're going to actually approach it kind of in chunks, but we're it's a little bit of a because it's going to be verse 12 through verse 30. It's a little bit long. We're going to actually approach it kind of in chunks, but we're going to start with just the first verse, verse 12.

Speaker 1: 4:31

And verse 12, Jesus makes the profound statement that I've already said. So let's read that this verse. It says 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. So he starts off with that word again, right, why does he say again? Well, if you look back to verse 37 of the last chapter, there's just a few verses. I'm going to read these verses because they give us the context of where he's coming to. Again, he says On that last day of the feast, the great day, jesus stood up and cried out If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Speaker 1: 5:19

Whoever believes in me, as the scriptures have said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. So Jesus is addressing these people at this great feast. So it's the Feast of Tabernacles. These people at this great feast. So it's the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a time where there's a very specific way that it's being celebrated and, in fact, where Jesus is most likely giving this speech or this talk or this engagement debate, whatever you'd want to call it. He's likely standing before four large lamps or flames, so it's probably dark out and he is out here giving this discussion, and they are dependent on light. And with the backdrop of these lights behind him, jesus addresses them.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Having already addressed them, having already pointed to him as the life giver, they express doubt, they say you're not who you say you are. And Jesus says I am the light of the world, and so this is the first thing that I want you to see from verse 12. This is what we're going to talk about, and it's this that Jesus is the light needed to leave darkness and find life. Jesus is. There are a lot of implications to what Jesus is saying when he says he is the light of the world. I already referred to the fact that the Old Testament talks about certain themes of light. I'll tell you a couple of them. We're not going to turn to all of them, but I'll just tell you a couple. But the thing that's important to know here is that devout Jews in Jesus' day would have recognized what Jesus is saying here, this claim that Jesus makes to be the light of the world. They would have recognized it as at least messianic. That by Jesus saying I am the light of the world, he is saying I am the one who was promised. Saying I am the light of the world, he is saying I am the one who was promised, I am the one who can deliver you, I am the one you have been waiting for. I am here. And in conjunction with this entire book, the gospel of John, where, remember, the gospel of John, where, remember, the Gospel of John is written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, jesus here is making this bold claim I am the light of the world. So there's some examples. So you have the example of the pillar of fire leading Israel by night In the servant songs in the book of Isaiah.

Speaker 1: 8:31

You have a theme there. So the book of Isaiah, an Old Testament, prophetic book, tells, perhaps in the most detail. It gives the promise of a savior, of a servant who will come, and even is portrayed as a suffering servant. But one of the themes throughout what we call the servant songs, these prophecies of the coming Messiah, is the idea that the Messiah that was coming would come as a light to the nations, that he would come and that he would carry the good news to the world, that he was not simply just for one people but that he was for all people, that he is a light to the nations. You also have throughout the Psalms and we could probably go through a lot of different Psalms that feature the theme of things like the Lord is my light or the word is a light unto my path. But the idea of light being associated with not just the Messiah but with God himself as the one who guides, as the one who shows the way, as the one who, when you were perhaps dependent on that cell phone light, everybody's walking close together because nobody wants to trip, nobody wants to come up against a section of the concrete where it's raised up or whatever.

Speaker 1: 10:10

Jesus claims to be the light and that claim, in the context of the gospel of John and in the context of this place, is more than just messianic, but it is in fact a consistent claim with the deity that is being presented in the gospel of John. This is consistent with Jesus's claim to equality with the Father, and we're going to kind of see that play out in the way people respond to him. So in just a moment we're going to continue and we're going to look at the next section. The next section is going to be verses 13 through 20. But before we read those verses, I'm going to emphasize a few things. But I want you to pay attention to this idea that Jesus is going to present himself as being able to testify of himself, meaning Jesus can say who he is. He can make this claim, because the Father also testifies who he is. Okay, so Jesus is saying I am the light of the world.

Speaker 1: 11:25

And in the verses there's going to be objection. They're going to say well, jesus, you can't say that about yourself, where's your evidence? And Jesus is going to make the case that he doesn't have to present other witnesses, so to speak, because God, the Father, bears witness of the Son, and so we're going to see that. We're going to see that. And so let's read, starting in verse 13. Um, so verse 13 says so. The Pharisees said to him you are bearing witness about yourself, your testimony is not true. Now you say well, where is this coming from? So part of it actually is potentially referencing something Jesus himself said. So you may remember this.

Speaker 1: 12:35

If you have your Bible, you turn back a couple of pages to John 5 in verse 31. It says if I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. So they could be referencing this. But there's also this idea presented in the law that when you're going to make a case about somebody, like when somebody is on trial, there needs to be two witnesses so that it can be corroborated. You even have Jesus in other texts teaching about when something comes up within the church and there's some kind of division that you would confront that person in the presence of two or three witnesses because the testimony of multiple is important. And so right here Jesus is making a testimony about himself and the Pharisees are confronting him and saying you're bearing witness about yourself, your testimony is not true. But Jesus answers them. And so let's look and we'll kind of talk through these next six verses.

Speaker 1: 13:45

It says Jesus answered verse 14, even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true. So even if you're right that I don't have any witnesses, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm lying. They were basically saying, well, your testimony is not true because you don't have witnesses. And he's saying, no, just because I don't have witnesses doesn't mean it's false In the logic that they were using. You would basically say he's saying that would just mean that it isn't provable. But so even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true. Why? Because I know where I came from and where I'm going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.

Speaker 1: 14:37

Verse 15, you judge according to the flesh. So they are looking for something and everybody recognizes when Jesus is making this profession, this claim that I am the light. I am the light of the world. Everybody understands he is claiming to be Messiah. That word Messiah basically means the anointed one, the Savior, the one who was going to deliver the promised one. So he is making this claim in saying that. And now he says, hey, you are judging according to the flesh. In other words, let's rephrase it a little bit they have certain expectations, certain things that they teach about the coming Messiah.

Speaker 1: 15:25

In the time that Jesus came, it was not a time where the Messiah was viewed as some far off promise. It wasn't like people thought oh you know, maybe one day in a couple thousand years, the Messiah will come. That's not how people thought People expected Jesus to come, or the Messiah to come imminently. There was I've referred to it as a messianic fever. The idea is that people were looking for the Messiah and there were false messiahs that were rising up around this time, and so, with all of that, the Pharisees had a certain teaching, a certain expectation of this Messiah who was going to do certain things. And beyond the Pharisees, the people at large, the crowds themselves. So when we talk about the crowds, we're just talking about all different kinds of people, not just the religious leaders. They had expectations of the Messiah, and Jesus is saying hey, your expectations regarding the Messiah. You are looking for someone to save the flesh. You're looking for someone you judge according to the flesh.

Speaker 1: 16:39

Jesus says I don't judge like you do, or I judge no one. Yet even when I do judge, or even if I do judge, my judgment is true. My judgment is true. And here's where he brings in the support for his claims, the support for what he says. He says, for it is not I alone who judge, so he's not saying what he's saying by himself. He says but I am the father who sent me. So Jesus is saying hey, it's not just me, but the father who sent me is also testifying that this is true.

Speaker 1: 17:27

Verse 17, he says in your law which is interesting because Jesus isn't Jesus in other places says I didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. But he says in your law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. Now, I don't think this is Jesus saying hey, this, you know, I'm doing away with the law. That was your law, this is I have a different law. I don't think that's what he's saying. I think he is saying hey, according to the way that you are reasoning, the way you are using the law, the way you are looking for a Messiah, you need what you are expecting to testify of truth.

Speaker 1: 18:13

The verse 18, he says I am the one who bears witness about myself and the father who sent me bears witness about me. They said to him therefore where is your father? It's so interesting. You know, just reading this text, as Christians we can kind of we understand what Jesus is saying. And you sometimes read the responses of the Pharisees and you feel like, well, why don't they get it, why don't they hear what he's saying? But you got to remember they don't have the context that we have, and so they're saying okay, jesus, what are you talking about? Your father? I mean, everything we understand. It seems that Joseph was probably dead at this point, and so they're kind of like okay, well, what are you talking about? What father are you referring to? It should also be noted referring to God as Father wasn't a common way to refer to God. That was something that kind of Jesus popularized, promoted the idea of God as Father. So they say where is your Father?

Speaker 1: 19:25

Jesus answered you know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my father also, which is frankly, kind of an annoying answer. It's like, well, who are you? Who's the father that you're talking about? We want to hear his story. And he's like, well, you don't even know him, you don't know me, so you don't know any. You don't, you just don't know. And they're like, okay, well, that's frustrating, what's the answer, verse 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.

Speaker 1: 20:05

So Jesus gives them these answers, that to us reading at the time that John wrote it down also, it made sense, but at the time in which it happened it's like you know what is he talking about and we're going to see that when we pick it up in just a moment. But I want to pause here as we end with this with verse 20, before we get into the last 10 verses. It ends verse 20, no one arrested him because his hour had not yet come. That brings to mind when he told his brothers hey, I'm not going to go announce myself because it's not my time yet. So Jesus is allowed to continue. No one's arresting him, they're not going to put him on trial yet because the Father has not deemed it the time.

Speaker 1: 21:05

Yeah, I think that there are a couple things, a couple applications that we can make as we think about the reality that the Father testifies of who Jesus is. You see, we as light bearers. I used that word earlier because the idea of Jesus as the light is not a new concept in the Gospel of John. I know we just picked this, we just picked back up the gospel of John as a sermon series that we ended last spring. But if you remember, in the opening chapters, in the opening chapter we see Jesus presented as the word and as the light. This is not a new concept. John has presented it before and if you remember, way back when, when we were in that text we're not going to turn there, but if you remember, when we were in that text, we talked about the idea that we, as Christians, are light bearers. We carry the good news. Jesus was a light. He was the one who showed the way and we are called to do the same thing. We are called to bear that light.

Speaker 1: 22:23

But one of the things that we do as Christians, as we seek to bear the light, one of the things we tend to do is we tend to feel like, hey, this is a hard thing to do. People are not going to want to receive this news, the good news that Jesus saves. They don't want that because they don't know that they're in the dark. They don't know that they're in the dark. I mean, that's the kind of the age-old dilemma. Right Is like how does someone who has never seen light know that they're missing it? You know, if you grew up and it was just always dark, it'd be like someone who grew up in the cold and they're always just trying to stay warm and they never experienced a warm climate. And then all of a sudden, hey, here's warmth. It's like, wow, I didn't know that it could be this way. Well, hey, people in the dark don't always know they're in the dark and you're saying, hey, here's the light, come and see. And they don't want to see.

Speaker 1: 23:45

As we seek to be faithful light bearers, that's a challenge that we're going to face. But the reality is is that, because God testifies of who Jesus is, we, as those who have the Spirit within us, as those who are lightbearers, can be confident that, in fact, god can work in hearts that think that they're just fine and can open their eyes? They were blind, but now they can see, and they see that they need the light and they can come into it, because it is not just us who testify, but God is actually at work, testifying of who Jesus is. The other thing that I would say is that Jesus is engaging these Pharisees, and these Pharisees have a standard by which they think they have it all figured out, they have all the judgments made, and this is what I would say is that, hey, we go out into this world as lightbearers. Be careful that we don't give into the temptation to become like these Pharisees. Realize that there are people out there who will believe. So be faithful, be faithful to the call to carry the good news.

Speaker 1: 25:27

I'm going to go into these last few verses where Jesus is going to continue teaching, he's going to continue talking and Jesus is going to proclaim where his authority comes from, that his authority comes from above and that it is not of this world. Let's read these verses together. We'll work through them. Verse 21. So he said to them again I am going away. So, remember, he's talking in a way that's a little confusing to them. They don't know who the father is that he's referring to. And now he says I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin and your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. Now, what does he mean? So it says the Jews.

Speaker 1: 26:31

In verse 22 said and so this isn't the Pharisees, this is the Jews, this is the crowds, this is people generally, and they're just kind of asking is he saying he's going to kill himself, since he says where I am going, you cannot come Like? What is he saying Now, obviously, to us? We know that Jesus is going to be crucified and that in the end he is going to be with the Father, but hey, he's telling them that they are going to die in their sin and not be able to go with him. Verse 23,. He said to them Verse 23, jesus is here making contrasts. Below is representative of basically, evil. The devil.

Speaker 1: 27:23

Whatever you'd want to say, he is from above, he is from God, is what he is saying. He says you are of this world. I am not of this world. I have told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. So they said to him who are you? Jesus said to them just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 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. They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the father. So Jesus said to them when you have lifted up the son of man. Jesus said to them when you have lifted up the Son of man, so basically when he's on the cross, 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. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do things that are pleasing to him and as he was saying these things, many believed in him. Jesus presents himself as something different than what they expected.

Speaker 1: 29:10

The theme of Jesus saying he is not of this world this is something that the Gospel of John. It's a theme that's going to be picked up again in John 18. I don't think we'll get to John 18 in this time in John, so probably the next time we're in John we'll get to John 18. I don't think we'll get to John 18 in this time in John, so probably the next time we're in John we'll get to John 18. But you might even recognize the phrase not of this world. You might have seen on cars a sticker that says like N-O-T-W. Not of this world. It's like in stylized letters. Basically, that's a popular Christian saying. It's a popular teaching. Why is it popular? Why is it something that we like to latch onto? But I would say it's something that is popular, something that we like to latch onto would say it's something that is popular, something that we like to latch onto because it is a truth that is comforting.

Speaker 1: 30:08

You see, we live life in this world and we recognize its brokenness, that it is a world dying, dying in sin. We see suffering all around us. Right now, we're in a season in this country where you know there's presidential change and if you engage in social media and you see people on different sides talking about what's happening, you see people with hope and you see people with despair. But what you ultimately see is a world grasping for a fix, for something that will take what is broken and put the pieces together in a way that is good. And you know what, as Christians living in the United States, if you could vote and you want to engage politically, great. That's not how the world gets saved. That's not how the pieces get picked up and get put back together, because Jesus is not of this world.

Speaker 1: 31:39

We, as followers of Jesus, our kingdom that we're a part of, is not of this world. It doesn't mean we don't try to do good, but it means that the fix for this world is the removal of sin. Is the removal of sin is that Jesus made a way so that we can know God. Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross. He rose again victorious, signifying a spiritual reality, that the darkness around us is defeated. And you know what I would say?

Speaker 1: 32:35

I'd say, as we think about the idea that we are called to be light in this world, to light the path to the world to come, I would say that, though sure people don't recognize that they are lost in darkness, they can't help but recognize that the world is broken, in fact, even the very fact of the social media posts that I referenced a minute ago, where you have people celebrating and people mourning changes that are happening. Why are they celebrating? Why are they celebrating? Why are they mourning? Because they see a broken world and they are grasping at something to fix it. And you know what? We know who can fix it, and so that's what we're called to do.

Speaker 1: 33:50

We are called to carry that light to show people, to show people that there is good news, despite the fact that all the news on TV seems to be bad. Might have a little good story here and there, but everything, it's all the bad stuff, because it makes money. They can show these bad stories and people will watch, people will read, people will listen, but the thing is is there is good news, and the good news is that we are not doomed to die with this world, with this world, that Jesus came from outside of this world and entered into the world so that he could live that perfect life that we could not live, that he could ultimately give that life for the redemption of many. We have that message. It's the message that we're going to proclaim the message of his death. We're going to proclaim that in just a moment, when we gather around the table, because Jesus told us hey, do this in remembrance of me, and in doing so, you proclaim my death until I come again.

Speaker 1: 35:31

Because, though this world in its present form is lost in darkness, the hope of Christ is such that we can have life, and so we remember and celebrate that. Father God, we come before you this morning thanking you for your word. We thank you for the light that we have in Christ. Help us, help us to be faithful light bearers, help us to remember that the light shines in darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Lord, help us be faithful, see fruit, to be more and more like Jesus. In his name we pray Amen.