Be The Moon, Reflect The Son

Be The Moon, Reflect The Son

10/10/04 AM

Text: John 8:12

Reading: Romans 10:1-10

INTRODUCTION:

Ill: Shopping at local Christian bookstore. Clothing racks. Shirt with words on the front: “Be the Moon.”

A. About the Text:

1. In the background of this text, we have the feast of tabernacles (7:37).

a. At the end of the first day of Tabernacles, the worshippers congregated in the Court of Women where a great illumination took place. Four huge golden lamps or candelabras, each with four golden bowls were filled with oil and according to Jewish history, “There was not a court in Jerusalem that was not lit up by it.”

b. It was with this ritual in the backdrop that Jesus made the statement recorded in John 8.

B. Jesus… said, I am the Light of the world

1. John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

2. Jesus was proclaiming the fulfillment of the prophesies of Isaiah to those in Jerusalem.

a. As was recorded by Matthew: Matthew 4:12-17

3. Jesus is “the Light,” not merely a light or another light among many lights. He is the only Light, “the true Light” (John 1:9), for the whole world.

4. When Jesus said, “…he who follows Me,” He meant whoever believes and obeys Him. Jesus was speaking of salvation.

5. Exclusivity of the claims.

a. Again, these claims that Jesus makes are exclusive in nature.

b. It is not merely one or two statements that were made, but several.

c. Each of these statements is exclusive.

1) When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” that excludes all other “lights”.

2) John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

6. If anyone is to be saved, they must be saved through Jesus.

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

7. Knowing that Jesus is the Light of the world which brings salvation in our lesson today we are going to explore the character of light, the action of light, and our responsibility to the light.

I. The character of light.

A. Light is bright and obvious.

1. Light is bright.

a. When you see light, you don’t need any additional confirmation.

b. I never had to teach my children what light was.

2. Light is obvious.

a. You know it is light.

b. It is obvious what it is.

c. No one has to tell you that is not light nor is that. You just know.

3. Jesus, as the light of the world is bright and obvious.

a. The Hebrew writer says that Jesus was the “radiance” of God’s glory. Hebrews 1:3.

b. 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

4. When the life and teaching of Jesus are viewed with an open and honest heart one is virtual certain to reach the same conclusion as the Roman centurion in:

Matthew 27:54, “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

5. The Light of Jesus is that bright and obvious.

B. The source is known.

1. When there is light in the room, it is not hard to find the source.

2. Even without sight we can feel the sun.

3. The works which Jesus did made His source obvious.

a. Confession of Nicodemus:

John 3:2 “…this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

b. Confession of the healed blind man. John 9:24-33

c. Jesus words: John 10:36-38, “…do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

4. The source of this light should be obvious to us as well.

C. The power of light is virtually unlimited.