I Am The Light Of The World Series

Just in time for winter, Hydro One said it is working to reconnect power for hundreds of customers who are in the dark, because they had their electricity cut off due to unpaid bills. The power provider says it is reaching out to roughly 1,400 residential customers who failed to pay their bills in order to arrange reconnection for the rest of the winter season. (http://blackburnnews.com/chatham/chatham-news/2016/12/07/hydro-one-reconnect-customers/)

The Bible describes sinners as “those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness” (Prov. 2:13). But those who through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ “turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God … receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in [God]” (Acts 26:18). They are “rescued … from the domain of darkness, and transferred … to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), becoming “sons of light and sons of day,” no longer “of night nor of darkness” (1 Thess. 5:5). Because God “has called [them] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9), those who “were formerly darkness … now … are Light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8).

Presenting His divinity in John 8:12-21, Jesus makes an astounding claim about Himself—that He is the Light of the World. Yet, those who are in darkness, especially from the Jewish religious leaders, oppose this presentation. In showing how He brings light and what this means, John presents: 1) The Area in which the conflict took place (John 8:20), 2) The Lord’s Assertion (John 8:12), 3) The Leaders’ Accusation (John 8:13), 4) The Lord’s Answer to that accusation (John 8:14–19), and 5) His Announcement of their impending judgment (John 8:21).

In showing how He brings light and what this means, John presents:

1) The Area (John 8:20)

John 8:20 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. (ESV)

In John’s original writing, when he says “These words he spoke” the discussion starting in John 8:12 immediately follows John 7:52. The intervening passage, 7:53–8:11, about Jesus forgiving the woman taken in adultery interrupts the narrative’s continuity and is not included in the earliest manuscripts(Barton, B. B. (1993). John (p. 171). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House)

The setting for the Lord’s confrontation with the religious leaders was the temple treasury, located in the section in the temple complex called the Court of the Women (the second outermost court). The court covered a space upwards of two hundred feet square, and was surrounded by a colonnade, within which, and against the wall, were the thirteen trumpet, shaped chests, called “trumpets” from their shape, for charitable contributions. Each treasure box was marked to designate how the money put in it would ostensibly be used (for the temple tax and various offerings).This court was the most public part of the temple It was at this site that Jesus would later observe a poor widow making her cent offering (Mark 12:41–44; Luke 21:1–4).(Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 168). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.).

Since the Court of the Women was a busy public location, it was ideal for Jesus to teach there. The Sanhedrin met in a nearby hall, almost within earshot of the Lord’s voice, yet no one arrested/seized Him, because His hour had not yet come. John uses this term “hour” in several ways: (1) for time (cf. 1:39; 4:6, 52, 53; 11:9; 16:21; 19:14; 19:27); (2) for the end time (cf. 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28); (3) but here for His last days (arrest, trials, death, cf. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1). As John had previously explained in John 2:4 this shows Jesus’ self-understanding about His appointed purpose (cf. Mark 10:45). Jesus was always under the sovereign control of His Father and the divine schedule, so that His enemies were powerless to harm Him before the appointed time. (Utley, R. J. (1999). The Beloved Disciple’s Memoirs and Letters: The Gospel of John, I, II, and III John (Vol. Volume 4, p. 26). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International )

Illustration: Andrew Murray’s Four Truths

The reality that Christ was in complete control of events here, should give us great comfort and guidance. It did for South African pastor Andrew Murray who once faced a terrible crisis. Gathering himself into his study, he sat a long while quietly, prayerfully, thoughtfully. His mind flew at last to his Lord Jesus, and picking up his pen, he wrote these words in his journal: “First, He brought me here, it is by His will that I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest. Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child. Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow. Last, in His good time He can bring me out again—how and when He knows.(Finall) Let me say I am here, (1) By God’s appointment (2) In His keeping, (3) Under His training, and (4) For His time.” (V. Raymond Edman, They Found the Secret (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1960), 97.)