Back in the Old Testament, we read that the Israelites had been in Egypt for 400 years, much of that time as slaves. Finally, when the time was right, God sent Moses to lead the people out of their slavery… into freedom. And for the next 40 years, the Israelites wandered in the desert, being led by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. And during those 40 years, the Israelites had lived in tents. But ultimately, they came out of the wilderness into the Promised Land, and God gave them fields they hadn’t planted, wells they hadn’t dug, and cities they hadn’t built.
In the Law, God created a special festival for Israelites to observe so that they would remember what they’d been through during those 40 years. It was called the Feast of the Tabernacles. For 7 days in the month October the Israelites were required to come to Jerusalem and live in tents (another name for tabernacles). And they still do that today.
By the time of Jesus, this Feast of Tabernacles had gotten to be quite an elaborate affair. According to the Mishnah – which is a Jewish commentary on the Law (Sukkah 5:2) “At the close of the first Holyday” (of the Feast of the Tabernacles) the priests would descend from the Court of the Israelites down into the Court of Women. In that court. four huge candelabras were placed, each “with four golden bowls at their tops and four ladders to each one.” The Talmud says that each were fifty cubits in height (Sukkah 52b - http://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Papers/John7-9.3.pdf)
Essentially, these candelabras were 75 feet tall!!!! Each of them had 4 bowls at the top filled with 10 gallons of oil. And each night during the festival, these were set ablaze at Sundown and burned so brightly that it lit up the entire city. This ritual was called the “Illumination Of The Temple.”
Now, this wasn’t a solemn occasion. This was literally a festival. They sang and they danced. The religious leaders praised God, and sang songs of joy, while musicians played harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets. (Brian Bill)
They were having themselves a party!!!
On the 7th day of the festival - at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the High Priest would lead a procession through the streets of Jerusalem down to the Pool of Siloam to fill a golden pitcher with (what they called, since the water was from a flowing source of water) “living water” from that pool. (Mayim Chaim)
Then, returning to the Temple, the High Priest took the golden pitcher of water, along with a silver pitcher filled with wine and he poured both of them out before the Lord. And then he prayed: “God in heaven, send Your Messiah soon and in our days. We cry out for our Messiah now" (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Hebrew_Roots/Holy_Days/Tabernacles/Tabernacles/Hoshanna_Rabbah).
The Rabbis had long taught that the Messiah was to be referred to as “The Light.” They would look to passages like:
Isaiah 42:1 & 6-7 “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations… "I am the LORD; I have called you (the chosen one) in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, A LIGHT for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
Isaiah 60:1-3 “Arise, shine, for YOUR LIGHT has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
AND Malachi 4:2 “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings…”
The Messiah was seen as the Light who was come into the world. So, why am I telling you all this? Why is this important? Well, I’m telling you all this because there are many scholars who believe our text this morning may have taken place on the LAST day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The candelabras had been set ablaze for 7 nights, and the High Priest had prayed that God would send the long awaited Messiah. It was at this time that Jesus stood up and declared: “I am the Light of the World!” I am the light that was to come. I am the Messiah who had been promised. I have come into a dark world to give you light.
Now, is that cool, or what?
Everything I just told you about Jerusalem tells us WHERE Jesus was, and WHEN Jesus was there, and WHAT He said, and WHO He was – the Light of the world. And that’s all cool. But what difference does it make to us? Why should we care whether or not He’s the Light of the World?
Well the first reason we should care about this setting was that this was Jesus’ calling card. When Jesus said He was the light of the world… He was offering His credentials.
ILLUS: When I meet someone for the first time I may hand them my “calling card.” My calling card tells folks WHO I am and WHAT I do. So, as Jesus stands up at the end of the “Feast of Tabernacles” - at the end of the ritual of the “Illumination Of The Temple” - and He says: “This is WHO I am and this is WHAT I’ve come to do He’s just handed these people His calling card.
The High Priest had just prayed that God would send the Messiah, and Jesus stands before the crowd and declares: “That’s me! I am the Messiah. I am the Light of the World.”
Now, the reason this is important to us is because our faith is not the only religion on the block. There’s Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and a whole bunch of other “isms” out there. What would make us think our faith is better than theirs?
Well, one of the reasons it’s better is because Jesus had a calling card. In fact, Jesus had a bunch of calling cards. Scholars tell us that Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies about the Messiah. And the chances of one mortal man fulfilling even a portion of those is astronomical. Especially the prophecies a normal man couldn’t have controlled - where He was born, where He’d grow up, how He lived, how would died, where He died, with whom He died, and how long He’d be in the grave. No normal man could fulfill all those, and all of these had been prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus birth.
(PAUSE)
ILLUS: About 500 years or so before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there was a man named Siddhartha born in Nepal. We know him as “Buddha.” As Buddha grew up, he struggled with the unfairnesses of life and tried to understand the concept of eternity. He developed a series of teachings that attracted followers and ultimately that laid the foundation for the religion we call “Buddhism.” BUT, no one had ever predicted that a man like Buddha would be born in Nepal, live in a particular town in that area, and teach in a certain way, and die in a certain way. Buddha simply popped up in history, unheralded by any prophecy or prediction. And if you visit his grave today… guess who’s in that grave? Buddah!
About 500 years AFTER Jesus – a man Mohammed was born in Saudi Arab. As Mohammed grew older he had what he said was a revelation of who God was and his teachings appealed to a number of followers who then formed the foundation of the religion we know of as Islam. BUT no one ever predicted that someone would be born in Saudi Arabia or prophesied of a man who would live as Mohammed lived, or die like he died. And if you visit his grave today… guess who’s in that grave? Mohammed!
But when Jesus was born, there’d been 100s and 1000s of years of prophecies telling us where He’d be born, how He’d live/ how He’d die. And he’s not in the grave any longer. The grave couldn’t hold Him! And that is our advantage over all the isms of the world.
But we have another advantage, and that advantage is that when Jesus said He was the light of the world He wasn’t just fulfilling a prophecy. He literally came to be OUR LIGHT. He came to help us to see things. He came to help us ourselves, and the world around us, like those things really are.
John 1:4-5 “In (Jesus) was life; and the life was THE LIGHT of men. And the light shines in the darkness…”
ILLUS: When I went to Pigeon Forge for a preacher’s retreat I stayed in a really nice hotel room. Now I’ve been in hotel rooms before, but waking up in the middle of the night - in a strange room - can be disorienting. I tend to bump into things because I can’t see in the dark. So I’ve developed the habit of turning on a light in the bathroom before I go to bed. That way – if I have to get up - I don’t have to fumble around in the dark. I can see everything I need to see in that room.
And that what Jesus has done for us. He has come to shine His light in our darkness. He has come to be our light so we can see everything we NEED to see. And one of the things we NEED to see, is the world just the way it is.
John 3:16 tells us “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Why would the world perish? Because the world is filled with sin. Romans 3:23 tells us “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Nobody is inherently righteous!
And yet, we almost naturally go to the idea that some people are “BAD,” and other people are “GOOD.” Some folks are from Sodom and Gomorrah, others are from Disneyland. One is the picture of evil, the other is the picture of innocence. And then we get surprised when a person we thought was a nice person has done (or is still doing) something that causes us… to look away in embarrassment.
Jesus said: “…No one is good except God alone.” (Luke 18:19) If we knew the darker truth of people’s lives, everyone would disappoint us.
ILLUS: This seems to happen a lot in politics. I never cease to be amazed at the Republicans and Democrats who seem to believe that their party is filled with righteous folk, while the other party is nothing but evil and vile people. I’ve got news for you… there are bad folk in both parties, and none of them are totally “righteous” in the eyes of God.
Someone once said: God is not disillusioned with us. He never had any illusions to begin with.” Luis Palau
God sees mankind as we really are. And what He sees is world filled with sin. A world that He sent His son to earth to rescue from hell.
As Ephesians 2:3-5 tells us that even “we (Christians) were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…”
So, the first thing Jesus’ light helps us to see is to see the world the way it is. It’s not filled with nice people who deserve to go to heaven. It’s filled with sinful people who would never make it to heaven without Jesus.
The 2nd thing Jesus’ light helps us see… is US the way we are. There’s an old saying “No one’s saved but thee and me… and I’m not sure of thee.” In other words: I deserve to go to heaven… but I have my doubts about you!
Most of us aren’t quite that crass, but we do tend to think of ourselves as pretty nice people. In fact, we tend to use ourselves as a kind of measuring stick of right and wrong. The righteousness of others tends to be measured by how we view our own self-righteousness. And let’s face it - we tend to think of ourselves as pretty nice people… just ask us.
ILLUS: Reader’s Digest had a story years ago that told of a man who was on trial. Half-way through the trial, he stood up and pled guilty. The judge was frustrated: "Why didn't you plead guilty to begin with and save us all a lot of time?" And the defendant replied "I thought I was innocent. But that was before I heard all the evidence against me."
That literally happens to people. It’s like they suddenly realize what a jerk they’re capable of being, and they’re reminded of the bad things they’ve done and the bad choices they’ve made, and suddenly they don’t like themselves anymore.
ILLUS: Recently, a Hollywood actor named Isaac Kappy tragically committed suicide. Before he died, he wrote a note that read: “Over the course of the last week, through introspection that should have happened MANY years ago, I have come to some stark revelations about my character. It is a testament to my utter ignorance that these revelations had not come sooner. You see, I believed myself to be a good guy. I HAVE NOT been a good guy. In fact, I have been a pretty bad guy throughout my life.”
This caused this man to hate himself so much that he ultimately took his life.
CLOSE: Isaac Kappy’s concluded his letter with an apology to Jesus, and these words:
“I hope that the people of the world can utilize my folly in a positive light. That you all may use my mistakes as an example for personal growth. The lesson has come too late for me, but perhaps it can inspire you.” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/05/15/thor-actor-isaac-kappy-dies-after-jumping-off-arizona-bridge/3687012002/)
Isaac Kappy saw it a being “too late” for him. He didn’t understand who Jesus was. He believed that Jesus would be so ashamed of him. That Jesus couldn’t love him. He believed it was TOO LATE for him to change. What Kappy didn’t understand was that Jesus knew what he was like all along… and still loved him. He didn’t understand that Jesus came to change his life. He didn’t understand that IT’S NEVER TOO LATE to change
(Jesus said) “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may NOT REMAIN in darkness.” John 12:46
Jesus came that we wouldn’t be imprisoned by our feelings of shame and guilt. So that we wouldn’t have to remain in darkness. That’s why Jesus spent all his time with the tax collectors, the prostitutes and the sinners. Jesus came as our light so that we’d know that God knows that we’ve sinned. And so that we’d know that His light can make it so we can change. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE.
ILLUS: There once was a man who hated Christians. He persecuted the church, arresting Christians and throwing them into jail. He was even responsible for the death of at least one preacher. Then one day, Jesus got his attention. He was on the road to a city called Damascus when a light from heaven blinded him, and the voice of Jesus spoke to him.
This man was the person we know of as Paul (the man who wrote about half of our New Testament) and Jesus sent Paul on to Damascus and sent another man named Ananias to tell him what to do. And the 1st things that Paul was told was this; “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins.” (Acts 22:16) Paul was told his sins would be washed away. His past would be buried in the waters of baptism.
To drive the fact that his sins were removed, Paul made this comment about himself: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” I Timothy 1:15-16
INVITATION
