I wonder if you have the same problem that I have. I'm not talking about falling asleep when
you're supposed to take out the trash, but rather not being able to find a working flashlight when
you need one. This is a common problem, you know. I have a tote in the garage, so right when I
need a flashlight I can go right to it. The last time that I needed one, there was a power outage, I
grabbed the first flashlight. Didn’t work. Grabbed the next flashlight…didn't work. I opened it
up, there was no batteries. Grabbed the third one, opened it up, there was batteries, but it still
didn't work. So did that battery thing, you know, where you flip the batteries around a little bit so
you can squeeze the last bit of juice out of them. It only lit up to about here. So this past year for
Christmas, I got a flashlight that is so bright you could see it from Mars. And it's so bright. If you
look into it, it's like looking in a flashbulb. And for those of you that are under forty, that's like
looking into the light on the back of your iPhone.
But seriously, we need a bright light to really, I think, help us out when we can't see in the
darkness. So if you're going outside at night, maybe taking the dog for a walk or taking the trash
out, how many of us have tripped over something, tripped up a curb, tripped over your kid's toys,
or something? A flashlight really, really helps out. And good light helps keep us safe in the
darkness.
But more than needing a light to see in the physical darkness, we need a light in the spiritual
darkness. Right? We need someone to save us from the darkness of our sin and to be a light in
the sinful world to help us see right from wrong. So today, we're going to look at the true light of
the world. We're going to be discussing Jesus as the one who lightens our lives and rescues us
from the darkness.
Today we continue in our study from John 8. We're picking up from last week's lesson of the
woman caught in adultery. So here I think in these two chapters here, in chapter 7-8, I think we
have teaching a bit similar to the Sermon on the Mount in that it is rich with truth and with the
awesomeness of Christ. See, the Sermon on the Mount reveals Jesus’ wisdom and provides a
deeper meaning to some of the basic commandments. For instance, when Jesus talks about
murder, it's not just about the act of murder, it's about the emotion behind it. If you hate your
brother and your sister, you're guilty of murder. When He talks about prayer, He said it's not just
about the act of prayer, it's about personal devotion time and prayer with The Lord. But in John
7-8 at the Feast of Booths, we see Jesus reveal not so much about what we should do, but about
who He is.
Jesus understood that many that were following Him were following Him because of what they
felt He could do for them physically. But Jesus was here, obviously, for what He could do for us
spiritually. We learned that all the way back in John 3. This was His mission from God. Now
here and during the feast, Jesus boldly enters the enemy's turf, not just on some random Sabbath
but in a time that He knew the temple would be filled with worshipers. That would be like Jesus
coming here on Christmas or Easter. That's how special this holiday was for them. Jesus’
teaching is so rich during this feast, that we get three of His most referenced quotes in all of
scripture, both sacred and secular. Because some of these quotes are used in the secular world as
well. We studied one last week, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. And this week we
have the other two.
So let's begin our study in John 8 starting in verse 12. So before we begin, Jesus opens this
passage with again. So here, Jesus has an audience and He begins teaching again. So let us read
what He has to say as He begins to teach. I'm just going to read from here. So we're going to start
with John 8:12-20.
It has here – 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 the Pharisees said to him, “You are
bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 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. You judge according to the flesh; I
judge no one. 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. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 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?” Jesus answered, “You know neither
me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” These words he spoke in
the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his time, his hour had
not yet come.
Remember what I mentioned earlier that we're going to see two of Jesus’ most remembered or
most referenced quotes. Here we see one of them. He says – I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. This statement sets the tone
for His entire interaction with the Pharisees. And we're going to see this sort of throughout this
passage that we're studying today. Jesus uses the metaphor of the light of life, the light of the
world. This really ties within the feast that they are celebrating here in the Feast of Booths.
So if you remember from our study last week at the feast, there are these booths that the pilgrims
set up three or four sided with an opening. They have a thatched roof across the top, either some
sort of lattice or some sort of reeds, something that has some opening. And then as the sun rises,
the light enters into their gathering area and serves as a reminder for how God carried them
through during their forty years in the desert.
See, Jesus takes that and broadens it. Just like He did on the Sermon on the Mount, He takes the
base principle of light and expands it to their and our lives. See, the Pharisees aren't happy with
this whole interaction. But they have no real argument based on the merits. They know what He's
accomplished. They're aware of the miracles. So they try to come back at Him a different way.
So they try to trap Him or almost trap Him in the law that says you are bearing witness about
yourself. Your testimony isn't true. The Pharisees have witnessed these and they're trying to find
a way to sort of trap Jesus into admitting He isn't who He claims to be. They tried to use the
Mosaic law to do this, but Jesus is ready.
Well let’s back up one second here. So this is an image of one of the booths. So you can kind of
see how the light is shining up and shining through into the booth. That's what I was referencing
before.
So you are bearing witness about yourself, and Jesus is ready. And Jesus responds – Well, you
judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And even if I did judge, my judgment is true,
because it is not me alone that judge, but the Father with me as well. See, He answers their
challenge. Their challenge is that He is only one witness. Jesus says, well, your laws say that
there needs to be two. So I'm going to provide two. Not only is it me, but it's also my Father.
This is great. Jesus uses their own trap against them. You wanted two witnesses? I give you two
witnesses.
Still not getting it, the Pharisees respond – Well, where is your Father? I think they knew who
Jesus’ earthly Father was. So they're trying to goad him into an argument here. And they're
probably like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Where's your Father? Jesus again responds, “You don't know
me. You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
I think in all of this, Jesus is telling them and telling us that He is the light of the world; follow
me and there'll be no darkness. And He tells them why. But they aren't listening. They're headed
down a path into darkness. They aren't even looking for the truth. They just want what they want.
They want what they've known already and they want Jesus to be wrong. I think what Jesus is
experiencing here is not much different from our experiences today, trying to convey the truth to
those that have their minds anchored in place. Did you ever try to change someone's mind who
was obviously wrong? You know, sometimes the discussion ends up with a constant “yes, but,”
“yes, but,” “yes, but” or devolves into name calling, or better yet they just stomp their feet and
walk away.
About a year or so ago, I had a second opportunity to share the gospel with a neighbor. A tree
had come down in his yard and I was over there helping him cut it down. I said, well, this is
perfect. I'm serving the Lord. I'm acting out the gospel. So let me talk to him about it. And he
had shared with me before that he wasn't really interested in any of these things. So I thought
maybe the last time I planted a seed. Maybe it's just the way to start some sort of conversation.
So I start talking to him and I start sharing, and then he tells me that all that we are is determined
by genetics. Like, okay, he has a purely scientific view of life. So then I said, “Well, what about
choice?”
He says, “Well, that's determined by our DNA.”
So I'm like, “Okay. What about your choice to have chicken or steak for dinner? You like both
equally, what does your choice come from?” Blank. So he just didn't want to hear it. There's sort
of like that awkward silence. We sort of casually sort of back up and go into our separate yards.
He wasn't too happy with me. But we parted ways and we're amicable.
The enlightening of our lives, doesn't come from worldly wisdom. The enlightening of our lives
comes from Jesus Christ. The term being enlightened has become a description of someone who
is a bit more educated, has more wisdom, has more common sense than someone else. It's
particularly used to describe individuals who have gone to East Coast Ivy League schools, where
their professors have taught them some things that would probably make us cringe. But being
enlightened isn't a bad thing. I think some good developments came out of the Enlightenment
period in Europe that were extremely helpful for us understanding God's world and God's
creation. But if we think about it, we can really be enlightened about anything. Right? Those that
have a relationship with Jesus Christ have been enlightened by God's truth. As we've grown in
faith we’re enlightened by God's word.
The Pharisees that Jesus was talking to were educated, they were informed, and probably some
of the most enlightened individuals in Jewish custom and law. But they tried to use it against
Jesus. They were trying to trap Him in their narrow thinking. Well, where's your second witness?
Jesus says, “I have one.”
See, when we get into these types of conversations with people, our goal should just be to point
them to the light. Right? That's our goal. That is our role as we share the gospel, as we try to
share God's word, as we try to share God's truth. We can't save anybody. That's only up to the
Spirit. That’s our role is to point them to the light, even if they don't necessarily seem interested
in it.
So now, as we look forward to verses 21-30, we see the Pharisees start to get a little snarky with
Jesus. And this happens to us sometimes too. Like my neighbor. You know. We can maybe get a
little testy. We make a point. We make a point and sometimes people get a little huffy. So Jesus
begins to reveal a bit about His future. He talks about Him leaving, He talks about His death, He
talks about the proof of His authority, as if He hasn't accomplished proof enough. He's starting to
get more. He’s started to give more. And He says alright. So let's look at it. Let's see what
happens.
So picking up in verse 21. It says – So he said to them again (so Jesus responding again), “I am
going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot
come.” So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot
come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am
not of this world. I 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, 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 the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these
things, many believed in him.
It starts out – He said to them again. So I'm thinking, Jesus, okay, if you don't succeed at first,
let's try, try again. So Jesus tries another approach. But they start to get testy. What's He going to
do? Is He going to kill himself? But Jesus presses on, making what I think is an argument that's
as clear as day. “You are from below; I am from above. You're going to die in your sins unless
you believe who I am.” But they respond – “Who are you?” I imagine it probably wasn't just a
scratching their head like, “Okay, well, who are you?” I think He’s been pushing and pushing
and pushing. And I think they're getting a little testy with like, you know, who do you think you
are? And Jesus responds – When you've lifted me up, when you have lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am he. So Jesus here when He's talking about lifted up, He's not talking
like He's being carried off the football field that just won the Super Bowl. Right? He's talking
about His impending death and His crucifixion. You want more proof? There it is. Or rather, for
them, there it will be.
A bit similar to the last question I asked. Did you ever watch someone deny the truth when it was
right in front of them? A couple of years ago, I was watching something on the Discovery
Channel or whatever. It was an exposé on the hotel industry. They had hidden cameras in hotel
rooms when the cleaning crew came in early. And so they were watching the cleaning crew
clean. Some of the stuff you saw would make you never want to stay in a hotel room ever again.
But they had this one where this one cleaning lady had gone into a dresser drawer, taken a guy's
wallet and put it into her pocket. So they confronted her with it. So they showed her the video for
taking it out of the drawer. She said, “Not me.” They had a picture of her almost looking at the
camera, putting it in her pocket. You know what she said? “Not me.” Then they had a picture in
the locker room of her taking the wallet, putting it in her purse in her locker. “Wasn't me.”
You see Jesus is repeatedly trying to show them the way, to show them the truth, and to show
them (in this case) the light. But they didn't want to believe that the truth is there in front of them
the entire time. But He's telling them at some point it's going to be too late. He's telling them that
once the light has left, there's no getting it back. They may be thinking, well, Jesus hasn't really
left. Jesus was alive. He's in heaven, He is the life. Amen. That He is. And anyone that seeks
Him and finds Him will have eternal life. What we have here is Jesus is talking specifically to
these men about the light being with them while they are alive. You see, Jesus is saying that if
you walk with Him in the light on this side of heaven, you will know Him. But if you don't and
you try to seek Him on the other side, it's too late.
People as a whole seek a light, they seek a meaning in their lives. For some people, it's family.
For others it's work, or career, or wealth, or gambling, or relationships. They seek to find
meaning in their lives. Others seek foreign wisdom and philosophies. You see when we seek the
true light of the world Jesus ends the darkness and gives us the light of life. Sadly, so many are
blinded by darkness, unable or unwilling to consider anything else that they just want to focus
and live in their enlightened worldview.
If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you may not realize it, but you are
stumbling in the darkness. I encourage you to look to the light. Do you want to know a bit more
about Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Come see me after the service. I'd love to talk to you
about how Jesus Christ can just lighten your life.
See, but following the light isn't just about let's follow Jesus. Okay, I have this light. Now what
do I do? Following the light is about being in the light, which is freedom from the darkness in the
true light of Jesus Christ. Earlier I had mentioned that today's study contains two of Jesus's most
popular sayings, His most referenced truths. The first one was I am the light of the world. Now
we're going to see the other.
Starting in verse 31. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They
answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it
that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The
slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me
because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do
what you have heard from your father.”
The question came up in our Grace Group, it's like, well, who is Jesus talking to here? Because
just in the last section, it says many had come to believe in Him. Jesus is now saying if. I think
Jesus is talking to those that have just come to believe and those that are in marginal belief. You
see, John has already told us to some have come to believe in Him and by Jesus beginning this
question with if, He’s saying, if you are my disciples. I think He's trying to get them to dig
deeper than just those things on the surface of what Jesus or what the light can provide. He says
– If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free. And they start thinking the physical. They're thinking physical freedom.
Because how do they respond? They say, “Well, we're offspring of Abraham and we're already
free. We're not enslaved to anybody.” I wonder if Jesus is just shaking His head saying, “Man,
you guys just don't get it.” Don't we feel like that sometimes we're trying to convince someone of
the truth. It's like you feel like you're banging your head against the wall because it's just not
going in.
Jesus says, I'm not talking about physical confinement. I know you're free. I know you're the
offspring of Abraham. Yet you still seek to kill me because my words, my truth has no place in
you. Jesus is basically telling them, listen, there's two paths. There's the physical and there's the
spiritual. I'm following my Father. Come follow my Father or you can follow your father. The
choice is yours. Jesus is telling them that they're enslaved, they're trapped in their sin. And He's
trying to show them what true freedom looks like.
Have you ever seen someone who has had a tremendous burden lifted off their shoulders? At our
elders meeting on Tuesday, I was talking to Steve Gross, one of our elders. And I was saying,
“Man, Steve, you look good.” Now I knew his retirement was pending. He had been talking
about it. And I said, “Steve, when’s your retirement?” He says, “I've been retired for two weeks.”
Like, that's why you look different. Now just rested, relaxed. Just by the way he was carrying
himself, you could see that the burden was just released.
The same is true with the freedom that Christ gives us from the burden of our sin. I can't count
the amount of individuals that I've shared the gospel with, that you just see the transformation,
the look on their face when they're like, “I'm not stuck anymore. My feet aren't stuck in the mud.
I have freedom to move around, to look. I can see the world through God's eyes.” God has given
us the freedom to choose left and right, to choose to live in the light, or to live in sin.
But I think sometimes people take that freedom, and they corrupt what it is that Jesus is freeing
us from. I'm free in Christ, I can do what I want. That's not really the point. But you know what?
They’re right. We can do what we want.
Let's consider this for a second. There are 2700 TV channels. And you know what? There’s
nothing to watch. Right. There's 800 million YouTube videos. And that's just YouTube. That's
not including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or any of those others. There's 1.9 billion websites.
How many of us spend hours a day locked in on one of these? We have freedom. But what does
it look like? We have freedom. We have used our freedom I think sometimes to be enslaved to
work. Stuck in relationships and slave to hobbies, to technology, to fill-in-the-blank, whatever it
is that we're doing that separates us from God. I have to admit, I'm not immune to this. There's
times I sit down, I'm looking at something on my computer or on my phone. Two hours later…
What have I been doing? What's generated any value? We just have to be mindful of what our
commitments are in this world. Are they separating us from God? If it separates us from God
we're enslaved to it.
Our freedom in life can dangerously work to separate us from freedom in Christ. We don't need
to be enslaved to other gods, we don't need to be enslaved to the sins of envy or pride or hate or
whatever it is that holds us back from saying, “I am free in Christ.” So I'm asking you this
morning. Are you free? That was four. Are you free? Yes. Amen.
Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. By the authority He has received from God the Father,
whose word is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our paths, Jesus' light leads the way that we
should go. His light is never so far away that we can't find it. Sometimes it's not always the
brightest in our lives. Sometimes we're hurting, sometimes we're distracted, sometimes we're
suffering. And although it is infinitely bright, sometimes we don't want to let it in. But it is there
for us to destroy the darkness in our lives.
If you haven't let the true light into your life and you pass from this world in darkness into the
next, it'll be too late. There's only one way to be in the glory of heaven and that is through a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to experience the true light this morning, like
I said, come see me, come see Denny, come see Sean. We will tell you what it means and how
you can receive it.
And finally, let the truth of the true light set you free. Living in lies, living in darkness is no way
to live. In fact, it's not living at all. The freedom of the true light is the freedom from sin. In the
darkness we can't see up, we can't see down, we can't see left, and we can't see right. Look at
your life. See those corners that remain in the dark, those deep areas that the light doesn't reach.
It's not that it can't reach there, it’s that you're not letting it in. So open the door, lift up the shade,
and let the true light replace the darkness in your lives. There's only one light like that. And that
is the Son. God gave His only Son to be the one true light of the world.
