SHEDDING LIGHT ON THAT RELATIONSHIP
John 8:12-30
S: Jesus
Th: Light of the world
Pr: JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
?: what? What does that mean to us?
KW: Implications
TS: We will find in our study of John 8:12-30 that there are three implications to Jesus’ declaration of “I am the light of the world.”
The _____ implication that we have to deal with the…
I. FACTS (13-20)
II. FINISH (21-24)
III. FORFEIT (25-30)
Version: ESV
RMBC 04 May 03 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Change (selected light)
Q: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: How many can you afford?
Q: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Only one, but the bulb has got to really WANT to change.
Q: How many real men does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None; real men are not afraid of the dark.
Q: How many Floridians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Don’t know for sure; they are still counting.
Q: How many Charismatics does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Ten; one to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.
Q: How many TV evangelists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One; but for the light to continue, send in your donation today.
Q: How many members of a church does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Ten; one to actually change the light bulb and nine to say how much they liked the old one.
Have you ever noticed that light brings change?
It is the very nature of light to bring change to any given situation.
TRANSITION:
As we continue in our study of John we see that…
1. Jesus has to bring change in thinking.
If you remember our studies from last year in the previous chapters of John, you will remember that Jesus has faced opposition to His teaching.
He kept bumping into the status quo who did not want to change.
Not only that, the Jewish leaders considered Him an upstart who was, frankly, mooching into their territory.
The very things He was saying made it sound like He had authority over them.
The beginning of our passage today is a wonderful, positive statement.
Yet, as our study continues, we will observe that there is no warm fuzzy feeling here.
Instead, we are troubled by the reaction to Jesus’ statement…
2. Jesus: “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.”
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.”
The setting of this text is back in chapter 7.
It is the Feast of Tabernacles.
One of the very special events during this feast was the “Illumination of the Temple.”
In the temple area were four menorahs (Jewish candelabras if you will) that were set at the highest part of the temple walls.
At night, they were lit and they brought light to the whole temple area.
It was spectacular, and people would celebrate all night.
The reason they did this was to remember another wilderness experience.
It was the pillar of fire.
During the exodus from Egypt, God protected and guided the people of Israel through the wilderness with the pillar of fire.
God was with them.
At the end of the feast, the lights were purposely put out.
Why?
Because the Messiah had not come yet.
It is against this backdrop of the lights being put out that I believe Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.”
He identifies Himself as the Shekinah glory.
He identifies Himself as the pillar of fire.
It is at this point that…
3. Jesus makes a declaration of Deity.
He does it through the symbolism of the pillar of fire.
And He does it through the language of “I am.”
“I am” is how God identified Himself to Moses at the burning bush.
“I am” is also how Jesus will continue to state His own identity to the people of Israel.
He has already previously stated, “I am the bread of life.”
Later on, He will identify Himself with the following statements:
“I am the door”
“I am the Good Shepherd.”
“I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
“I am the Vine.”
Each one of these were staggering statements of His sovereign supremacy.
Jesus also brings out a contrast…
4. A contrast is made between light and darkness.
Jesus makes it clear that those that follow Him will have the light they need to live.
He is the Light of life for those that stumble.
And those that belong to Jesus, stumbling is no longer in their repertoire.
When you are in Jesus, there is no stumbling, no confusion, and no fear.
But, what does that mean to us?
Well…
5. We will find in our study of John 8:12-30 that there are three implications to Jesus’ declaration of “I am the light of the world.”
OUR STUDY:
I. The first implication that we have to deal with is the FACTS (13-20).
[13] So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” [14] 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. [15] You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. [16] 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. [17] In your Law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. [18] I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” [19] 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.” [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.
It is interesting to note that the Pharisees do not argue about what Jesus is saying.
Rather…
1. The Pharisees dispute Jesus’ testimony on a technicality.
It really is a legal technicality, which they were good at finding.
But when it came to applying these technicalities to Jesus, they never seemed to work.
Nevertheless, here they go again…
The Pharisees said that Jesus’ witness was not valid, because He was bearing witness of Himself.
Therefore, the testimony had no weight and was of no legal worth.
But, was that the real issue?
Was Jesus at court?
ILL Notebook: Facts (rabbits)
Little Johnny wanted to be an accountant, so he went for an aptitude test in math:
Tester: If I give you two Rabbits, and two rabbits, and another two rabbits, how many rabbits have you got?
Little Johnny: SEVEN!
Tester: No, listen carefully again. If I give you two Rabbits, and two rabbits, and another two rabbits, how many rabbits have you got?
Little Johnny: SEVEN!
Tester: Let’s try this another way. If I give you two bottles of root beer, and two bottles of root beer, and another two bottles of root beer, how many bottles of root beer have you got?
Little Johnny: SIX.
Tester: Good! Now, if I give you two Rabbits, and two rabbits, and another two rabbits, how many rabbits have you got?
Little Johnny: SEVEN!
Tester: How on Earth do you work out that three lots of two rabbits is seven?
Little Johnny: I’ve already have one rabbit at home!
You know, it is hard to get the facts right when you don’t have the right information beforehand.
This is definitely a problem the Pharisees had.
And, it is time to get the facts right.
You see…
2. Skepticism does not deter Jesus from stating the truth.
Do you know how light establishes itself as light?
It does not do it by arguing.
It does it by shining.
And do you know who are the only people that can’t see light?
The blind.
Jesus has established Himself by shining.
And the Pharisees can’t see it.
This is why their objections are worthless.
They are no position to comment on His witness, for they judge from ignorance, weakness, and imperfection.
And when they reject Jesus, they place themselves out of the reach of the divine.
They end up demonstrating that they have no knowledge of God at all.
Mistakenly, they think that they are qualified to judge Him.
But because of their own self-imposed blindness, they fail to see that Jesus is the One that is uniquely qualified to judge them.
Since Jesus knows both His origin and His destiny, He just plainly speaks the truth.
He is able to do so because…
3. His relationship with the Father is secure.
Because He knows what His relationship is with God the Father, the assaults and accusations matter little.
He knows who He is.
And it may appear to them that He is a solitary figure, but the truth is that the Father has sent Him, and the Father is with Him.
Further evidence was right under their nose.
There Jesus was at the temple teaching people, just outside the Sanhedrin.
There behind those walls were the hushed whispers and the plots to kill Him.
But they can’t lay a hand on Him.
He was untouchable.
They wanted to…
They were willing to do so…
But they could not.
They were absolutely frustrated for the Father was restraining them.
This now brings us to…
II. The second implication that we have to deal with is the FINISH (21-24).
[21] So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” [22] So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” [23] He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
1. The Pharisees will be separated from Jesus.
There will be a time of ultimate separation.
But as far as Jesus was concerned, when they finally understood it, it was going to be too late.
They were wasting their God-given opportunities by arguing with Him and not trusting in Him.
Their response appears to be a sarcastic dig.
It is their hope that it is suicide that He is talking about.
And as far as they are concerned, “Good riddance!”
For the Pharisees understood that the worst place in hell was reserved for such.
So for once they agree with Jesus.
“He’s right; we won’t be following him there!”
These leaders were full with pride.
They did not consider themselves worthy of death.
After all, they were good and decent people whom God would never send to hell or God would shut out of heaven.
But they are not hearing what Jesus has to say.
For…
2. Jesus exposes man’s most basic problem: sin.
They are sinners and they are going to die in their sin.
Just as you cannot mix oil and water or light and darkness, you cannot mix that which is from above with that from below.
Though they could not recognize it, they were in bondage.
They belonged to a world where Satan was supreme.
And they were going to meet the supreme disaster…to die unrepentant about their sin…to die with their sins unforgiven.
Now we come to…
III. The third implication we have to deal with is the FORFEIT (25-30).
[25] So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. [26] 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.” [27] They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. [28] 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. [29] 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.” [30] As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
1. The Pharisees are blinded.
I guess we can hardly blame them.
Since they cannot see the light, it does seem like Jesus has a lot of nerve to speak to them that way.
And so they say, “Who are you?”
“Who are you to speak to us that way?”
But for Jesus, He has to wonder, “Why bother?”
“Why bother speaking to them?”
Nevertheless, He graciously keeps speaking.
He is consistent in His message.
He has been sent by the Father.
And He is on a mission…
2. Jesus is on a mission.
The Father has sent Him.
He has been sent into the world.
And He has a message for the world, including these leaders, filled with their own self-importance.
Jesus is going to forfeit His life.
3. Jesus is giving up His life.
The Son of Man was going to be lifted up.
The Pharisees do not catch the allusion, but we do.
He was to be lifted up on the cross.
And for eternity, this is the call to mankind, “Look to the cross!”
For at the cross is the Lord of Glory.
At the cross is the Liberator of all.
At the cross is the Redeemer of our sins.
At the cross is the One washes away all our shame and forgives our sin.
ILL Notebook: Salvation (Cross is for everyone)
In her book, When Character Was King, Peggy Noonan describes this event that took place in 2001:
Last summer when Vladimir Putin met with George W. Bush, the Russian president shared a personal story that our chief executive hasn’t forgotten.
When Putin was young, his mother gave him a cross to wear around his neck. Although he initially hid it in a jewelry case, he eventually decided to wear it. He even had it blessed while on a trip to Jerusalem. It became a treasured symbol of a mother’s love and her cherished faith.
When the cross turned up missing following a house fire, Putin was greatly disturbed. He dispatched an employee to sift through the charred remains of the building to try and find it. After an exhaustive search, the employee reported to Putin and held out a closed hand. He opened it and revealed the prized cross.
Author Peggy Noonan records Putin’s remarks as they were reported to her by President Bush.
Putin told Bush: "It was as if something meant for me to have the cross."
To which our President said, "Mr. Putin, that’s what it’s all about - that’s THE story of the cross."
APPLICATION:
So, let me ask you…
Do you have the cross?
Are you walking in the light?
The hard part about light is that it exposes the imperfections of life.
But the great thing about light is that it creates trust and gives confidence and hope.
Did you notice how this portion of the text concluded?
Many believed.
And it proved once again that the testimony of Jesus divided people.
It did not unite them.
It did not unite them because people didn’t want to hear the truth about themselves.
It is a problem that still exists today.
But here is the simple truth.
Salvation is a matter of life or death.
People who live in their sins, and reject the cross of Jesus, must die for their sins.
There is no alternative.
We either receive salvation by grace or experience condemnation under God’s law.
We either walk in the light and have eternal life, or walk in darkness and experience eternal death.
So, are you walking in the light?
COMMUNION:
As we come to the table today, let us remember that we come because of Jesus.
We have concluded that the witnesses are true.
He is the Light of the World.
He is God in the flesh.
He is the Word who made His Dwelling among us.
He is the With-Us God.
And through His Word, the Spirit has moved in our hearts and convinced us that we needed Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
If you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, or you are just unsure, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you are confident that you do have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by Larry Riester, let us take a moment and thank Him for giving us the very thing we needed most.
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
Nick Yates will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Get the facts right…for when Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World,” He was stating unequivocally that He was God in the flesh, the Word who made His Dwelling among us, the With-Us God.
Be sure about your finish…for you are either for or against Jesus, there is no middle, so you will either be with Jesus for eternity, or forever separated from Him.
And acknowledge the forfeit…Jesus gave up His life for us on the cross; we were meant to have that cross, the symbol of our forgiveness and redemption; so that we would walk in His light.
Now to him who is able to establish you by the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
