I guess you could say that there have been 2 great quests of the 20th century. Those are the quest for truth and the quest for freedom. The quest for truth in fact goes back to the last century or beyond, to a search for truth through scientific discovery. There was a belief then that we could discover scientific principles behind the universe that would explain our everyday experience of the world. Well, that’s been a failure hasn’t it? So as the century has worn on, we in the west have tended to look to the east, to Eastern mysticism, for truth, in the hope that the religious insights of Buddhism and Hinduism and their various offshoots might help us. So people have sought for truth through meditation, seeking for the God who’s within, at the centre of our being. And of course where it’s suited us we’ve combined the two. A classic example is the movie Star Wars where Luke Starwalker is helped by what’s really a form of Buddhist enlightenment as he pilots his hi-tech spaceship. That’s the irony of new-age thinking. The truth is out there and within you at the same time.
Similarly freedom has been a focus throughout the ages, but, it would seem, particularly this century, as the forces of international politics and diplomacy have been focussed on achieving peace and freedom for all the peoples of the world. Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed this well, in his famous 4-fold definition in a speech to congress in 1941: Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear. Of course for those of us who lived through the sixties, freedom then became the catch cry for every group that had experienced oppression or injustice.
So truth and freedom are two concepts that are close to our hearts as 20th century people, which means that what we read here in John 8, should be of particular relevance to us.
The scene is the same as it was in the previous chapter that we looked at 2 weeks ago. Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths when the people looked back to the escape from slavery in Egypt. One of the features of that feast was that the Temple courts were lit with bright flares and lamps as a reminder of the pillar of fire that went before the people in the exodus. You can imagine as travellers approached Jerusalem in the twilight or early evening, they’d look up and see the Temple shining out of the darkness like a beacon showing them the way.
So it’s in that setting that Jesus stands up and says "I am the light of the world." Now if you understand the old Testament context, the way the Old Testament uses the notion of light, this is an amazing claim. Let me give you some examples. There’s the Pillar of fire (Ex 13:21) that I just mentioned that symbolised God’s presence with them, leading them on the way they should go to reach the promised land. Then there’s the great psalm of David, Psalm 27, which begins, "The Lord is my light and my salvation." There’s Psalm 199:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Then there’s the Servant Song in Isaiah 49 where the servant is told "I will make you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Is 49:6) Or Is 60:19 where the people of Israel are told that when the Lord comes to them they’ll no longer need the Sun or moon, because the Lord will be their light, an idea that’s echoed in Rev 21. Finally in Zech 14:5-7 the great day of the Lord is described, when the sun and moon will be banished, but when evening comes it will be light, and on the same day living water will flow out of Jerusalem to water the whole earth. That’s fascinating isn’t it, when you think about Jesus claiming in the last chapter to provide streams of living water flowing from the hearts of believers.
So, this opening statement of Jesus is a bold one, isn’t it, and a provocative one. In fact it’s so provocative that it initiates a series of discussions about authority and truth and freedom. The result is similar to what we saw in the previous chapter: a series of contrasts between those who believe in Jesus and those who reject him. Let’s look at them.
The first contrast we find is between Jesus’ claim to authority and the Pharisees’ rejection of that authority. The Pharisees recognise Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world as a claim to be the Messiah, but they object that he’s acting as his own witness. When the Messiah comes he’ll be preceded by a new Elijah who’ll witness to who he is. Well, they’ve missed that, haven’t they, but in any case, Jesus replies that his testimony is valid on 4 grounds.
First, on the ground of his mission. He knows where he’s going, v14. Where is that? To the cross. His ultimate destination is the cross, and beyond that, back to the Father’s side. That in itself, if they understood it, would be enough justification for his claim.
Secondly, there’s the Father’s presence with him. He says, v16, my judgements are right because I am not alone, I stand with the Father who sent me. Elsewhere he says "I and the Father are one". That is, when he speaks, it’s the Father speaking through him. When he acts, it’s as though the Father is acting through him.
Thirdly, there’s his divine origin, v23: "He said to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world." Before you start to judge Jesus’ words, that is, you’d better understand where he comes from.
Fourthly, he appeals to his lifting up, v28: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me." Only after he’s crucified and risen from the dead, will people understand what he’s talking about.
By contrast, the Pharisees are ignorant of his mission, v14. When they judge, it’s by human standards, not those of God, v15. As a result they’re ignorant of his origin and equally ignorant of the Father. Why is that? Well, as he says elsewhere, if you know me you will know the Father. So if they fail to recognise who he is, how could they know the Father. Similarly, since they don’t know God, how can they go where Jesus is going. That is, back to God, v21. Only those who know God can go to be with God.
Finally, both their origin and their destination is different from that of Jesus. He’s from above, they’re from below. He’s going back to the Father, but they’re going to die in their sins if they continue in their disbelief.
These are hard words aren’t they? It’d be hard to be any blunter than Jesus is here. In fact he repeats himself. In v21 he says "I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come." Then in v24 he says it again: "I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he." It’s a bit like someone stranded in the Australian desert in the heat of summer who’s invited by an aboriginal tracker to follow him and he’ll lead him to a water hole but he refuses and instead goes searching for water by himself, without knowing what he’s doing. It’s almost inevitable that he’ll die of thirst and exhaustion.
I want us to be very clear here. There’s no room in what Jesus says for complacency or for some liberal watering down of the gospel. He says "you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he." There’s no other way to avoid it. But notice how this word of doom is balanced by the word of salvation. How did he begin this section? V12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." How does he go on? Vs31,32: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Then he says: "if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."(v36) Then in v51, "Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death." What we find here in this chapter is the strongest affirmation of the offer of new life through faith in Jesus Christ combined with the strongest warning possible about the danger of rejecting Christ. Whether people like it or not there’s only one way to come into God’s presence, and that’s through faith in Jesus Christ. Any other way you might try is doomed to failure.
As we listen to this discourse we discover that there are some in the crowd who begin to believe what Jesus is saying. But they’re still not all the way there. So Jesus turns to them and says "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Let’s think about that for a moment. What does he mean, "You will know the truth"? Is he just talking about knowing things that are true. True facts as someone has called them? Or is he talking about some sort of Eastern understanding of truth as a spiritual force you discover through a mystical experience of some sort. No, he isn’t talking about either of those, is he? What he’s talking about has to do with a relationship with a person; with Jesus in fact. He says if you’re really my disciples you will know the truth. What was special about being a disciple in Jesus’ day? It was that you went to live with your teacher. You learnt by being in a close relationship with him. So it is here. Truth isn’t something you experience through yogic meditation or discover through science. It’s a relationship, it’s a ’Someone’ to be encountered and followed. "In fact," Jesus might add, "those who study the universe looking for some great principle of coherence are actually looking for me. As he says a few chapters later to his disciples, "I am the Truth." For those who think that the only way you can be a Christian is by ignoring your intellectual faculties here is the answer. Faith isn’t, as a schoolboy once wrote in an RE exam, "believing what you know ain’t true." Rather it’s to discover the one who is truth personified.
On the other hand for those who think that an intellectual grasp of the gospel is all that matters, think again. Just knowing facts isn’t enough. What really matters is that you know the one who is the truth; that you know Jesus Christ personally.
In fact notice how he puts it: If you follow me, then you’ll discover the truth. Not "see if it’s the truth and if it is follow me." There’s something of an analogy to this in marriage. No-one knows what marriage is about before they try it. It’s only when you commit yourself to it that you discover what it means. That’s because marriage involves a personal relationship. Well, Jesus says that Truth is the same. You can’t discover it without a commitment to the person concerned.
Well, what’s the result of encountering this truth? He says, "you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Here’s the second of the great issues or quests of humanity. Don’t we love the idea of freedom. Don’t we hate the idea that we mightn’t be free. Look at the response of the Jewish leaders. This was certainly an idea that touched a sore spot in them. "They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ’You will be made free’?" (v33) There was a fierce national pride at work here wasn’t there? Even though they were currently under the rule of Rome, they insisted that they were free. But Jesus isn’t talking here about political slavery or freedom is he? What does he say? 34"Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin." The slavery Jesus is talking about is slavery to sin, to moral failure. He’s thinking about those evil habits we’re unable to break, the selfish desires we constantly seek to gratify and the guilt we constantly feel because of our failures.
When we think of freedom it tends to be in terms of Roosevelt’s definition, but let me ask you, even if we do have freedom of speech, are we able to control our tongues? Even if we do have freedom of worship, do we truly love God with all our hearts? We may be free from want but do we have contentment with what we have? We may be free from fear here in Australia, but do we enjoy peace of conscience? No, the truth is that we’re as much in bondage to our fallen natures as slaves are to their earthly masters. What’s more, the nature of slavery, is that there’s nothing you can do to make yourself free. As he says in v35, only a Son is free. Do you see what he’s saying? There’s only one person in the entire universe who qualifies to be called a Son. But by the same token as a son he’s able to liberate us from our bondage to sin. And having said that, see what a liberation it is: "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." What greater freedom can there be than that granted to us by God’s only Son? How does he make us free? He frees us from ourselves: from our inability to do what pleases God; from our bondage to bad habits; from our guilty consciences. How does he do that? First, by taking the penalty for our sin upon himself. Second by giving us his own Spirit to live within us and to change us from the inside out. //
Well, again, notice the contrast between Jesus and those who follow him, and the Pharisees. He’s telling them the truth. They believe Satan’s lies. They claim to be Abraham’s children, but if they were truly his children they’d believe in Jesus. Why? What was it about Abraham that God praised? It was that he believed God, and that was counted to him as righteousness. But these Pharisees don’t believe the one God sent. In fact they’re plotting to kill him, by which they show that they’re actually the children of Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning (Gen 4:7). Finally they accuse Jesus of being demon possessed, to which Jesus replies that again they’ve got it back to front. Far from being possessed by a demon, he honors the Father and in the end it will be God the Father who will honor him.
It’s very hard to read this without being confronted by the demands of Jesus isn’t it? His demands are completely uncompromising. There are no half measures here. Either you honor Jesus or you reject him. Either you believe in him and have life, or you refuse to believe and you die in your sins.
The chapter ends with Jesus making an overt claim to be the eternal God. He says "Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am" He uses the very phrase that God used when Moses asked him his name: "I am who I am" implying an eternal being, ever-present, never changing.
Are you a believer in Jesus? Have you grasped the enormity of the claims he makes here in John ch 8? That he is equal with God. That he is Truth. That those who believe in him have eternal life, but those who don’t believe in him are doomed to die in their sins. If you didn’t believe in Jesus before, but you’ve decided that now is the time, then why not stop right now and pray that God would speak to you, would show you the truth as you discover a new relationship with Jesus Christ. Come and talk to me later and let me know the decision you’ve made.
If you’re already one who believes in Christ, have you really understood what it means that the Son has set you free? Are you living as a free person? Have you taken hold of the power of the Holy Spirit to free you from your slavery to sin? Do you ask God each day to help you overcome that bondage to sin that would pull you down, take you back to the old way of living?
Let’s pray now that we’d be able to live in the freedom of the Son, by the power of the Spirit and not gratify that old sinful nature that seeks to pull us down.
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