John 8:12-30 I Am the Light of the World

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I Am the Light of the World

John 8:12-30

Introduction: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. The Earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.” 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

“For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)

In darkness, there is disorder. Darkness is chaos and is a representation of Satan and sin. 

As we have noted before, to get the best understanding of the message of the gospel of John, it is important that we recognize the festivals John uses that setup the claims and actions of Jesus, in each of the various narratives. 

At a feast in chapter 5 Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years, and then followed up by claiming that he has the power to bring life to those who are dead, and to raise them up on the last day. In chapter 6, as the Passover feast was beginning, Jesus fed 5000 and then proclaimed himself as the bread of life that has come down from heaven, in order to give life to the world. In chapter 7, during the tabernacles feast as the priests were practicing their water drawing ceremony, Jesus cried out, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink, from his inmost being will flow rivers of living water. Now in chapter 8, during the same feast of tabernacles, Jesus proclaimed himself the light of the world. 

Four chapters, each having a connection to the Exodus of Israel, Jesus is plainly showing himself to be God who has retuned to lead his people in the final Exodus. “I AM the Light of the World” alerts us to another connection to the Feast of Tabernacles. 

1. I Am the Light of the World: Background 
   1. It is important to notice that as we come to chapter 8:12, John gives us a time marker that makes it clear that Jesus is still at the Feast of Tabernacles, and that this is a continuation of Jesus teaching at the feast. We see this especially when we compare chapter 7:52, with chapter 8:12. Therefore, we need to see the symbolism of light, and how it is attached to the feast.
   2. The Jewish Talmud records, the connection:
      “Toward the end of the feast of tabernacles people went down into the court of the women… Golden lamps were there and four golden bowls were on each of them, and four ladders were by each; four young men from the priestly group of youths had jugs of oil in their hands, and poured oil from them into the individual bowls. Wicks were made from the discarded, trousers of the priests, and from their girdles. There was no court in Jerusalem that was not bright from the light of the place of drawing water. Men of piety and known for their good works danced before them with torches in their hands, and sang before them songs and praises. And the Levites stood with zithers and harps and symbols and trumpets and other musical instruments without number.” 
   3. This ceremony took place every night of the festival, unless it was a Sabbath day. It was intended to recall the pillar of cloud by day, and the fire by night that was with the Israelites in the wilderness, a sign of the presence of God. It had saved them from the threatened destruction by the Egyptian army, and led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The lighted lamps also brought to mind the promise of the shining of the light of God for their own salvation in the coming kingdom. The key to Jesus claim is that just as Israel followed the light of the pillar of fire, and the cloud out of the land of slavery through the wilderness into the Promised Land, so the believer would also follow Jesus as the light of life to the promise of the possession of the kingdom in the eventual promised land. 
   4. Later in this text, verse 32 and 33, Jesus proclaimed that true disciples abide in his word and know the truth, and the truth will set them free. Surprisingly, the Jews replied that they had never been enslaved by anyone! Again, Jesus made an obvious reference to the significance of the Tabernacle’s feast. They had been in bondage to Egypt and God, and set them free. Now Jesus refers to a greater bondage from which they can be set free. 
   5. However, we need to go further than simply the comparisons that are found in the Feast of Tabernacles. John introduces Jesus, as the one who is life and light to the world in the first five verses of his treatise. Those were creation verses, indicating the Creator himself bringing spiritual light into darkness, just like he created light to dispel the darkness in creation. 2 Cor. 4:6 
   6. Finally, this is the second of seven times Jesus uses the phrase I AM. He boldly proclaim himself to be God, the God, who appeared to Moses and the burning bush, and told him his name. Wow!  
2. I Am the Light of the World: The Narrative 
   1. Take a quick walk with me through the beginning, discussion that Jesus has with the Pharisees and some of the crowd. 
   2. First, please note that between verse 12 and verse 30 there are three verbal exchanges that go on between Jesus and the Pharisees. Each exchange is concluded by comment from the narrator. 
   3. First Exchange: Verses 12-20: 
      1. Have you noticed how many times Jesus has claimed to be God in the presence of these Jews and Jewish leaders since chapter 5? When Jesus called himself the light of the world, he called to mind repeated prophecies concerning both God and the Messiah. 
         1. “The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” (Isaiah 60:19 ESV)
         2. “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6 ESV)
      2. The Pharisees obviously recognized that Jesus was making the claim that he is God since they accuse him of testifying about himself without corroborating witnesses. This sets up the discussion and the rest of the text. 
      3. Verse 14, Jesus answered that even if he were testifying about himself, his testimony would be true because he knows where he came from and where he is going and they don’t know anything.  
      4. Verse 15, therefore, Jesus accused them of making a judgment according to their own fleshly standards. This is the problem of unbelief today. People want to judge God by their own personal brilliance instead of carefully examining God’s reasoning.  Instead, Jesus claimed that he does not judge by  the flesh because he came from above. His judgment is absolute and true, because it is from God. Consider, if you’re listening to Jesus at this point, would you call him a liar? 
      5. Verses 16-18, Jesus added to his argument that he is fulfilling the law that a truth would be established by two witnesses, and he and the Father are the witnesses needed to establish truth. 
      6. Verse 19, Most likely their reply is not serious. They are just throwing out a final statement of ridicule when they say where is your Father? Jesus’ answer is perfect. They don’t know where his Father is because they don’t even know the Father and certainly do not know him. This is another warning that Jesus gives every reader. Studying the Bible incorrectly will leave you with a knowledge of things revealed, but without a knowledge of God. Read your Bible to see God, be amazed by God, and be drawn to our beautiful heavenly Father. 
      7. 8:20 The first verbal exchange ends with the narrator proclaiming that even though Jesus was in a public place near the treasury, no one could arrest him because his hour had not yet come. This is further emphasis of his authority and who he is. They were powerless against Jesus. They could not take him because they were not able to. Instead, he would give his life up. 
   4. Second Exchange: verses 21-27
      1. Notice what Jesus has done in the section. If he is the light of the world he is also the Judge. Light exposes darkness. He has just passed judgment on them. They have a brief opportunity, and when he goes away and they continue to reject, they will die in their sins. 
      2. After they mock him by asking if he’s going to kill himself. Jesus again simply says that he is from above and they’re from the earth. They’re in a hopeless position. See the problem? They don’t WANT to know him. 
      3. 8:24 The phrase “you shall surely die in your sins” is an emphatic statement that eternal separation from God is an absolute surety without believing that Jesus is the I AM. 
      4. 8:25 The Greek here carries the idea of a rebuke and a challenge. “Who are YOU to be saying such things.”
      5. 8:27 The second verbal exchange ends with the narrator telling us that they did not comprehend that when Jesus spoke of the Father. He was speaking of God.
   5. Third Exchange: verses 28-30
      1. The point of the text is to make clear that Jesus and the Father are working concurrently together. Therefore when these Jews rejected Jesus they were rejecting God. Anyone who says they believe in God, but do not believe in Jesus, is deceiving themselves. 
      2. When Jesus states “I do nothing on my own” and again in verse 29, that God has not left him alone, we clearly understand that the crucifixion was not something Jesus did independently from the Father, nor did the Father withdraw himself from Jesus and allow him to go through the crucifixion by himself. Instead, the Father was as afflicted as Jesus was. The Father and the Son went together, and the Father and the Son bore the sins of the world together. Isaiah 53 refers to the crucifixion as the revealing of the “arm of the Lord” in order to bring the salvation of man. 
      3. 8:30 The third exchange concludes with the narrator telling us that many believed after they heard what he said. Of course, as we have seen in John two, we know that a statement of belief is not a final statement. As we will see in the rest of chapter 8, these same Jews will not have the belief that defines true discipleship.
3. I AM the Light of the World: Lessons
   1. We should remember the foundational reason Jesus is calling the world to himself, and why we should be his disciples. We were in darkness, the world is in darkness. How do we processed this fact in our daily lives? Jesus has proclaimed himself the light. He will bring us out of darkness and give us life. Without him, we are in darkness, and we will die in our sins. John 12:46
   2. 8:24 “unless you believe I AM…” The world today would think those words to be harsh. But it misses the greatest message ever given. There is only one way God could save mankind. He could not just snap his fingers and say you are all forgiven. That would be injustice; that would make him unrighteous; we deserve to die for what we have done. There was only one way he could save mankind, and that was to give his life to save us from death. If there were any other way that mankind could be saved, God would do it. But there is only one way, and therefore God gave the greatest sacrifice that anyone could ever make and no other God would ever make; he gave his life. It is absolutely blasphemous, disrespectful, and horrifying that anyone would ever say salvation could be found any other way or in anyone else other than our King, Jesus Christ.
   3. We see Jesus in this text, being bold, direct, and very plain. There is a place for that, and there is no doubt that in our conversations we often tiptoe around the truth. There’s never a reason to be harsh, but there is a reason to be plain.
   4. Isaiah 4:3-6 We have often been amazed that Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness in the presence of God. Every day and every night they saw his presence in the cloud, and in the fire. And yet, they still rejected him, they still turned to their own ways, to their own sins, and to their own idols. But today we have an even greater presence of God, and his presence is with us every day. We know he’s there, because he proclaimed that he is. He is our light, he is our protection, he is our guide. Why would be be overly upset by the trials of life, or the pressures that come upon us, or the fears of tomorrow? He is our light and he’s bringing us to the greatest Promised Land that could ever be imagined.

Berry Kercheville