Jesus: The Light of the World Part 1 - John 8:12-20

3:27The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of the cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. Now, who's the angel? God, the angel, messenger, is also the form of this pillar of fire. And the angel that was going before, this messenger of God, who is also referred to as God, moved behind them and protected him. So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, and there was the cloud along with the darkness. Yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.

4:15So you get this presence of Yahweh in a fire, angel Yahweh. Come to John chapter 1, and it's clear that John sees Jesus as this messenger. Yahweh, this Son of Yahweh, come in the flesh, light of the world. And he says in the first few verses of his gospel, John says this: Verse 1, 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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being. He is Creator, Yahweh. Verse 4, He says, In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it or could not overpower it. And so, John's gospel is this epic story, this epic account of the battle between light and darkness, and light shining into the darkness, and the darkness's inability to overcome it.

5:36And so, we come to our passage this morning with all this. Look at verse 12. And this is Jesus's own testimony about himself, verse 12 of John chapter 20. Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. World. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. It's important to remember where we are in John's Gospel. Notice verse 12, then Jesus again spoke to them. Who is the them? Well, the them refers back to the crowds that he had at the Feast of Tabernacles in verse 43 of chapter 7, verse 43. The them. You remember in verse 37, the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood up and cried, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said, from his innermost beings will flow rivers of living water. And then John gives a parenthetical. He spoke of the Spirit. Israel is divided over Christ. Okay, who is this that speaks like this? I am the living water. I am the satisfier of the soul of humanity. Who is this who speaks like this? If you'll remember, part of the big celebration at Tabernacles was this daily routine that would take place every day for a week. There'd be this great parade, priests leading down to the pool of Siloam, drawing up water out of the pool of Siloam, taking it back up to the temple and pouring it out on the altar with great ceremony, great time of joy and celebration.

7:32And that's in that context. He says, I am the living water. Come, and I will satisfy the soul of man. Who is this guy? Well, so then they're divided about him. They're divided. So a division occurs. Some saying this is the Christ. Others say, no, he can't come from Galilee. Who is this guy? Nobody would seize him. Nobody could seize him. And then John goes on to tell, like even the officers who were sent to seize him would say something like in verse 46, Never has a man spoken in this way. So they didn't seize him. But in verse 43, there's a division that occurred in the crowd because of him. Some wanted to seize him. Some thought he was the Christ. Some didn't know. And then Jesus, in verse 12 of chapter 8, where we are, then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Now, having just referred to himself being the living water, now he refers to himself as being the light of the world, which was another key component of the feast of tabernacles, the lighting of the temple. These huge pillars would be lit up. These huge lamps would light up the courtyard of the temple, and the light was said to just emanate all over Jerusalem so that it was so bright that. There wasn't a courtyard within Jerusalem that didn't receive some of its light. And so here he is in the midst of this incredible feast, high point of celebration, and Jesus is saying, I am the light of the world. It was quite a celebration. It was, in fact, the Mishnah says that the men of piety, some of the older men, would, after the lighting of the temple, they would dance all night. The Levitical orchestra would go, a bunch of the old men would get out and they would dance and they would celebrate. Now, if there's something, if you're a kid, one thing you really like to see is when grandpa gets excited.

9:43I mean, I love watching an old man get excited, okay? When you get old, you want to go to bed at eight, you want to get up, or you know, you know, all that kind of stuff, and not much really moves. I mean, actually, if you go to an Aggie football game, you know, it's worth the price of admission to watch a bunch of old men get excited, you know. But it's really exciting watching an old man get excited about the right things. That's why we like to listen to John Piper preach, right? Because he really gets excited, you know. But it's but just think about this time of celebration that just really would impact and just create a spirit of celebration throughout. Look at these old men so excited, jumping and Dancing and excited right after the light goes, and it's in this context that Jesus says, I am the light of the world.

10:45Think of verse 12 again. Then Jesus spoke to them, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. This is Jesus' testimony. I'm just pick this testimony apart. There is a declaration, there's a couple of simple implications, and then there's one desired response. Look at the declaration: I am the light of the world. Bold statement: I am the luminary of heaven. No prophet, no apostle ever made such a claim.

11:26I am the light from heaven. And remember, as you think about light, what is light? Light, I like to describe it as a medium by which we can see or a medium through which the viewer can see the view. Like if we turned out all the lights and were able to shade every window and have every ray of light removed from us, you wouldn't even be able to see your hand in front of your face. In fact, some of you have probably been in a cave at some time when you've turned out the light and you can't even see your hand in front of your face because it's so dark.

12:10Well, light is that medium through which we can see each other. Without the presence of light, we could all be here, but we wouldn't see each other, we wouldn't realize it. So, light is a medium through which the viewer is brought in contact with the view. And light throughout scripture is associated with God's presence. So, light, that true knowledge about God, is necessary for us to understand the world in which we live in. We can think of light as true information about God and His creation. We can think about light as the incarnate truth, Jesus Christ. We can think about light in such terms, and so if you're going to understand the world in which you live in, you have to understand something about God. Without God, you cannot make sense out of this world, you cannot make sense out of your existence or your future or what's going on.

13:16Light is necessary, but notice he says, I am the light of the world. The world. We know that he came to speak to the Jews. Jewish nation, but now he's saying the world, all mankind. He is the presence that gives spiritual understanding. In fact, Isaiah 49:6, speaking of the Christ, said, It is a too small thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also make you a light of the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

14:02And so here's Jesus saying, I am the light of the world. Without me, you cannot understand God, you cannot understand yourself, and you cannot understand the world. I bring the viewer in contact with things as they really are. So that's his declaration. Two implications. Look at verse 12. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. A very simple concept, right? If you walk behind the light, you can see your surroundings. You can know where you are going. If you follow Christ, you can see the life correctly. You can understand the future correctly. You can understand the condition of man. You understand the fall. You understand its problem. You understand the condition of humanity. You understand. The moral problems that we're facing and the spiritual darkness we live under, because you understand Christ. You understand the condition of the world, you understand what the world needs, you understand the future, you understand.

15:17Very simple concept. If you follow Christ, the world makes a lot of sense. You understand God, you understand holiness, you understand heaven, you understand, and that comes by following Christ. But there's a couple things in there. Notice that you will not walk in darkness, that you will not walk in ignorance. But also, look back, there's a second implications, but will have the light of life. Not only will you not walk in darkness, but you will know how to truly live.

15:53The presence of Jesus' light gives life. His light reveals. He is the medium that reveals things as they are, but he doesn't just reveal things to show us how bad or to condemn us in our sins. It's like if he turns on the light, he doesn't just bring us in just to show us a real scary picture, just to turn it off again, right? He reveals his light, not to condemn us, but to save us. The light of life.

16:30The light of life. Another aspect of Jesus' testimony, there's one desired response. Why does he say all this? Because he wants you and I to follow the light. Jesus declared himself to be the light of the world so that the people in the world, and that includes you and me, would follow him. And so Jesus clearly picks up this whole theme of wilderness wanderings. And he proclaimed that those who follow him will not walk in darkness, but they will have the light of life, much like Israel did in the wilderness. They knew where they were to go. They were provided for. They were guided.

17:18Jesus was clearly identifying himself as the God who led them through the wilderness and the God who gave Israel the Feast of Tabernacles to begin with. That was his testimony. And they understood what he was saying. They understood what he was saying. Look at the Pharisees' testimony, verse 13. So the Pharisees said to him, You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not true. Jesus said, He is the light. They say he is. Isn't the light. And they understood what he said. Jesus declared himself to be heaven's luminary, and the Pharisees said, You're not. So who is it? Right? Two very different opinions. Jesus is clearly saying, I am the light of the world. The Pharisees of the generation were saying, no, he's not. You're not the light of the world.

18:25So, who do we believe? Well, obviously, John is showing this collision between light and darkness. And remember, John wrote his whole gospel so that people would believe in Jesus. You remember his words in chapter 20 and verse 30? John said, Therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

19:04See, John wanted us to believe. He does not want his readers wavering between two opinions. Remember Elijah in 1 Kings 18:21 when he came near to the people and he said, How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Bailey'll. Follow him. See, one of our biggest problems, I'd say the vast majority of the world doesn't even believe Christ at all, doesn't believe Christ's self-testimony. Ignorant in darkness do not understand the world they live in.

19:51But I would say, even as believers, and that's who I want to address this morning. One of our biggest problems is hesitation. One of our biggest problems is that we do believe, yeah, we believe Jesus' testimony in part, but then we hardly appropriate that in our lives. Listen, if he's Christ, if he is the light of the world, what's your hesitation in following him wholeheartedly? There's one thing I want for Emmanuel: we will be a people who will wholeheartedly follow Christ.

20:32John certainly believed in Jesus, and he wanted you to do the same. Listen, one of the greatest dangers is hesitation when truth is before you. You see that problem with the Pharisees. Jesus clearly believed himself to be the light. And so, what he does in the rest of this, in our passage this morning, is he responds to the Pharisees by giving them. Four reasons why his testimony is true and why their testimony is false. And keep in mind, there's a battle between light and dark going on. There is discussion going back and forth. People are divided. Here is Christ declaring who he is.

21:19And then there are these Pharisees saying, no, this is, you are not who you say you are. And so Jesus goes on to give four reasons why his testimony should be believed and the Pharisees should not. So that's what I want where I'm going this morning. I want you to see four reasons why Jesus' testimony is better than those societal leaders of his day. And I want to do so so that you will rid yourself of every hint of hesitation to follow Christ with all of your being. If he is Christ, if he is light of the world, walk in that light. That's the message.

22:07Four reasons why Jesus' testimony is better than the Pharisees. First, Jesus's logic is better. Jesus's logic is better. Look at verse 13. So the Pharisees said to him, You are testifying about yourself, your testimony. Is not true. Jesus answered and said to them, Well, even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true. You see, the Pharisees are saying, Okay, you're testifying about yourself, therefore, you're not telling the truth. Wait a second. Okay, Jesus, wait a second here.

22:49Even if I testify about myself, that doesn't automatically mean my testimony is false. On the contrary, if Jesus is the light of God, we expect him to tell us. And we expect his testimony to be true, right? If he is the light, we expect him to declare that light to us, right? Now, it's true that according to Mosaic law, at least two witnesses were required to condemn a person, at least in criminal cases. But so that became customary that any matter had to be confirmed by at least two or three witnesses. But just because that is what the law requires for a witness to be admissible in court does not mean, it does not logically follow that the testimony is false, just because there isn't a second witness.

23:58You see, while a single witness May not have been considered admissible in court, it still could be true. In other words, just because, just because Jesus testified about himself does not mean his testimony is not true. On the contrary, we expect it to be true. Listen, just think about physical light in this room. The light testifies to itself, doesn't it? You know, the darkness isn't going to testify to the light. Light testifies to the light. We know there's light in the room because light is here, and so light is automatically self-testifying to itself. Same is true with Christ. He is the truth, and so we expect the truth to testify to himself. There is no higher standard. Darkness isn't going to testify to him.

24:54Right? The Pharisees were looking for those kind of witnesses that would meet their Pharisaical standards, but darkness cannot attest to the light. Light testifies to itself. Cannot help but testify to its own presence. Likewise, you know, many Bible skeptics, they will come to the scripture and they'll say, well, the Bible speaks of itself. It claims to be the Word of God, inerrant, infallible. But that's just, it shouldn't be accepted because it's a self-testimony wrong. That doesn't mean it's untrue. Right? Just because if the scripture is the highest standard of truth and nothing else can confirm it, we would expect it would testify to itself.

25:48Of course. You say, well, it's a little bit circular, perhaps, but that doesn't make it false. Truth is, Scripture is true. And because it's true, it declares the truth, which in itself is true, and so it declares itself to be true. And that's what Jesus is saying here. Look, even if I testify about myself, it doesn't make my testimony false, as the Pharisees were saying. Ah, you're testifying about yourself, therefore what you're saying is not true.

26:29What Jesus is saying is, no, my logic is better. I am telling you, I am the light. So the first reason why Jesus' testimony is better than the Pharisees is his logic is simply better. Second, Jesus' knowledge of himself is better than that of the Pharisees. Look back at verse 14. Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true because, or for, I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going.

27:05Jesus had far more knowledge about himself than the Pharisees did. In fact, they were largely ignorant about the facts of Jesus. It's as though Jesus was saying, I know my commission. As any ambassador would know the one who sent him, would know where he came from, would know what kind of message he was to bring, and knew where he was going. Like any ambassador, Jesus is saying, I know my commission, I know the one who sent me, and I am claiming to you, I am the light of the world.

27:46And the one who follows me is not going to walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Third reason why Jesus' testimony is better than that of the Pharisees is that Jesus' judgment is better than theirs. Look at verse 15. You judge according to the flesh. I am not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone in it, but I am the Father who sent me. So what Jesus is saying here is like, look, you guys judge according to God. To what you see. I'm not all that impressive in your eyes. I don't fit the ideal of Messiah that you have for you. You look at me and probably think, well, you're not going to be, you're from Galilee. We really don't much care for those Galileans anyway, and you just don't have that ethos that we don't have what we want.

28:56But what Jesus is saying, my judgment includes the comprehensive vantage point of exhaustive knowledge, omniscience. My judgment is based upon omniscience. And listen, for any judge to ever judge rightly about anything, they must have a certain information, a comprehensive information about the facts. Listen, there's only one person who could really be the judge of the world, and that is somebody who knows exhaustively. And so Jesus is the only one who even claims this exhaustive knowledge of the universe.

29:40My judgment's true. I'm not alone because the Father who sent me is with me. You see, the Pharisees looked at him that morning, that day. Never really contemplated the possibility that he could be the one who led them through the wilderness. Listen, if God could part the Red Sea, if God could make man in his image, why would they be so surprised that God wouldn't show up in our image? God could take. Why is it beyond the possibility to think that God could take on the form of man after he creates man and he creates the world? And why would he do so? Yeah, in the wilderness, you could see this pillar of fire, scary if you were an Egyptian in pursuit, right? But also a little bit frightful if you're the Israelites, right? A little bit frightening, and he could command obedience, but he comes so that he could talk for relationship. He's the light of the world, and the light of the world wants relationship with you.

31:06He came, he took on flesh. Should not be out of the realm of possibility. In fact, if you think about it more, we should expect that the judge of all things would have experienced humanity like we have, yet without sin, right? If he's going to be the judge of humanity, we need a judge who knows humanity from the Inside out, right? Jesus, the statement, I am not judging anyone, well, he certainly didn't come to condemn anyone. He came to save, as John 3:17. But at that moment, I believe what Jesus is saying is that he is not judging according to the way they do. He is not judging anyone like they are judging. They judge according to the flesh, but he does not judge on that level.

32:05He can do nothing on his own, as he has already said in John 5, verse 30. And even his judgment is as he hears. And what he is saying, his logic is better, his knowledge of himself is better, and his judgment of things is much better. And this is what he's saying: I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. There's a fourth reason why Jesus' testimony is better than that of the Pharisees and anyone else that speaks into your life. But the Father supports Jesus' testimony. Look at verse 17. Even in your life, It has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am he who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.

33:12So they were saying, Where is your father? Jesus answered, You know neither me nor my father. If you knew me, you would know my father also. But he's saying, I testify about myself. So even in the court of law now, according to the law laid down by Moses, or their laws that they had enacted, whatever, according to your jurisprudence, I am testifying about myself, and the Father testifies about me, and that's sufficient, right? God has to testify to God, right? Light has to testify to light. Darkness cannot. Now, what is the testimony? How is the Father testifying? Well, chapter five was all about that. He brought forth the witness of John the Baptist, the witness of Scripture, the witness of prophecy, the witness of Moses, and the mighty works. And here, what I believe specifically is in view is the supernatural works. The supernatural works.

34:30And they were, in fact, this will come to a head. If you flip over a couple of pages, in chapter 9, there will be a man who was born blind, and Jesus will heal him. In fact, he will have him draw water from the pool of Siloam. And he will, interesting, how all this is connected in with tabernacles. And then the man will be healed. He will have to stand trial before these same Pharisees and leaders. And they will say this in chapter 9, verse 29. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. The man answered and said to them, Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he hears them. Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

35:44You think that would open the eyes of the Pharisees? They answered him, you were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us? And so they put him out. Amazing blindness. Amazing blindness. Their inability, and this is what Jesus is saying: they say, Where is your father? And he says, You know neither my father nor me. If you knew me, you would know my father also. They were unable to recognize Jesus as being from God when he is right there in their midst, testifying with blinking, loud, neon lights.

36:30They rejected his testimony. They couldn't recognize the father's work even when it was right in front of their eyes. This is blindness. This is darkness. Verse 20: These words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple, and no one seized him because his hour had not yet come. So John is telling us: you know, here's this guy. He comes in, he claims to be the living water, and then he also claims to be the light of the world, right there in the midst of the temple, right at the high, holy part of the Feast of Tabernacles, and no one could do anything because his hour had not come. So, all along, John is saying to his readers, Jesus was in control of his destiny. Jesus had a purpose marked out, and he came according to his timetable.

37:30His life wasn't taken from him, wasn't hijacked, planned, didn't go wrong. It went right. It went very right. So, Jesus' testimony, and we'll be looking at this light of the world discourse for weeks ahead, but Jesus' testimony is better than that of the darkened testimony of the Pharisees for several reasons. Jesus' logic is better, his knowledge of himself is better, his judgment is better, and the Father supported Jesus' testimony by punctuating it with incredible works that no one has done since the foundation of the earth.

38:19But I don't want us to sit here this morning marveling at the amazing blindness of the Pharisees. I want to address our amazing hesitancy to follow him with our whole being. Because I'd say many of you, if you do not know Christ here, you need to come to him. You need to accept his testimony and come. I'd venture to say many of you do follow him in this room, and yet your life and your following him is marked, is checkered with all this hesitancy. Do you really believe him or not? What kind of life? Life is worth living.

39:03Is it worth it to go through life saying, I believe, and then hesitate, repeatedly live a pattern of hesitation? Be done with such living. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. There's one desired response when he said these words. He wants you to follow the light. And following is the point on which this whole passage turns. It's not enough for you just to gaze upon the beauty of the light as it's passing by. You must follow it.

39:45Right? Let us be done with the complacent Christianity that just sings the beautiful words, admires from a distance, but is afraid to follow up close. Note who the promise is made. It's not made to everyone, but to the one who follows. Do you hear your master calling you today to follow him more intently, more closely? Following involves trust, doesn't it? Right? If a soldier is going to follow, His captain into campaigns, into foreign lands. He must trust his captain. If a slave is going to accompany his master and carry out the tasks he has given to him, he must trust him, right?

40:50If a subject is going to obey the laws of his king, he's going to have to have trust. If a student is going to accept the meaning that the teacher teaches, he must trust. You see, to be a follower of Christ is to give oneself wholly, soul, body, and spirit to the obedience of the master. And such discipleship begins in the heart. Let us not go anywhere in our thinking, in our contemplations, in the meditations of the mind, in our forms of entertainment. Let us not go anywhere.

41:40Let our minds not go anywhere where Jesus' light does not lead. Because what happens when we hesitate and we start going our own way? We're kind of like Peter that gets out on the water, walks a little bit, and then begins to sink. You see, when we walk alone, we're bound to stumble. We're bound to grope in the darkness. And so many of the problems we face in life just become so overwhelming. That's because you're not following the thinking of the light.

42:17You see, when we hesitate, we forget that the quality of life comes from walking in the light. The quality of life comes from walking in the light. Let that permeate your thinking. And it will permeate where your feet go, where your hands go, and where everything, what your mouth says. The one who follows him will have the light of life. Life as it was meant to be lived. Life as a true gift from heaven. Even in this fallen world, you can delight and walk in the presence of our Lord.

43:08And that's his call. I am the light of the world. And in that is a call to a deeper relationship with him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, may we truly hear the voice of your Son saying, Come. Follow me. Come, find your rest in me. Come, find your life in me. Come, come, come. Father, forgive us where we have turned aside. Forgive our hesitation. Our confession is that you are the Christ. We see it. We were convinced intellectually. We're convinced, and yet we still see the lingering doubts. Forgive us of our hesitation. Father, we know that we have little time.

44:06Father, may there be no hesitation. Father, thank you for the promise. Thank you that you love us. That in you, light shows us a path of reconciliation, a path of oneness with you, a path of wholeness, a path of satisfaction. Father, forgive us when we turn away from what you have said and grope and stumble in the dark as those who do not know you. Father, may that not be us. Thank you for your word. Thank you for your truth. And we ask for you to give your spirit to us today, full measure, that we might be a people after your own heart and truly can obey this, because we can never do it unless you accomplish it in us.

45:01But our desire is to follow as you ought to be followed. Please bring that about in Christ's name. Amen.