TEXT: John 8:12-59

SUBJECT: Exposition of John #22: The Light of the World

We return this morning to our study of John's Gospel and to another proof positive that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". Believing this is no trifling matter; eternal life--your eternal life--depends on it. I pray God will mix this Word with faith in your heart...and mine. For Christ's sake. Amen.

The passage begins on a high point but quickly declines into an ugly squabble. The bone of contention is our Lord's identity.

He tells us who He is in v.12: "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life".

"Light" is a metaphor, often used in the Bible and in other sacred writings. Most religions, after all, promise "Enlightment". We must be clear, therefore, as to just what our Lord means in this place. How do we do that? By checking the context. Where is He? He's in Jerusalem. What's He doing there? He's there for the Feast of Tabernacles. What's that have to do with light? Very much: for at the Feast of Tabernacles, the Menorah was publicly lighted. What does the Menorah recall? It recalls the visible presence of God in the wilderness. After quitting Egypt, the people of God were not left to fend for themselves! The fiery cloud led them by day, and the pillar of fire by night. They stood for the Divine Presence.

By calling Himself "the light of the world", our Lord made Himself God. If God once dwelt with His people in a fiery cloud, He now abides with us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, if God is in Christ (as He was in the pillar), it follows that whatever the Pillar/Cloud of old did for Israel, Christ now does for us. Only better.

What did they Pillar do for God's people? It led them; it guaranteed their security; it provided for them; it gave them a joy unknown to other nations. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, and the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance".

What the Cloud provided in part, our Lord Jesus fulfills. He remains with us despite our multiple rebellions. He leads us through dark and bewildering ways. He protects us from our enemies. He brings down our spiritual food and drink. He reminds us that God is with us.

Because He is "the light of the world", then: "He who follows [Christ] shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life"--the light that gives life. Earthly life is unthinkable without light. Spiritual life is unthinkable without Christ.

The claim is staggering. It calls for a response; it demands one. Indecision is ruled out; delay is impossible. "Choose you this day". Is Christ "the light of the world"? If so, "walk in His light". And find "life". Make it clear: No light, no life apart from Christ.

As you might have guessed by now, our Lord's claim does not go unchallenged; the Pharisees aim to disprove it. Like all legalists, they begin with a technicality, v.13: "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true".

This is an appeal to the Mosaic Law, which allowed no one to be convicted except "at the mouth of two or three witnesses". One witness--no matter how credible--was enough. The Pharisees say, in effect: "You say you're the Christ, but no one else does. Therefore, You're not the Christ".

This kind of reasoning is worthy of our court system! It makes no sense at all. Our Lord answers these "fools according to their folly", v.14: "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness 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".

There is a difference between admissibilty and truth. Just because a witness' testimony is not admissible does not prove that it is untrue. These "legal scholars" should know that. Our Lord's witness is true--even if it's not otherwise supported. Why? Because He comes directly from God and will soon return to God. And--as God's special agent in the world--He cannot but speak the truth of God. To call Christ a liar is to make God a liar too. Even Balaam knew better than that: "God is not a man that He should lie".

Because the Pharisees jumped to this conclusion, our Lord charges them with legal malfesance: "You judge according to the flesh". It is not He who is on trial, but they.

The judges of Israel were not to write their own laws, but to administer God's! "The judgment is God's" Deuteronomy 1:17 has it. But, if the Pharisees didn't even know God, how could they possibly pass judgment on His Only-Begotten Son?

The judges of Israel are hereby disbarred!

Christ adds: "I judge no one". That is, He "judges no one" according to the flesh. He doesn't make snap decisions based on superficial evidence. He "judges righteous judgment" as he said a bit earlier.

When He judges, we can be sure He doesn't act alone, but in perfect harmony with "The Father who sent [Him]". And if the Law requires two witness to validate any claim, here they are: Himself and His Father.

He has turned the accusation around on them. It is not Christ who is alone, pronouncing rash judments, but they. When Jesus Christ testifes of Himself, God the Father agrees.

"Where is Your Father?" the flustered Pharisees demand. No use answering that one. If they knew Christ, they'd know where the Father was.

V.20 adds a note worth thinking about: "These words Jesus spoke in the treasure, as He taught in the Temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come". He was in the stronghold of apostate Judaism. Yet no one touched him. Why not? Because He had "bound the strong man" and was now "plundering his goods". In God's good time, our Lord would surrender to their malice--but not before. Even in His state of humiliation, Jesus Christ is God Almighty.

He starts with a warning: "I am going away and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come". Let's break this down phrase-by-phrase:

"I am going away" refers to His death. Within six months our Lord Jesus will be crucified.

"And you will seek Me". Will they? Will the leading men of the Pharisees regret the crucifixion? Not in the least; they'll celebrate it and pay men to keep His resurrection a secret. What does He mean, then? I think He means this: "After My death, you'll keep looking for the Messiah, but you won't find Him". Why not? Because there is no other Messiah but Jesus Christ!

"And will die in your sin". The result of unbelief is death. A death much worse than physical perishing.

"Where I go you cannot come", plainly means heaven. In short, there is no way to heaven or to life apart from Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees assume this "going away" is suicide. But this only proves how worldly-minded they are. And to "mind earthly things", of course, leads to eternal death.

They go on to seek further clarification: "Who are You?" He replies: "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning". In other words, their problem is not an ignorance of the truth, but its suppression.

This comes from a rejection--not of Christ so much--but of God. If they knew the voice of the Father, they'd never ask about His Son's identity.

But one day they will know Christ. When? "When they lift up the Son of Man..." The crucifixion is the ultimate proof that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God". What a paradox! Nowhere does His Divinity shine more brightly than at "the place of the skull".

So awesome was that display of the Divine glory that His accusers "beat their breast" at the sight; the Romans confessed He "was the Son of God"; dead men rose from the graves to tell it; even the earth quaked in tribute to Jesus Christ.

Every knee bows to Him; every tongue confesses His Lordship because He "does always those things which please [the Father]". Self-will is degrading in its effect. Submitting to God is the way to self-fulfillment.

This confrontation with the Pharisees has deeply impressed some of His hearers; He has a word for them, vv.30-36.

Who are they? They are "believers". Is their faith genuine? Time will tell. How many have come to believe? "Many". What does He say to them? V.31: "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free".

Our Lord wants an immediate response, of course. But He wants more than that; He wants a lasting response. Discipleship is not a one-time profession of faith, it is the life of faith. This life of faith is lived in Christ's Word. The Pharisees thought "the Law of Moses" could set a man free. They were right--if only he could keep it! But he can't--no one can. The Word of Christ, however, can set a man free from the slavery of ego and lust and bitterness and addiction and every other bondage. What is that Word? It is the Gospel. Charles Wesley felt its power

"He breaks the power of reigning sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood availed for me".

This word "free" is quite offensive to the Phariees. "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone!"

Preachers often scoff at these words, for at the time they were spoken, the nation was in bondage to Rome. But I think this is unfair; the Pharisees were not stupid men; they knew of their political servitude. They meant they had never been in spiritual bondage. God promised liberty to Abraham and his seed; they were his seed; therefore they were "not in bondage to anyone".

But they were. They were in the worst of captivities; outside of Christ, they were shackled to their sins. And no one could free them from this deadly servitude--no one but "the Son". If He freed them, they'd be "free indeed".

Man was not meant to be a slave; hence his perennial quest for liberty. But seeking freedom outside of Christ is but to exchange one bondage for another--often one much worse. If there is no freedom apart from Christ, there is no freedom apart from "His Word". Thus, you and I must "abide in [it]".

Our Lord begins by admitting their physical descent from Abraham, but goes no to deny any spiritual kinship. Children tend to resemble their parents. Our Lord acts just like His Father and they behave rather like their father. They reply with indignations: "Abraham is our Father!" Then why do they act so differently than he did? Abraham never tried to murder the Messiah; why are they doing that?

Because, v.41: "You do the deeds of your father". Who does He mean by "Your father"? They know and deny it vehemently--"God is our Father".

He replies, v.42: "If God were your Father, you would love Me..." The children of God would immediately know the Firstborn and cheer Him on in His mission to redeem the world. But they don't. Therefore, they can't possibly be the children of God.

Whose children are they? "You are of your father the devil", v.44 has it. How does He know that? No supernatural insight is required. They're of the devil because they act like the devil. If he's a murderer and a liar, what would He expect from his children?

In short: "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore, you do not hear because you are not of God".

They charge Him with two evils: "You are a Samaritan and have a devil". He's doing Satan's work--just what they'd expect from a dirty Samaritan.

He denies the charge and reminds them it is not He who is on trial, but they. His salvation does not depend on submitting to them, but their salvation depends on "keeping" His "Word". If they submit to His Word they'll be blessed; they will "Never see death".

At last--they think--He's slipped up. "Abraham is dead and the prophets". Case closed. The reasoning is something like this: If keeping Your Word gives life, it follows that Abraham and the prophets didn't keep Your Word--an idea repugnant to every Bible-believer.

How does He get out of this one? Very easily. He reiterates what He has previously said--His Word is identical to God's Word--and is therefore, life-giving.

Furthermore, Abraham did keep His Word! "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, saw it, and was glad". By faith, Abraham looked beyond his immediate seed--Isaac--to see the Seed who was to come and to fulfill all the Divine promses--Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees charge Him with madness. How can a man--less than fifty years old--claim to have known Abraham who died centuries before? The answer is forthcoming: "Before Abraham was, I AM". The Name was too sacred to be uttered! It was the Name by which God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush. And now, our Lord Jesus Christ is doing what no devout Jew had ever done before--or since--called Himself THE LORD.

This so enraged the people that they picked up stones to kill Him on the spot. But they couldn't--because His hour had not yet come. He would "die the death"--the cursed death--but only on His terms--God's terms.

No writing--in the Bible or outside of it--identifies our Lord Jesus more clearly than this one. He is God. He is not a spokesman for God (as the prophets were), but Emmanuel--God with us.

And if He is God, He deserves your adoration and fear, your love and your obedience. "Give unto the LORD the glory due His name".

And if He is God, we know how loving and patient how gracious and slow to anger God is. And therefore, we can flee to Him in times of sorrow and loss, in times of perplexity and guilt, and find Him willing and anxious to bear our burdens.

And so, what will it be? Patronizing Christ won't do. Reject Him with finality. Or worship Him as your all in all. God give the grace to choose wisely. For Christ's sake. Amen.