2017.02.05 John
8:12-21
I am the light of the
World
Part 2
2 weeks ago… When we looked at John ch 8… Jesus
offered Grace to a woman who was caught in the act adultery… They brought
her in front of the huge crowd that was gathered in the Court of the Women… They wanted to test Jesus…. They thought they had him trapped…. But He turned the
tables on them… He invited the one
without sin to throw the first stone… He
was looking into their hearts and showing them the truth about themselves… They
did not stone her… They walked away…
The idea that Jesus
would forgive this woman was unimaginable to them… It was Scandalous… He spoke
to this ashamed and broken woman with grace and mercy… Where are your accusers… Is there no one here
to condemn you… He said neither do I condemn you…. Now go in peace and stop
sinning…
Wonderful
for
her… but what a tragedy for the men
who walked away…. You see…. Jesus was
inviting them to come to Him for Grace as well… They could have repented and found mercy and forgiveness too… He
was offering them Scandalous Grace
as well…
But they were ashamed and did not turn from their sin and
pride and rebellion to Jesus the Savior…
Then while Jesus was still in this
huge crowd of people he spoke again… That is where we pickup the text this morning…
Let’s begin at John 8v 12…
John
8:12-21
NKJV slt 2000
12
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who
follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”13 The
Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is
not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “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 and where I am going. 15 You judge
according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment
is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is
also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who
bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”19
Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know
neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father
also.”20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple;
and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. 21 Then Jesus said
to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your
sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
12 Nun redete Jesus wieder zu ihnen und sprach: Ich bin
das Licht der Welt. Wer mir nachfolgt, wird nicht in der Finsternis wandeln,
sondern er wird das Licht des Lebens haben. 13 Da sprachen die Pharisäer zu
ihm: Du legst von dir selbst Zeugnis ab; dein Zeugnis ist nicht glaubwürdig! 14
Jesus antwortete und sprach zu ihnen: Auch wenn ich von mir selbst Zeugnis
ablege, so ist mein Zeugnis doch glaubwürdig, denn ich weiß, woher ich gekommen
bin und wohin ich gehe; ihr aber wißt nicht, woher ich komme und wohin ich
gehe. 15 Ihr richtet nach dem Fleisch; ich richte niemand. 16 Aber auch wenn
ich richte, so ist mein Gericht wahrhaftig; denn ich bin nicht allein, sondern
ich und der Vater, der mich gesandt hat. 17 Es steht aber auch in eurem Gesetz
geschrieben, daß das Zeugnis zweier Menschen glaubwürdig ist. 18 Ich bin es,
der ich von mir selbst Zeugnis gebe, und der Vater, der mich gesandt hat, gibt
auch Zeugnis von mir. 19 Da sprachen sie zu ihm: Wo ist dein Vater? Jesus
antwortete: Ihr kennt weder mich noch meinen Vater. Wenn ihr mich kennen
würdet, so würdet ihr auch meinen Vater kennen. 20 Diese Worte redete Jesus bei
dem Opferkasten, als er im Tempel lehrte; und niemand ergriff ihn, denn seine Stunde
war noch nicht gekommen. 21 Nun sprach Jesus wiederum zu ihnen: Ich gehe fort,
und ihr werdet mich suchen, und ihr werdet in eurer Sünde sterben. Wohin ich gehe, dorthin könnt ihr nicht
kommen!
Once again Jesus is proclaiming Himself to
be Equal with God…. When He said I am
the light of the world… The Pharisees were very angry… Those were fighting
words to these proud and legalistic Pharisees… We’ve already seen this conflict
with the Jewish leaders escalating… and it will escalate rapidly now in the
final six months of Jesus’ earthly Ministry… They cannot do anything to Him
yet… It is not yet time… Their hatred will take
Him to the cross on the appointed day… He will
lay down His life for us in God’s perfect time…
This is exactly what we see prophesied
in the Word of God… The Old Testament tells us many of the details of Jesus
life and death and resurrection… We just started to study through the Psalms on
Tuesday evenings… On Tuesday we studied Psalm
2… It is one of about 75 Messianic
Psalms… It speaks directly to these events in the Gospel of John… This determined
hatred of Jesus was prophesied 1000 years
before it happened… Remember He is in the Court of the Women… As we look closer at the text this
morning… look at verse 12…
v12…
I am the light of the world,’ he said.
‘He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the
light of life.’”
When He says, “I am the light of the world… He even uses
the tetragrammaton… Those 4 Hebrews letters Yahweh or Jehovah… These 4 letters
represent the Phrase I am… I am is
how the Lord God revealed Himself to
Moses… It was a crystal clear claim to
be God…
To say, “I am the light of the world,” is to identify yourself as God… This is a direct claim to be the Messiah… and they knew it… They were very familiar with the Messianic promises that came through
the Psalms and the prophets… They knew the 5th Gospel very well…
Isaiah… In Isaiah you
have Messianic passages… ch 42,49,50,52
and 53are just a few… And in chapter 42…
The Messiah is
called My servant… my chosen one… It is
a wonderful prophecy about the Messiah...
Look with me at Isaiah 42…. V1…
Isaiah
42: 1 NLT Neues Leben
1 “Look
at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have
put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.
1 »Schaut her, das ist mein Knecht, den ich festhalte. Er
ist mein Auserwählter und macht mir Freude. Ich habe ihm meinen Geist gegeben,
damit er den Völkern das Recht bringt.
These words are powerful echoes of Psalm 2… The same Holy Spirit gave these prophesies to both
David and Isaiah… This chapter goes on to speak of things concerning Jesus The Messiah… Yeshua Ha-Mashiach
In verse 5 God identifies Himself as The great God… The
creator of the heavens and the earth...
I am the Lord… and then He speaks to His Messiah…. V6,7…
Isaiah
42: 5-7 NKJV slt 2000
5
Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who
spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the
people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called
you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations. 7 You will open the eyes of the
blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark
dungeons.
5 So spricht Gott, der Herr, der die Himmel schuf und
ausspannte und die Erde ausbreitete samt ihrem Gewächs, der dem Volk auf ihr
Odem gibt und Geist denen, die darauf wandeln:
6 Ich, der Herr, habe dich berufen in Gerechtigkeit und
ergreife dich bei deiner Hand; und ich will dich behüten und dich zum Bund2 für
das Volk setzen, zum Licht für die Heiden;
7 daß du die Augen der Blinden öffnest, die Gebundenen
aus dem Gefängnis führst und aus dem Kerker die, welche in der Finsternis
sitzen.
v1-6… Isaiah prophesies… God is speaking… This is My servant, whom I strengthen… He is my
chosen one … He is the Messiah… He will be the light of the world… The Light
to the nations… The entire chapter points to the Messiah… Again, in Isaiah 49… We see more about the Messiah…
Isaiah
49: 5-7 NLT Neues Leben
5 And
now the Lord speaks— the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his
servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The Lord has honored
me, and my God has given me strength. 6 He says, “You will do more than restore
the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you
will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”7 The Lord, the Redeemer and
Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the
nations, to the one who is the servant of rulers . “Kings will stand at
attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the
faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
5 Und jetzt spricht der Herr - er, der mich im Mutterleib
zu seinem Diener geformt hat, dass ich Jakob zu ihm zurückführe und Israel bei
ihm versammle. Für ihn bin ich wertvoll. Mein Gott ist meine Kraft. 6 Er sagte:
»Es genügt nicht, dass du mein Diener bist, nur um die Stämme Israels wieder
aufzurichten und Israel zur Umkehr zu führen. Ich mache dich auch zum Licht für
die Völker und zur Rettung für die ganze Welt.« 7 Dies sagt der Herr, der
Erlöser und Heilige Israels, zu demjenigen, der von den Menschen verachtet und
von den Heiden verabscheut wird, zu dem Mann, der ein Diener von Tyrannen ist: »Könige
werden es sehen und anerkennen. Fürsten werden es beobachten und sich
niederwerfen, weil der Herr seine Treue erwies, indem er dich erwählte.«
v6… again we see… The
Messiah will be the light of the
world…
The priests and scribes
knew that when Jesus says, “I am
the light of the world,” he is boldly presenting Himself as the prophesied Messiah...
John begins his gospel with reference to this… In the
first five verses of Ch 1… He says that the The Messiah is the light of the world…
John identifies the coming Messiah… As the Lord Jesus Christ… He is the light…
And the life… John 1… v5… Then in verse 9 we read this…
John
1: 9
NKJV slt 2000
9
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
9 Das wahre Licht, welches jeden Menschen erleuchtet4,
sollte in die Welt kommen.
Light is a
magnificent metaphor… It is the active
power that dispels darkness… Jesus is the light
of truth… We are talking about much more than a light sabre…. More than Millions of light sabres… The Glorious Light of the Gospel totally destroys the
darkness…
Jesus Christ is the light of life… He singlehandedly dispels the darkness of
death... Here is a question… Why here in The Temple area… why now at this feast?
He was capturing
the important elements of the feast of Tabernacles… Remember John ch7… At the
exact moment of the pouring out of the water…and He turned it to himself and
offered himself as to only true source of Living water… Well He does the same thing here… This is
another important aspect of Tabernacles… The lighting of the four great
Candelabras…
Slide…
Every night, they would go around, and they would light
these large candles, and they would burn all night.
This
was actually called by the Jews… The illumination of the temple…
They’re
celebrating the 40 years they were in the wilderness… All during those years… They were led by light. They
were led by a pillar of fire at night
and a bright pillar of cloud in the daytime…
Ancient historians described the Illumination of the
Temple and tabernacles as a stunning vision… The Temple glowed like a diamond
in the midst of the city of Jerusalem… A symbol of the pillar of fiery light
and cloud that led them in the wilderness…
During this feast… They quoted the scriptures that we just read from
Isaiah… 42:6 and 49:6.
“I will be a light to the nations.”
With this context and background… Jesus says…. I am the light of the World… It’s a powerful, dramatic moment… Jesus is captivating
the hearts and minds of the people… and
they understand…. They see the light of
truth in Jesus… and His words of life…
Certainly the leaders understood… Look at v13…
v13… So the Pharisee said to him, “You’re
testifying about yourself. Your
testimony is not true,”
They accused Jesus of making an illegal claim… Illegal
because He was making it about Himself… Why
should we believe you? There are no
witnesses to confirm this…
We cannot confirm it to be true unless it is confirmed by
two witnesses... look at the next section v14-16…
v14-16…
Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came
from and where I am going… He means… Since I am God… I cannot lie… But
I have 2 witnesses…. Me and My Father…
v17,18… “Even in your law, it has been written that
the testimony of two men is true.”
v19… Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You
know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My
Father also…
They refused to believe Jesus… Unbelief never has enough
proof… His words alone should have been
convincing… Do you remember what the Samaritans said to the woman at the well….
After they heard Jesus for
themselves… They displayed saving Faith… John
4: 42…let´s look…
John
4:42
NKJV slt 2000
42
Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for
we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the
Savior of the world.”
42 Und zu der Frau sprachen sie: Nun glauben wir nicht
mehr um deiner Rede willen; wir haben selbst gehört und erkannt, daß dieser
wahrhaftig der Retter der Welt, der Christus ist!
Like those Samaritans… They had heard enough to know
that He spoke like no other person ever spoke… Jesus words of life were the
reason that the Priestly guards who were unwilling to arrest Him… By now they
had more than enough proof…. If they wanted to believe they would have… Luke
tells us that Jesus healed everyone who
came to Him…. He did many miracles… He daily demonstrated His power over
disease, demons, death, and nature… But some
hardened their hearts because they would not have Jesus as their Savior and
Messiah… Psalms
2???
Jesus
offered Scandalous Grace…. Overflowing radical Grace… Heart transforming and
Life giving water to anyone who would come to Him… John 7…
Their denial of His
testimony is willful ignorance… It
will cost them their lives unless they repent and believe the Good News… Unless they accept Jesus offer of Radical grace… Grace that they knew
that they did not deserve…. These are the same leaders who walked away at
Jesus invitation for the one without sin to throw the first stone… They knew that
they were also guilty before a perfect
and just God… And yet… They prided themselves on knowing God… They knew God better than anyone… Jesus says, “You don’t know Him at all.” Look
at v20,21…
v20…
These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one
laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come…
They are now so infuriated that again, again, they want
to seize Him to kill Him… But they
can’t. They tried three times in chapter
7… They can do nothing to Him… Because His hour had not yet come…
v21… Then He said to them again, “I go away. You’ll seek me. You’ll die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come.”
Earlier Jesus
said… I’m just going to be here a little
while longer… This is a loving warning
to everyone… There is still some
time… in only six months from now… Jesus will go to the cross… Then as far as they were concerned… He will be
gone… Although they do know the scriptures… They certainly do not expect that
the Messiah will rise from the dead… That is because of their unbelief…. The OT
clearly prophesied of the Messiahs resurrection through the great King David in
the Psalms… But they do not understand it…
That is why He said “You
will seek me and not find me… You
will stumble in the darkness of your sin and pride and rebellion… You will not
find me… You will die in your sins… This happens when the Lord finally says enough… You
refuse to repent… You refuse to listen and obey… I will give you over to your lusts… Romans 1…
Application
In closing… I want to talk for a few minutes about what
we can see… If we decide to walk in the light… When we rightly see Jesus as the Light of the World… It is possible to see the unseen… To
borrow a phrase from the Pastors
conference last week… We need to see
with our ears… When we hear the Good
News of the Gospel… And then we repent and believe… We begin to see with the eyes of faith… We hear the Word of God… We understand His Radical Grace… Look with me at John 8: 12 again…
John
8: 12 NKJV slt 2000
12
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who
follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jesus
is the light of the world… If you follow him now, you will have him as your light in life... Today is
the day to come to Jesus…. His grace is sufficient to cover all of you sins…
Don´t leave here with a burden of sin and shame… Look to Jesus…. He offers
Scandalous grace to each of us…. Not just this woman taken in Adultery…
I know that most of us are Christians… It
is not easy for us to see the truth either… It may not always be pretty…For example… Jesus
reveals our sins… You see even Christians sin sometimes… This is very dangerous…
Here is what happens… We hide our sin…I often speak of the dangers of Hypocrisy
and self-righteousness… We know that we
should not sin… But we still do it…. And then we are drawn to secrecy… No one
can know that I am not perfect… We keep our sins secret… This is the worst
thing that we could do… We hide our sin in the shadows… And that is where
discouragement and defeat grows… It is
poison for our Christian walk… Think about the Jewish leaders and the woman
taken in Adultery… Her sin was brought into the light… In her shame
and sorrow…. She repented and found grace as Jesus said… Neither do I condemn
you… Go and sin no more…
When
Jesus shows us our sins… He is loving us enough to tell us the truth… It is the
warning diagnosis of a life threatening disease… That is a precious gift... He
shows us the truth about ourselves so that we will be quick to repent and turn
away from our sin and pride… He does it because He loves us… But even more wonderful… He will reveal His grace and mercy… He will pour
out His unfailing love on our lives… Jesus In the Light of His love… We will
see and better understand the Lord our God… He is by nature a Savior…
He will be the light in which you see God´s
marvelous creation… Nothing will be the
same again… Everything looks different
in the light of Christ… We will have a much better understanding of live and
God´s Purpose… We can even cope with disasters as we see them in the light of
His awesome plan and purpose…. The light of His love makes everything more
bearable… We will hang on to Jesus
through every difficulty… Until his light fills the earth as the waters cover
the sea…
His light will help you bear sorrow and sadness…
It will be a warm glowing sense of His love and care to comfort you in deepest
loss… He will be the Lamp for your feet… He will help us to see by faith… God´s Love
and plan behind every disaster and loss…
Jesus will be the light of life for you…. No matter what
happens… Unfortunately we are out of time for this morning… John writes more
about this in His first letter 1 John 1. 5-10… look at it with me…
1
John 1: 5-10 NKJV slt 2000
5
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God
is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship
with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if
we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not
sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
5 Und
das ist die Botschaft, die wir von ihm gehört haben und euch verkündigen, daß
Gott Licht ist und in ihm gar keine Finsternis ist. 6 Wenn wir sagen, daß wir
Gemeinschaft mit ihm haben, und doch in der Finsternis wandeln2, so lügen wir
und tun nicht die Wahrheit; 7 wenn wir aber im Licht wandeln, wie er im Licht
ist, so haben wir Gemeinschaft miteinander, und das Blut Jesu Christi, seines
Sohnes, reinigt uns von aller Sünde. 8 Wenn wir sagen, daß wir keine Sünde
haben, so verführen wir uns selbst, und die Wahrheit ist nicht in uns. 9 Wenn
wir aber unsere Sünden bekennen, so ist er treu und gerecht, daß er uns die
Sünden vergibt und uns reinigt von aller Ungerechtigkeit. 10 Wenn wir sagen,
daß wir nicht gesündigt haben, so machen wir ihn zum Lügner, und sein Wort ist
nicht in uns.
It is perfect for your own personal quiet times…
Let´s pray…
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