In the opening words of John’s gospel, he says this:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John refers to Jesus as having the “light.” In his first letter, John speaks much of Jesus and the life of the Christian in these terms— light, darkness. Today, Jesus will declare one of the most memorable things he is known to have said. Jesus will declare that he is the light of the world.
In John 8, Jesus and his disciples are at the festival of booths, a yearly festival where people make a special trip to Jerusalem to celebrate. Many things happen during this festival that the people celebrate and participate in together. One of the things they do is there is a big lighting of these huge lanterns. And it is potentially at that time when Jesus stands up and says this… verse 12:
[John 8:12] 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This is such a profound statement. There is so much to be learned from just these few words of Jesus.
Jesus says I am. Now, you may say “I am… hungry,” or “I am… a member of Dallas Baptist Church.” And you mean the words I and am pretty normally. Jesus doesn’t. In the famous story of Moses meeting God at the burning bush in Exodus, Moses asks the LORD what his name is. And God tells him that his name is YHWH… I am, it means. Jesus says I am, most certainly making the ears of his listeners perk up.
Jesus says I am the light. The Hebrews Scriptures, your Old Testament, are full of references that identify God himself with light. Psalm 27:1 says this:
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Jesus says that he is the light. Light gives life to things. Light is how plants make food. Light is how color can be seen. It’s how things warm up. It means there is no darkness present. Light and dark are not equal opposites. They are mutually exclusive. But is Jesus the light of his people? Himself?
Jesus says I am the light of the world. The world since Genesis 3 has been shrouded in darkness. Sin lives in us all because we are all descendants of Adam and Eve. Furthermore, sin reigns in us all because we choose to feed it. It creates a darkness in each person, a lostness, an inability to be holy and righteous. But Jesus is the opposite of those things. And not only that, he is the light that has come to save the whole world. And for us, this is good news. Always. But to say this at this time to these people is radical because the Israelites were hyper-focused on themselves. I mean, this becomes a big thread of the New Testament, that the Gospel of Jesus is for all people, not just Jewish people. Jesus is not only the light, he is the light of the world.
Which means something so interesting and important: Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. To follow Jesus means to, as John puts it, “walk in the light as he is in the light.” As we follow Jesus, we are walking in the light, not in the darkness. There is no darkness where there is light, and where there is no light, there is darkness. Walking with Jesus means that we are in the light. And when we do that, we will have the light of life— or literally the life-giving light.
Let’s think about this a little harder. To walk in the light of Jesus means to have the life-giving light ourselves. It means there should be no darkness in our lives. It means that our lives reflect a new reality that we are a new creation. Let’s consider the life of Jesus. His life can be described by so many things like: love for people; humility before God; prayer; deep contemplation; knowledge of the scriptures; service to the poor and downtrodden; speaking truth to those he loved, even if they didn’t want to hear it. If we walk with him, if we trust him and learn from him, these things begin to describe our lives. And it becomes a part of us.
This is also why the Great Commission is to make disciples and the pattern of the New Testament is to be a part of a local church and why your pastor— Cooper, me, I— spends as much time as he can with other pastors. Walk. Learn. Ask. Try. Get feedback. Correct. Rely on others. Pray for them. Serve with them. Is that not what Jesus is calling them to? He is the light. Walking with him means walking in the light. Learn. Listen. Grow. And then go forth and give that light to other people. It’s beautiful. Simple. Profound. The essence of the Christian life.
Now, this takes a negative turn— imagine that— because the Pharisees are here to disagree with Jesus as they often do.
[John 8:13] 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” They are appealing to a commonly known legal standard, which is that eyewitness account about a person must be corroborated by two or three witnesses. So, they are trying to discredit his bold claims by attacking his ability to witness on his own behalf. If you recall in John 5, this was already a discussion, and Jesus pointed out that his works, the scriptures, John the Baptist, the Father— they all testify to him. But nevertheless, that was months ago and has clearly been forgotten.
[John 8:14] 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony 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. Jesus is pointing out something very obvious.He is saying to them that they don’t know where he came from. Indeed, he is not talking about geography. He is talking about his ontology, or the nature of his being, who he really is. Jesus is the man from Heaven. The Pharisees have clearly missed this point. Jesus knows that he is the God-Man, that he is from Heaven, sent to rescue us. He is God in the flesh. That alone makes his testimony true.
[John 8:15-16] 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. Jesus continues by telling the Pharisees that they judge according to the flesh. They judge based on human standards and intellect. They judge, often, based on what they see and what they assume.
A life principle we all should adopt is this: we should seek to understand before expecting to be understood. The Pharisees have routinely judged Jesus almost before he has a chance to explain himself, before they ask, because they don’t care about being right— they care about being in charge. Nicodemus, a Pharisee we have met twice now, at least had the patience and humility to ask questions. It is far too often the case— whether it’s with our spouses, our kids, our own fellow church members, whoever— that we sort of tell them things instead of ask them things. We judge according to what we see, what we assume, what we think we know. Sometimes, we need to slow down, think a little deeper about what’s going on, and maybe ask some questions. The Pharisees almost never do that, and if they ask questions, they are disingenuous and manipulative.
Jesus says that his judgement is true for it is not [he] alone who [judges] but [he] and the Father who sent [him]. Jesus is claiming to be the Son of God— he is. Jesus is claiming to be serving the central interest of the Triune Godhead— he is.
[John 8:17-18] 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” There are times when Jesus fights fire with fire. This is one of those times. Famously, Jesus will often address the Jewish leaders with the phrase, “Have you not read…?” They should be experts in the law, so he asks, honestly, “Have you not read…?” Here, he says “Your law says that two witnesses are needed for something to be true. So here’s two: my Father and I.”
We need to ask ourselves an important question: what does it mean that the Father testifies to Jesus? Well, it really is several things. Perhaps the most obvious and compelling is when Jesus was baptized, and the Father called out from heaven and said, “This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” But I think the most important way the Father supports the Son is by the very fact that Jesus was sent by him. These people do not understand, and dare I say neither do many of us, that Jesus even coming to earth in the first place was a sign of God’s eternal plan to save us. Jesus didn’t just accidentally wind up here. No one talked him into being the Messiah. The Father architected your salvation. The Son paid for it. The Spirit applies it to you. The fact that he’s even standing in front of them claiming to be the Son is proof that the Father sent him. And if they understood their scriptures as they should, this would be obvious. But it isn’t obvious to them because they, in fact, do not understand their scriptures.
[John 8:19-20] 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. And there it is: to know the Son means to know the Father, and knowing the Father would allow to know the Son. They know neither. So, they know neither. Only God reveal himself to those who seek him. And as we learned in John 6, he draws all people to himself in the first place.
This is why churches die often— they are full of lost people. It is the case very often that people who are members, who serve on committees, men who serve as deacons, people who sing in choirs and play instruments and work on staff at churches, and even sometimes pastors— it is often the case that some of them are not Christians, are they are, at best, bad Christians. This is how churches die often. They allow unregenerate people to steer the ship— or the very least, spiritually immature people. And as you could imagine, a person who knows nothing of the truth and grace and power of God would never know how to lead a church in that direction. It’s sad. It happens everywhere.
These Pharisees do not see the truth, nor are they leading their people toward it, because they don’t know the Father, therefore they don’t know the Son, therefore they have no idea what they are doing. It’s sad.
So, I present you with three conclusions we can draw from this and three questions that will help apply those conclusions to us:
Jesus is the light. In him there is no darkness. He is the truth and life.
Jesus is the light source. He is the Son of God sent to us. He needs no earthly help to be his full, glorious self. He has all authority in heaven and on earth.
We can walk in his light. He calls all people to humbly walk with him.
Is he the authority in your life? Are you a Christian?
Are you walking in the light? Are you a faithful Christian?
Does your light give life? Are you a faithful and missional Christian?
May we, as believers, be people who give life by being light in the dark world we are passing through. I’m reminded of a song that says this:
There is one Gospel on which I stand
For all eternity
It is my story, my Father’s plan
The Son has rescued me
Oh what a Gospel, Oh what a peace
My highest joy and my deepest need
Now and forever He is my light
I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Caffeinated Christianity 