Please be seated. This morning, we're going to look at John 8. This is the second installment in
a series that's looking at Jesus and these brief little moments where he makes these
big grand statements, and they start out with, I am. So we looked at Jesus' statement in John 6,
where he said, I am the light of the world, or sorry, I am the bread of life. And now we're
looking at Jesus' statement where he says, I am the light of the world. So if you have a Bible,
turn with me to John 8. We're going to start reading at verse 12, and then we're going to go
on to verse 20. So you can look in the bulletin, or you can look in your Bible. But turn with me
as we give attention to God's word. This is John 8. 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.
So the Pharisees said to him, you are bearing witness about yourself. Your testimony is not true.
And Jesus answered, even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true. For I know
where I came from and where I'm going, but you don't know where I come from or where I'm going.
You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. 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. In your law, it is written
that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself,
and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. They said to him, therefore, where is your father?
And Jesus answered, you know neither me nor my father. If you knew me, you would know my father also.
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. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for these statements that Jesus makes in the
gospel of John about who he is. Help us to see Jesus as he truly is. And this morning, may we see him as
the light of the world. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. I have to admit, I'm a little bit nervous about
what I'm about to tell you. And if I get shaky, the reason is because it brings back so many memories as a
kid. Because none of you will know the name Judy Bundy. And if you do know Judy Bundy or Miss Ms. Bundy,
you don't know the Judy Bundy. At the mention of her name, I still go into like a panic and cold sweat,
and I have flashbacks of forgetting my lab report, or me answering a question and not knowing the answer
and trying to get out of it and escape. And the Ms. Judy Bundy just crushing my spirit. And everyone
in class laughing at me. The Ms. Judy Bundy, and that's how she referred to herself often, was the
most feared biology teacher in all of Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm convinced of it. I don't care what high
school you went to, I don't care if you ever took her in a class, because if you said her name in the hallway,
she would just appear. The Ms. Judy Bundy was feared and fearsome. She cut no slack. She was demanding.
She loved science, but more than that, she loved the scientific method. And why did she like it?
Because it was a way for her to teach us how to think. I'm convinced of that. I haven't asked her this.
Maybe I will one day. But she loves Sir Francis Bacon and his rules for observation, because she could
challenge something a student said. And if it wasn't well-founded, again, she would make you look
pretty stinking silly in class. Obviously, my memory of her has something to do with authority. Both her
as a figure, but in class as well. She prized authority, and she didn't need to demand it. It
just came out of her. And whenever you spoke, you better be sure you knew what you were talking about.
If you made a claim, you better be able to back it up with her beloved scientific method.
Because if you made a claim, it needed to have authority. And because you are ninth grader in
biology class, you don't have much authority. But if you could observe something and show her what you
saw, and you could prove it, you had authority. If you claim something, it needed to come with authority.
That same dynamic is at play here in a story like John 8, where Jesus makes this big claim, right?
I am the light of the world. But then there's this question of authority, and it almost gets derailed.
In fact, it does get derailed with all of these questions over authority. And those are the two
headings that we're going to look at this morning. Jesus' claim, and then the authority with which he
speaks, with which he answers. So, as we look at this text, I want to remind us of something that I
said last time when we looked at when Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He is talking about himself,
right? And throughout this time, he is pointing us to himself. Now, you might say, I want a lot
less talk and a lot more actions. Don't actions speak for themselves. They do. But remember, Jesus
has done that over and over, and there's still confusion about who he is and what he's saying.
And so, when we look at these I am statements, it's almost like we're giving a microphone. I've
heard it said like this. We're giving a microphone to Jesus and saying, who are you? Who is it that you
say you are? And he's declaring very boldly and very simply the answer to that question. But he gives us
an answer that's kind of weird, if we're honest. He says, I am the light of the world. And so, in
cutting through this confusion, he answers, I am the light of the world. But what does that mean? What
does that mean for us? And why the light of the world? That seems odd. We get the bread of life part.
I need him to eat and live and move and have my being. I need to be sustained. But why the light
of the world? Why light at all? Let's look together at verse 12. Simple enough. I'm the light of the
world. Do we even need to read it again? We do. Why? Because we need to unearth, why is he using this
image of light? If you remember in John's gospel, it's not as if each new paragraph is a new day.
There's some paragraphs and some pages of scripture that are going through, and it's one single day,
maybe even one single conversation, but they're different topics. And if you look back in chapter
seven of John's gospel, at chapter seven, verse 37, it tells us that this time where it's happening
is at the festival of the booze. Now, that was a time when all of Israel went up to Jerusalem
to worship, went up to make merry. One commentator calls it the time when the Levitical orchestra
cuts loose. I would like to see the day when our music team, you know, comes up to worship and cuts
loose for a week or so. That sounds pretty awesome. So as Israel was coming to worship and celebrate
and do all these things and cut loose and make merry, they were literally going up. It's not like
I'm just going down the street. Everywhere around could see this area because it was a gain in elevation.
And so as there were lights about worship in the evening, you could see it for miles and miles around.
And so that's why in the gospels we see when they talk about going to Jerusalem, they're going up to
Jerusalem. They were literally going up as well as giving their hearts and going up. And so they're doing
this on the heels of this event, maybe even on the last day. Jesus is saying, you see all those lights up
there? Or you see all these lights? And as you're coming up, I am the light of the world. So it's in that
context he uses light. It's unobstructed for everyone to see in the land. And Jesus is saying, see me.
I am the light of the world. But why light? It's not just the immediate context or the events of
what's going on. But light and darkness have a long history in the Christian gospel, in the message of
Christianity, and in the history of Israel. Think about the beginning of John's gospel. It starts
something like this. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. And all things were made through him, and without him was not
anything 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. If that sounds really similar to what we read earlier
in the Old Testament reading, that's intentional on John's part. He's trying to show and draw through
and show his readers that, hey, you know this really familiar story in Genesis 1? That is talking about
something far grander than you could imagine. In fact, it's talking about this event. The Word coming into
the world. The Word making all things. But in that, there's something as well. When we see those days and
nights, we see a disparity. We see light and darkness. Because day can't be night, and night can't be day.
Darkness can't be light, and light can't be darkness. They're as far away from each other as they can be.
There's no mixing. There's no gray. It's day and night. But there's also something really important
when we talk about light. Oftentimes, in the Old Testament, light means God in the midst of darkness.
I think we all get that as people that read the scriptures. Darkness is sin, and light is God or
goodness. But it's not just light that comes from God's Word. God himself is described as light.
Psalm 27 1 says this, the Lord is my light and my salvation. So we get all these pictures of light and
darkness. But when it comes to light, light is never evil. Light is never bad. Light is always God,
goodness, justice, and truth. And so even when we talk about those attributes as being light,
his Word revealing his character, it's all pointing back to God.
Light is more than just the immediate context of the festival of booze. Light is more than just the
beginning of the gospel of John. But light is pointing back to God himself.
So that's why when Jesus makes this claim, I am the light of the world, it's startling to those he's
speaking to. It should be startling to us. He is pulling forth all these images and all of these
pictures and saying, that's who I am. Who is Jesus? I am light. I am God. And when he's doing that,
he is challenging them, not with just the idea of who he is, but there's a charge to them. We see that
in the second half of that verse. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light
of life. It's not as if Jesus is just leading them, stumbling through the darkness, wondering where
they're going. If you've ever been in the dark at night following somebody who has the one flashlight,
you know that feeling. Where are we going? When are we going to get there? I can't see that tree root.
Spider webs in my face. That's not what's going on here. Jesus is saying that he is the light,
and darkness is as different as him as can be. It's not day and night mixed together. No, it's day and
night, light and darkness. There's a contrast at work. And the audacity of this claim is something
that the Pharisees who he's talking to here really struggle with. You see, it's really easy, and it's not
really challenging to say that, hey, light brings comfort. That doesn't really challenge their
worldview. That doesn't make them mad. It's really easy to say, oh, light brings hope. That's true,
but that's not what Jesus is saying. It's really easy to say light brings comfort because I'm scared
of the dark. That's not what Jesus is saying either. He's saying that I am the light of the world.
That's very different. It's a picture of contrast, not just of a warm security blanket.
I am the light of the world. Now, remember, this event is happening on the same day in chapter 7,
where he says, if anybody's thirsty, come to me and drink, and you will be satisfied.
If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Now, Jesus is making this great claim, just like when
he said the bread of life. He kind of mixed his metaphors. He's doing the same thing here. He is
showing that that light is satisfying because it's not darkness. It's so different. Visually, it's different,
but it's also morally different. It's different in every category, and it cannot be confused.
So who is Jesus? That's that perennial question that I asked us to consider as we're looking at
these statements because John is answering that question, and Jesus is answering that question
with his words. Who is Jesus? He is saying that he is God. He's the light of the world, and whoever
follows him will not walk in darkness. This claim from Jesus obviously has a polarizing effect.
On the here's then, on us now, the dividing line of humanity, the dividing light, if you will,
is not what we think it would be. It's not whether you're a Pharisee or a scribe. It's not whether you
are a Jew or Gentile. It's not whether you went to a good school or didn't go to school at all.
It's not whether you loved Miss Bundy or you hated Miss Bundy.
It's not whether you're black or white, if you're from America, if you pay your taxes, or you don't.
The dividing line of humanity is the person of Christ.
That's really hard for them to hear because in their minds, they don't know about Jesus.
They're unsure. They know something is different, and they don't want to commit to him.
But the dividing line of humanity for them and for us is the person of Jesus, and that's polarizing.
You either follow him in light or you continue in darkness. It's that different, light and dark.
Now, if you're not a Christian here this morning, we're glad you're here.
There's other ways that you could spend your Sunday morning.
But this is really important, and Jesus is challenging you.
You might not have known it when you walked in this morning,
but he's challenging you and saying,
will you follow me?
You might not know who I am fully,
but he's saying, I am God.
I will give up my life for your sins.
Follow me.
That's divisive in our day and age.
But if you're a Christian this morning,
he's also calling you to step out of the darkness,
out of all the struggles that you have
that might be hidden from those who view you,
and bring those things into the light,
those things that we secretly struggle with,
that sin that won't go away.
He's saying, bring that into the light of confession.
Bring it before me.
Now, I'm not saying don't be a weirdo, okay?
I'm not saying get a billboard on I-25
and say, hey, I'm Andy.
I cheat on my taxes.
You know, I might not pick up dog poop
as I walk around the neighborhood
or anything like that, right?
One of those is true, and one of them is not.
But he is saying this.
Don't be weird like that.
But as there's occasion,
and as we struggle through this Christian life,
Christian, come into the light.
Don't bring those sins into the light.
Bring them before the Lord.
Confess them there.
Just don't do it the first time you meet somebody.
If you're a Christian, you're weird enough in society.
Let the gospel be the weird part.
But Christian, bring those things into the light
because there's a thing about darkness
where we think that it's hidden,
and we think we don't have to deal with it,
or it'll just go away.
But the reality is that's not true.
It's already been paid for by Christ.
Bring them into the light.
The Christian should have no part in darkness,
but that's hard
because as a follower of Christ,
we know that we sin.
We know that we need a Savior,
but it's already been paid for.
That's the claim that Jesus is making
both for the Christian and for the non-Christian.
If you've considered the claims of Christ,
or you haven't,
he's saying,
I am the light of the world.
Follow me in all aspects,
in all parts of your life,
in all of those dark corners,
in all those parts where you think
no one can see.
Follow me.
Now, that's a claim that Jesus is making.
That's really easy for us to see.
But what's much more difficult
and what's much harder to understand
is everything that follows after that.
If you've been in a meeting,
whether it's in the corporate world,
whether it's a church meeting,
hopefully that doesn't happen here,
whether it's a meeting with your spouse,
where you're going over schedules
or something like that,
the stated purpose of this meeting
in the corporate world
is going to be,
we're going to review this project,
this presentation.
We're going to slap the table
and go forward.
But you come into that meeting
or you have that discussion
with your spouse
or even a child is even better.
You realize really quickly,
we came wanting to talk about this,
but my meeting got hijacked
and we're going this way
when we should have been going this way.
The presentation was supposed to be,
the pitch,
the big business pitch
was supposed to happen,
but clearly we're still
in the planning conference phase.
Clearly we're planning
our summer vacation
and now we're talking about
who spilled chocolate syrup
on the floor.
Or if you're talking with a kid,
you wanted to talk about grades
and now we're talking about unicorns.
Your meeting has been hijacked.
That's what's happening
to Jesus here.
He's talking about following after him,
him being the light of the world.
And what did the Pharisees say to him?
Hey, how can you say those things?
What authority do you have?
Wait, I thought there was supposed
to be a witness here.
This can't be true.
His interaction with the Pharisees
is hijacked.
And it doesn't happen
just in corporate America
or the ancient Near East
or when you're talking with a toddler.
It happens even with things
that are ultimate,
that are cosmic,
that are really stinking important.
It's hijacked
with this question of authority.
How do we know that?
Look with me at verse 13.
It starts like this.
So the Pharisees said to him,
you are bearing witness about yourself.
Your testimony is not true.
And Jesus answered,
even if I do bear witness about myself,
my testimony is true.
For I know where I came from
and where I'm going.
But you do not know
where I come from
or where I'm going.
It's kind of interesting.
This question of authority
centers around three kind of big buckets
or categories.
The first one
is this idea of testimony.
At this point,
when we hear the Pharisees' response,
we should kind of all collectively groan
and say,
gosh, that question,
if you remember back
when we talked about John,
John saying that,
or Jesus saying that,
I am the bread of life,
that question
that my friend
kept asking me
is,
why don't they get it?
Here,
it seems like,
again,
the Pharisees
just don't get it.
What are they doing?
What are they thinking?
Why are they asking him this?
They don't get it.
And they're challenging him
on something
they've already challenged him on.
If you flip back to John 5,
a few chapters earlier,
Jesus says this
about witnessing
and his testimony.
He says,
if I alone
bear witness about myself,
my testimony
is not deemed true.
There's another
who bears witness about me,
and I know
that the testimony
he bears about me
is true.
You sent John.
And then he'll go on
a little bit further
and say,
but the testimony
I have
is greater
than that of John.
for the works
that the Father
has given me
to accomplish,
the very works
I'm doing,
bear witness
about me
that the Father
has sent me.
And the Father
who sent me
has he himself
borne witness
about me.
This is kind of
a continuation
of that conversation.
This matter
should have already
been settled,
but the Pharisees
are trying to play
a trick on him.
He said,
if I bear witness
about myself,
then it's not true.
You see,
this conversation
is taking place
against the backdrop
of Deuteronomy 19.
It's something
that we kind of have
in our own legal system
where it says,
if you have a witness,
you've got to have
more than one
because those witnesses
could conflict.
Their testimonies
could not corroborate
each other.
But the Pharisees
are asking
this question.
They're saying,
and we'll see
if they're doing this
intentionally
to trap him
or if they're doing it
out of like
actually wondering
who Jesus is,
they're saying,
Jesus,
you can't witness
about yourself.
You even said this.
So are they asking
out of true curiosity
or are they asking
because they're trying
to trap him?
Well,
it's the Pharisees,
right?
This isn't their
first rodeo.
This isn't the first time
we've seen them
interact with Jesus.
They're trying to trap him
and they're trying
to get him
to understand
that they remember
what he said
and we're going to use
it against you later.
And Jesus says,
oh, no, no, no.
You didn't understand
what I meant.
He's saying,
back in chapter 5,
I can offer
true testimony
because of those things.
If I speak
in conformity
with the Father,
I can.
In fact,
there's more
than one witness
that's here.
Both myself
and the Father,
which we'll get to
in a minute.
But he's saying here,
you can't pass judgment
on me
because you don't know
where I came from
and you don't know
where I'm going.
That seems kind of odd
when we consider it.
But he is saying
to them,
you don't understand
the landscape
of what's going on.
You have no idea.
You think it's about this,
but it's really about
these ultimate things,
these ultimate questions.
That's the part one
to this challenge
of authority.
The second one,
that second big topic,
is about judgment.
And we see those
in verses like 15 and 16.
Judgment's confusing
because it's Jesus.
He says here in verse 15,
you judge according
to the flesh,
I judge no one.
Okay.
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.
So is Jesus
not judging
because he was sent here
as a Savior?
That's not exactly
what he's saying.
Some people take that position.
He's saying here,
I don't judge
like you do.
I don't judge
according to appearances,
which is what you see
earlier in the Gospels.
I don't judge
according to the flesh.
In fact,
my judgment
is perfect
because I do it
with the Father.
And it gets back
to this ultimate thing
that they are missing,
that Jesus
is related
to the Father,
that Jesus
is God himself.
He's part
of the Trinity.
Jesus judges,
he just doesn't
do it alone,
and he doesn't do it
like the Pharisees
do it.
And that kind of
makes them mad.
Now,
I'm not going to
commend this author
by any stretch,
and I'm pretty sure,
maybe not Miss Bundy,
but a seminary professor
is going to come
smack me in the face.
But,
this author,
Rudolf Bolt,
!
Rudolf Boltmann,
I don't commend
anything that he wrote.
It's not normally helpful.
But even him,
even the guy
who questions
everything about
the Christian faith,
says about these verses,
about the Pharisees,
that Jesus
is making a mockery
of Jewish legalism.
He can see that
in this text.
Because in it,
he's showing them
that they're so concerned
about the testimony
of witnesses,
they're so concerned
about judging,
but they miss
that it's all about God,
that God is at the center
of it.
Even that guy
can see
it's about
God.
The third
kind of bend
about authority,
the topic
that we need
to talk about
is relationship.
We see that
by the Pharisees
missing,
that it's about
God himself.
Now,
what I didn't tell you
about Miss Bundy,
and the reason
she had so much
power
and authority,
wasn't because
she was my science teacher.
It was who she knew.
She knew
Dr. Nina Page.
And who is
Dr. Nina Page?
It's my grandmother.
So,
Dr. Nina Page
and Miss Judy,
the Miss Judy Bundy,
both love science,
and they were
in the same Bible study.
So,
if I performed
poorly in school,
I would hear about it
from my grandmother,
not just my parents,
but it would come
to me
with much more
authority
and much more,
honestly,
anger
at underperforming.
And I would even see
Miss Bundy
outside of school.
You know,
when you see your teacher
and you realize
they're a normal human being too,
and she knew my grandmother,
man,
I was in trouble
because her power
wasn't limited
just to the classroom.
I couldn't escape it.
It was everywhere
because her authority,
her power,
was based on this relationship
to my grandmother.
The same is true here.
What the Pharisees
and the scribes miss
is that the authority
and power
with which Jesus speaks
comes from his relationship
to the Father.
Not only do they miss
that the law
is pointing to Christ,
but they miss
that Jesus is saying
he is God.
The Pharisees failed.
They failed to understand
this whole thing.
It's why they questioned
Jesus' authority
in the first place.
And then they circle
around to it,
or Jesus circles around to it
again in 17 and 18.
In your law,
it is written
that the testimony
of two people is true.
I am the one
who bears witness
about myself
and the Father
who sent me
bears witness about me.
The relationship there.
The relationship
is the part
that they miss
both about the law
and about who
Jesus is saying himself.
He's saying,
I am God.
Who is Jesus?
He answers that question
for them.
But why do they miss it?
They miss the authority
with which Jesus speaks
and they misunderstand.
There's kind of a hint
of this
when he says,
your law,
isn't it Jesus' law?
but he's saying to them,
he's pointing out to them
that you have
messed with the law,
you've missed
the whole point of it,
and so your law
is your understanding of it.
You missed the crucial component
that all of this
is pointing to me.
And you missed it.
And you missed it
real big.
You missed it
when it comes to the law,
and you missed it
when it comes to me
as I stand before you.
You did not understand
that.
They memorized the law.
They used it.
And that's why
they struggle so much
when Jesus comes
and he doesn't do
what they want him to do.
He doesn't
join their club.
Instead,
he dines with people
that they use the law
to put down.
He doesn't fit
into their box.
For to know Jesus
is to know the Father.
That's what Jesus
is saying to them.
And that makes them mad.
That angers them.
The actions,
the signs,
the clear statements,
all of that
is pointing to this fact
that Jesus
is the light of the world.
And even he says it to them,
they should be
considering that statement,
but instead,
they're doing something
very different.
They're getting really technical
and asking questions
about do you have
the authority
to be a witness or not.
They miss the Savior
that stands before them.
Jesus' words here
challenge those
who don't follow Jesus.
The Pharisees saw
with their own eyes,
they heard him,
but they couldn't
recognize Jesus.
What about your neighbor?
He doesn't see Jesus.
He doesn't talk to him.
Yes, he has creation.
There's some small glimpse
of that.
But it shows us
that in the work
of my neighbor
or the guy
I work with
or the person
I share a cubicle with
or teach with
in the classroom,
they need
to hear
from Christ.
Christ.
They need
the light
that is opposed
to darkness.
They need Christ
and they need you
to bring it to him.
They need you
because God
uses people
like us
to share
the gospel,
the light
in the darkness.
darkness.
We heard
from Jonathan
all these practical
things of how
to do that.
This is the theology
behind that,
that the light
shines in the darkness
and you need
to shine it
in the hearts
of people
around you.
rather,
we've become
experts in the law
about witness
and testimony
and we
in our own hearts
have kind of
removed God
from the picture.
We think
that we know
but we miss
Jesus
often.
If we
really believe
that Jesus
is the light
of the world
and it dispels
darkness,
we cannot
sit
idly by
as people
stumble
through the
darkness.
We need
to think
about that
because often
the way
we live
shows that
we truly
believe
that light
and darkness
are not
in as big
a contrast
as
Jesus
says.
We need
to be the light
in the darkness
and do we
live like
we believe
or are we
majoring
on the minors
instead
using God's
word like
the Pharisees
to put
people down
and not
holding forth
the words
of life
as we
see in
the scriptures.
Wherever that
finds us
this morning,
Jesus is
calling each
of us
in this
claim
with real
authority
to follow
him,
to follow
after Christ
because he
is the light
of the world
that shines
in the
darkness.
Let's pray.
Lord,
we are
thankful
this morning
for you
showing us
who you
are in
your word.
May you
use your
spirit
to show
us that
you make
these grand
claims
of being
light in
the darkness
and may
we delight
in it.
May we
be prompted
to bring
our sin
before you
out of the
darkness
into the
light.
And Father,
may we
extend that
light into
the dark
corners of
this world.
We pray
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.