So we're picking things up where we left off.
Jesus is teaching at the temple courts.
And we can see that in verse 20,
kind of the last verse of our section this morning.
It says,
So Jesus is still there in Jerusalem,
everything we're about to read today that Jesus said,
and that was said to him,
happened there at the temple courts while he was teaching.
Up until now, the Pharisees have been kind of lurking around in the background.
If you remember back to chapter 7,
they sent some temple guards to arrest Jesus.
But then the guards decided not to arrest him
because they were amazed by Jesus' teaching.
They didn't think they should arrest a man who teaches like Jesus did.
So they came back empty-handed.
Well, now finally, the Pharisees are about to challenge Jesus openly.
And just imagine yourself there in the temple courts,
watching them, watching Jesus,
waiting for the opportune moment to confront him.
And finally, Jesus says something.
Something big that they simply cannot just let go unchecked,
at least in their minds.
Verse 12.
When Jesus spoke again to the people,
he said,
I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.
What a claim to make.
The Pharisees see this as their opportune moment,
and they seize it.
Verse 13.
The Pharisees challenged him.
Here you are,
appearing as your own witness.
Your testimony is not valid.
Quite literally, they say to him,
you are testifying about yourself.
Your testimony is not true.
There's a bit of a translation issue here.
About half of the translations have the Pharisees saying,
your testimony is not true.
The other half have it,
your testimony is not valid.
It's not the easiest thing to translate.
The word used here usually means true,
but in this place,
and in at least one other place in John,
where Jesus has used this word,
it could mean valid.
It could mean dependable,
or trustworthy.
So, either the Pharisees are accusing Jesus outright
of speaking what is false.
Your testimony is not true.
Or, the Pharisees are trying to challenge
whether what Jesus is saying can be trusted.
Your testimony is not valid.
It's not trustworthy.
The first possibility,
a little more overt and direct.
The second, a little more subtle,
which it is, I'm not sure, to be honest.
But either way,
the Pharisees are challenging Jesus.
They are trying to cast doubt on him,
and to get the people to doubt what he is saying
about being the light of the world.
And their charge comes with a reason.
Here's how we know that what he's claiming is not true,
is not valid.
They say,
here you are appearing as your own witness.
You're testifying about yourself.
And we all know better than to just accept as true
what a person says about themselves.
Don't we?
We even think like that today, don't we?
Maybe you go online,
and you're looking for a specific product or service,
and you go to the webpage of that company,
and what does it say?
It says,
we offer the best service or product around.
We're the best in the business.
Our product is better than all the competitors.
By now, most of us probably know that
almost every company claims that for themselves.
No, we want to hear the testimony of others
about your product or your service.
We want to read some reviews.
We want to talk to somebody who's done business with you
to confirm that you really are the best.
Because anybody can claim for themselves
to be the best or to have the best.
So the Pharisees are trying to cause the people
to question and doubt Jesus.
And personally,
I don't think this is just the Pharisees talking here.
I hear the insidious whisper of Satan himself
in these words.
Can you really trust what this man is saying,
what he is claiming for himself?
Does that not sound familiar?
Verse 14.
Jesus answered,
Even if I testify 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.
Again, there are both possibilities
possibilities with the word true or valid here.
It's possible even that there's a play
on that word going on here.
Maybe the Pharisees are subtly calling into question
whether Jesus' testimony is trustworthy, valid.
But Jesus, as he responds,
is claiming not just to have a valid testimony,
but a true one.
As Jesus responds,
he uses an if statement.
He says,
even if I testify about myself,
my testimony is true.
Now,
he gives a reason.
And it's kind of a strange reason.
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.
I can testify about myself
and my testimony is true
because I know where I came from
and where I am going.
That's kind of a strange way to reason,
isn't it?
Doesn't that sound weird to you?
It kind of sounds weird to me.
How does Jesus,
knowing where he came from
and where he is going,
give validity
and credibility
to his testimony?
Well, I think to get a hang on this,
we kind of have to
step back for a minute
and think of the bigger conversation here.
One of the big issues right now with Jesus
is where he is from.
We've heard this
again and again.
You remember back to chapter 7?
What did the crowd say there?
Isn't this the man they're trying to kill?
Here he is,
speaking publicly
and they're not saying a word to him.
Have the authorities really concluded
that he is the Messiah?
Oh, but we know
where this man is from.
When the Messiah comes,
no one will know
where he is from.
We know where this man is from,
they said.
He can't be the Messiah.
Again,
down in verse 40.
On hearing his words,
some of the people said,
surely this man is the prophet.
Others said,
he is the Messiah.
Still others asked,
well,
how can the Messiah come from Galilee?
Does not scripture say
that the Messiah will come from
David's descendants
and from Bethlehem,
the town where David lived?
Again,
again,
we see this whole discussion
of where Jesus is from.
He can't be the Messiah
because he's not from the right place.
And now finally,
we come to Jesus' own words
in verse 14.
He says,
I know where I came from,
but you have no idea
where I came from.
So the big question is,
where does Jesus come from?
Well,
they're right in a sense.
He does come from Galilee.
That's where he's been traveling.
That's where he's been doing his ministry.
He does come from Nazareth.
That's where,
that's his hometown.
That's where he's been living
with his parents
for the last while.
He also comes from Bethlehem,
the town of David.
We talked about this
a couple weeks ago.
He was born there.
But none of these things
are what Jesus has in mind.
No,
Jesus has something else in mind.
And we've heard him say it
back in Galilee.
Where is Jesus from?
What did he say
after the feeding of the 5,000?
John 6,
verse 38.
For I have come down from heaven.
Let those words sink in.
What does that mean?
As we've seen right from the beginning
of John's gospel,
it means that Jesus is no ordinary man.
It means that before Jesus
took on human flesh,
he was
in heaven.
Do you remember what Jesus said
to Nicodemus?
John 3,
verse 31.
He said to Nicodemus,
I have spoken to you
of earthly things
and you do not believe.
How then will you believe
if I speak of heavenly things?
And we can imagine Nicodemus wondering,
well, what do you mean?
Speak of heavenly things.
How can you tell us
about heavenly things?
Jesus answers
that question.
He says,
no one has ever
gone into heaven
except
the one who came from heaven.
The son of man.
Essentially,
he tells Nicodemus,
yes,
I can tell you
about heavenly things
because unlike every other
human being on the planet,
I've been there.
I'm from there.
I came down from heaven.
We can't miss the significance of this.
This isn't just trivia,
like where is so-and-so born?
Where are they from?
No,
this is,
this means,
this has huge implications
implications.
And John,
the gospel writer,
spells it out for us
a little bit
in chapter 3,
verse 31.
He says,
the one who comes from above
is above all.
The one who's from the earth
belongs to the earth
and speaks as one
from the earth.
But the one who comes from heaven
is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen
and heard.
From where?
Seen from heaven,
heard from heaven,
from God,
from his Father in heaven.
But no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever has accepted it
has certified that God is truthful.
For the one whom God has sent
speaks the words of God.
this is what the Pharisees
do not know
about where Jesus is from.
And probably more precisely,
this is what the Pharisees
refuse to acknowledge
or believe
about Jesus.
No,
you are just a man
and being a man
like the rest of us,
you need someone else
to confirm
your testimony.
You need someone else
to validate
your grandiose claims
about yourself.
But Jesus is saying,
actually,
I don't.
I know who I am.
And you guys have no idea
who I am.
Because Jesus comes from heaven,
he doesn't need
a second human witness.
He doesn't need any man
here on earth
to validate
the truthfulness
of his testimony,
of what he's saying.
And actually,
I think it's maybe
implied a little bit
in these words.
I think Jesus is saying,
you Pharisees
are not in a position
to judge me.
You don't even know
where I came from
or where I'm going.
How could you possibly
judge me rightly,
accurately?
Now,
we're not going to talk
too much this morning
about where Jesus
is going.
We'll get to that
after Easter.
But we've already heard
that Jesus
tell the people
that he's going away.
And where he's going,
they can't come.
They can't follow him.
And the people
are confused.
Where is that?
But as we'll see
later in John's gospel,
the place he is going
is to the Father.
It's back
to heaven.
And if Jesus can go
where no man has gone,
it's proof
that his testimony
is indeed true.
Verse 15.
Jesus says,
you judge by human standards.
I pass judgment
on no one.
But if I do judge,
my decisions are true
because I am not alone.
I stand
with the Father
who sent me.
So Jesus makes it
somewhat plain.
He tells them,
you guys are judging
by human standards.
Literally,
it's according to the flesh.
According to that part of me
that you can see
and touch.
But Jesus is more
than just flesh
and blood
like we are.
The problem
with the Pharisees
is that they're trying
to judge Jesus
as if he were
any other man.
They're trying
to apply the law
to him
as if he were
just any other
Jewish guy.
But Jesus is more
than just a man.
He is the divine
Son of God
who has come down
from heaven
to live among us.
Jesus says,
I'm not here to judge.
but even if I were
to judge,
my judgment
is true.
But listen to this.
He says,
my judgment
is true
because
I am not alone.
I stand
with the Father
who sent me.
What is Jesus
saying here?
I think what he's
saying is simply
that he is not here
now to judge
in this moment
in the temple courts.
I don't think
he means
that he will
never judge anyone.
In fact,
the last time
he was here
in Jerusalem,
he told them
that God,
his Father,
has entrusted
all judgment,
the final judgment
to him,
the Son.
But I think
he means
that right now,
right here,
he is not here
now to judge
anyone.
But even
if he was
to judge
right now,
his judgment
would be true.
His verdicts
would be just.
His decisions
would be right.
Why?
Because he would
not judge alone.
He says,
I stand
with the Father
who sent me.
If we recall
back to John
chapter 5,
when he was
last in Jerusalem,
Jesus said this.
He said,
do not be amazed
at this.
For a time
is coming
when all
who are
in their graves
will hear
his voice
and come out.
Those who
have done
what is good
will rise
to live.
And those
who have
done
what is evil
will rise
to be condemned.
And then
Jesus says this.
He says,
by myself
I can do
nothing.
I judge
only as I
hear.
And my
judgment
is just.
For I
seek not
to please
myself,
but him
who sent
me.
Jesus
will judge
perfectly
when he
does.
Justly.
Rightly.
Because his
judgment will
be based on
what he
hears from
God,
the Father.
The one
who knows
and sees
everything
about everyone.
At this
point,
Jesus comes
back to
the charge
that the
Pharisees
have made
against him.
I don't
need a
human
testimony.
I don't
need a
human
stamp of
approval
on my
testimony.
But let's
come back
to that
law,
which says
that there
should be
two witnesses.
Chapter
8,
verse 17,
Jesus says,
in your
own law
it is
written
that the
testimony
of two
witnesses
is true.
I am
one who
testifies
for myself.
My other
witness is
the Father
who sent
me.
If you've
read through
the first
couple books
of the
Bible,
you'll know
that God
said back
in the
law for
Israel that
people weren't
to be
condemned in
court unless
there was
two witnesses
of the
crime that
had been
committed.
This was
partly to
give extra
protection to
those who
might be
falsely
accused by
someone.
Even though
Jesus has
no need
of another
witness to
verify the
truthfulness of
his claims,
he comes back
to this law
that they're
trying to
use against
him and
he says,
actually in
my case,
there are
two witnesses.
I'm one of
them and my
Father who sent
me is the
other witness.
God, my
Father, does
not expect
you to
just take
my word
for it.
He himself
is testifying
about me.
And we're
not going to
go into a
full look at
how the
Father testifies
about Jesus
this morning.
We did that
back on
September 20th.
You can
look it up
online in
the message
Why Should
We Believe
You?
But basically
we looked at
three ways that
the Father
testifies about
Jesus.
The Father
testifies about
Jesus through
the miraculous
works that
he does,
through the
words that
God gave the
prophets to
speak about
Jesus long
before Jesus
came, and
through the
audible voice
from heaven
that came at
Jesus' baptism.
And we can
add a fourth
way to that
that we've seen
as we've been
going along
here.
Since Jesus
in his own
words only
ever speaks
what he hears
from the
Father and
what the
Father commands
him to
say, we
might say
that the
Father himself
is actually
testifying about
Jesus every
time that Jesus
opens his
mouth to
speak.
It's kind
of a hard
thing to wrap
our minds
around, but
when Jesus
speaks, both
he and his
Father are
speaking at
the same
time.
According to
Jesus, that's
how they work
together.
But it's
here that it
would have been
interesting to
listen, to
watch the
reaction of
the people
as Jesus
says this.
As he
says, I
call my
father as
my other
witness.
The Pharisees,
they don't
miss a beat.
They say,
where is your
father?
Where is your
father?
Of course, they
already know that
Jesus is
referring to
God.
This has
already come
up before with
them.
They didn't
like him.
They were
going after
him back in
chapter 5
because he
was calling
God his
own father.
But even
though they
know he's
talking about
God, they
still ask the
question, oh,
you have a
second witness,
do you?
Great.
Let's bring
him in to
testify.
where is
your
father?
Now, Jesus
could have
simply said,
my father's
in heaven.
But instead,
Jesus says to
them, you
do not know
me or my
father.
You do not
know me or
my father.
And the
crowd, I
don't know if
they realized
it or not,
but Jesus
just told the
Pharisees to
their faces,
you do
not know
God.
You do
not know
my father,
God.
And then he
throws in this
little statement
that probably
struck a nerve
in them,
but I think
is also a
gracious
opportunity to
them.
He says,
if you knew
me,
you would
know my
father also.
if you
knew me,
you would
know my
father also.
What a
statement.
Notice that
he didn't
say, if you
knew my
father, then
you would
recognize that
I'm his
son.
That's maybe
what we
expected him
to say.
No, he
doesn't say
that.
He says, if
you knew
me, you
would know
my father
also.
do you
want to
know
God?
Then get
to know
me, says
Jesus, and
you will.
Wow.
Jesus has
been sent
by God
from heaven
into our
world so
that you
and I
can know
God.
He is the
messenger.
He is the
prophet.
He is the
one who
speaks for
God.
He is the
son who
has come
on behalf
of his
father.
And as
we'll find
out in a
few more
chapters,
next chapter,
he himself
is one
with the
father.
And
mysteriously
is himself
God in
human flesh.
church.
So it
all started
with that
amazing
declaration
by Jesus,
I am the
light of
the world.
And we
will talk
about that
more another
day.
But what
John wants
us to see
here is
how that
day when
he said
it, the
religious
leaders challenged
him to his
face.
What John
wants us to
see is how
Jesus responded
to their
challenge that
day in
front of
everyone.
in the
temple
courts.
Not only
did he
claim to
be the
light of
the world,
but he
claimed to
be from
heaven.
He claimed
to be sent
from God.
He claimed
to be one
who, unlike
every other
human being,
needs no
secondary human
witness to
his truthfulness.
And yet, he
claimed to be
one who has
the greatest
witness of
all, God
himself.
He claimed
to be the
one who
could judge
justly,
today,
had it
been the
day for
judgment.
Do you
hear what
Jesus is
saying?
Do you
believe him?
Do you
believe that
God speaks
through him?
God speaks
to be the
Lord?
I want to
encourage you
to put
yourself in
the crowd
that day
as you're
listening to
this back
and forth.
What's going
on in your
mind?
As I was
thinking that,
I couldn't
help but think
it all comes
back to this
question.
Do I
know God?
Do you
know God?
God?
And I
don't mean
know about
him.
The
religious
leaders,
they knew
about God,
but they
didn't know
God,
as in
personally,
as in
relationship.
Do you
know God?
Do you
want to
know God
more,
better,
deeper?
Jesus
says,
then get
to know
me,
and you
will.
One
amazing
invitation.
I pray
that we
all respond
to it.
Lord
Jesus,
thank you
for your
words.
We admit,
we confess
that you
don't always
say what
we expect
or what
we maybe
think you
should say
or want
to say,
but these
are your
words.
we do
want to
know God.
Would you
reveal more
and more
to our
hearts who
the Father
is?
We don't
want to be
like the
Pharisees,
Lord.
We don't
want to be
people who
just put
on a
masquerade
of religiosity
for others
to see.
This is
real or
it's not
real,
and I
pray,
Lord,
that in
all of
our
hearts,
it would
be real.
Make it
real.
In our
hearts,
we pray.
We ask
this in
your name.
Amen.
Thank you.