Mon, Jan 19th - 11:59AM
Book of John Chapter 8
The Light of the World, what mankind needs.
"Then Jesus spoke again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (verse12)
What often is missed in reading this verse is the "I am"statement. This is a deity statement that is emphatic. It began what is a two-fold promise to people: follow Me and you shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life. I do not possess light by nature. I am in darkness by nature. I was delivered "out of darkness" by following Jesus. This is a continuous action, not just a one time event. Colossians 1:14-15 informs us as to why we are to follow Jesus.
A man exists in darkness until he follows Jesus. The meaning, purpose, and significance of life can't be seen and known except to follow Jesus. It is He that throws light upon life, revealing what life really is.
"The Pharisees therefore said to Him, You bear record of Yourself; your record is not true. Jesus answeredand said to them, Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true: for I know whence I came, and where I go; but you cannot tell whence I come and where I go. You judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, My judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of Myself and the Father that sent Me bears witness of Me." (verse13-18)
Of course, the religionists objected to this claim made by Jesus. They understood what Jesus was claiming: that He was the Messiah and that only He could give light to the world. In their mind only God could do this. They tried to box Jesus in by saying that only He was witnessing this claim. But Jesus brought God the Father into the debate. If you recall Jesus provided five witnesses to who He was back in John 5:31.
"Then they said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You neither know Me, nor My Father: if you had known Me you should have known My Father also. These words Jesus spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come." (verse19-20)
What is tragic is that Jesus was rejected while teaching inside the temple. The religionists wanted nothing to do with Jesus, opposing Him and desiring to get rid of Him. Note that it says no one laid hands on Jesus. It was not the appointed time for man to be able to put their hands upon Him and drag Him off to be murdered. How often does this scene of disbelief among leaders of religion get repeated within the church? Down through the centuries many religionists have wanted nothing to do with Jesus, choosing self over Him. It continues to happen even today. II Timothy 3:5 says to us, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it: from such turn away." Or perhaps in Titus 1:16 "They profess that they know God; but in works thy deny Him, being abominable, and diobedient, and to every good work reprobate."
It is possible for the Light, Jesus Himself, to be in men and for men to become children of Light. John uses the word light 21 times. So wht exactly is meant by the Light? Light is the symbol of purity and holiness and means the absence of darkness and blindness. It has no spots of darkness or blackness, nor of sin and shame. Light reveals what darkness hides. Jesus therefore, clearly shows the nature, the maning, and the destiny of all things. His light shines into every nook and cranny, opens up, identifies, illuminates, and shows things as they truly are and not as men want them to be. The Light shows the truth about the world and man and God. It reveals how much that God loves and cares for people and wants people to love and care for Him.
Following the Light allows us to walk out of darkness for He reveals the path to freedom. You and I no longer have to grope, grasp, and stumble around trying to find our way through life. The path of life can now be clearly seen. Light does away with chaos for it routs, wipes out, and strips away and erases the darkness. In the beginning the empty chaos of creation was routed by the light given by god in Genesis 1:3. Go back and reread John 7. Jesus proclaimed to be the Light of the World at the great feast of Tabernacles. The first ceremony was the Illumination of the Temple and was held in the Court of the Women. Four huge candelabra sat in the open space of this court. At darkness these were lit, and the elders danced nad led the people in singing psalms before the Lord of light. Against this background Jesus made His claim to be the Light of the World.
Darkness is translated from "skotos, skotia."In Scripture it is used to describe both the state and the works of man. Darkness refers to the world of the natural man who does not know Jesus(John 8:). Natural people walk in ignorance of Jesus, of God, and of the real purpose and destiny of life as shown by Jesus. These are people who know nothing other than the things of this world as they see them. They hope for a long life before death inevitably overtakes them. Darkness also symbolized unpreparedness and unwatchfulness for the time when evil happens. Sinful people love darkness because it covers their actions. They hate the light since it reveals and uncovers their sinful behavior. Darkness is hostile to Light.
Now Jesus' claim to have come from the Father in heaven is objected to by unbelievers. They can't penetrate nor see the spiritual world hence they claim that it simply does not exist. Physical eyes are blind to the spiritual realm. For there to be any communication with the spiritual dimension, the spiritual world must come into this physical world. This is exactly what happened when Jesus was born of Mary. Jesus came from heaven, from the spiritual realm of being. He had been an eye-witness of heaven. He had been in the very presence of God the Father, God had sent Him from heaven into this world to declare the glorious message of salvation. Good News!!
People judge after the flesh: by what they can see, hear, taste, touch, and detect/measure. But people are limited since we are physical beings dwelling in a physical dimension. So how can people judge Jesus' claims? They can't do so based on physical evidence because God/Jesus is not of this physical dimension. People must judge solely by faith. They are reduced to either accept or reject His testimonies. Jesus claimed that He was not alone, that the Father was with Him.
Jesus also appealed to the law of man. It required two witnesses to validate a claim. The life, words, and works of Jesus' demonstrated God's presence and power. Of course, the Pharisees mocked Jesus. They told Him to go get Him and bring Him so He can bear witness of your claims. They judged strictly by the flesh, by sight and appearance. They wanted physical evidence. Jesus had provided ample evidence in His own person and miracles but their unbelief blinded them to the truth.
When they saw Jesus all that they could see was the Man. But Jesus was also the Son of God. Unbelievers do not know Jesus. They also do not know God. To ever know God is for God to reveal Himself: God must come from the spiritual dimension and enter this physical world to reveal the truth about Himself. It is still up to the person to accept and believe, if not, then they will never believe.
Jesus said that He was God incarnate in human flesh. That is a revelation of God! He is the express image of the invisible God (Col :). The great tragedy back then was the utter rejection of Jesus in the temple by the Pharisees. The tragedy today is that supposedly really smart people continue to reject Jesus' claims based upon lack of physical evidence. I hope some day that that changes.
Next time I shall look at our futile search for a messiah and utopia. Until then, peace and love of Christ Jesus be with you all!
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Name: Eric Rajaniemi
