The Light of the World

Book of John Chapter 8

If we remember when we were lost and out in the world, we had a great need, but we had no idea what that need was.

We seem to forget that now.

Those who are out in the world, even some of our own families still have that need today and they do not know where to go to meet that need, just like we were.

1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

In verses 1-11 the Jews, we have been referring to, had brought to Jesus some poor woman who had been setup by those Jews as a test for Christ Jesus.

Their story was that she had been caught in the very act of adultery. Whether that was true or, not is irrelevant.

What we must realize is, that Jesus was seen as the mortal enemy of these Jewish rulers and every trick possible was used to trap the Lord or to make Him look bad in front of His followers.

Jesus caught them all off guard when He stood up and said these words: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”.

Wouldn’t you have liked to know what Jesus was writing in the sand with His finger?

So let’s pickup our passage with Chapter 8 and verse 12:

*****Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

We live in a dark world not because there is no light but because our world is full of the darkness of sin.

What is this darkness? Darkness is the blindness of the mind by the reason of sin!

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

How are we to deal with this darkness?

2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

This darkness brings with it, wickedness, ignorance, bondage and misery.

The truth is we all walked in darkness until we followed the Light, The Lord Jesus Christ!

The big commotion of Nicodemus and the Jewish rulers had happened the previous day toward the evening, and every one of those had gone to their homes but at the break of day, Jesus was back in the Temple teaching the people again.

Now again some of these same hardline Jews clearly knew Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah.

Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

They had already rejected that Jehovah could be the God of the Gentiles so it was nothing greater to reject His Son Jesus as the Light of this world!

The truth is, sin does not like to reveal itself and therefore wants no part of any light.

To these Jews, their God was just for the Jews and not anyone else in the world and they had the laws to prove it.

*****Joh 8:13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.

Let’s go back and review a verse in Chapter 5, where this same topic had already come up.

Joh 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

What Jesus meant here was that He witnessed only the will of His Father so certainly His own witness would not be true if it differed from that of the Father.

These enemies of Christ had not forgotten what the Lord had said, but they certainly could not grasp the meaning of what Jesus had said!

*****Joh 8:14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

Jesus then said He could bear witness of Himself because He knew everything about the Father and they both do exactly the same things all the time.

There are so many things that only God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit know, that no one can know but them.

The Evolutionist make some great big deal about what they know but they cannot begin to describe the truths of life and its beginning because, to them life is just one big accident. How can people believe such nonsense?

God on the other hand gives us all the information that we need to know about life and then life after the death of this thing we call the flesh.

The truth is, only God knows His own beginning and His own ending. In fact God says He has always existed.

Isa_48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

Psa_14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Only God knows where He comes from and where He is going and to us that means God is everywhere.
There is no place in this cosmos that you cannot reach out to the Lord and He will not already be there.

God is Spirit (not a spirit) because He has no form.
God is everywhere because He cannot be limited to surroundings.
God has substance, yet He is not material.
God is life which means He is the source of all life.
God is independent of His being but also independent of all His creation.
God is perfect, therefore He can never change!

Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

God will never change in His response because God will never change in His person!

Jesus said He is the Light of this world and this is a true statement!

For there to be communication with the Spiritual dimension then the Spiritual world had to come to this physical world and this is what happened when the Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

Jesus allows us to look through His eyes to get a glimpse into the Spiritual World.

Knowing and understanding this truth opens the door to understanding all the Words of Jesus Christ.

*****Joh 8:15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
Joh 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

Mankind is incompetent to “judge” anyone because we “judge” by sight, the appearance of things.

Joh 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

When mankind attempts to “judge” the Lord Jesus Christ, they cannot do so on the basis of physical things because Jesus is not of this world!

Jesus can only be “judged” by “Faith”!

Jesus is either believed or His Words are rejected!

In Jewish Law it was required that there be at least 2 witnesses for someone to be believed.

Jesus said since our Father in Heaven was with Him at all times, then they both were witnesses of the truth at all times!

Jesus could not bear false witness, it is impossible!
Jesus could not lie, for it is impossible!
Jesus could not make a deceptive claim, for it is impossible!

Jesus stressed the Father and Son relationship because this is the relationship our God seeks with each of us!

Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Joh 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

Food for thought: God the Father and God the Son are distinct persons but only One God.
God is sometimes said to come down from Heaven but at the same time God never leaves Heaven.

Because Jesus is the Light of this world, then He is the Light of all life!

*****Joh 8:17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
Joh 8:18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

We touched upon this earlier but let’s look closer now. The Law of Moses said:

Deu 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

We say a lot about the air we breathe and the water we drink that we would die without them.

The truth is, that without our Sun there would be no life upon this planet. The natural Sun is the fountain of life to this world.

Again the truth is that without Jesus Christ, the Son of God, there would be no physical life nor Spiritual life in this world.

The witness of Jesus is always true because everything He did, He did in obedience to God the Father.

Everything that Jesus did was to bring eternal life to “whosoever” believed upon Him and this was because His was the plan of His Father in Heaven.

1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
1Jn 5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
1Jn 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

We must understand that none of the laws of this physical world apply to our Triune God.

Then we see every false religion that exist upon this earth have the same question.

*****Joh 8:19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

What is the difference in Christianity and Religion? It’s called the truth!

You will never know the true God until you accept His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!

They did not ask who was His Father, they asked “where is thy Father”.

We might ask ourselves, just as these foolish men asked, show us physical proof of your Father.

The same truth says if you cannot accept the Lord Jesus Christ, then you cannot know God.

This drives the Muslim crazy, but this is what the truth will do.
This drives all false religion crazy because, this is what the truth will do.
This drives the Atheist crazy because, they have to believe to say they do not believe. They will die knowing that they actually believe!

If Jesus Christ is not your Lord, then you will never meet God!

The truth is Jesus had given them the truth and they could only mock Him. Jesus did not owe them any other explanation because they had no “faith”.

Just the day before these same Jews had sent the Temple police to arrest Jesus but Jesus had returned this next day to teach in the Temple, yet no one made any attempt to arrest Him.

*****Joh 8:20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.
Joh 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

The treasury was located in a certain part of the womens court. A place where there was much foot traffic, but no one dared to lay a hand upon the Lord.

This place would have been heavily guarded but again no one attempted to arrest the Lord, “for His hour had not yet come”!

We should also understand that though it appears that they may never get another opportunity to repent and show faith, as long as Jesus is still warning the unbeliever He is still seeking for them to repent.

These people never did repent so they did die in their sins.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The truth is no one can come to the Lord unless they are called.

1Pe 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1Pe 5:11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

As Christians we see death as sad for those left behind but wonderful for that one who is going to be with the Lord.

2Co_5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co_5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

For those who do not accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior, death is a nightmare.

To die in our sins was the judgment laid upon us all because of Adam’s disobedience.

To die is a complete separation from everything you know. If you have rejected the Word of God while you were alive then it is too late to seek Jesus and you will die in your sins.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

And we already know that the wages of sin is death.

About 40 days after His resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ went back to Heaven.

While we are alive we can choose to join Him there or we can reject His offer of “Grace” and end up in eternal torment.

We all claim to be seeking the “fountain of youth” which does not exist, but the promise of eternal life in Heaven does exist, but we must get up close and personal with the Lord Jesus Christ to get there.

Jesus knew these Jews that confronted Him would never accept Him as the Messiah, so they would die in their sins having lost the ability to be saved.

The sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin of unbelief, for all other sin can be forgiven!

We do not possess enough brain power to know what a life in Heaven will be, but the Scriptures do tell us a good bit of what is not in Heaven.

God is perfect, so His home is a place of perfection!

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

If we know Jesus Christ as Lord, then we already know how to get to Heaven. We can look anywhere we want to, but if we do not look to Jesus we will never get to Heaven!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

The worst possible thing that we could ever do is to alienate ourselves from Jesus Christ!

*****Joh 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.

We must understand that Jesus is God’s spokesperson here on earth.

Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be!

Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

We have the message the Father gave to His Son and the message of the 4 Gospels teach us the same message.

We know that the Lord will return so His first message was a message of salvation, then by default Jesus will return for “Judgment”.

The cross shows us the love of God!

The resurrection declared the power of God!

The ascension allowed the Holy Spirit to replace Christ on this earth!

It is all these things that prove that Christ Jesus is the God of the Bible!

This seems to give people the greatest problem, but this is why it takes “Faith”.

*****Joh 8:28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Again we see Jesus speak of the Cross, but it also describes the end when every knee will bow before the Lord!

We can just imagine the smile on Satan’s face when the Lord was placed on that cross. Had God used His own power to come down off that cross then we would still be dead in our sins!

Since He did not come down off that cross Jesus paid the ultimate cost for our salvation.

The Cross proved that Jesus was the Messiah, God in the flesh.
The Cross proved that Jesus did not act alone but with all the power of the Holy Trinity.
The Cross proved that Jesus was the Messenger of His Father in Heaven.
The Cross proved that we have a Savior.

Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Heb 2:4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

*****Joh 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
Joh 8:30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.

Jesus Christ is our example in all things that Jesus did, we to are do always things that please God the Father.

It is God the Father who sent the Lord to the Cross.
God the Father was with God the Son at all times, when the Lord was upon this earth, even when He was upon that Cross.

Many will never accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, but God will never abandon His Son.

God will never provide any other means to join Him in Heaven no matter what religion teaches you at the same time God the Father gets no satisfaction at the death of those who refuse His Son.

Isa_53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Eze_18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

It is only the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that can reconcile us to God the Father!

When you meet Jesus, some will believe and be saved, and some will reject His Words and die the death of a non-believer!

What is true “freedom”?

*****Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The absolute truth is that all mankind has been in bondage to sin since the time of Adam.

Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

We are not good people who occassionally sin. We are sinners who occassionally may do a good thing!

Luk 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

There is very little truth in this world we live in because it is a wicked world!

As sinners we will bear the consequences of our sin unless we accept the work Jesus Christ did upon that Cross has set us free from sin’s bondage.

We must be free from sin to enter into God’s Heaven!

We must escape the clutches of Satan!

2Ti 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Without Christ Jesus, Satan takes us as he sees fit and the only escape is “Faith” in the work of Jesus!

The Word of God is the absolute truth and if we do the best we can to follow the Word of God, then Satan has no power over us anymore.

We must also know that we cannot reach perfection until the Lord returns to take us home!

As the “Born Again” children of God we have chosen a new Father and even more than that, He has chosen us!

Jesus Christ is truly the Light of this world because He is the Light of Creation and the Light of Salvation.

We need to make the Word of God our own personal Temple to dwell in as the Holy Spirit dwells in us and we are a Temple of God!

Amen

Let’s Pray!