John 8:12-20

March 12, 2006            

I am the Light of the World

Humanity is schizophrenic. We revel in purpose but debate authority; want consistency without constants, laws without a lawgiver. All the while we wander aimlessly seeking direction from everyone but God.

Take for example, scientist and skeptic Richard Dawkins. In his book River Out of Eden, he explains:

"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."

Skeptic Magazine interviewed Dawkins and asked if his world view was the same as Shakespeare's Macbeth, that life is "a tale told by an idiot, filled with sound and fury, signifying nothing."

"Yes," Dawkins replied, "at a sort of cosmic level, it is. But what I want to guard against is people therefore getting nihilistic in their personal lives. I don't see any reason for that at all. You can have a very happy and fulfilled personal life even if you think that the universe at large is a tale told by an idiot."^[1]

We may see the double standard in Dawkins who seeks purpose in a pointless universe, but we struggle with the same confusion even while we pledge allegiance to the God of the universe. It is a question of degree. We do this whenever we claim Jesus as King, but look elsewhere for guidance.

That is the problem in John 8. While God’s people celebrate God’s guidance they question the authority of the God who guides. Our passage this morning is the second of the I am’s in John’s Gospel that we are examining this Lenten season. In order to prepare for Resurrection Sunday in April, we are looking at what Jesus says about himself. This second statement, I am the light of the world, says much more than Jesus enlightens us, assuming our darkness, our need of guidance.

The context points out our resistance to Jesus’ direction in our life but also comforts us in his victory over our sinful rebellion against his authority.  READ John 8:12-20.

Jumping into a passage such as this is always a dangerous undertaking, as context is often lost. For that reason we need to know what was going on when Jesus says this and why the religious leaders question him the way they do. What is the context?

Jesus has been in Galilee, keeping his distance from religious leaders in Jerusalem, knowing they seek his life. At this time in mid October there is a major religious festival, the Feast of Booths, also known as Tabernacles, referring to the outdoor shelters built in which people live for the week long celebration. It is also called the Feast of Ingathering, a harvest celebration.

This festival was a highlight in Israel and one in which people would flock to Jerusalem for the revelry. Following on the heels of Yom Kippur with its emphasis on repentance and atonement, the Feast of Booths recalls God’s guidance of Israel through the wilderness, providing them with water from the rock to quench their thirst, a fiery pillar to guide them, and the Law from Sinai to show them how to live.[2]

In John 7:2 Jesus’ brothers cajoled him to go down for the celebration, knowing the danger he would face. Jesus goes, but not with his family, but secretly. Then in the middle of the weeklong feast Jesus publicly teaches in the Temple precincts. People question his authority, wondering how he knew the Law so well. While the people debate what he teaches, Jesus on the last day makes a great spectacle.

In 7:37 he cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” This is not a random call, but well timed in the Feast. On the last day two great events took place.

The first was the drawing of water out of the Pool of Siloam, signifying God’s provision of water in the wilderness. The priest would draw water from the pool of Siloam in a special golden pitcher. He would be joined by a crowd of people who would return with him to the Temple - through the water gate. As the priest arrived - shofars would sound and he would pour the water on the great altar. This was not a solemn, but a joyous event, of which one ancient writer said: “He who has not seen the joy of the place of water-drawing has never in his life seen joy.”

There was another ceremony during the Feast of Booths, the illumination of the Temple

In our text it is easy to miss the connection due to the passage about the woman caught in adultery. You’ll note that many ancient manuscripts do not contain this story and we won’t take the time here to discuss it. Nevertheless, in 8:12 the “again Jesus spoke…” follows the end of John 7. So the events of 8 are likewise on the last day of Sukkot.

During the feast in the Court of the Women, four golden candlesticks are constructed. The light from the candlesticks was so bright that the Mishna says; "There was no courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up with the light"[3]. The mood was festive, people would dance well into the night holding torches and singing songs of praise to God.

The brilliant lights reminded the people of God’s guidance through the wilderness by the pillar of fire as well as the shekinah glory which once filled the temple. Into that setting did Jesus calls himself the light of the world.

Remember that John begins his gospel with this characteristic of Christ. In 1:7 the apostle speaks of John the Baptist who bore witness to the light which enlightens everyone. In 1:14 this Word made flesh dwelt among us, literally set up his booth, and is described similarly as the glory which filled the temple.

With Jesus’ simple statement he once again identifies himself as the central theme of the Old Testament. But his proclamation likewise illustrated the great need for his grace, as the people challenge his authority.

What is ironic is that during a festival celebrating God’s guidance and authority over his people, they refuse to see and hear and believe. They were comfortable with their notions of God’s guidance in the past, codified in the Law. But Christ makes it all very personal, practical, and challenging. What does this passage tell us about Jesus guiding us?

Jesus is sufficient to guide us                                       8:12

Jesus’ eternal guidance is sufficient – I am

Next week Pastor Gallagher will walk us through the third I am, where Jesus identifies himself with what God said to Moses in the burning bush. But let it suffice for now, the statement Jesus makes is very significant. He purposefully identifies himself with that which is of ancient origin. The unmitigated gull, the hubris, conceit to proclaim for himself the focus of this festival was shocking.

While the people were content recalling God’s past faithfulness, before them stood the faithful God. God’s guidance by the fiery pillar lasted one generation; the glory in the temple had been extinguished five hundred years before. That is all they thought about.

Yet Jesus wanted them to see that the one who guided in the past was standing before them now, with the same offer, the same ability to guide today.

That truth has not changed. Christ is the light. In an age of relativism, of competing ideologies, of various ways in which to make it through this world, we know that Christ is still sufficient to guide us.

We don’t have to wonder whether Christ is applicable in a post modern world or if this ancient faith is relevant today. While then and today people will question and scoff, disbelieve does not invalidate the truth. Christ continues to illume, to guide and provide.

Jesus’ singular guidance is sufficient – the light

Just as Jesus has always been and always will be light, the use of the article makes his claim exclusive. There are no other options, other choices for light.

Many may be content to speak of Jesus as an enlightened one, a good option among many. But his claim is painfully restricted. There is no competition or other alternatives. Not only does he remain, he is the only one. 

Jesus’ universal guidance is sufficient – of the world

While this pronouncement is made in the small corner of the world, his claim is universal – the light of the world. That which is made very singular by the article the becomes expansive by world.

This claim of universal guidance does not mean a universalism that all people equally everywhere are guided by the light of Christ, no matter if that light is called Buddha or a personal enlightenment. The context destroys that notion, for his treatment of Jewish leaders shows that his own audience were mixed as to his work. Some experienced the light, not others.

What is necessary is that one must follow, there is a response.

It is fashionable to contend that no one religion can know the fullness of spiritual truth, making all religions valid. But while it is good to acknowledge our limitations, this statement is itself a strong assertion about the nature of spiritual truth.

A common analogy is the blind men trying to describe an elephant. One feels the tail and reports that an elephant is thin and flexible. Another feels a leg and claims the animal is thick as a tree. Another touches its side and reports the elephant is like a wall. This is supposed to represent how the various religions only understand part of God, while no one can truly see the whole picture. To claim full knowledge of God, pluralists contend, is arrogance.

But the only way this parable makes any sense is if you've seen a whole elephant. Therefore, the minute one says, "All religions only see part of the truth," one claims the very knowledge no one else has, thus demonstrating the same spiritual arrogance of which Christians are accused.[4]

This statement is either valid or it is not. Christ is the light of the world, more than able to guide us in our lives, or he is a deranged fool.

Such statements don’t sit well today and they were not meet with acceptance then, either.

The Pharisees did not debate the content of his claim, but the validity of making it. They took a legal approach – a self claim, they contended, is not valid – there is no way to verify if. But Jesus’ response shows us that he can guide as for he, unlike any of us, is knowledgeable.

Jesus is knowledgeable to guide us                        8:13-18

Jesus knows his own purpose

The Pharisees bring up a point Jesus made earlier

In 5:31 Jesus points out the problem of validating self-assertion. But they take it further. They deem it false because he said it. Like people today, they are uncomfortable in denying the validity of the claim, so they dismiss the messenger. They attack his authority to even speak with authority. But Jesus quickly shows he can be trusted.

Imagine a company representative comes to your business to explain their product. Their  claims are great, but you have doubts. You could debate the particulars that they claim – what they can deliver or when. But instead you merely dismiss them with this kind of statement. Their rejoinder may be similar to what Jesus says, “I know my product, my company. I know me.

Jesus claims information that we do not possess.

But as John unfolds who Jesus is, we are confronted again and again that he is a competent witness. He can be trusted. In the prologue (1:18) his authority is established. He is a qualified witness because he is God. He knows the beginning from the end. In 5:19 we are told that Jesus reveals what he sees of the Father. He accuses the people of searching the Scriptures, (39) thinking that in them they have eternal life, but the Word guides us to Christ. Any time God’s Word is opened and Christ is not the theme – the same sin is committed.

We can not determine the validity of his statements because we do not possess the ability

They use human standards; they only examine the external, the visible. It is as though they are trying to determine the straightness of a line with a bent ruler or the value of a work of art but being blind have never seen color or pattern. 

When Jesus says he judges no one, there is an ellipsis in that phrase, that is, he says he judges no one by external measures. This is similar to 1 Samuel 16:7 where God chooses David, much the surprise of his family and even the judge, Samuel. There we read:

The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

I have often heard this used as a gentle reminder to not get caught up with externals, which is not a bad reminder. Yet, the verse reminds us we can’t get away from that. Only God looks on the heart, we see the outside.

When it comes to determining authority, we do not possess the capability to determine truth. When it comes to guidance, we can take a stab. Only God is able to know.

Like the Pharisees, people will reject Jesus for the narrow slice of him that they know. Unless God graciously calls them, they can never make a perfect determination.

Jesus knows the Father

If they are going to play the game of references with Jesus – his testimony about himself is valid because there is another witness – God the Father. He thus meets the requirements of the law. Jesus, expressing the Trinitarian understanding of one God in three persons is used in his defense.

Their next question as to the whereabouts of his father may well be a cruel innuendo as to his paternity. If Joseph was his father, then what good is he as a witness, especially if he was dead at this time? What is more, rumor had it Joseph was not the father.  In 8:41 they use the same tactic.

Jesus is not taken back by this challenge. They are as ignorant on this point as they are on all other counts. They do not know Him; they most certainly do not know His Father. These Jews are the religious elite, the teachers and rulers of the nation, and yet they do not know the most fundamental things about their religion. If they know Jesus, they would know His Father as well.

In the midst of a joyous celebration Jesus proclaims himself as the reason to celebrate. Yet the people respond with doubt and skepticism. They challenge his authority to lead, the very thing they are praising God for.

The stark contrast should alarm us. We do the same thing. We speak of God’s grace in our life, but when that grace calls us to submit to Jesus’ authority we subtly deny God’s authority is applicable in our lives.

When faced with decisions do we act first and ask God to bless later?

Do we even consider how might God’s law apply to our daily choices in life?

Are we good at rationalizing, even spiritualizing our choices, putting a spin to our sin?

Jesus is guiding us

It sounds terribly spiritual to say "God led me", but I am always suspicious of a person who implies that he has a "personal" pipeline to God. When no one else senses that what the person suggests is the will of God, then we had better be careful. God has been blamed for the most outlandish things by people who have confused their own inverted pride with God's will.[5]

This passage should give us pause when we cease to consider how God factors into our decision making process. We are all too prone to mouth words of submission, but are still ruled by our twisted hearts. Yet this passage gives us the confidence that God is at work in and through us.

What we take away from this is not a command that we must cease walking in darkness. It is a gospel promise, something the Pharisees could not understand. They fixated on the legal, but could not see their own failure in the law. All the while the one who perfectly kept the law and who guided His people through the wilderness to that very day – stood before them.

What Jesus tells us here is that those who hear his voice will never again walk in darkness. There is a promise of deliverance here. If you are in Christ, you are in the light. You have the light of life.

But as you grasp that truth, you should once again see the darkness that is inside your own heart; realize once again your great need for the light who is Jesus Christ. He will expose the shadows of your own heart. Because you are a Christian does not make your immediately submissive to God guidance in your life. But God is still at work, every step of the way.

When the infamous September 11 airplane barreled into the Pentagon, Officer Isaac Hoopii was nearby but outside the building. Immediately he began helping people straggle out of the building—in some cases, carrying them out.

But Hoopii wanted to do more. Wearing only his short-sleeved blue police uniform—no mask, no protective coat, not even a handkerchief—he ran into the inky blackness of the Pentagon. Someone yelled at him to stop. "We gotta get people," he shouted back.

Suffocating on smoke, Hoopii heard the building cracking. He called out, "Is anybody in here?"

Wayne Sinclair and five coworkers were crawling through rubble and had lost all sense of direction when they heard Hoopii's voice. They cried out, and Hoopii responded. "Head toward my voice. Head toward my voice." Following his voice, Sinclair and the others soon made their way out of the crumbling building.

Jesus saves us in the same way. He says, "Head toward my voice."[6] We must listen, follow. He will guide us to safety.