Are You Following The Light of Life?

our sermon text begins there

and it goes until

verse 30 of chapter 8

and I believe this is a good way

to read John because

he's taking a theme

and he reads in a story illustration

he sets up this amazing setting

and then the revelation of who God is

through Jesus Christ

comes through with power

so as you hear me read God's word

and follow along in your bible

remember listen to me

inspired, inerrant, insolubles

clear and sufficient word of God

the Holy Spirit breathed out the word

and the Holy Spirit in Christian

received it as truth

hear the word of the Lord

after Christ had

gathered around by the disciples

and one of the children

and the demon said wait

we have to have a child

and the last verse

I knew from Galilee too

they said

to make a meeting

Christians see that no prophet

and Rises

came down in

they said to the Lord

and they went

and reached to his own house

but Jesus went to the Mount of Harlan

early in the morning

he came again to the temple

all the people came to him

and he sat down

and taught him

the scribes and Pharisees

brought a woman

who had been taught in the gospel

and placed in the earth

in the midst

they said to him

this woman

has been taught in the act of the door

through now

in the wild

Moses

God commanded

to stone such women

so what did you say

which they said to text him

that they might

have some charge

to bring it against him

Jesus bent down

and wrote

with his finger on the ground

and as they continued to ask him

he stood up and said to them

let him

he would whip out sin among you

he was first to throw a stone at her

and once more

he bit down

and wrote on the ground

but when they heard it

they went away

one by one

and Jesus supported them

and Jesus

did run for one

of the witness

and of the witness

he supported them

Jesus stood up

and said to her

women

why are

where are they

have no one

to continue

he said no

no anyway

and Jesus said

neither do I can leave you

so

and from now on

sin no more

and then 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

from where I came

and where I am going

but you do not know

where I came from

or where I am 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

to 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

he said

answered

you know neither me

nor my father

if you knew me

you would know

my father also

these words

he spoke

and them tread me

as he talked

in the temple

but no one

arrested him

because his hour

had not yet come

verse 21

so he said to them

again

I am going away

and you will seek me

and you will die

in your faith

where I am going

you cannot come

so the Jews said

will he kill himself

if he said

where I am going

you cannot come

he said to them

you are from below

I am from above

you are of this world

I am not of this world

I told you

that you would die

in your sins

so unless you believe

that I am he

you will die

in your sins

so they said to him

who are you

Jesus said to them

that's what I have been

telling me

in the beginning

I have much to say

about you

and much to judge

but he sent me

it too

and I declare

to the world

that I have heard him

they did not understand

but yet I'm speaking

to them

about the father

so Jesus said to them

when you have lifted up

the same as man

then you will know

that I am he

and that I do nothing

of my own authority

but speak

just as the father taught me

and he who said me

is with me

as he was big

out of sight

is with me

he has not left me alone

for I always

do the things

that are feeding me

in time

with me

as he was then

being saved

many

in time

this is the word

of the Lord

let's sit down

and do the news

of the Lord

would you pray with me

oh Lord

your word

is a lamp

to our feet

and a light

to our path

give us grace

to receive

your truth

by faith

and strength

to follow

on the path

that you set before us

through your son

Jesus Christ

amen

the beloved congregation

of our Lord Jesus Christ

I have just one question

for you

from today's text

are you following

the light

of life

the Bible says

that if you're a Christian

you're a children

through this present realm

of death

and darkness

but we have that

glorious promise

throughout all of scripture

for example

Psalm 112 verse 4

Psalms 112:4

life dawns

in the darkness

for God's people

behold Jesus

he is righteous

and gracious

and in the gospel

of God

he reveals God

to us

with seven things

we know the number

seven is the number

of perfection

of completeness

Jesus is the full

complete image

of God

the invisible God

made visible

to us

in the person

of Jesus

and these seven

I am statements

captured out

we've seen just

the first one so far

I am the bread of life

and in today's text

we have number two

and this is the focal point

of this entire sermon text

Jesus says

I am

I am

the light

of the world

I believe that Jesus

has just one point

from this long sermon

that we just said

and this is what

in verse 12

put your eyes on this

one

if you are following

Christ

you will not

walk in

but you will have

the light

of life

so today's sermon

is just one point

and that's it

so my question then

is are you

walking

are you following

the light

of life

Jesus said

I believe that

everything that he gave us

up to this

well

was sending

this really colorful

stage

for this great revelation

and then

the part after that

after he made

this great revelation

he's showing you

why this matters

and why everyone

needs to hear

this pronouncement

so that's what

so it was

so it's one message

one point the whole way

through

but first we'll start

with the sending

and then the big

revelation

what Jesus

declares

he is

and then finally

why this matters

for his audience

and for you

and for the

end of the world

alright

what we saw

at the very end

of chapter 7

that one of the

great feasts

of Israel

there were six feasts

three in the spring

three in the fall

the last one in the fall

is called the

Feast of Tabernacles

or the Feast of Luke

or the Feast of the Nation

so the children

come and they're

setting up tents

all over Jerusalem

that feast

things went in

I told you a couple

weeks ago

that in the morning

every day

the seven days

during the Feast

of the Nation

there was a

water pouring ceremony

what I didn't tell you

is there's another

ceremony that took

place at night

and it was called

the Illumination

of the Temple

so if you

first of all

I just want you

to try to

try to imagine

Jerusalem

ancient Jerusalem

in the dark

and have you ever

had that sensation

when you get on

an airplane

and you get that

window seat

and it's a night

flight

and you're going

up into the air

and you just

start to see

like oh there's

a time

you kind of

look out

where the moon

roads are

and then you

leave

and then you're

over Montana

or something

and it's really

picked black

so if any business

you like to do

there must be

a little town

right there

so try to picture

ancient Jerusalem

from that vantage point

of the sky

and the darkness

this is before

electricity

so to talk about

light

and really to talk

about torches

and fire

so just keep that

in mind

so Jerusalem

the temple

is the center

of the city

and the temple

is up on the hill

Calvary

is a little hill

right next to the temple

so from the cross

our Lord Jesus

could actually

look up at the temple

it's very very close

and behind Calvary

is the hill

of the soul

so the dead body

and the filth

would be taken

so picture at night

time

that study

those hills

in Jerusalem

they would do

this ceremony

where they had

these 75 foot

tall

basically

candelabra

these big

oil lit lamps

and every lamp

had 20 gallons

of oil

so the priests

would do the ceremony

people would gather

and they would light

those

and there were

four massive towers

of lamps

on the corners

of the temple

the people

every night

would get to see that

and historians

have written how

that illumination

of the temple

that ceremony

for seven days

it would light up

the entire city

so the rest

of the year

Jerusalem is dark

but during the

feast of the nation

the whole city

is lit up

even at night

well we read

in verse 53

that each man

went to his own home

as this feast

has come to a close

we're going to go

another year

with the city

being in the dark

we'll find out

that at least

one woman

and one man

were not married

to each other

did not go

to their own home

instead they

walked in the darkness

of that night

after the feast

was over

we're told that

Jesus went

to the Mount of Olives

Mount of Olives

was really close

to Jerusalem

and very short

walking distance

and that's really

near where Mary

and Martha's home

was

as well

they're good

friends of his

dear friends

and so on

so he could

often retreat

their rest

and then from there

he could go out

and even more

solitary

than to the garden

and have time

alone

to pray

well look at

verse 1

in chapter 8

Jesus came

to the temple

now where was

he in the temple

we know that

in just a moment

here in the same

setting

a woman will be

drugged to him

by the keepers

of the law

so he's in a part

of the temple

where women

can be brought

we have other clues

from the text

itself

in verse 20

put your eyes

down at verse 20

you see a goodness

descending

that where Jesus

was teaching

was called

the treasury

so the treasury

were these

three chests

with like

a horn shaped

funnel

and that's where

people would bring

their alms

and their tithes

and their money

gifts

so the court

of the women

was a busy place

there's money changers

there's people

bringing money

there's women

and men

it's a big

loud men

on the other

side of that

wall

in this

court of the

women

is a big

hall

like

picture

almost like

a senatorial

meeting room

that's where

the same

Hebrew

would be

so Jesus

is teaching

in this

court

and within

earshot

is the same

Hebrew

the powerful

elite

of this

church

just the day

before

they had

tried to

come and

arrest him

the officials

were hearing

this teaching

said no one

speaks with

such authority

and if the

demons

ends up

would we

arrest him

without giving

him a trial

that's the

setting from

the day

before

and this

next morning

the feast

is over

and the

crowds gather

around him

and form a

circle once

again

and what

is it that

Jesus is

doing

what does

the Bible

say

he begins

to teach

you see that

Jesus begins

to teach

these people

once again

who are

starving

spiritually

he is

feeding them

these people

were not

being fed

by the

teachers

of the

law

they

shouldn't

even

be called

that

they

were

more like

self-promoting

parasites

on a

religious

system

he is

not

we can

hear

the

Lord

Jesus

has

compassion

on this

crowd

they are

begging him

to come

back

and show

us the

plan of

redemption

in all

of our

history

these people

were blind

to the

promises

they did

have in

their

law

like

Isaiah

42

it

says

behold

my

servant

says

God

the

father

whom

I

uphold

and

whom

my

soul

delight

I

have

put

my

spirit

upon

him

and

he

will

bring

forth

justice

to the

nation

and I

will

lead the

blind

in a

way

they do

not

know

in

paths

they

have

not

known

I

will

guide

them

I

will

turn

the

darkness

before

them

into

light

and the

rough

places

I

will

make

level

ground

Jesus

is

teaching

them

the

plan

of

redemption

throughout

the

history

of their

nation

they're

starving

and

teaching

them

I

want to

pause

even

here

we

need

Christ

to be

our

teacher

just as

much

now

as

they

did

don't

we

our

cities

are

lit up

by

electricity

but we

live

in the

dark

realm

and unless

Christ

speaks to

us

we live

in that

darkness

and we

will not

be overcome

by the

darkness

if we're

with his

people

we

just

read

James

read

for

us

in

Ephesians

5

do

not

be

given

to

drunkenness

but be

filled

by the

spirit

and what

comes

next

is you

do it

with the

church

you sing

songs

together

you

admonish

one

another

so even

as Christ

is teaching

us

together

as a

church

he is

serving

that

purpose

in our

life

to be

the

light

over

us

are

you

following

the

life

of

Christ

in

his

life

are

you

walking

as a

pilgrim

through

the

death

and

destruction

and

darkness

of

this

world

blind

like the

Pharisees

or are you

walking

by the

light

of

Christ

he

teaches

you

his

Holy Spirit

illumines

the

scripture

to you

as you

read it

you say

for

yourself

with your

loved ones

with your

family

Jesus

says

if you

listen

to me

you

will

not

walk

in

darkness

but

you

will

have

the

light

of

life

well

his

teaching

gets

interrupted

look at

verse 3

the

scribes

and

Pharisees

brought

a

woman

who

had

been

taught

in

adultery

placing

her

in

the

midst

so

you

need

to

picture

now

in

this

court

of

women

two

circles

and

this

is

important

so

it

sounds

confusing

what

happened

so

the

first

circle

is

the

outer

circle

away

from

Jesus

this

is

where

the

crowd

has

gathered

and

from

there

he

teaches

him

now

picture

the

Pharisees

and

scribes

grabbing

this

woman

bringing

her

now

into

the

middle

of

that

circle

forming

a

second

tighter

circle

closer

to

Jesus

so

in

their

midst

of

this

crowd that

surrounded

people

several

questions

come to

mind

that we

don't

have

the

answers

to

here

one

is

why

was

it

only

the

woman

brought

not

the

man

God

law

is

very

clear

you

shall

not

commit

adultery

doesn't

just

say

you

you

God's

people

will

not

do

that

now

here's

another

connection

is that

Deuteronomy

22

says that

if a

betrothed

girl

she has

found

guilty

she is

to be

stoned

it's not

saying it

needs to

be

a quick

murder

like a

capital

punishment

it's

specifically

calling

for

stoning

and

when you

think of

a

betrothed

girl

who

is

large

with

child

which is

evidence

that you

were

caught

in

the

act

of

adultery

who

comes

to

mind

Mary

is

another

of

Jesus

himself

right

of course

Mary did

not

commit

adultery

but

this

scene

is

very

powerful

I think

a great

insight

comes

from a

broader

context

from all

of the

gospels

Mark

Mark 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

we get

another

hint

of

what's

going

on

with

these

corrupt

lawyers

some

lawyers

are

very

good

but

some

obviously

they were

very

corrupt

they make

a case

of Jesus

in Mark

10

they say

Moses

would allow

a certificate

of divorce

and then we

could just

send the

woman away

when we're

done with

it

Jesus

looked

them in the

eye

and said

you are

committed

adultery

you're the

ones who

deserve to

deserve

so picture

the other

thing that's

set up

here

the outer

circle

represents

the masses

of the

people

the poor

the peasants

the ones

who are

spiritually

striving

they're

the ones

that are

so desperate

that they

will follow

Jesus

all around

just to

get

food

just to

have

them

heal

their

loved

one

who had

this horrible

disease

or maybe

a demon

but on the

inner circle

I think

they're weak

and this is a

massive power

struggle within

Jerusalem

and all of

this

is

so you

see what

trap

they're

setting up

there

it's a

couple

different

things

going on

number

one

it's

basically

that

are you

with

the filthy

dirty

people who

don't know

the law

and stand

condemned

them

or

are you

going to

take the

side with

the woman

that's who

you're

siding with

but if you

say no

don't stone

her

let her go

free

then you're

saying you

don't care

about the

law of

God

they're

trying to

trap you

either way

they're

going to

try to

arrest

him

ultimately

their goal

is not

to even

kill her

it's

kill him

can they

trap him

look at

verse 7

they

continue

to ask

him

so over

and over

they're

pressuring

him

pushing

in

first time

Jesus

bows down

and writes

on the

dirt

verse 7

says again

he stood

up

and said

to them

let him

who is

without

sin

among you

be the

first to

throw

a stone

at

him

once more

he

bit down

and wrote

on the

ground

a couple

observations

about our

Lord's

reply

he wrote

on the

dirt

he was

silent

silent

there's

two things

I think

are very

interesting

he's

writing

on the

dirt

well we

told that

in the

Bible

that the

Lord

formed

the

man

from the

dirt

on the

ground

we know

that every

one of

us

when we

die

to dust

we shall

return

we don't

know what

he wrote

there's no

form of

speculation

but he

did it

two times

he

breaks

down

break

by

contact

with

him

and he

simply

left

in silence

to fill

the

temple

and in

that silence

the law

of God

was written

on every

single

image bearer

of God

working on

the conscience

Romans 1

2

and 3

the

silence

of God

is a

terrifying

thing

we celebrate

how God

speaks

that's

something to

celebrate

we're not

left

in the

darkness

listen to

what the

Bible

says

about

the

silence

of

God

Habakkuk 2

20

describes the

Lord in

his holy

temple

what is that

called for

let all

the earth

keep silence

before him

in Acts 8

32

here's the

passage that

the Ethiopian

unit was

reading

from Philip

is sent to

St. David

and helped

him

out of

his

hand

like a

sheep

he was led

to the

slaughter

like a

lamb

before

his

shears

in silence

so he

opened

his mouth

and he

began

teaching

he

he

knows

his

goal

is to

be that

silent

lamb

before

he

achieves

but now

is not

his

time

it

doesn't

end

with

Christ

being

slain

of

the

lamb

this

is

how

his

glorious

kingdom

talks about

silence

in the

eternal

state

revelation

8

1

when the

lamb

opened

the

seventh

field

there

was

silence

in

heaven

for

about

half

an

hour

we

will

all

hear

the

silence

of

the

lamb

of

God

one

day

look at

verse

9

when

Jesus

gave

his

answer

they

couldn't

scrap

him

they

went

away

one

by

one

beginning

with

the

order

and

Jesus

was

left

alone

with

the

woman

standing

before

him

well we

do know

that

the

Pharisees

are going

to talk

with him

again

in

verse

15

so they

didn't

go too

far

so again

just

picture

that

inner

circle

dispersing

mainly

back

into

the

crowd

and now

Jesus

now

is

going

to

everyone's

eyes

looking

wrong

him

and

the

woman

what

will

he

say

to

her

can

Jesus

be

accused

of

hating

the

law

of

God

is

he

really

not

one

who's

going

to teach

licentiousness

look at

her

sin

Jesus

stood up

and said

to her

woman

where are

they

has

no one

to

condemn

you

he

said

no

one

see

the

light

shining

again

in

the

darkness

the

darkness

pushing

in

the

darkness

cannot

overcome

his

light

the

light

of

Christ

has

shielded

this

sinner

she

cannot

be

condemned

by

fellow

sinners

but she

also

can't

be

justified

by

any

sinner

Jesus

stands

near her

and says

I

am

your

shield

I

will

stand

by

you

I

will

be

condemned

in

your

sin

if

you're

in

Christ

that's

the

same

promise

as

you

that's

what

we

see

in

this

beautiful

hymn

there was

a woman

bearing

shame

and

scoffing

guilty

and

hopeless

where

that

woman

caught

in the

eyes

of

sin

but now

because

of

Christ

we

can

see

bearing

shame

and

scoffing

rude

in

my

place

condemned

he

stood

sealed

my

pardon

with

his

blood

hallelujah

what

a

savior

guilty

helpless

lost

were we

blameless

lamb

of God

was he

sacrificed

to set

us

free

hallelujah

what

a

savior

so

Jesus

says to

her

neither

do

I

condemn

you

from

now

on

go

and

sin

no

more

what

is the

motivation

for

obeying

your

savior

what

is your

motivation

for

walking

in the

light

of

life

it's

gratitude

it's

gratitude

you are

not

condemned

go and

sin

no

more

out

of

gratitude

in

Christ

there

is

no

license

for

sin

in