John 8:12-20

If I decide it's true, then it must be true.

Now, I want to say, there is some strength found here,

and that is that postmoderns don't wholeheartedly accept everything that's thrown their direction.

Postmodern thinkers, even if they see the experts say or the data shows,

are still going to tend to go, yeah, but is that accurate?

Like, show me the methodology at which we arrived at this given truth.

So there is a strength to be found there, and whether or not you want to accept it,

most of you, myself included, are postmodern thinkers.

It's the way we tend to gather information and arrive at conclusions.

Now, just as a little side note, there also is, people are talking now about the post-postmodern era,

I told you everything revolves around modernism.

Post-postmodern, I can't think of a possible strength to it, but time will tell.

Post-postmoderns tend to think that no truth can possibly be arrived at.

The internet and the way the internet functions feeds this type of thinking.

Now, here is the case that I am seeking to make to you.

Why?

Spend any time thinking about this at all.

If we are to know the things that matter most,

all of these methods fail us.

They all have a weakness.

But what must we ultimately know?

Now, if you were to compress, compress all classical apologetics,

take all of the questions that classical apologetics ask,

and compress them down, you could ask four questions.

First, origin.

Where do we come from?

How did we get here?

Second, meaning.

Why are we here?

What is the purpose for our existence?

Third, morality.

How are we to know right and wrong, right from wrong?

And fourth, destiny.

Where are we going?

What happens after this life?

Origin, meaning, morality, destiny.

Four questions that need answers.

In order to rightly answer any of these questions,

here's what I'm saying,

any of these ways of thinking,

any of these epistemologies are going to fail us.

What we need is revelation.

What we need is revelation.

Now, don't hear me arguing against classical apologetics.

I'm a big fan.

But, at the end of the day,

we need spirit-discerned understanding of the Bible.

We need the spirit to work in us to confirm that it is, in fact, God's Word,

and that everything that it says is true.

It's inerrant in that it doesn't err,

and it's infallible in that it can't err,

because it is God's Word.

If you know the answers to any of my aforementioned questions,

I hope that you did.

I hope that your mind started accessing information to those questions.

Praise God that you do.

We have no reason to boast.

God has taught us any meaningful, right answers to those questions.

If you do not,

pray that God would open the eyes of your heart to discern your origin,

your worth,

God's good commands,

and your final destiny.

I said that we live in a day of post-modernism.

It's the water that we swim in,

and too sadly we've seen lots of what's called deconstruction in the church.

To be clear, the people who deconstruct their faith never really believed in Jesus to begin with.

But this problem is partly a problem of their mind.

They see something that they don't like about Christianity.

Whether fair or not,

there are some fair objections to the Christianity that we can observe,

and they begin to walk it back and to unravel it,

peace by peace by peace.

Pray for spiritual discernment.

Pray for spiritual discernment this morning,

that we might rightly behold the Jesus of the Bible.

So let's pray together to that end.

Father God, we humbly recognize,

that as I have laid out the way in which people have thought,

that the curse of this world has also affected our thinking faculty.

None of us think as clearly as we think we do,

or ought to.

But we also recognize that we need the revelation of your Spirit

to help us understand the words of the Scripture,

to believe that they're true,

and to respond accordingly to them.

We want this morning to rightly understand your Word.

We humbly recognize it was written,

ultimately, for your glory,

and also for our good.

And so pray that you would help us to this end.

Amen.

John 8, beginning in verse 12.

Again, 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 Pharisee said to him,

You are bearing witness about yourself.

Your testimony is not true.

Jesus answered,

Even if I do bear witness 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.

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.

In 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?

Jesus answered,

You know neither me nor my Father.

If you knew me,

you would know my Father also.

These words he spoke in the treasury

as he taught in the temple,

but no one arrested him

because his hour had not yet come.

Now let's first take a look

at the setting of this passage.

I made the case some weeks ago

that I do not believe,

and I am in good company

in believing so,

that chapter 7, verse 53,

through chapter 8, verse 11,

belong in the text

as these verses are not

in the early and most reliable manuscripts.

I think they should be footnoted.

I said when we talked about it,

you are welcome to disagree with me,

but I told you why

we would not preach that text.

I only preach the Bible.

So,

that purpose,

but also because

the literary structure

of John's gospel

trends me off

in this direction.

So,

note with me just for a moment

what is happening.

Early in chapter 7,

Jesus has traveled to Jerusalem

and taught in the temple,

causing a stir

amongst the people.

So,

notice in John 7,

and verse 30,

So,

they,

this is the Jews,

John refers to,

were seeking

to arrest him,

but no one laid a hand on him

because his hour

had not yet come.

We see this repeated

as the fervency

of this conflict

over who Jesus is

rises.

There's these attempts

to arrest him,

but his hour

had not yet come.

If you doubt

at any moment

that God governs

over the affairs

of man,

doubt it no more.

Read through John

and see how often

there's a divine timeline

taking place

in the text.

And you can read

a little bit further down

in verse 32,

The Pharisees

heard the crowd

muttering these things

about him,

and the chief priests

and Pharisees

sent officers

to arrest him.

And it's in this setting,

they're seeking him,

we read in verse 37,

On the last day

of the feast,

the great day,

Jesus stood up

and cried out,

If anyone thirsts,

let him come to me

and drink.

And so a division arises

amongst the people

over him,

verse 43.

Some of them

wanted to arrest him,

but no one

laid hands on him.

And we know

contextually why,

because his hour

had not yet come.

But in verse 45,

those officers

that were sent

back in verse 32

come to the chief priests

and Pharisees

who said to them,

Why did you not

bring him?

And their response is,

Because no one speaks

like this man.

They're not sure

what to do

with him.

Now remember,

I'm making the case

that the internal evidence,

the context of what's going on,

I think places Jesus

still in this setting.

This report has gone

to the chief priests

and to the Pharisees.

And then we pick up

verse 20,

These words,

He spoke in the treasury

as he taught

in the temple.

But no one arrested him

because his hour

had not yet come.

Verse 12,

Again Jesus spoke

to them,

saying,

Now we do not get

any indication

of how much

time has passed

from this

last day of the feast

Jesus cries out,

If anyone thirsts,

let him come to me

and drink.

And then verse 12

where he makes

this other statement.

But I think that we are

meant to read it

tightly connected

to all that has

happened previously.

And so,

I want to spend

a little bit of time

reminding you

how culturally charged

this week was.

I don't think

that we need to hear

Jesus saying,

I am the light

of the world

far removed

from this week,

the week of

the Feast of Booths.

So briefly,

this is what I shared

with you previously

about the feast.

The Feast of Booths

was one of three

great pilgrimage

feasts of Israel.

Every Jewish male

was expected

to go up to Jerusalem.

It occurred in the fall

after the harvest

and it lasted

seven days

followed by

a solemn

eighth day.

During his feast,

the people of Israel

lived in temporary

shelters or booths,

some of your Bibles

may say tabernacles,

made of branches.

They did this

to remember

how their fathers

had lived in tents

during the wilderness

wanderings after the Exodus.

But this feast

was more than just

a history lesson.

It was a celebration

of God's provision,

God's presence,

and God's promises.

It looked backward

to the wilderness

where God provided

food from heaven

and water from the rock.

It looked upward

in thanksgiving

for the harvest

God had just given,

this present provision.

And it looked forward

in hope to the day

when God would again

dwell with his people

in glory.

It was a week

just packed full

of meaning.

The Old Testament

gives few instructions

for what this feast

must look like,

but they had developed

some tradition

that had rich

ceremonial meaning.

Two rituals

in particular

dominated

the celebration.

First,

there was the water

ceremony.

Each of the first

six days,

a priest would draw

water from the

pool of Siloam

and lead a procession

back to the temple.

As they approached

the water gate

on the south side

of the inner court,

a shofar would be

blown three times

as a pronouncement

of joy,

and the people

would recite

Isaiah 12,

Isaiah 12:3

verse 3.

With joy,

you will draw water

from the wells

of salvation.

Significant text.

While the people

watched,

the priest would

march around the

altar while the

singing of the

Hillel was led

by the temple

choir.

And this is

Psalm 113

through 118.

And back when we

were in that text,

I read the entirety

of that to you.

It was quite an

ordeal that they

went through.

At the conclusion

of the singing,

the people would

all cry out

three times,

give thanks to

the Lord,

and the water

was poured

onto the altar.

This ceremony

commemorated the

water God

provided in the

wilderness and

expressed hope

for the coming

messianic age

when God would

pour out his

spirit.

Second,

there was an

illumination ceremony.

Massive lamps

were lit in the

temple courts,

casting light

over the city,

and people would

dance in the

temple.

This recalled the

pillar of fire that

guided Israel through

the wilderness and

symbolized the hope

that God's glory

would again shine

upon his people.

So the Feast of

Booths was a

celebration of

light, life,

provision, and

divine presence.

And it's into

this setting,

charged with

expectation,

saturated with

symbolism,

overflowing with

religious meaning,

that Jesus

steps.

Jesus.

What makes all of

this so striking

is that Jesus

does not merely

attend the

feast, as his

brothers requested

of him at the

beginning of the

chapter, but he

interprets the

feast.

He says, this is

what all of this

really means.

He takes the

central symbols of

Israel's hope and

claims to be their

fulfillment.

He says, I, I am

actually the hope

that this is all

about.

So, with all of

that, for our

text, I've got a

three-point outline

for you.

Number one,

Jesus is the

light.

We see this in

verse 12, and

we will spend

most of our

time here, so

if you're a

clock watcher,

don't fret.

First point will

take up the

majority of our

time.

Again, 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.

Can you just

imagine him

saying that with

everything that

would have

happened in the

preceding week?

Once again, I

don't think we're

very far away

from that.

So, these

people have been

thinking about

light in a very

particular way,

thinking about

God's presence,

the hope that

will come, and

then Jesus says

this.

This is the

first time that

Jesus has used

the light

metaphor to

speak of

himself in

John's gospel.

This is the

second of

Jesus' seven

I am

statements in

John.

He has

declared, I am

the bread of

life in chapter

six, and

here he says,

I am the

light of the

world.

Now, I want to

read to you

something brief

from D.A.

Carson's

commentary on

this.

If you like to

study things

deeply, I would

really recommend

this particular

commentary to

you.

He says this,

the light

metaphor is

steeped in

Old Testament

allusions.

I'm reading

this to you

because their

minds would

have been very

alive as he

says this.

The glory of

the very

presence of

God in the

cloud led

the people in

the promised

land, Exodus

13, and

protected them

from those who

would destroy

them, Exodus

14.

The Israelites

were trained

to sing,

The Lord is

my light and

my salvation,

Psalm 27,

Psalms 27:1

verse 1.

The word of

God, the law

of God, is a

light to guide

the path of

those who

cherish

instruction,

Psalm 119,

Proverbs 6,

23.

God's light

is shed

abroad in

Revelation,

Ezekiel 1,

Ezekiel 1:4

verse 4,

verse 13,

and verse 26

through 28,

and salvation,

Habakkuk 3,

Habakkuk 3:3–4

verse 3

through 4.

Light is

Yahweh in

action,

Psalm 44,

Psalms 44:3

verse 3.

Isaiah tells

us that the

servant of the

Lord was

appointed as

a light to

the Gentiles,

that he might

bring God's

salvation to

the ends of

all the earth,

Isaiah 49,

Isaiah 49:6

verse 6.

The coming

eschatological

age would be

a time when

the Lord

himself would

be the light

for his

people.

Isaiah

Isaiah 60 · chapter mention

chapter 60,

Revelation

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21.

Perhaps

Zechariah

14 is

especially

significant with

its promise

of continual

light on

the last

day,

followed by

the promise

of living

waters flowing

from Jerusalem.

This passage

probably forming

part of the

liturgical

readings of

this feast.

Christ.

The great

burning lights

of the

feast of

tabernacles

resonate with

such

strains.

It's into

that that

Jesus

says this.

But this

is not the

first time

that we have

heard this

metaphor in

John's

writings.

Turn back

to John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

John begins

this work.

In the

beginning

was the

Word,

and the

Word was

with God,

and the

Word was

God.

He was in

the beginning

with God.

All things

were made

through him,

and without

him was not

anything made

that was

made.

In him

was life,

and the

life was

the light

of men.

The light

shines in

the darkness,

and the

darkness has

not overcome

it.

light.

Our minds

ought to be

full as

we hear

Jesus say

that he

is the

light of

the world.

The word

light appears

24 times in

John's

gospel.

Light by

its nature

causes

darkness

to scatter.

Darkness

cannot be

quantifiably

measured.

It is

merely

the absence

of light.

Now,

we tend

to take

light for

granted,

but if you

lived in a

time when

the only

source of

light was

from a

flame,

and it

was dangerous

to not

have light

at night,

this is

when children

were snatched

out of tents

by wild

animals.

This is

when the

marauders

came at

night.

We have

a property

north of

Dahlonega,

and it is

really,

really dark

out there

at night.

And these

days,

I've got

a flashlight

in my

back pocket

all of

the time.

But I can

remember

earlier days

when my

parents owned

the property,

being out

there and

having to

get from

the driveway

to the

top of

our driveway

where I

typically

park,

and I

had to

do it

by shuffling

my feet

on the

gravel,

and if

my feet

stopped

making

gravel

sounds,

I knew

I was

off into

the woods,

and I

had to

go back

to the

gravel

and shuffle

my feet

and just

stumble

toward my

vehicle until

I ran

into it.

It would

be that

dark.

And I

must admit,

there were

times that

things snapped

in the woods,

and I

got a little

scared and

moved a

little quicker

up that

dark,

dark

driveway.

It would

have likely

been more

felt than

it maybe

is felt

for us.

Where there

is light,

there is

not

darkness.

The two

are opposites,

and one

has expulsory

power over

the other.

Now,

if we

back up

in a

bit from

our text,

but go

forward from

John 1

to chapter

3,

we can

see this

idea at

work in

the negative.

John 3

in verse

20.

For

everyone who

does wicked

things,

hates the

light,

and does

not come

to the

light,

lest his

works

should be

exposed.

Wickedness

is associated

with darkness

in this

text.

A darkness

that does

not want

the exposure

of light.

Wickedness

produces shame,

and it

produces

death.

It is the

opposite,

the antithesis

of the

light of

life.

Let's

push the

metaphor just

a bit

further and

a bit

clearer.

Note

especially

who the

light

is.

It's in

our text

that Jesus

says he

is the

light

of

the

world.

Then go

forward to

John chapter

John 11:9

11,

verse 9 and

following.

Jesus said,

are there not

twelve hours in

the day?

If anyone

walks in the

day,

he does not

stumble because

he sees the

light of this

world.

But if anyone

walks in the

night,

he stumbles

because the

light is

not in

him.

I suggest

to you that

the stumbling

that Jesus

here refers

to is not

a slight

trip,

but a

stumble that

causes one

to fall

headlong

and not

rise again.

Back to

John chapter

John 1:9

1,

verse 9 and

following.

John there

writes,

the true

light which

gives light

to everyone

was coming

into the

world.

He was in

the world

and the

world was

made through

him,

yet the

world did

not know

him.

He came

to his

own and

his own

people did

not receive

him.

But to

all who

did receive

him,

who believed

in his

name,

he gave

the right

to become

children of

God,

who were

born,

not of

blood,

nor of

the will

of the

flesh,

nor of

the will

of man,

but of

God.

John at

the outset

sets forth

the problem

of

humanity.

Jesus

Christ came

into the

world,

he is

the light,

and yet

he will

be rejected

by some

and received

by others.

I'm positive

to you that

we see this

pattern exist

all throughout

John.

Those who

receive and

those who

reject.

One to

eternal

damnation,

one to

eternal

glory.

He sets

it out

as a

dichotomous

problem,

as one

or the

other.

No shade

in between.

We have

light and

we have

darkness.

So Jesus

asks people

to come

to him,

and he

gives us

the ability

to come

to him.

He births

in us,

born not

of blood,

or will

of the

flesh,

or the

will of

man,

but of

God.

He makes

these things

spiritually

discernible

to us

that we

would receive

Jesus as

he presents

himself here

in John's

gospel.

He says

in verse

12,

whoever

follows me

will not

walk in

darkness,

but will

have the

light of

life.

And this

is what

Jesus'

words are

pressing us

to,

as original

hearers

hear,

and us

today,

that we

would follow

him,

that we

would walk

in his

ways,

that we

might not

walk in

darkness,

but have

the light

of life.

Spurgeon

once said

this,

this is in

your bulletin

if you

care to

follow along,

as a

preacher,

Jesus

was

luminous.

He

expounded

the spirituality

of the law,

light

penetrated

the precept

through and

through as

he made

the very

essence

of purity

apparent.

His light

cleared the

law of the

mist and

fogs that

the rabbinical

writers had

gathered around

it.

He shed

light,

too,

upon the

covenant

of grace.

He

promulgated

the gospel

of peace

among the

sons of

men.

He told

of God

the Father

willing to

receive his

prodigal

children back

into his

bosom.

His

parables

threw

wondrous

light upon

the

dispensation

of the

kingdom of

heaven.

His

counsels

and his

cautions

brought the

final

destinies

of the

righteous

and the

wicked

into

full

view.

Jesus

says,

I am

the light

of the

world.

Whoever

follows me

will not

walk in

darkness,

but will

have

the

light

of

life.

Secondly,

we see,

and briefly,

Jesus is

the

trustworthy

witness.

We see

this in

verses

13 and

14 as

well as

verses

18 and

19.

If you

are new

to our

study of

John,

the reason

we're

seeing this

point split

apart like

this is

because the

text is

a

chiasm.

It sure

is.

We won't

spend a

lot of

time on

that today.

But you

know,

verse 13

and 14,

so the

Pharisees

said to

him,

you are

bearing

witness

about

yourself.

Your

testimony

is not

true.

This is

their

response

to him

saying,

I am

the light

of the

world.

Whoever

follows

me

will

not

walk

in

darkness,

but

will

have

the

light

of

life.

The

place

that

he's

doing

this

would

have

been

one

of

the

outer

parts

of the

country

and

they

could

likely

overhear

him.

The

council

that's

meeting

and

gathering

can

overhear

him

make

this

claim.

And

their

response

has

nothing

to do

with

what

he's

saying

except

that

he

has

said,

I

am

claiming

equality

with

God.

They

say,

you

are

bearing

witness

about

yourself.

Your

testimony

is

not

true.

And

Jesus

answers

them,

even

if I

do

bear

witness

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.

The

first

reason

that

Jesus

is

the

trustworthy

witness,

this may

be

unsatisfying

to some

of you

who

may

not

yet

believe

in

Christ,

but

yet

it's

here.

The

reason

is

he

is

God.

He's

a

trustworthy

witness

because

he

is

God.

He

originated

in

heaven

and

he

was

going

to

heaven.

Fully

aware

of

who

he

is.

He

can

bear

witness

to

himself.

He

says

this,

I am

the

one,

verse

18,

who

bears

witness

about

myself

and

the

father

who

sent

me

bears

witness

about

me.

This

is

in

response

to

what

they

were

asking

of

him,

right?

You

can't

just

say

this

about

yourself.

You

need

at

least

two

people

to

say

this

about

yourself.

Jesus

affirms

this

in

verse

17.

So I

do

bear

witness

about

myself,

but also

the

father

who

sent

me

bears

witness

about

me.

This is the

second

reason.

God the

father

is the

second

witness.

God the

to

God the

man

to

God the

man

to

make

a

convincing

argument.

I

want to

twist

somebody's

arm

up

behind

their

back

and

say

accept

Jesus

as

the

Christ.

But

here

is

Jesus'

answer

and

it's

where

my

mind

goes

epistemological.

How do

we

arrive

at

the

truths

that

we

know

we

must

must

spiritually

discern

them.

The

evidence

is all

here

but we

need

help

to

see

it

and

faith

to

grab

hold

of

it

in

a

saving

way.

His

father

is

the

second

witness.

Last

week

Zachary

preached

from

Matthew

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

concerning

Jesus'

baptism.

If

you

missed

it

I

really

encourage

you

to

give

it

a

!

listen.

I

think

you'll

really

appreciate

it.

You

did a

great

job

with

that

text.

He

spoke

well

of

God

the

father's

confirmation

that

Jesus

is

the

Christ.

We

see

in

that

text

the

spirit

of

God

descends

like

a

dove

rests

on

Jesus

and

then

from

heaven

the

father

says

this

is

my

beloved

son

with

whom

I

am

well

pleased.

We

find

that

similarly

in

John

although

not

the

details

of

it.

There

we

see

John

the

Baptist

in

verse

32

of

chapter

1

bearing

witness

I

saw

the

spirit

descend

from

heaven

like

a

dove

and

it

remained

on

him.

So

Jesus

makes

this

claim

the

father

who

sent

me

bears

witness

about

me

and

you

may

find

some

sympathy

here

with

the

Pharisees

he

!

can

say

anything

he

wants

to

about

himself

but

this

had

happened

the

spirit

had

descended

God

had

spoken

from

heaven

about

Jesus

and

this

was

known

this

was

traveling

around

in

the

day

they

were

aware

of

this

event

that

had

happened

Jesus

is

trustworthy

witness

to

who

he

is

and

he

should

be

trusted

notice

lastly

that

Jesus

is

the

righteous

judge

verses

15

through

17

he

says

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

now

you

may

find

some

trouble

with

this

on

first

glance

in

fact

I

hope

you