Snapshots of a Savior: The Light of the World

Please be seated. This morning, we're going to look at John 8. This is the second installment in

a series that's looking at Jesus and these brief little moments where he makes these

big grand statements, and they start out with, I am. So we looked at Jesus' statement in John 6,

where he said, I am the light of the world, or sorry, I am the bread of life. And now we're

looking at Jesus' statement where he says, I am the light of the world. So if you have a Bible,

turn with me to John 8. We're going to start reading at verse 12, and then we're going to go

on to verse 20. So you can look in the bulletin, or you can look in your Bible. But turn with me

as we give attention to God's word. This is John 8. 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 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

where I came from and where I'm going, but you don't know where I come from or where I'm 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?

And 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. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for these statements that Jesus makes in the

gospel of John about who he is. Help us to see Jesus as he truly is. And this morning, may we see him as

the light of the world. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. I have to admit, I'm a little bit nervous about

what I'm about to tell you. And if I get shaky, the reason is because it brings back so many memories as a

kid. Because none of you will know the name Judy Bundy. And if you do know Judy Bundy or Miss Ms. Bundy,

you don't know the Judy Bundy. At the mention of her name, I still go into like a panic and cold sweat,

and I have flashbacks of forgetting my lab report, or me answering a question and not knowing the answer

and trying to get out of it and escape. And the Ms. Judy Bundy just crushing my spirit. And everyone

in class laughing at me. The Ms. Judy Bundy, and that's how she referred to herself often, was the

most feared biology teacher in all of Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm convinced of it. I don't care what high

school you went to, I don't care if you ever took her in a class, because if you said her name in the hallway,

she would just appear. The Ms. Judy Bundy was feared and fearsome. She cut no slack. She was demanding.

She loved science, but more than that, she loved the scientific method. And why did she like it?

Because it was a way for her to teach us how to think. I'm convinced of that. I haven't asked her this.

Maybe I will one day. But she loves Sir Francis Bacon and his rules for observation, because she could

challenge something a student said. And if it wasn't well-founded, again, she would make you look

pretty stinking silly in class. Obviously, my memory of her has something to do with authority. Both her

as a figure, but in class as well. She prized authority, and she didn't need to demand it. It

just came out of her. And whenever you spoke, you better be sure you knew what you were talking about.

If you made a claim, you better be able to back it up with her beloved scientific method.

Because if you made a claim, it needed to have authority. And because you are ninth grader in

biology class, you don't have much authority. But if you could observe something and show her what you

saw, and you could prove it, you had authority. If you claim something, it needed to come with authority.

That same dynamic is at play here in a story like John 8, where Jesus makes this big claim, right?

I am the light of the world. But then there's this question of authority, and it almost gets derailed.

In fact, it does get derailed with all of these questions over authority. And those are the two

headings that we're going to look at this morning. Jesus' claim, and then the authority with which he

speaks, with which he answers. So, as we look at this text, I want to remind us of something that I

said last time when we looked at when Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He is talking about himself,

right? And throughout this time, he is pointing us to himself. Now, you might say, I want a lot

less talk and a lot more actions. Don't actions speak for themselves. They do. But remember, Jesus

has done that over and over, and there's still confusion about who he is and what he's saying.

And so, when we look at these I am statements, it's almost like we're giving a microphone. I've

heard it said like this. We're giving a microphone to Jesus and saying, who are you? Who is it that you

say you are? And he's declaring very boldly and very simply the answer to that question. But he gives us

an answer that's kind of weird, if we're honest. He says, I am the light of the world. And so, in

cutting through this confusion, he answers, I am the light of the world. But what does that mean? What

does that mean for us? And why the light of the world? That seems odd. We get the bread of life part.

I need him to eat and live and move and have my being. I need to be sustained. But why the light

of the world? Why light at all? Let's look together at verse 12. Simple enough. I'm the light of the

world. Do we even need to read it again? We do. Why? Because we need to unearth, why is he using this

image of light? If you remember in John's gospel, it's not as if each new paragraph is a new day.

There's some paragraphs and some pages of scripture that are going through, and it's one single day,

maybe even one single conversation, but they're different topics. And if you look back in chapter

seven of John's gospel, at chapter seven, verse 37, it tells us that this time where it's happening

is at the festival of the booze. Now, that was a time when all of Israel went up to Jerusalem

to worship, went up to make merry. One commentator calls it the time when the Levitical orchestra

cuts loose. I would like to see the day when our music team, you know, comes up to worship and cuts

loose for a week or so. That sounds pretty awesome. So as Israel was coming to worship and celebrate

and do all these things and cut loose and make merry, they were literally going up. It's not like

I'm just going down the street. Everywhere around could see this area because it was a gain in elevation.

And so as there were lights about worship in the evening, you could see it for miles and miles around.

And so that's why in the gospels we see when they talk about going to Jerusalem, they're going up to

Jerusalem. They were literally going up as well as giving their hearts and going up. And so they're doing

this on the heels of this event, maybe even on the last day. Jesus is saying, you see all those lights up

there? Or you see all these lights? And as you're coming up, I am the light of the world. So it's in that

context he uses light. It's unobstructed for everyone to see in the land. And Jesus is saying, see me.

I am the light of the world. But why light? It's not just the immediate context or the events of

what's going on. But light and darkness have a long history in the Christian gospel, in the message of

Christianity, and in the history of Israel. Think about the beginning of John's gospel. It starts

something like this. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. And all things were made through him, and without him was not

anything 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. If that sounds really similar to what we read earlier

in the Old Testament reading, that's intentional on John's part. He's trying to show and draw through

and show his readers that, hey, you know this really familiar story in Genesis 1? That is talking about

something far grander than you could imagine. In fact, it's talking about this event. The Word coming into

the world. The Word making all things. But in that, there's something as well. When we see those days and

nights, we see a disparity. We see light and darkness. Because day can't be night, and night can't be day.

Darkness can't be light, and light can't be darkness. They're as far away from each other as they can be.

There's no mixing. There's no gray. It's day and night. But there's also something really important

when we talk about light. Oftentimes, in the Old Testament, light means God in the midst of darkness.

I think we all get that as people that read the scriptures. Darkness is sin, and light is God or

goodness. But it's not just light that comes from God's Word. God himself is described as light.

Psalm 27 1 says this, the Lord is my light and my salvation. So we get all these pictures of light and

darkness. But when it comes to light, light is never evil. Light is never bad. Light is always God,

goodness, justice, and truth. And so even when we talk about those attributes as being light,

his Word revealing his character, it's all pointing back to God.

Light is more than just the immediate context of the festival of booze. Light is more than just the

beginning of the gospel of John. But light is pointing back to God himself.

So that's why when Jesus makes this claim, I am the light of the world, it's startling to those he's

speaking to. It should be startling to us. He is pulling forth all these images and all of these

pictures and saying, that's who I am. Who is Jesus? I am light. I am God. And when he's doing that,

he is challenging them, not with just the idea of who he is, but there's a charge to them. We see that

in the second half of that verse. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light

of life. It's not as if Jesus is just leading them, stumbling through the darkness, wondering where

they're going. If you've ever been in the dark at night following somebody who has the one flashlight,

you know that feeling. Where are we going? When are we going to get there? I can't see that tree root.

Spider webs in my face. That's not what's going on here. Jesus is saying that he is the light,

and darkness is as different as him as can be. It's not day and night mixed together. No, it's day and

night, light and darkness. There's a contrast at work. And the audacity of this claim is something

that the Pharisees who he's talking to here really struggle with. You see, it's really easy, and it's not

really challenging to say that, hey, light brings comfort. That doesn't really challenge their

worldview. That doesn't make them mad. It's really easy to say, oh, light brings hope. That's true,

but that's not what Jesus is saying. It's really easy to say light brings comfort because I'm scared

of the dark. That's not what Jesus is saying either. He's saying that I am the light of the world.

That's very different. It's a picture of contrast, not just of a warm security blanket.

I am the light of the world. Now, remember, this event is happening on the same day in chapter 7,

where he says, if anybody's thirsty, come to me and drink, and you will be satisfied.

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Now, Jesus is making this great claim, just like when

he said the bread of life. He kind of mixed his metaphors. He's doing the same thing here. He is

showing that that light is satisfying because it's not darkness. It's so different. Visually, it's different,

but it's also morally different. It's different in every category, and it cannot be confused.

So who is Jesus? That's that perennial question that I asked us to consider as we're looking at

these statements because John is answering that question, and Jesus is answering that question

with his words. Who is Jesus? He is saying that he is God. He's the light of the world, and whoever

follows him will not walk in darkness. This claim from Jesus obviously has a polarizing effect.

On the here's then, on us now, the dividing line of humanity, the dividing light, if you will,

is not what we think it would be. It's not whether you're a Pharisee or a scribe. It's not whether you

are a Jew or Gentile. It's not whether you went to a good school or didn't go to school at all.

It's not whether you loved Miss Bundy or you hated Miss Bundy.

It's not whether you're black or white, if you're from America, if you pay your taxes, or you don't.

The dividing line of humanity is the person of Christ.

That's really hard for them to hear because in their minds, they don't know about Jesus.

They're unsure. They know something is different, and they don't want to commit to him.

But the dividing line of humanity for them and for us is the person of Jesus, and that's polarizing.

You either follow him in light or you continue in darkness. It's that different, light and dark.

Now, if you're not a Christian here this morning, we're glad you're here.

There's other ways that you could spend your Sunday morning.

But this is really important, and Jesus is challenging you.

You might not have known it when you walked in this morning,

but he's challenging you and saying,

will you follow me?

You might not know who I am fully,

but he's saying, I am God.

I will give up my life for your sins.

Follow me.

That's divisive in our day and age.

But if you're a Christian this morning,

he's also calling you to step out of the darkness,

out of all the struggles that you have

that might be hidden from those who view you,

and bring those things into the light,

those things that we secretly struggle with,

that sin that won't go away.

He's saying, bring that into the light of confession.

Bring it before me.

Now, I'm not saying don't be a weirdo, okay?

I'm not saying get a billboard on I-25

and say, hey, I'm Andy.

I cheat on my taxes.

You know, I might not pick up dog poop

as I walk around the neighborhood

or anything like that, right?

One of those is true, and one of them is not.

But he is saying this.

Don't be weird like that.

But as there's occasion,

and as we struggle through this Christian life,

Christian, come into the light.

Don't bring those sins into the light.

Bring them before the Lord.

Confess them there.

Just don't do it the first time you meet somebody.

If you're a Christian, you're weird enough in society.

Let the gospel be the weird part.

But Christian, bring those things into the light

because there's a thing about darkness

where we think that it's hidden,

and we think we don't have to deal with it,

or it'll just go away.

But the reality is that's not true.

It's already been paid for by Christ.

Bring them into the light.

The Christian should have no part in darkness,

but that's hard

because as a follower of Christ,

we know that we sin.

We know that we need a Savior,

but it's already been paid for.

That's the claim that Jesus is making

both for the Christian and for the non-Christian.

If you've considered the claims of Christ,

or you haven't,

he's saying,

I am the light of the world.

Follow me in all aspects,

in all parts of your life,

in all of those dark corners,

in all those parts where you think

no one can see.

Follow me.

Now, that's a claim that Jesus is making.

That's really easy for us to see.

But what's much more difficult

and what's much harder to understand

is everything that follows after that.

If you've been in a meeting,

whether it's in the corporate world,

whether it's a church meeting,

hopefully that doesn't happen here,

whether it's a meeting with your spouse,

where you're going over schedules

or something like that,

the stated purpose of this meeting

in the corporate world

is going to be,

we're going to review this project,

this presentation.

We're going to slap the table

and go forward.

But you come into that meeting

or you have that discussion

with your spouse

or even a child is even better.

You realize really quickly,

we came wanting to talk about this,

but my meeting got hijacked

and we're going this way

when we should have been going this way.

The presentation was supposed to be,

the pitch,

the big business pitch

was supposed to happen,

but clearly we're still

in the planning conference phase.

Clearly we're planning

our summer vacation

and now we're talking about

who spilled chocolate syrup

on the floor.

Or if you're talking with a kid,

you wanted to talk about grades

and now we're talking about unicorns.

Your meeting has been hijacked.

That's what's happening

to Jesus here.

He's talking about following after him,

him being the light of the world.

And what did the Pharisees say to him?

Hey, how can you say those things?

What authority do you have?

Wait, I thought there was supposed

to be a witness here.

This can't be true.

His interaction with the Pharisees

is hijacked.

And it doesn't happen

just in corporate America

or the ancient Near East

or when you're talking with a toddler.

It happens even with things

that are ultimate,

that are cosmic,

that are really stinking important.

It's hijacked

with this question of authority.

How do we know that?

Look with me at verse 13.

It starts like this.

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 where I came from

and where I'm going.

But you do not know

where I come from

or where I'm going.

It's kind of interesting.

This question of authority

centers around three kind of big buckets

or categories.

The first one

is this idea of testimony.

At this point,

when we hear the Pharisees' response,

we should kind of all collectively groan

and say,

gosh, that question,

if you remember back

when we talked about John,

John saying that,

or Jesus saying that,

I am the bread of life,

that question

that my friend

kept asking me

is,

why don't they get it?

Here,

it seems like,

again,

the Pharisees

just don't get it.

What are they doing?

What are they thinking?

Why are they asking him this?

They don't get it.

And they're challenging him

on something

they've already challenged him on.

If you flip back to John 5,

a few chapters earlier,

Jesus says this

about witnessing

and his testimony.

He says,

if I alone

bear witness about myself,

my testimony

is not deemed true.

There's another

who bears witness about me,

and I know

that the testimony

he bears about me

is true.

You sent John.

And then he'll go on

a little bit further

and say,

but the testimony

I have

is greater

than that of John.

for the works

that the Father

has given me

to accomplish,

the very works

I'm doing,

bear witness

about me

that the Father

has sent me.

And the Father

who sent me

has he himself

borne witness

about me.

This is kind of

a continuation

of that conversation.

This matter

should have already

been settled,

but the Pharisees

are trying to play

a trick on him.

He said,

if I bear witness

about myself,

then it's not true.

You see,

this conversation

is taking place

against the backdrop

of Deuteronomy 19.

It's something

that we kind of have

in our own legal system

where it says,

if you have a witness,

you've got to have

more than one

because those witnesses

could conflict.

Their testimonies

could not corroborate

each other.

But the Pharisees

are asking

this question.

They're saying,

and we'll see

if they're doing this

intentionally

to trap him

or if they're doing it

out of like

actually wondering

who Jesus is,

they're saying,

Jesus,

you can't witness

about yourself.

You even said this.

So are they asking

out of true curiosity

or are they asking

because they're trying

to trap him?

Well,

it's the Pharisees,

right?

This isn't their

first rodeo.

This isn't the first time

we've seen them

interact with Jesus.

They're trying to trap him

and they're trying

to get him

to understand

that they remember

what he said

and we're going to use

it against you later.

And Jesus says,

oh, no, no, no.

You didn't understand

what I meant.

He's saying,

back in chapter 5,

I can offer

true testimony

because of those things.

If I speak

in conformity

with the Father,

I can.

In fact,

there's more

than one witness

that's here.

Both myself

and the Father,

which we'll get to

in a minute.

But he's saying here,

you can't pass judgment

on me

because you don't know

where I came from

and you don't know

where I'm going.

That seems kind of odd

when we consider it.

But he is saying

to them,

you don't understand

the landscape

of what's going on.

You have no idea.

You think it's about this,

but it's really about

these ultimate things,

these ultimate questions.

That's the part one

to this challenge

of authority.

The second one,

that second big topic,

is about judgment.

And we see those

in verses like 15 and 16.

Judgment's confusing

because it's Jesus.

He says here in verse 15,

you judge according

to the flesh,

I judge no one.

Okay.

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.

So is Jesus

not judging

because he was sent here

as a Savior?

That's not exactly

what he's saying.

Some people take that position.

He's saying here,

I don't judge

like you do.

I don't judge

according to appearances,

which is what you see

earlier in the Gospels.

I don't judge

according to the flesh.

In fact,

my judgment

is perfect

because I do it

with the Father.

And it gets back

to this ultimate thing

that they are missing,

that Jesus

is related

to the Father,

that Jesus

is God himself.

He's part

of the Trinity.

Jesus judges,

he just doesn't

do it alone,

and he doesn't do it

like the Pharisees

do it.

And that kind of

makes them mad.

Now,

I'm not going to

commend this author

by any stretch,

and I'm pretty sure,

maybe not Miss Bundy,

but a seminary professor

is going to come

smack me in the face.

But,

this author,

Rudolf Bolt,

!

Rudolf Boltmann,

I don't commend

anything that he wrote.

It's not normally helpful.

But even him,

even the guy

who questions

everything about

the Christian faith,

says about these verses,

about the Pharisees,

that Jesus

is making a mockery

of Jewish legalism.

He can see that

in this text.

Because in it,

he's showing them

that they're so concerned

about the testimony

of witnesses,

they're so concerned

about judging,

but they miss

that it's all about God,

that God is at the center

of it.

Even that guy

can see

it's about

God.

The third

kind of bend

about authority,

the topic

that we need

to talk about

is relationship.

We see that

by the Pharisees

missing,

that it's about

God himself.

Now,

what I didn't tell you

about Miss Bundy,

and the reason

she had so much

power

and authority,

wasn't because

she was my science teacher.

It was who she knew.

She knew

Dr. Nina Page.

And who is

Dr. Nina Page?

It's my grandmother.

So,

Dr. Nina Page

and Miss Judy,

the Miss Judy Bundy,

both love science,

and they were

in the same Bible study.

So,

if I performed

poorly in school,

I would hear about it

from my grandmother,

not just my parents,

but it would come

to me

with much more

authority

and much more,

honestly,

anger

at underperforming.

And I would even see

Miss Bundy

outside of school.

You know,

when you see your teacher

and you realize

they're a normal human being too,

and she knew my grandmother,

man,

I was in trouble

because her power

wasn't limited

just to the classroom.

I couldn't escape it.

It was everywhere

because her authority,

her power,

was based on this relationship

to my grandmother.

The same is true here.

What the Pharisees

and the scribes miss

is that the authority

and power

with which Jesus speaks

comes from his relationship

to the Father.

Not only do they miss

that the law

is pointing to Christ,

but they miss

that Jesus is saying

he is God.

The Pharisees failed.

They failed to understand

this whole thing.

It's why they questioned

Jesus' authority

in the first place.

And then they circle

around to it,

or Jesus circles around to it

again in 17 and 18.

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.

The relationship there.

The relationship

is the part

that they miss

both about the law

and about who

Jesus is saying himself.

He's saying,

I am God.

Who is Jesus?

He answers that question

for them.

But why do they miss it?

They miss the authority

with which Jesus speaks

and they misunderstand.

There's kind of a hint

of this

when he says,

your law,

isn't it Jesus' law?

but he's saying to them,

he's pointing out to them

that you have

messed with the law,

you've missed

the whole point of it,

and so your law

is your understanding of it.

You missed the crucial component

that all of this

is pointing to me.

And you missed it.

And you missed it

real big.

You missed it

when it comes to the law,

and you missed it

when it comes to me

as I stand before you.

You did not understand

that.

They memorized the law.

They used it.

And that's why

they struggle so much

when Jesus comes

and he doesn't do

what they want him to do.

He doesn't

join their club.

Instead,

he dines with people

that they use the law

to put down.

He doesn't fit

into their box.

For to know Jesus

is to know the Father.

That's what Jesus

is saying to them.

And that makes them mad.

That angers them.

The actions,

the signs,

the clear statements,

all of that

is pointing to this fact

that Jesus

is the light of the world.

And even he says it to them,

they should be

considering that statement,

but instead,

they're doing something

very different.

They're getting really technical

and asking questions

about do you have

the authority

to be a witness or not.

They miss the Savior

that stands before them.

Jesus' words here

challenge those

who don't follow Jesus.

The Pharisees saw

with their own eyes,

they heard him,

but they couldn't

recognize Jesus.

What about your neighbor?

He doesn't see Jesus.

He doesn't talk to him.

Yes, he has creation.

There's some small glimpse

of that.

But it shows us

that in the work

of my neighbor

or the guy

I work with

or the person

I share a cubicle with

or teach with

in the classroom,

they need

to hear

from Christ.

Christ.

They need

the light

that is opposed

to darkness.

They need Christ

and they need you

to bring it to him.

They need you

because God

uses people

like us

to share

the gospel,

the light

in the darkness.

darkness.

We heard

from Jonathan

all these practical

things of how

to do that.

This is the theology

behind that,

that the light

shines in the darkness

and you need

to shine it

in the hearts

of people

around you.

rather,

we've become

experts in the law

about witness

and testimony

and we

in our own hearts

have kind of

removed God

from the picture.

We think

that we know

but we miss

Jesus

often.

If we

really believe

that Jesus

is the light

of the world

and it dispels

darkness,

we cannot

sit

idly by

as people

stumble

through the

darkness.

We need

to think

about that

because often

the way

we live

shows that

we truly

believe

that light

and darkness

are not

in as big

a contrast

as

Jesus

says.

We need

to be the light

in the darkness

and do we

live like

we believe

or are we

majoring

on the minors

instead

using God's

word like

the Pharisees

to put

people down

and not

holding forth

the words

of life

as we

see in

the scriptures.

Wherever that

finds us

this morning,

Jesus is

calling each

of us

in this

claim

with real

authority

to follow

him,

to follow

after Christ

because he

is the light

of the world

that shines

in the

darkness.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we are

thankful

this morning

for you

showing us

who you

are in

your word.

May you

use your

spirit

to show

us that

you make

these grand

claims

of being

light in

the darkness

and may

we delight

in it.

May we

be prompted

to bring

our sin

before you

out of the

darkness

into the

light.

And Father,

may we

extend that

light into

the dark

corners of

this world.

We pray

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.