The one who dispels darkness

Now, being special is very important for each of us to have a meaningful life.

And so we would like to have something special about us,

in what we do, who we are,

or being special in a church, special church, special school,

special work, or being special in a country.

What is Australia? How is it different to other countries?

And that gives us meaning in life.

And today, as we come to this part of the Bible,

the Israelites, they had about 2,000 years of history by the time when Jesus came,

and they were unique, and they were special,

because they are the only nation in the world that was called by God,

and started by God.

And so they prided themselves for the fact that they had God's word, God's law,

and also they had Abraham as their forefather.

It did not mean that their life was trouble-free.

During the time of Jesus, they were under Roman occupation.

Also, in each of their lives, they were struggling as well.

So just like us, they were wrestling with living a life that was not quite the way it was supposed to be.

So life was marred by pain, regrets, and sin.

However, at least they were special,

because they had God's law and Abraham as their forefather.

And so that's what they were holding on to for the meaning of their life.

So when Jesus came among them and spoke to them,

Jesus seemed to have thrown a spanner into their works.

Suddenly, their traditional beliefs were challenged by these men from Galilee.

Jesus was telling them that Abraham was special because of Jesus himself.

And so the Jews would also only be special because of Jesus.

And the Jews could not accept that.

And how would they respond to Jesus' claims?

If their traditional beliefs are not true,

then how did they know what was true?

So when our long-held beliefs are challenged by someone,

how would we respond to that person?

And how would we decide what is true?

17th century philosopher René Descartes.

René Descartes is a French name.

So Descartes spelled as D-E-S-C-A-R-T-E-S.

I suppose they don't pronounce the S.

And so René Descartes wanted to decide

what was the absolute truth he could be certain of.

So after thinking for some time,

he was settled for the Latin phrase,

cogito, ergo sum, I hope that pronounces that,

which was subsequently translated into English as,

I think, therefore I am.

And what René Descartes tried to say,

was trying to say was that while he might doubt about everything else,

he could not doubt about his own existence.

The fact that he was doubting,

it means that he was thinking.

And he need to be there or exist.

He need to be existed to do the thinking.

And so he ended up with this phrase.

That is the bottom line, truth.

I think, therefore I am.

But he didn't know why he existed.

I suppose he couldn't find out by just thinking.

And he didn't know how he should live.

And again, he couldn't do that just by thinking.

We need to be told about that.

But he was right in the sense that

there are many truths we take for granted that may be wrong.

Just for example, when we see the sun rising and setting,

straight away we think that the sun revolves around the earth.

And when we are told about,

actually it's the earth that revolves around the sun,

then we could then think that

if we could be wrong about this,

we can be wrong about many things in life as well.

And that we thought is the truth.

So like the Israelites,

when we encounter Jesus in the Bible,

from the Bible,

we are also challenged to believe him or reject him.

So from a scripture today,

from John chapter 8, verses 48 to 59,

John 8:48–59

I would like us to think about

at least two things when we are challenged.

One is how we should not respond to challenges that we do not like.

Secondly, the second one is how to think of what Jesus claimed

to see if they are true.

So we start with how we should not respond to challenges

that we do not like.

So our common response to challenges,

to our belief,

is by either mocking or joking.

In chapter 8 of John, verse 22,

there's a hint of joking

when the Jews say,

will he kill himself since he say,

where I am going, you cannot come.

So they could not understand what Jesus was saying,

but they just said,

is he going to kill himself?

There's a hint of joking there.

But in verse 48, we start that today,

they were mocking Jesus.

He said, are you not right in saying

that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

They could not accept what Jesus said about himself

and also about themselves.

They therefore had to conclude

that Jesus was either mad or bad or both.

The Samaritans were despised by the Jews and the Gentiles

because they were mixed breed from Jews and Gentiles.

And that's why the Jews used Samaritan

to belittle people.

But I don't think Jesus cared to be called a Samaritan.

We can look at Jesus' response in verse 49.

He simply said, I do not have a demon.

He didn't even want to go into the Samaritan thing.

And he didn't care about being called a Samaritan.

Now, if people like René Descartes

heard what Jesus said,

they would think over what he said

and ask questions until they reach a conclusion.

But most people do not think

when there is any command upsetting their identity

or any challenge to their belief.

They simply retaliate by attacking the messenger.

Nowadays, we do not say you are a Samaritan.

We might say you are an Australian

or you are a Tasmanian or something like this.

We do not say you are a demon process.

We might say you are a bigot or you are intolerant.

So these are the terms that we use

to downplay the claim of other people.

So the Jews were waiting for God

to make their life better.

However, when God came,

they could not accept him.

We all have some preconceived ideas

of who God is like

or what God is like.

When God appears,

we might find him disagreeable.

I hope we can think over

our encounter with Jesus

rather than dismissing the encounter with mockery.

So how can we think about Jesus' claim?

So in chapter 8,

we can see that Jesus is appearing

to the logics of his hearers

all the time.

He wanted them to think about what he said

and to think about their responses

to his sayings.

The Jews responded by saying

that Jesus had a demon.

Jesus said he honored God,

the Father,

in the way he lived.

And you can see that Jesus healed the sick,

comforted the poor,

taught them from the scriptures,

cleansed the temple,

promised people life.

So could they find anything

that Jesus did betray him

as a demon process?

if they think about it.

Even when they saw Jesus

performing miracles,

they were giving praise to God.

But now,

they label Jesus

as demon process.

So how should we consider

the claims of Jesus?

We can consider at least

three aspects of it.

One is the motive.

Why did Jesus claim?

Why did Jesus say what he said?

The offer.

What did Jesus actually offer?

And the identity of Jesus.

Who does Jesus say himself to be?

So the motive.

So because we all want to be God ourselves,

we dislike people who claim to be God.

The Jews thought Jesus,

being a man,

was claiming to be God,

to promote himself.

It did not occur to them

that Jesus was not a man

wanting to become God.

Jesus is God,

who became man.

So it's just like

the sun and the earth.

It depends on how we see

the truth.

So Jesus explained,

I told you to come to me,

to believe me,

to follow me,

not because I'm seeking glory

to boast

my ego.

I honor my father,

and my father honors me.

I'm completely happy in my father.

I do not need your validation.

However,

if you do not believe me,

you will not have life.

Jesus' motive to call people

to believe in him

was not because he wanted

to be well known or popular.

It was so that those who believe

may have life.

Was Jesus' motive

godly or devilish?

Did he have a demon inside

to have such a motive?

When we think about it,

it is quite easy

to differentiate the way,

the devil,

and the way of God.

The devil told Eve

to seek her own glory.

He has been telling people

to seek their own glory

since the beginning.

The devil does not tell people

to seek him

because he knows

that it is unpopular

to tell people

to follow someone else.

He also knows

that so long as people

follow the desire

of their heart,

they will become like him

eventually.

Why did people

become offended

by Jesus

after they went deeper

into his words?

He told them

they had the nature

of the devil in them.

He told them

not to follow

their own hearts.

He told them

not to seek glory

for themselves.

Jesus told them

to follow himself.

Jesus said he was

the son of God,

the son of man,

the real man

who lived

for God's glory.

He kept God's word.

Jesus said,

Jesus did not

tell people

to follow their hearts.

If he had said that,

then we can.

We might label him

or say that he

had a demon himself.

Jesus did not tell people

to follow other

great persons.

If he had said that,

the most we could say

about Jesus

was that he was

a good teacher.

But Jesus said,

follow me

so that you will

never taste death.

And that is the offer.

Has anyone

besides Jesus

ever said,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

anyone who keeps

my word

will never taste death?

Our automatic response

is to label Jesus

either a lunatic

or a liar.

Everyone dies.

People before Jesus

came

and people after

Jesus came

all die.

Even Jesus himself

died.

But hold on,

let us think deeper.

Did Jesus live

and speak

in any way

resemble a lunatic

or a liar?

Even as we

look at Jesus,

we can

make some sort of,

we have some sort of idea

whether Jesus

was genuine

in what he said.

So,

was Jesus trying

to take advantage

of anyone's

naivety?

Would you even

tell people

that you would

never die?

I mean,

it's so obviously

a lie

if you are not

in a position

to say that.

So,

it would be crazy

for anyone

to actually say that.

What was Jesus offering

and what is the price

for his offer?

So,

Jesus was offering

eternal life,

a life that enjoys

fellowship with God,

a life that overflows

to bless others,

a life that appreciates

the beauty

and majesty

of God's works.

What price

will we put

on eternal life

and what price

could I even pay

for such an offer?

Jesus said,

the offer is free

because I have

paid for it.

I paid for it

with my death.

Jesus tasted death

so that he could

offer us life.

Jesus did not

remain dead.

He was resurrected

three days later

and that's why

we know his offer

is genuine.

You may ask,

but did not people

still die

after they listened

to Jesus' word?

Our bodies

do decay and die

because

they are inherited

from the older

order of things.

God promised us

a new body

like that

of the resurrected

body of Jesus.

So the first body

is formed

from dust

and it will

return to dust.

The second body

is formed

by God's power

and it will

last forever.

The old body

needs to go

before the new body

can come.

In any case,

people who believe

in Jesus

may die

in their bodies

but they would

not taste death

because death

would be

the transformation

from this broken

world into

the eternal

joy of God.

And do you know

why those who

are in Christ

will never taste

death?

Because Christ

is alive.

Eternal life

means knowing Christ.

Eternal life

means it is no longer

I live

but Christ

lives in me.

Eternal life

means I no longer

live for my glory

but for a much

bigger glory.

And how do we know

we have eternal life?

What difference

would that make in us?

There are many

differences.

I can mention

just two.

One is that

we will start

to care

about others

and want them

to have

this same life.

The other is that

we will start

to pray

differently.

When we live

for ourselves,

we are the subject

of our concerns

and prayer.

God is there

to help

achieving our goals.

Three weeks ago,

a friend

from Sydney

requested me

to pray

because his wife

was diagnosed

with kidney cancer.

His specific request

was to pray

that further

investigations

would reveal

an early stage

cancer.

So when we are

the subject

of our prayer,

we will tell God

how best

to help us,

what God should do

to make life

easier for us.

That's what we will ask.

But how did I pray

for my friend

and his wife?

I pray that they

would be drawn

closer to God

in their distress,

that they would

come to appreciate

each other more,

that they would

not be defeated

by fear and doubt,

that they would

treasure the Lord's

suffering more,

that the peace of God

will overthrow

from them

as they talk

about their suffering

with their friends

or families.

So a life

that does not

fear death,

a life that

seeks first

God's glory,

that is eternal life.

Alright,

we will come to

the identity of Jesus.

The Jews prided

themselves for being

the descendants

of Abraham.

Abraham was

that great man

who was called

by God to forego

his old way

of living

and follow God's way.

God promised

Abraham that

all the families

of the earth

would be blessed

in him.

Abraham did not

know how

all the families

of the earth

would be blessed

in him.

Abraham did not

even think

he himself was blessed

because he didn't

have a child.

It was after 25 years

of God's call

when he was 100 years

old that God

gave him a child.

And that is how

God was showing

Abraham how this

is going to be done.

So God gave him

a child,

a son,

and then requested

Abraham to sacrifice

the son

as a burnt offering.

At the last minute

God stopped Abraham

and provided a lamb

as a burnt offering.

Abraham saw

that God's promise

would be fulfilled

through a son

and that God

was going to provide

that son.

Abraham rejoiced

to know that

all the families

on earth

would indeed

be blessed

in him,

not personally

in him,

but to his

descendants.

He understood

that a son

would come

from his descendants

who would take

away the sin

of the world.

Jesus was telling

the Jews

that Abraham

was a sign

pointing to himself.

Abraham was waiting

for the coming

of Jesus

to fulfill his role

as the sacrificial lamb.

In fact,

Jesus implied

that he met Abraham.

If you go to

Genesis 18.1,

he says that

the Lord appeared

to Abraham

by the ox of Manry

as he sat

at the door

of his tents

in the heat

of the day.

So that's in

Genesis 18.1.

But the Jews

ridiculed him

and said,

you are not yet

50 years old.

Do not bluff.

Jesus said to them,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

before Abraham

was, I am.

So as

Simon

and

Marty

pointed out,

this is not

a grammatic

mistake.

Jesus did not

mean that

before Abraham

was, I was.

Jesus used

the phrase,

I am,

quite a number

of times,

especially in

the book of John.

For example,

in John 6,

John 6:20

verse 20,

but he said to them,

I am,

do not be afraid.

In John 8,

24,

I told you that

you would die

in your sins,

for unless you

believe that I am,

you would die

in your sins.

And the Jews

understood

that Jesus

was telling them

he was not only

a better man

than Abraham,

he was the

God of Abraham.

That was why

they wanted

to stone him

immediately

for such

an unheard

of blasphemy.

At this point,

I wonder

to think about

why Jesus

did not simply

tell the Jews

that he was God.

One of the

strongest objections

of Islam

to the identity

of Jesus

is the fact

that Jesus

never said

he was God.

Plenty,

one statement

like that.

And there

is a challenge

when the

Muslims

say,

show me

in the Bible

where did

Jesus

say he

was God.

How do

you show

a Muslim?

So we

have to think

about why

Jesus

never used

that phrase,

I am God.

So we,

did the Jews

believe in God?

They thought

they did.

However,

Jesus said

they believed

in the devil.

Jesus said

they were liars

when they said

they believed

in God

because their

pride,

their jealousy,

their murdering

attitude towards

Jesus betrayed

their hearts.

So if you

tell a Muslim

that Jesus

is God,

he would think

that Jesus

is like Allah.

If you

tell a Buddhist

that Jesus

is God,

he would think

that Jesus

is like Buddha.

Whatever the

term God

means to you

and I,

we are most

likely wrong

when we apply

this term

to Jesus.

Jesus said

I am the only

one who knows

how to describe

God.

That was

what Jesus

had been doing

as he interacted

with the Jews.

He was describing

who he was

and who he is

but not in the

term of the

understanding

of the Jews

as they

taught what

God was like.

So Jesus

used the terms

like I am

the bread of life,

I am the

light of the world,

I am the

door of the ship,

I am the

resurrection and

the life,

I am the way,

the truth and

the life,

I am the

true wine

and the

most powerful

statement is

what we come

to today,

simply,

I am.

And what does

I am mean?

It can mean

a lot of

things,

I am,

but it

gives us

a sense of

awe as

someone much,

much greater,

someone who

has been there

throughout

history,

someone who

is in control

of everything,

someone who

is the

prime mover

who

causes

everything

else to

happen,

and someone

for the

whole thing

to happen

is about

him and

for him,

and that

is what

I am

can convey

to us.

So by

the term

I am,

Jesus was

telling the

Jews to

worship him,

then they

will be

free.

However,

the Jews

would not

relinquish

their self-

worship,

worship,

they hid

behind the

thought that

they were

worshiping

God when

they offered

sacrifices and

kept the

laws,

but they

did not

love God.

It is like

we hide

behind the

thought of

being green

or being

socially minded,

but we do

not even

love our

neighbors.

Ideology and

religion appear

to try to

bless people,

but they end

up killing

people.

It is like

the Jews

were doing

as Jesus

has been

telling them

three times

before they

want to

stone Jesus

that they

wanted to

kill him,

and they

did.

It is only

the seed of

Abraham that

all the

families on

earth will

be blessed.

Jesus is

the great

I am that

makes all

things right.

And what

does this

I am mean

to me?

As I was

thinking about

this sermon

about four

weeks ago,

on one

Sunday,

two things

happened.

after the

service,

after I

went home,

I was

talking to

my sister

in Malaysia

through the

phone,

and she

was telling

me about

her cleaning

her apartment,

and said

that there's

still the

ceiling fan

to be

cleaned.

And then

it straight

away occurred

to me,

I need to

ask how

he's going

to clean

the ceiling

fan,

because he's

12 years

older than

I am.

If he's

going to

climb up

the ladder

and clean

it,

it's so

dangerous.

And then

we talked

about other

things,

and I

totally

forgot about

asking her.

And then

a few

hours later,

I received

a call

and said

that she

had a fall

from the

ladder and

had hemorrhage

from the

brain.

I felt

so,

why did I

forget to

tell her not

to do

it?

Things like

this happen

in life.

But on

that same

Sunday in

the morning,

we were

voting for

David

Bolt's

appointment,

and I

was having

the role

of the

members.

I counted

that we

need to

have 50

votes to

pass the

motion.

And then

we welcomed

Sam Brown

as a

member.

that

changed the

whole thing.

I said,

oh yeah,

it's not

50 now,

it's 51

votes for

the motion

to be

passed.

So we

counted the

vote,

we got

50 votes,

and I

totally

forgot that

we need

to have

51.

So 50

votes,

okay.

So though

I didn't

tell David

Collierwood

that it's

all right,

but in

terms of

how I

told him

it's 50,

he perceived

that it is

all right as

well.

And so we

said the

motion was

passed.

So on

the same

Sunday,

so two

things happened

that I

felt so

bad in

terms of

what's

going on

in there.

But reading

this passage

and going

through it,

I have to

think that

Jesus said,

I am.

So it's not

about me,

not about my

sister,

not about

David,

but not

about anything

else.

In the end,

he is.

whether

things will

turn up

as I

expect it

to be

or not,

in the

end,

it doesn't

really matter

so much.

There's

so many

things in

our life

that do

not turn

up as

we expect

them to

be,

but I'm

not,

he is.

So like

Eve's split

second decision

to eat the

forbidden

fruit,

each of

our lives

can be

changed in

any moment,

a moment

of foolishness,

a moment

of carelessness,

a moment

of dozing

off when

we're

driving,

a moment

of blocked

arteries,

giving us

heart attack,

can lead

to much

regrets

and sorrow

for myself

and for

someone else.

But Jesus

said,

before your

accident was,

I am.

Before your

mistakes were,

I am.

I knew

all about

them,

trust me.

It is for

your brokenness

that I

can.

And Psalm

94,

19 said,

when the

cares of

my

hearts

are

many,

your

consolation

shares

my

soul.

And when

Jesus said,

I am,

that is a

big consolation

to me.

René

Descartes

said that

because I

was thinking,

therefore I

existed.

I want to

take this

conclusion

further.

I want to

say that

because I

can think,

therefore God

exists.

I do not

create myself

or anything

else.

There is a

prime mover

that started

all things.

Jesus said,

I am.

life does

not make

sense until

we see that

everything is

from Jesus,

through Jesus,

and for

Jesus.

Life is

difficult to

cope until

we see that

we are not

the subject

of our

existence.

Jesus is.

Life is

hopeless until

we see that

things do

not happen

according to

our plans,

but according

to God's

plan for

Jesus.

Jesus.

The Jews

during Jesus'

time had a

glimpse of

greatness,

of eternity,

of majesty.

Most of

them chose

to hold

on to

their own

familiar

mundane

existence.

Every

Christmas,

we are

reminded the

great I

am has

come and

offered us

eternal

life.

May we

be willing

to surrender

our small

I am and

follow him

and trust

him.

Let us

pray.

pray.

Oh,

Father,

we stand

in the

presence of

the great

I am.

We can

be fearful

because we

do not

know you.

But we

thank you

that through

the Lord

Jesus Christ

who revealed

you to

us to

see grace

upon grace,

to see

one who

is full

of grace

and truth.

And we

thank you

that we

could

behold

your glory

in Christ

Jesus.

and we

want to

live on

such a

premise,

on such

a promise,

on such

a hope

that we

have.

Thank you,

Lord.

We pray in

Jesus' name.

Amen.