Light of the world

love him or hate him, it's almost impossible to ignore him.

Mr. Trump is so out there in the things he says and the things he does

that he just polarizes people.

It seems like, I don't know whether he means to do it or not,

but he certainly manages to do it.

This week, for instance, he disagreed completely

with the predictions of the American Reserve Bank.

And he said this,

they're making a mistake because I have a gut.

He means a gut feeling.

I have a gut and my gut tells me more sometimes

than anybody else's brain can ever tell me.

That was a pretty big statement.

Put in different words, it goes like this.

What Mr. Trump feels and believes will determine his actions.

Even if that means ignoring the statistics presented by a panel of experts like the Reserve Bank,

he'll bag himself.

Now, most people would express horror at such self-confidence.

They'd see it as reckless, arrogant.

But the uncomfortable truth is that we're actually quite like Mr. Trump

at so many points in our lives.

For example, in relational conflict,

we're so quick to back ourselves.

We're right, others are wrong,

even in spite of the evidence at times.

Why is it like that?

Well, because, I think it's because we're driven by an incredibly powerful,

but hidden desire to be right,

to be in control of any given situation.

Dare I say even,

to be God-like in any situation,

to have the final say.

In the words of John Paul Sartre,

French existential philosopher,

he says,

man is the being

whose project is to be God.

So, it's a proper statement, isn't it?

You might not agree with anything else, he says,

but you could agree with that one.

And we feel the impact of that

every single day.

Again, for example,

we often lament in society

people who reject authority.

Well, I actually think that's not quite right.

It's not that people reject authority,

it's that people actually want to be the authority

speaking into the lives of others

rather than recognize and live under an external authority.

We want to control our own lives.

We want to set our own destiny.

We want to run our own agenda.

We want to answer to no one but ourselves.

And surprise, surprise,

when we answer to ourselves,

we try and convince ourselves that we're right.

And even as the evidence of our internal brokenness

tells us we can't really achieve

the personal sovereignty we long for,

we redouble our efforts to convince ourselves

and convince others that we can.

It's a matter of sovereignty.

Whose sovereignty will be sovereign?

In the same way,

when we look into these passages in John,

we've seen week after week

an increase in pressure.

Jesus is polarizing people.

People loved him or they hated him,

but they couldn't ignore him

because of his radical words,

his radical actions.

And again, it was a battle for sovereignty,

pitting personal feelings,

a desire to be right,

a desire to keep control

on the part of the Jewish religious leaders

against the challenge

of coming under the sovereignty of Jesus.

And the clash,

as we move into verse 12 here,

is a very familiar pattern.

Jesus declares his sovereignty

in the words,

I am light and life.

Now, we've got to remember the context.

Jesus is in Jerusalem

for the Feast of Booths.

That was an important seven days

of thanksgiving for God's blessing,

especially God's blessing

in the wilderness time

after the Exodus.

And that two key pictures

dominated that week-long celebration.

A picture of water,

and Bo took us through that

a couple of weeks ago,

celebrating the fact

that God provided for his people

in the wilderness

life-saving water.

And we saw that Jesus

had already claimed that,

chapter 7, verse 31.

He said,

that which you're celebrating

now in this feast,

that's about me.

I am the thirst-quenching water

that will fill the wells of your soul.

And equally,

through the Feast of the Booths,

there was another ritual,

each evening,

after the sun had set,

four huge lampstands were lit

in the outer courts of the temple,

a place called the Treasury,

which is where Jesus is teaching

in this particular section.

It was called the Treasury

because there was 13

trumpet-shaped money boxes

in that area

where people,

as they were part of the celebration,

would actually put money in

as a gift to God

in thankfulness

for what he has done.

And the light,

these huge lampstands

symbolized

the pillar of cloud and fire

that was a picture

of God's glory,

of God's presence with them

in the period

of the wilderness wanderings.

And therefore,

it became to them

a picture of the guarantee

that in their lostness,

the Lord would lead them through

into the life and the land

that he had promised to give them.

It was presence and deliverance.

And people then,

each evening of this week

of feasting and celebrating,

they would come along,

each also holding burning torches,

and they would dance

into the evening.

They would sing praises.

They'd give money

in thankfulness to the Lord.

And it's said by those

who lived in the time

and recorded it

that such was the light

around the temple

that illuminated

the whole city of Jerusalem.

And we can understand that

because there was no street light.

So once you moved away from that,

you were in pitch darkness,

essentially.

So with that background,

and remember,

Jesus is there.

Those big lampstands

would have been in the background

even as Jesus was teaching.

We can sense something

of the impact

of Jesus' words

when he says,

I am the light

celebrated in the festival.

I am God's presence with you.

I have come into your world

which is darkened by sin

to illuminate it,

to dispel darkness,

to dispel sin,

and transform you

into the bright,

beautiful thing

you were created to be

in relationship with God.

And so,

as we move into this story,

the festival is over

for another year.

The lights have gone out.

Once again,

darkness settles heavily

on Jerusalem.

Jesus says,

I am the light.

currently you're

stumbling around

in the dark,

totally lost,

unable to find

your way home.

I am the light

to light your way.

I am the light

that will be with you

and surround you

as you walk that way.

I will show you

the way home.

I will take you home.

But notice what Jesus

actually says.

He says,

you can have the light.

You can have me,

says Jesus.

It's not just something

you use out there

like a torch

on the end of your arm.

You have me.

You have the light.

I am the light

for life.

Only I can give

light for life.

So,

I think Jesus is saying,

come to me

and my divine light

will stream

into your heart,

into your soul,

dispelling the darkness

of sin

and misery

and transform you

from the inside out.

Enlighten you

from the inside out.

And so,

we see,

I hope you can see,

it's a matter

of sovereignty.

Jesus is saying,

either

back your own sovereignty,

verse 12,

looking for light

and life

as you've been doing

in a renewed

national Israel,

a return

to the great days

of Moses

or in a lifetime

of sincere

religious actions.

He said,

you can

maintain

and follow

your own sovereignty

and says Jesus,

it will end badly.

You'll experience

darkness and death.

Or,

come under

my sovereignty,

says Jesus,

believing it's me

who connects

God's people

into God's presence,

into relationship

with God,

into blessing

and heaven.

If you do that,

says Jesus,

then you will

actually have,

not just experience,

you will have

light and life

forever.

So,

the response

isn't surprising.

Verses 13 to 20.

Essentially,

these guys

are just saying,

why should we

listen

or believe

in you,

Jesus?

Now,

I believe

the response

is full of anger.

They actually

hate the challenge

to their sovereignty.

So,

verse 13,

how are they going

to get out

from under

this direct challenge

as Jesus ramps it up

and leaves them

less and less

wriggle room?

Well,

they do what

they're so good

at doing

and they've done

it before

in earlier chapters.

They plead

a technical,

a legal technicality.

Jesus,

we don't have to

listen to what

you're saying

because,

technically,

your testimony

isn't valid.

You're testifying

about yourself.

You see what

they're doing?

We'll dismiss

everything

on the basis

of a technicality.

What you're saying,

Jesus,

doesn't meet

the legally

accepted

truth standards

of our society,

so we reject it.

When Jesus pushes

back hard again,

verse 14,

he said,

you know,

if you guys

even had the

slightest idea

who I am,

truth would not

even be an issue.

We wouldn't be

having this conversation.

verse 15,

if you only talk

about what's

legally accepted,

it's your words

which have no

legal worth,

says Jesus,

because your words

are coming

out of prejudice.

Your judgments

are being formed

on the basis

of untruth

and your own

feelings.

And he goes on

in verse 15,

16,

17,

18,

and I'm just

going to touch

very,

very briefly on it,

and he's really

saying,

look,

in actual fact,

if you only argue

legal technicalities,

I'm telling you now

that all legal

requirements for truth

have been met.

And it goes

something like this.

I've just said

that I'm light.

By virtue of

that statement,

light doesn't

need to be proved.

It just shines.

You just see it.

it proves itself

by dispelling

darkness.

You understand

the argument?

You don't have to say,

well,

possibly there's

light in this room.

Well,

we know there's

light in this room

because there's

not darkness.

And more than

that,

says Jesus,

I've told you

before that it's

the Father of

himself who

corroborates me

as a witness.

So they

counterattack again.

Tempting to

discredit Jesus

as not being

of suitable

character to

claim any

authority by

reminding Jesus

that in their

eyes he was

illegitimate.

Verse 18,

oh,

verse 19,

they said to

him,

therefore,

where is your

father?

You see what

they're doing?

They're finding

a way to get

out from under

the burden that

Jesus is loading

on them.

So they're

suggesting in

there,

oh,

yes,

let's just

talk about

your father

for a minute

or two,

Jesus.

Actually,

hmm,

you don't even

know who

your father

is,

really,

do you?

Jesus pushed

back again.

Listen,

you guys,

it's you

who are not

of suitable

character to

make judgments

rejecting me.

Why?

because you

guys don't

know me

or the

father.

And so

in verse 20,

we feel

something of

how Jesus

has them

boxed in.

They're

absolutely

robable

with Jesus.

They can

feel that

Jesus is

snatching away

their sovereignty.

And what's

their only

option?

Either to

give up

their sovereignty

or to

do what

they've

done.

To go

back to

the other

option for

protecting

personal

sovereignty,

and that

is getting

rid of

the person

who challenges

it.

And so

in their

hearts,

at least,

they're thinking,

jeepers,

we really do

need to get

in and kill

this bloke.

That's the

only way

we're going

to silence

them and

take the

pressure off,

remove his

challenge.

But then

verse 21,

Jesus continues

to push

them, and

he pushes

them really

hard.

He says

to them

effectively,

reject me

and you

will die

in your

sin.

There's

consequences,

says Jesus,

for continued

unbelief.

I am

God's

king.

I am

God's

savior.

The one

you have

been seeking

all along,

the one

you search

the scriptures

for daily.

Let me

tell you,

says Jesus,

soon I

will return

to heaven

having

completed

my

salvation

mission.

And if

you reject

me,

continuing

to seek

and search

for a

Messiah who

sits

comfortably

with your

expectations

and your

understanding

of what

Messiah would

look like

and what

Messiah would

do,

then I'm

telling you

now,

says Jesus,

you will

die in

your sin.

You'll be

excluded from

heaven.

You won't be

able to go

where I'm

going to

in spite of

a lifetime

of sincere

religious actions.

Verse 22,

what do they do

in response

again?

they mock

Jesus.

Will he

kill

himself?

They defend

their sovereignty

again by

mocking Jesus.

See,

these are

guys who

were the

professors of

Old Testament

Scripture.

They would

have known

the dozens

and dozens

of verses

that described

Messiah as

the suffering

servant who

would die

for the sins

of God's

people.

What do they

do?

They choose

to take

Jesus' words

as a suggestion

of suicide.

Now,

in their eyes,

in the eyes of

the law,

anybody that

committed suicide

would go to

hell because

they were guilty

of the sin

of self-murder.

So,

what they're

doing to

Jesus is

saying,

listen,

Jesus,

you're

talking about

us going

to hell.

Let me

tell you

in response,

you're the

one that's

going to

go to

hell.

It's

amazing

stuff,

I reckon,

if I'm

writing the

way I'm

reading the

text.

And Jesus

pushes back

again,

verses 23

and 24.

He really

is pushing

deep into

them now,

saying,

look,

he's exposing

their lack

of self-awareness.

Verse 23

and 24.

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,

for unless

you believe

that I

am he,

that I

am Messiah,

you will

die in

your sins.

What's

Jesus

saying?

Well,

Jesus

saying,

look at

the divide

that's

opening up

between

us.

I am

from the

realm of

God

himself.

And so

says Jesus

in effect,

he says,

I deal

in truth.

I deal

in concern

for God's

glory and

honor.

I am on

a mission

given me

by the

Father,

the mission

of salvation.

salvation.

But you

guys,

you're

ignorant of

your own

nature,

a nature

that means

you're

hardwired to

move away

from truth,

to reject

God.

You're

committed to

your own

sovereignty.

You're on

a mission

too,

but it's a

self-salvation

mission,

to make

yourself God,

to be your

own life and

light through

your own

resources.

Jesus,

we're

poles apart,

says Jesus.

And if

you're going

to hear me,

you'll need to

be polarized,

because my

message is a

polarizing

message.

But let me

tell you,

says Jesus,

interpreting his

words here,

it's going to

end really

badly if

you continue

to act

unaware of

your earthbound

nature.

It's going to

end really

badly,

because you

will one day

face the full

force of

God's justice

for your

sins,

every one of

them.

You can

check through

the reference

of verse 21.

Sin is

singular,

which means

the sin of

unbelief,

but this

time sin

is plural.

It's

reflecting the

idea of

God's

justice

falling on

people who

are so

culpable,

guilty before

him.

A dreadful

picture.

Their

response

again?

Verse 25.

Who are

you?

Now, I

don't think

that was a

genuine

question of

we need

more information.

It's more

of a

sneering.

You are a

nobody,

and we do

reject you.

It's a good

question.

Who are you?

It's a right

question.

It's the

question that

every single

person needs

to ask of

Jesus.

But these

guys ask it

with a

sarcastic,

unbelieving

attitude,

effectively saying,

who are you

to instruct

us, the

professors of

religion, in

things of

salvation and

heaven and

hell?

Who are you to

suggest that we

are blinded by

prejudice and

hardwired to

reject God and

anything offered

to us by God?

You can hear

them saying,

we're God's

people.

We're steeped in

the traditions of

the Old Testament

scripture.

We've spent our

lives doing

religious things to

honor God and

protect his name.

And nothing you

have said thus

far, Jesus, will

make us change our

view, make us

change our

position.

You are nobody

in our eyes.

And we reject

you and your

stated pathway to

forgiveness and

heaven.

And Jesus comes

back again.

Very generously

comes back.

I will die for

sin as I am

lifted up,

verses 26 through

29.

And again,

it's as if Jesus

is saying to

these guys,

what more can I

say?

I have

consistently,

verse 26,

I have consistently

and repeatedly

told you the

truth my father

sent me to tell

you.

But you have

deliberately chosen

not to understand,

not even to try

and understand.

Why not?

Because you've

not liked what

you've heard.

And you're

backing your

own sovereignty.

Jesus then

goes on to

give them

the final

warning,

but it's also

laced with

hope and

generosity.

Verses 28 and

29.

Jesus said to

them,

they will

eventually be

forced to

see what

they choose

now not to

see.

I will die,

says Jesus,

but not

because I

commit suicide

from a

sense of

defeat and

failure.

Rather,

I will die

because I

will be

lifted up

onto the

cross and

die as a

means of

securing your

forgiveness and

new life with

God.

And again,

Jesus

polarizes.

your glory,

the end

point of

your

determination to

keep your

sovereignty,

to be God,

to set your

own agenda for

acceptance with

God,

your glory will

be the shame

of crucifying

the Lord of

glory.

glory.

Jesus' glory,

by contrast,

would be the

pathway of

suffering,

rejection,

death,

resurrection,

ascension,

to be with

his father

forever.

And his

shame and

death would

be the means

of removing

shame,

darkness,

and death

from his

people.

His

death would

be the

light dispelling

darkness.

It would be

the light of

his life

shining deeply

into our

souls through

his Holy

Spirit.

It's quite

amazing that

in spite of

repeated

unbelief,

repeated

attempts by

these guys

to squirm

away from

what they

genuinely see

to be the

challenge against

their sovereignty

by Jesus,

Jesus keeps

on being

generous to

them.

He keeps

on offering

them hope

in spite of

their unbelief.

And it's as if

he's saying

here,

look,

you can

come to

me for

light and

life now,

or you

can pursue

your own

sovereignty and

self-salvation

and then you'll

find out the

truth about me

down the track

of it,

but it

will be

too late

to benefit

from the

truth.

And the

final word

in this

offensive message

from Jesus,

John tells

us,

it's almost

understated in

the verse

30 here,

many believed,

many believed.

In spite of

persistent unbelief

on the part of

high-profile

individuals,

many find

Jesus so

compelling,

so freeing,

that they

believed,

they gave up

their personal

sovereignty to

experience the

life-changing

light he offers

freely to

anyone who

will come

under his

sovereignty.

So it

says in the

front of

the bulletin,

let's not

hang back,

let's not

hold back

from the

light of

Jesus,

because his

light shows

up our

dirtiness and

brokenness.

Let's not

stay in the

dark, just

sort of nursing

that brokenness

and dirtiness,

sort of

comfortable with

ourselves and

yet miserable

in ourselves.

Let's not

do that,

let's come

to the

light and

have all

that misery

dispelled.

Because apart

from believing

in Jesus,

there is only

darkness.

What is

darkness?

Well,

darkness by

definition is

the absence

of light.

No matter

how real,

how sincere

your religious

actions might

be,

unless you

have light

and Jesus'

light is

total,

then you're

in darkness.

Through

chapter 6

and 7

and now

to chapter

8,

Jesus has

been saying

this over

and over

and over

again.

He said,

I am the

bread of

life.

I am the

thirst quenching

water you

long for.

I am the

light of

life you

in your

lost state

so desperately

need.

I am

everything you

need.

Give up

your sovereignty

and come

under my

sovereignty

to experience

all of that.

Final

sentence,

for those of

us who are

already committed

to living under

the sovereignty

of Jesus,

then each

one of us

needs to be

looking into

our own

hearts and

exposing those

areas where

they will be

there,

where we are

still determined

to maintain

our own

sovereignty

against the

sovereignty of

Jesus.

Those areas

where we keep

them to

ourselves and

we don't

want the

gospel to

shine in

them,

those areas

of darkness

and sin

because we

still like

them,

we still

want to

dabble in

them

rather than

living in

the light

and life

of Jesus.

let me

pray.

Lord,

burn these

strong,

offensive

words deeply

into our

hearts.

We don't

like the

notion of

giving up

sovereignty.

We are

hardwired to

make ourselves

sovereign.

So help us,

Lord, to give

up our

sovereignty,

give up that

which has

failed us

ultimately,

for a

sovereignty

that will

never fail

us but

will feed

us and

quench our

thirst and

give us

light to

find our

way home

to heaven.

Amen.