In Preparation for Our Sermon This Coming Lord S Day September 22Nd, 2013 s1

Sunday, May 11, 2014 – New Heights Christian Church, Kent, WA – Dr. Daniel Folden Jesus, the lead defender of the Christian faith: The power of testimony in defending the claim that Jesus is God John 8:12-30 John 8:12 (NIV84) 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ------If you make a claim you best be prepared to back it up. We learned that as kids on the playground and faced its reality over and over again throughout life. “Put up or shut up.” “Put your money where you mouth is, buddy.” Whether we hear it as a taunt or a friendly challenge, we know that if we make a claim, we can be quite confident that if it’s a false claim, someone will let us know. If ever there were someone who made a startling claim that would bring out our innate desire to challenge Him to back it up, it would be Jesus. Anyone making the claim of being God had better deliver the evidence. We got a taste of the willingness of God to back up His claims in our worship text from Isaiah 43:8-13. David McKenna says this about our worship text: “An edge of sarcasm is evident in the courtroom when God calls blind and deaf people to see and hear the case of the false gods versus Yahweh. The implication is that even those who cannot see or hear know that the argument for false gods is pointless. Issuing again the invitation to rebuttal, God asks for any witness among the assembled nations who can testify to the fact that the idols made by human hands can predict the future. “When no witness comes forward, God calls His new witness to the stand—none other than Israel itself. As the servant nation created and formed by God, Israel will witness to the fact that it knows, believes, and understands that” God and God alone, “can deliver them from exile and save them from their sins (v. 11).”1 Thus, Israel, having experienced the fulfillment of God’s promises, not only has confidence that God does what He says He will do, it serves as witnesses to the nations of this reality. Isaiah 43:12 (NIV84) “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.” This goes to the heart of our question for today in the larger context of our apologetic sermons where we are watching Jesus lead out in His own defense of His claim to be God. Now for the third time we are asking: how did Jesus use the power of testimony to help people believe that He was exactly who He said He was, the One who alone can save us from our sins? The first time we asked this question back in November, looking at John 5:16-30, Jesus testified about the kind and quality of relationship He had with His Father, thus demonstrating that since He was an obedient Son of His Father, He was also of the same nature as His Father, meaning He, too, was God. You may recall one of the arguments that was made in that sermon: Jesus’ self-defense argument that He is equal with His Father without displacing His Father is that the two of them are partners in the same business. They think alike. They act alike. Either could do the other’s job without any loss in any manner. Thus, Jesus can rightfully claim that He is equal with His Father who is the Lord God Almighty. The second time we asked this question in late January, looking at John 5:31-47, Jesus called four witnesses to testify on His behalf. The witnesses He called on represented existing

1 David McKenna and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Isaiah 40–66, vol. 18, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1994), 70–71.

1 relationships of trust among the people He was making His appeal. His audience had an existing trust in John the Baptist. They had personally been witnesses of His miraculous works. They claimed to have a relationship with God. And, they knew much of the Old Testament Scriptures. These four witnesses, then, are called to build the confidence of His hearers that they can trust Him; they can believe that He is who He says He is. Today, we jump forward in the Gospel of John three chapters from our prior study in John chapter 5. We are asking for the third time the same question: how did Jesus use the power of testimony to help people believe that He was exactly who He said He was, the One who alone can save us from our sins? Our text comes from John 8:12-30. But, before we go to that text, I would like to provide some background that will likely assist us in hearing well what John says in his eighth chapter. First from Numbers 21:4–9 (NIV84) Quite soon after God brought Israel out of Egypt, we read: 4 They (Israel) traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” 6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. John gives commentary on this passage in his third chapter in the familiar story of Jesus meeting with Nicodemus at night. John 3:3-5, 9-15 (NIV84) 3 In reply (to Nicodemus) Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. … 9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. So John connects Jesus to the act of Moses lifting up the snake in the desert to heal people who had been bit by a poisonous snake and who looked to it in faith. Faith in Jesus being lifted up is the act of believing the testimony God is giving us regarding His Son. The substance in which we are to believe is that Jesus is equivalent to the bronze snake that Moses made in obedience to God’s command so that the disobedient Jews who were being disciplined by the biting snakes could be saved by looking to the bronze snake on a pole that Moses lifted up for the people to see.

2 The Jewish people and Moses were in a sinful condition. They were whining and complaining. They were sinning. God disciplined them by sending venomous snakes to bite them and even kill them. That was the consequence of sin. But, in love, God provided a means of escaping those consequences. God instructed Moses to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole and lift it up. The people were told that if they looked to the bronze snake on the pole, they would be healed of their sickness from the snake bites. Those who did not look to the pole, died. Those who did look at the snake on the pole, lived. In like manner, Jesus takes our sin by dying on the cross so that we might live, that we might have eternal life. John equates the faith of looking to the bronze snake for healing to the faith of looking to Jesus for eternal life. In both events, there is a “lifting up” of an object to be looked to by faith. Log that in your memory. The other background I want you to have for the point or points I will be making from our text is the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was celebrated in the fall season of the year as a thanksgiving celebration for the way God had provided food and safety over the course of the year. It originated as a grateful remembrance of God’s provision of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and of manna, quail and water for physical sustenance. The significance of the Tabernacle was in how God made His presence known to these Hebrews while they were living in the desert. God gave these desert-wanderers a visible sign of His presence. Exodus 40:33-38 (NIV84) gives us the background for understanding what Jesus did on the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles. 33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels. God provided a visible cloud for these people of His presence among them. If they follow the cloud, they are following God. Whenever the cloud moved, they moved. God displayed His glory to the people through the cloud. God’s glory was specifically displayed by the fire within the cloud. As the world grew darker at the setting of the sun, the brilliance of the fire in the cloud grew brighter. The Israelites never needed to walk in the darkness because God was present with them in the light of the fire in the cloud. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels. That cloudy pillar that led these people, provided shelter from the scorching sun by day and an overwhelming sense of safety and security at night through the fire within the cloud. In Jesus’ day, two daily ceremonies took place during the seven day Feast of Tabernacles. Those two special ceremonies focused on God’s provision of water and God’s provision of light. They became known as the water ceremony or the water-drawing ceremony and the lighting ceremony or the illumination ceremony. 2

2 Brickner, D. (2006). Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles (77). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

3 The water ceremony occurred every morning of the seven-day festival. On the seventh day, instead of one pitcher of water being drawn from the Pool of Siloam, seven were drawn and poured on the Temple altar. Not surprisingly, the lighting ceremony was celebrated in the evening. The context of John 8 is not only the Feast of Tabernacles, but specifically the last and greatest day of this feast. On the morning of this last day during the water ceremony, Jesus declares Himself to be the living water. Then, in the evening of that last day during the lighting ceremony, Jesus declared Himself to be the light of the world. Our text from John 8, beginning with verse 12, takes place at the Temple in Jerusalem on the evening of the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The worshipers gathered in the Women’s Court. They were awaiting the lighting of the golden lamps, commemorating the pillar of fire in the cloud that led their ancestors at night while traveling in the desert. It’s at this point we read in John 8:12 (NIV84) 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This is a profoundly powerful and seemingly arrogant statement. I mean, who would dare make this statement? How is it at all possible that even Jesus could say this and still claim to be a humble man? And, how will He back up His claim? To say, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” is to make a claim of exclusivity that exceeds the boasts of thousands and thousands of arrogant men. For us to let this statement by Jesus stand is to agree in major measure that Jesus was full of Himself. Who else but Jesus could make the claim of being The Light of the World and not be considered exceedingly arrogant and delusional? Under what circumstance can we add the personality characteristics of “humble,” “gentle” and “servant” to a person who boldly and publicly proclaims Himself to be the light of the world? Is there but one circumstance for which we would not dismiss Jesus as an idle babbler and an arrogant fool? The one exception is that He must actually be who He claims to be: God, living among men in human flesh. That is the conclusion we have come to here at New Heights. Because Jesus is the Son of God, there is nothing delusional about His claim to be the light of the world. He is not arrogant, but a servant on a mission of proportions our human minds cannot comprehend. Would we think a police officer who answers a call for help is arrogant when he shows up at the scene of a crime asking us for our testimony regarding the crime committed against us? Would we think a doctor who answers a call, “Is their a doctor in the house?” to be arrogant for identifying himself as a doctor? That is precisely why we don’t consider Christ’s claims about Himself to be either arrogant or delusional. He is who He claims to be. Now notice what Jesus asserts. He is the source of light for the world. He is the only source of light. And, He is the source of light for all people. He asserts that those who follow Him will be delivered from the darkness of sin and will have life from that light that is implanted within them. Certainly, this announcement by Jesus was heard as a bold identification with the pillar of fire that led the children of Israel through the desert. Certainly, the people heard Jesus claiming to be God. So, it is not surprising at all that those words of Jesus “sounded like an outrageous claim to the ears of the Pharisees.” 3 Jesus was not claiming to have made an outstanding discovery that would

3 Borchert, G. L. (2001, c1996). Vol. 25A: John 1-11 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (295). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

4 be helpful for the people. He was declaring Himself to be the discovery. “I am the Light of the World!” 13 The Pharisees challenged Him, “Here You are, appearing as Your own witness; Your testimony is not valid (true).” Did Jesus let their accusation stand unrefuted? No, He didn’t. And, He doesn’t just tell us why His testimony is true. He tells us why the challenge by the Pharisees is groundless. 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid (true), for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards (according to the flesh); I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, My decisions are right (true), because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me. 17 In your own law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid (true). 18 I am one who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me.” But these Pharisees weren’t interested in finding answers to their questions. If the Pharisees were seriously inquiring about the truthfulness of Jesus’ testimony, they would have been allowing all that they had seen to speak for itself. Their problem was thinking according to the flesh, not according to the truth or according to the very law they boasted of knowing so well. And the Pharisees think they have more ammunition. 19 Then they asked Him, “Where is Your Father?” “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized Him, because His time had not yet come. As Jesus shines the light on the Pharisees, what He exposes in response to their question is their total lack of knowledge of God the Father. Jesus reveals that these Pharisees had no relationship with the Father. They didn’t know Him. 21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” 22 This made the Jews ask, “Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?” 23 But He continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” Here, Jesus shines His light on them in a more targeted manner. “You are from below; . . . You are of this world; . . . 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.” Wake up, Pharisees. Your eternal destiny is on the line here. This is not a game of one- upmanship. If you don’t believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, you will indeed die in your sins. Then they ask their fourth question. But, by the way Jesus responds, we can tell that it was an insincere question. They knew the answer before they asked. 25 “Who are You?” they asked. “Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But He who sent Me is reliable, and what I have heard from Him I tell the world.” 27 They did not understand that He was telling them about His Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do

5 nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me. 29 The one who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” 30 Even as He spoke, many put their faith in Him. In John 2 in the confrontation Jesus had with the Jewish leaders at the temple, in delivering a command to them to destroy this temple, it was almost like a challenge. John 2:18–19 (NIV84) 18 Then the Jews demanded of Him, “What miraculous sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” At the time they didn’t understand that Jesus was speaking of His own body. But, it’s plain that Jesus knew He was speaking to the very people who would destroy the temple that Jesus was referring to. He knew they would be crucifying Him on a cross. And now at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus speaks of the inevitable. When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be. When Jesus said that He had much to say in judgment of them, as hard as it may seem, Jesus was holding back most of His indictments of them. He was exercising great restraint, even though what we read is both sobering and uncomplimentary. Yet, we see an offer mercy and grace being made to these fleshly, worldly, ignorant sinners when He says, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be.” And this segment ends with John saying that these words of Jesus came to pass. Even as He spoke, many put their faith in Him. Here’s my point to this entire sermon and it answers the question, what is the connection between the lighting ceremony and the bronze serpent? Or, what’s the connection between Jesus’ opening statement in verse 12, 12 …, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” and His closing statement in verse 28, 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me? What Jesus does on the cross is His defining testimony that He is indeed the light of the world, the light of life. For anyone who believed that God had assigned Moses to provide a bronze serpent to the rebellious Jews for their healing, would now see with understanding that Jesus being lifted up on the cross provided an even more powerful healing, the healing of the soul, the healing of salvation. Jesus, the pillar of fire by night, the light in the darkness, is confirmed in this identity when He is lifted up in the likeness of Moses as he lifted up the bronze serpent. Then many put their faith in Jesus. Jesus made the most outstanding claims to be the light of the world and the light of life and He backed up those claims when He was lifted up on the cross at Calvary. Let us, therefore, trust Him by following Him wherever leads us. Amen.