70. The Gospel of John—8:12-24 “The Light of the World” Pt.3 (5/5/19) In our study in John’s gospel we are currently in chapter 8 where we came across one of the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus that John built his gospel around. Every time Jesus called Himself “I AM”, He was declaring that He was the voice from the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14) where God identified Himself to Moses as the great ‘I AM’. And so, as we study John 8, understand that the whole chapter is built around Jesus’ declaration of divinity—which led to a heated confrontation between Himself and His enemies. II. The Heated Confrontation—v.12-59 A. Round One—Light and Darkness (v.12–20) John 8:12 (NKJV) 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." And so, this very heated confrontation started with Jesus declaring Himself to be Yahweh (the great I AM) and Messiah—and ended with His enemies picking up stones to kill Him (v.59). The ‘them’ in verse 12 refers to the scribes and Pharisees (v.3)—the ‘scholars’ of Judaism. When Jesus called Himself “the light of the world”—it would have immediately reminded them that Yahweh was likened to ‘light’ in their Scriptures many times (Psalm 27:1; 84:11). 1 And so, when Jesus proclaimed, “I AM—the light of the world”—He was claiming to be the God of Israel—the radiant Shekinah Glory! It was the Shekinah Glory (presence of God in the form of a pillar of fire by night) that was the light that lit their ancestor’s way thru the darkness of the wilderness for those forty years before entering the Promised Land. When Jesus declared Himself to be the Shekinah Glory in human form—it immediately caused His enemies to ‘bristle’ with condemnation towards Him, causing the Pharisees to fire back— "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true." (v.13) Now this statement was their way of putting Jesus on ‘trial’ for blasphemy (a capital offense punishable by stoning) for claiming to be God in human form. According to the Old Testament Law, every fact in a legal matter had to be established by the testimony of more than one witness. The Pharisees had in mind the law God established in Deuteronomy 19:15, which says “by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter [in a Jewish court of law] shall be established”. Since Jesus was the only one testifying on His behalf—they claimed His testimony was not enough to prove His case and establish His claim of deity. In verse 13 they’re essentially telling Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; [therefore] Your witness is not true." John 8:14 (NKJV) 14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 2 Jesus is telling these wicked men—“I don’t need to prove to you who I am—I know who I am and I know where I came from. I am God incarnate, Second Person of the Trinity. I came from the Father and will be returning back to My Father in heaven when My work on earth (redemption) is finished.” John 8:15-18 (NKJV) 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true [trustworthy]. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." So, Jesus is saying, “Even if I was the only one testifying to My divinity—that wouldn’t mean My testimony is untrue. But my testimony is corroborated by another—the Father who sent Me, He also testifies (“bears witness”) of who I am.” John 5:37 (NKJV) 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me… How did the Father testify on Jesus’ behalf to corroborate Jesus’ testimony of Himself that He was (is) the Son of God and divine? First of all, thru the miracles Jesus did—these, Jesus said, were actually done by the Father (thru the Holy Spirit) to prove the Son’s divinity and establish Jesus’ testimony of Himself. John 14:10-11 (NKJV) 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Acts 2:22 (NKJV) 22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God [the Father] did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know-- Also, the Father testified verbally on His Son’s behalf. 3 Twice from heaven the Father said, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased!”— once when Jesus was baptized by John (the Baptist) and then again while Peter, James and John (the apostle) were up on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord. (Matt.3:17; 17:5) And so, as the testimony of two witnesses was required to validate a judgment—Jesus had those two testimonies: He gave witness and so did His Father. When Jesus told these men in verse 15—"You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one”— what did He mean since, earlier in John 5:22 He said, “the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son?” The Pharisees were the very definition of those who “judged a book by its cover”—in other words they judged according to outward appearance and ‘worldly standards.’ But even more to the point, they often placed their man-made rules and traditions on a higher level than the law of God. This blinded them to God’s truth and caused them to judge Jesus (and others) based on what ‘appeared’ to them to be right. Jesus had earlier rebuked them for this very thing—"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24) However, I think more than anything else, when Jesus said, “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one…”—He was in effect saying that at His first coming, He came to save not to condemn (to judge as guilty in a court of law). John 3:16-17 (NKJV) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world [at His first coming], but that the world through Him might be saved. 4 However, when Jesus comes the second time—He will judge unbelievers for their wickedness before establishing His Kingdom: 2 Timothy 4:1 (NKJV) 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 1 Peter 4:5 (NKJV) 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead and to establish a kingdom that will never end. He will be one of two things to every person who has ever lived—loving Savior or righteous Judge—and what you do with Jesus now will determine what He becomes to you then. John 8:18-19 (NKJV) 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." 19 Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"… Now folks, at a quick glance, you might be prone to think they were asking Jesus an honest question—but you’d be wrong. This wasn’t a sincere question—it was intended to be a stinging accusation! You see, ever since Jesus’ birth, accusations had been flying around that Mary had secretly had an affair on Joseph and that Jesus was a ‘bastard child’. And when He began His public ministry, His enemies (who thoroughly rejected any claim to Him being virgin born)—“resurrected” this accusation and now seek to use it to impugn Jesus’ claims that God is His Father. Now, right here, this confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees becomes very heated. 5 And before it was all over—they would accuse Him of being a child of fornication (illegitimate—v.41), and He would call them children of the devil (v.44). John 8:19 (NKJV) 19 Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." One pastor had this to say— “In referring to Jesus’ parentage, the Pharisees thought they had some special “intelligence” or scandal on Him.