John 8.12-30
John 8:12-30
I AM the light of the world [draft sermon notes]
#Gospel
#biblicaltheology
#john
Published August 18th, 2021
Look-up
Notes
Look-up
NT
John 8:12-30
esv
I Am the Light of the World 12 l Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, m “I am the light of the world. Whoever n follows me will not o walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, p “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, q my testimony is true, for I know r where I came from and s where I am going, but t you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 u You judge according to the flesh; v I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, w my judgment is true, for x it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father 1 who sent me. 17 y In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and z the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, a “You know neither me nor my Father. b If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in c the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but d no one arrested him, because e his hour had not yet come. 21 So he said to them again, f “I am going away, and g you will seek me, and h you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, i “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’ ?” 23 He said to them, j “You are from below; I am from above. k You are of this world; l I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you m would die in your sins, for n unless you believe that o I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, p “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but q he who sent me is true, and I declare r to the world s what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that t he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have u lifted up the Son of Man, v then you will know that w I am he, and that x I do nothing on my own authority, but y speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And z he who sent me is with me. z He has not left me alone, for a I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, b many believed in him.
John 8:12-30
na28
12 Πάλιν οὖν αὐτοῖς ἐλάλησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγων• ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου• ὁ ἀκολουθῶν ἐμοὶ οὐ μὴ περιπατήσῃ ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ, ἀλλʼ ἕξει τὸ φῶς τῆς ζωῆς. 13 εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι• σὺ περὶ σεαυτοῦ μαρτυρεῖς• ἡ μαρτυρία σου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθής. 14 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς• κἂν ἐγὼ μαρτυρῶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ μαρτυρία μου, ὅτι οἶδα πόθεν ἦλθον καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγω• ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ οἴδατε πόθεν ἔρχομαι ἢ ποῦ ὑπάγω. 15 ὑμεῖς κατὰ τὴν σάρκα κρίνετε, ἐγὼ οὐ κρίνω οὐδένα. 16 καὶ ἐὰν κρίνω δὲ ἐγώ, ἡ κρίσις ἡ ἐμὴ ἀληθινή ἐστιν, ὅτι μόνος οὐκ εἰμί, ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πέμψας με πατήρ. 17 καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ δὲ τῷ ὑμετέρῳ γέγραπται ὅτι δύο ἀνθρώπων ἡ μαρτυρία ἀληθής ἐστιν. 18 ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ ὁ πέμψας με πατήρ. 19 ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ• ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ σου; * ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς• οὔτε ἐμὲ οἴδατε οὔτε τὸν πατέρα μου• εἰ ἐμὲ ᾔδειτε, καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου ἂν ᾔδειτε. 20 Ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ἐλάλησεν ἐν τῷ γαζοφυλακίῳ διδάσκων ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ• καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπίασεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὔπω ἐληλύθει ἡ ὥρα αὐτοῦ. 21 Εἶπεν οὖν πάλιν αὐτοῖς• ἐγὼ ὑπάγω καὶ ζητήσετέ με, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑμῶν ἀποθανεῖσθε• ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν. 22 ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι• μήτι ἀποκτενεῖ ἑαυτόν, ὅτι λέγει• ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν; 23 καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς• ὑμεῖς ἐκ τῶν κάτω ἐστέ, ἐγὼ ἐκ τῶν ἄνω εἰμί• ὑμεῖς ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου ἐστέ, ἐγὼ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου. 24 εἶπον οὖν ὑμῖν ὅτι ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν• ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ πιστεύσητε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν. 25 ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ• σὺ τίς εἶ; εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς• τὴν ἀρχὴν ὅ τι καὶ λαλῶ ὑμῖν; 26 πολλὰ ἔχω περὶ ὑμῶν λαλεῖν καὶ κρίνειν, ἀλλʼ ὁ πέμψας με ἀληθής ἐστιν, κἀγὼ ἃ ἤκουσα παρʼ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα λαλῶ εἰς τὸν κόσμον. 27 οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῖς ἔλεγεν. 28 εἶπεν οὖν [αὐτοῖς] ὁ Ἰησοῦς• ὅταν ὑψώσητε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τότε γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ ἀπʼ ἐμαυτοῦ ποιῶ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ καθὼς ἐδίδαξέν με ὁ πατὴρ ταῦτα λαλῶ. 29 καὶ ὁ πέμψας με μετʼ ἐμοῦ ἐστιν• οὐκ ἀφῆκέν με μόνον, ὅτι ἐγὼ τὰ ἀρεστὰ αὐτῷ ποιῶ πάντοτε. 30 Ταῦτα αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν.
lookup
Notes
I AM the light of the world Intro : Why we're not focusing on 8.1-11, though give a brief comment on textual criticism, and on what we learn from that passage. Recap Tabernacles, what the feast was/is. Significance of the water theme, and Jesus inviting those who 'thirst' to come to him and drink. Recap I AM statements thus far. 'Light' as a theme. how light is self-evident, self-attesting. To deny that a light is a light is to be blind. Spiral of themes; we learn more about 'testimony' today, and end with the note that many 'believed' in him. 1. Jesus' testimony is true, since he came from the Father (v12-20) v12 Are we really in darkness? cf Modernity and its view on the dark ages, technological advance - but no moral advance. This interchange shows that he is the light, but their lack of understanding shows the fundamental darkness. v12 Following Jesus means walking in the 'light of life', i.e., the light that gives life. Light as theme in the Bible storyline - ultimately in the New Creation the Lord himself is the light. v13-14 their darkness, since they do not perceive where Jesus has come from or is going - the Father. v15 i.e., Jesus judges no one according to the 'flesh' - outward, worldly assessments of people's value. v16-18 The Father is a witness to the Son, thus fulfilling the formal requirements of the law. v19 Moral darkness is not to know the Father. But to know Jesus is to know the Father, and therefore to have light. v20 likely right near the Sanhedrink HQ area of the temple. But his 'hour' has not yet come, since it is the Father's timing. Thus far it is very clear that the light is here in the darkness, not being received (1.9-11). Glory of God : He has sent his light into the world. FCF : we are in darkness, and love the darkness more than the light (the 'world'). The root sin of unbelief; in the world we die in our sin, and thus in our 'sins'. H1: Moral ignorance; worldliness. H2: Blind self-righteousness; worldliness. The 'forms' of religion, even Christian religion, cannot change the darkness and unbelief of the human heart. 2. Jesus is in the world to reveal the Father (v21-30) v21 Jesus speaking of his cross. They will seek him - i.e., still keep looking for a Messiah. Their 'sin' (singular) is their unbelief, the root of all other sins. You cannot follow Jesus to the Father if you do not believe in him. v22 misunderstanding, yet ironic. Jesus is not going to kill himself, but he is going willingly to offer himself up to death. v23-24 from below/above; is to be of the world/not of the world. The 'sin' of unbelief (v21) leads to all other sins (v24). Unless you believe that 'I AM'. cf links to Exodus 3.14 and Isaiah 40-55. Unless you believe that the Father is revealing himself in Jesus his Son. v25 this 'I AM' statement is met with misunderstanding (the chain of I AM statements eventually reaches a peak in 8.58, at which point they fully grasp the claim and try to stone him). Jesus' response, 'What I have been saying all along'. v26 Jesus has much to say, and it is all from the Father. v27-28 Misunderstanding about the Father. But the clearest revelation of the Father is the cross. When 'you have lifted up' the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM. And he has acted on the Father's authority and spoken the Father's words. C lear sense of what 'lifting up' is in John. The Cross. v29 the Father with Jesus and pleased with him. v30 many believed in him. Person of Jesus : he is the 'light of the world'. He is the I AM who reveals the Father exactly. He is not of this world. When he is seen as he 'really is', unveiled on the Mount or in the New Creation, he shines in incredible light. Work of Jesus : we know supremely that he is the I AM through his being lifted up on the cross. Thie light of the world died under a terrible a darkness, so that his people might have the light of life. Union with Jesus : we learn to walk in the light through seeing Jesus as the I AM. Invitation . Come and follow Jesus, and have the light (which gives) of life. Confrontation . Stop judging according to the flesh. Stop unbelief. Consolation . Because the Son of Man was lifted up, we have the light of life. We are no longer in darkness. Because you know the Son, you know the Father, and thus you have the light of life. Wrap up : Jesus says I AM the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Jesus' testimony is true, since he came from the Father. And he came into the world to reveal the love of the Father. Are you receiving or rejecting the light today? Can you see, or are you choosing to be blind?
notes
Comments
Disclaimer: The opinions and conclusions expressed on this page are those of the author and may or may not accord with the positions of Biblearc or Bethlehem College & Seminary.