I Am the Light of the World

John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  1:00:36
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John 7:45-52-8:12-20 I Am the Light of the World Introduction: Light is of great theological significance in the Bible. Light is unique. It differs from all other realities in that light, and light alone in all creation is self evidencing. While all other things are seen by light, light is known by itself alone. This is one reason light is used as biblical imagery of Yahweh. Light is symbolic of moral purity, justice, and truth, etc. Going back to the beginning it was Yahweh who commanded light to shine out of darkness (Genesis 1:3). Yahweh was seen as the great light of the world, who had no rival, not even the Sun god of the pagans. In the Psalms God is epitomized as the Light of Life. The Psalmist calls the Lord his light and salvation among many other references to the light of his face, etc. Light was also a picture of God’s deliverance and a sign that the Life of the age to come had dawned…“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”-Isaiah 49:6 “On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” -Zechariah 14:6-8 You will also remember that God’s presence is always accompanied by a great light or glory (Shekinah). It was this presence that is actually being celebrated in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Festival of Tabernacles celebrated God’s gracious provision during Israel’s wilderness wanderings - the three most dramatic of which were, the Manna from heaven, the Water from the rock, and the Light of the fiery pillar of cloud -the Shekinah glory of God- his light, his guiding presence. "At the end of the first day in the court of women four golden lamps were lit amid great rejoicing. Singing and celebration with music and dancing continued through the nights of the feast, with the light in the temple illuminating the entire city. As the feast ends the lights are extinguished, Jesus proclaims himself as the true light of the people of God, and not only of Israel, but of the whole world. A claim of cosmic significance.” -Bruce Milne 1. “I Am The Light of the World” - Jesus once again makes one of his exclusive claims. He claims to be The Light of the World. 1. The Jewish Issue. 1. The religious leaders of Israel have just met and they are angry over Jesus. His claims are infuriating, the people are listening to him and being taught by him. The religious elite are rejecting him for their own reasons (which consist of jealousy and pride) but they continually seek some legitimate fault in Jesus. Their fault with him here is that Jesus does not have the pedigree that they have or that they expect from the Messiah. The Jews you’ll remember looked down on Galileans and the Galileans looked down on people from Nazareth. They say here that the scripture doesn’t foretell any prophet arising out of Galilee. Wrong! It appears that they are the one’s who don’t know the scriptures. 1. First, Hosea the Prophet was from Galilee and also Jonah who was proverbial for coming, so it seemed, back from the dead after three days in the belly of the great fish. 2. Secondly, The Scriptures indeed spoke of God’s greatest work being brought out of Galilee of the Gentiles. 1. “In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” - Isaiah 9:1-2 2. And this is part of what Jesus is claiming as he stands in the temple, as the festival lights go out, he proclaims, “I am the Light of the World.” 3. Jesus claim had huge theological significance for the Jews listening. As I said the Jews believed Yahweh alone to be the Light of the World. And as Isaiah had said, Yahweh does not share his glory with any other. The Jews therefore immediately object to Jesus self-claim. 1. “So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 2. Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 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 the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.” 1. It might seem a little confusing in the way that Jesus answer’s their objection. Jesus claims first that he is a sufficient witness to himself. Just as we said in our intro, Jesus, like light, is unique. Light differs from all other realities in that light, and light alone in all creation is self evidencing. While all other things are seen by light, light is known by itself alone. So also with Jesus he is truly only known by himself, (He knows where he comes from and where he is going) and the Father because they are one. 2. Secondly, He is not alone in his witness because “the Father’s Spirit constantly accredits Jesus’ words, and especially Jesus’ self claims, doubling their impact and giving believers their especially assured conviction that Jesus is telling the truth.” - Bruner 3. Jesus is saying that whenever he speaks, the Father’s Spirit speaks “a second word” as well, a seconding witness, so that Jesus’ self-claims are never alone and are never just self claims. 1. The real issue, as Jesus points out yet again, is that the Jews don’t recognize him (their Messiah) because they don’t know the one who sent him, they do not know the Father. 2. The Human Issue 1. I call this the the human issue because Jesus claim reaches to all, for he claims, not to be A light of the world, as in one of many, but The Light of the World, calling all people at all times in every place and culture to question who is this man and what are we going to do about him? 2. These days many seek to claim (even re-writing history) that the enlightenment was the hinge of human history. It was human greatness and human ingenuity that brought us out of the dark ages that the oppressive church had fallen into. But Jesus sees himself as the worlds true Enlightenment! he sees himself as the hinge of human history. - His teaching about God, human life and their interface affirms Jesus massive claim. 3. In his book How Christianity changed the world, Alvin J. Schmidt states, “On the basis of historical evidence, I am fully persuaded that if Jesus Christ had never walked the dusty paths of ancient Palestine, suffered, died and risen from the dead, and never assembled around him a small group of disciples who spread out into the pagan world, the West would not have attained its high level of civilization, giving it the many human benefits it enjoys today. One only needs to look to the sectors of the world where Christianity has had little or no presence to see the remarkable differences. This observation is not just the result of my Christian convictions, but also the opinion of many reputable scholars, some of whom are or were not Christians. For instance, W.E.H. Lecky, although a critic of Christianity, in his voluminous writings frequently credits Christianity for the many civilized values and practices it gave to Western society”. 4. Schmidt’s Chapter titles alone give insight to Christ’s influence on the world: 1. The sanctification of human life. 2. Christianity elevates sexual morality. 3. Women receive freedom and dignity. 4. Charity and Compassion: Their Christian connection. 5. Hospitals and health care: Their Christian roots. 6. Christianity’s imprint on education. 7. Labor and economic freedom dignified. 8. Science: It’s Christian Connections. 9. Liberty and Justice for all. 10. Slavery Abolished: A Christian Achievement. 11. "This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science...he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times." -Philip Schaff 12. See we can’t just ignore Jesus’ claim, we must respond. There is too much weight and evidence to turn a blind eye to especially if we claim to be truth seekers. 3. What does it mean for us personally that Jesus is the Light of the World? Jesus explains this for us in the rest of this statement… 2. “The One Following Me Will Not Walk in Darkness” 1. First this means that everything outside of Jesus, outside of following Jesus, is darkness. 2. Mankind is in complete darkness apart from the light of God. 3. Isaiah 59 speaks of darkness that is upon man - so great that we grope for the wall 4. Darkness here speaks of moral darkness, ignorance to God’s glory and purposes, which also effects all our practical and physical choices… it is because of this darkness that we are estranged from one another, estranged from ourselves, and estranged from the creation 1. In the fourfold gospel account Jesus has, in fact, explained just about everything - from money and ambition through to human relationships to death. The world of human beings rightly longs for the wisdom (light) to know how to live and to die. 5. Jesus is claiming that if we follow him we will not remain unsure of what God would want done on given occasions. 1. First we have so many stories of Jesus in various situations. 2. Secondly, we have the gift of Jesus’ own encourager, the Holy Spirit, to illuminate (nuance) Jesus’ own teaching for particular situations… 3. “No, that Person Will Have the Light of Life.” 1. Jesus here promises to give the wisdom (the light) to this “real life.” 2. The deepest longing of every human being is to live - and to live in the fullest and most authentic way possible. 1. Proof- the amazing things humans do to survive or the ruthlessness they will take towards anything that stands in the way of their ideal of what it means to "truly live.” 3. Sales of all sorts are pitched every day promising human beings real life- from insurance to clothes to cars. 4. Jesus in contrast promises to give his followers the special wisdom (“The Light”) that they need to live the quality “Life.” 5. “Jesus is the true Light of the World, that if you follow all things will be illuminated. It means that the world was made for this light. This is not a foreign light. This is the light of the owner of the world. When this light comes, it not only makes sin plain as foreign and ugly, but it also makes everything good in the world shine with its full and true beauty. This world was made to be illumined by this light. This light of Christ is native to the world. 6. What we have here is the Creator come to earth and his creation is oppressed, weighed down, stumbling around, going in circles. He says in essence, “I’ve come to show you what you were created for, I’ve come to give you a new way to see life, I’ve come to give you purpose, I am the light to show you the way to Real Life… 7. “If you follow Jesus, if you have him as your light He will be the light in which you see mountains and valleys and oceans and rivers and trees and animals and people. Nothing will be the same again when you have him as your light. Everything looks different in the light of Christ. Yes, even suffering and death. Until his light fills the earth as the waters cover the sea—until it banishes sin and sickness and pain and earthquakes to the outer darkness—until then, even now, his light will help you bear the sorrows of darkness. It will be a soft glow to comfort you in your lonely room after the devastating loss. It will be a lamp on your troubled path. It will reveal the wise and loving face of God behind every providence.” - John Piper Conclusion: What an amazing thing to have the light of Life, to truly live the “real Life, we were created for, but there is a catch, and John in his first epistle makes it clear, we can’t just have the light of life….“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:5-10 In order to have this Light of Life we are going to have to come into the light and that means all the evil, the deep perversion, and the darkness that is a part of each individual human is going to be exposed! This is the natural result of light! It exposes the darkness, it shows us what truly is. - how horrifying is that? in order to get this light were gonna have to be real, were gonna have to be transparent, were gonna have to totally exposed. But there is also a promise here and that is if we indeed walk in the light, as he is in the light, we find that, that evil, that sin, that great darkness, that deep perversion that is a part of each and every one of us by nature is cleansed, forgiven, taken away. -“if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us… the Purpose of Christ coming into the world was not to judge mankind but to save, to cleanse them, to forgive them, to bring them into the light of true life. Where the light of God should have exposed us and punished us, in his mercy and grace he paid the penalty for our sin. God himself absorbed the pain of death. "This is a God who becomes human and offers his own lifeblood in order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday he can destroy all evil without destroying us." (Tim Keller) Will we take Jesus offer? Will we have him as our light, or will we remain in darkness?
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