John 8:12-30:

I AM the Light of the World--Part I

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

November 8, 2009

 

I.  Introduction

A.  Please turn to John 8:12. 

While you are turning....

Edward. H. Johnson, an associate of Mr. Thomas Edison, is credited with the invention of the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree.  While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him.  He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City.  Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt.  However, it was published by a reporter named Croffut at the Detroit post and Tribune, and Johnson has ever since been known as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights.  Here’s Croffut’s Observation.

 

"Last evening I walked over beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residence of Edward H. Johnson, vice-president of Edison’s electric company.  There, at the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect.  It was brilliantly lighted with many colored globes about as large as an English walnut and was turning some six times a minute on a little pine box.  There were eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs, and about equally divided between white, red, and blue.  As the tree turned, the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution.  The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue--all evening."

 

In 1895, US president, Grover Cleveland sponsored the first electrically lit Christmas tree at the White House.  It was a huge specimen, featuring more than a hundred multicolored lights.[1]

 

It is hard to imagine a world without Christmas tree lights.  Yet, infinitely more important is another Light--the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

II.  Exposition

A.  Background

1.  We are still in Jesus' public ministry (John 2:1-12:36a).

2.  We are in Judea and Sukkoth or the Feast of Tabernacles has ended.

3.  The Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah is near.

4.  Jesus has ruled concerning the adulterous woman and is continuing to teach in the temple.

B.  Exposition: The sixth discourse: I AM (John 8:12-59)--Part I: I AM the Light of the world (John 8:12-30).

1.  Light and darkness (John 8:12)

¹² Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life" (John 8:12).

 

a.  "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world.'"

1)   Jesus began this discourse by making His second great I AM statement. 

a)  First, His revealed Himself as the Bread of Life. 

b)  Now, He is the Light of the world.[2] 

2)  Background

a)  During the Feast of Booths, a huge menorah was set up in the court of the women where Jesus was teaching (John 8:20) to commemorate the pillar of fire that led Israel in the wilderness by night.  Along with its brilliant light there was dancing by torchlight.[3] 

b)  In addition, the Feast of Hanukkah was coming that also emphasized light. 

c)  Since the incident with the adulterous woman happened early in the morning, Jesus could also have been referring to the rising sun.[4]

b.  "He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

1)  In contrast to those lights, which would always be extinguished after seven or eight days, Jesus taught that His followers would not be in darkness, but would have the Light of life. 

a)  The Gk. word translated "follows" (akoloutheō) means "to follow as a disciple."[5] 

b)  The Gk. words translated "not" are a double negative better translated "never" (HCSB, NET, NIV). 

c)  The Gk. word translated "life" (zōē) refers to "transcendent life" or "supernatural life" not bios, which means "earthly life in its daily functions" or "life and activity associated w[ith] it."[6] 

d)  The transcendent spiritual life that Christa alone gives enlightens His followers.

2)  Wiersbe calls this a chapter of "contrasts and conflicts."[7]  The contrasting themes of light and darkness are prominent in Scripture, in the thinking of Jesus Christ, and in John's thought.

a)  God is called Light.

i)  "The LORD is my light and my salvation" (Ps 27:1). 

ii)  Isaiah predicts that Israel "will have the LORD for an everlasting light" (Isa 60:19). 

iii)  In the Talmud, rabbis, the Torah, and the temple are all called "lights."[8] 

iv)  However, only God is called "the light."[9] 

b)  Isaiah prophesied concerning Jesus and the Galilee, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them" (Isa 9:2).  This corresponds well with the Galilee comments in John 7:41, 52. 

c)  The LORD told His Suffering Servant, the Messiah, "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations" (Isa 42:6). 

d)  The parallels with the prologue are also striking, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it....  There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man" (John 1:4-5, 9). 

e)  Robertson commented that "it will not do to praise Jesus and deny his deity.  Only as the Son of God can we justify and accept this language which otherwise is mere conceit and froth."[10]

2.  The testimony of two witnesses (John 8:13-20)

¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true."  ¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify 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 am not judging anyone.  ¹⁶ But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.  ¹⁷ Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.  ¹⁸ I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."  ¹⁹ So they were saying to Him, "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; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come (John 8:13-20).

 

a.  "So the Pharisees said to Him, 'You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.'"

1)  Jesus' claim to be the Light of the world, which would include both Jews and Gentiles, excited the opposition of the Pharisees.[11] 

2)  This provoked a response from Pharisaical hecklers that Jesus' testimony was not valid since He was bearing testimony to Himself. 

a)  The rabbis taught that "no man can give witness for himself."[12] 

b)  This is nothing new; Jesus has already answered this objection a year ago (John 5:31-47).

3)  Witness

a)  The references to witnesses and testimony fit well with John 8:1-11. 

b)  They also echo the prologue (John 1:6-8). 

c)  Witness is a prominent theme in John's gospel (John 1:19-36; 3:11, 26-36; 4:39-42; 5:31-47). 

d)  John wants us to believe because of the reliable testimony of witnesses.

b.  "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Even if I testify 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.'"

1)  Jesus replied that, even if He were to testify to Himself, His testimony would be true because He knew His own origin and destination. 

a)  Wuest translated "I know" as "I know with an absolute knowledge" (NTET). 

b)  It has been said "that one might as well say to the sun, if claiming to be the sun, that it was night, because it bore witness of itself.  The answer is the shining of the sun."[13] 

2)  However, Jesus noted that His detractors knew neither His origin nor His destination. 

a)  They did not know about His birth in Bethlehem.

b)  Nor did they know that He came from heaven and would return there.

c.  "You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone."

1)  Jesus' opponents always judge according external physical realities. 

a)  Wuest translated the present tense verb with "you are in the habit of judging" (NTET). 

b)  Other translations are, "You people judge by outward appearances" (NET), or "by human standards" (CJB, HCSB, NJB, NLT, NRSV). 

c)  This correlates well with Jesus' saying, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

2)  Jesus was not engaged in judging people. 

a)  Jesus said, "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:17-18). 

b)  The references to judgment are fitting in light of the story of the adulterous woman in John 8:1-11. 

c)  At this time, Jesus' mission is salvation; He will come later as Judge.

d.  "But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me."

1)  However, even if Jesus were to judge, it would have been a true judgment because He would get it from God the Father. 

2)  This has been translated, "But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate, because I am not alone when I judge, but I and the Father who sent me do so together" (NET).

e.  "Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true."

1)  The Law holds that a minimum of two witnesses is required for a testimony to be considered valid. 

a)  The Gk. word translated "even" would be better translated as "also" (NKJV). 

b)  The phrase "your Law" is ironic.[14] 

2)  The principle is that "on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness" (Deut 17:6). 

3)  This did not only apply to the death penalty, "A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed" (Deut 19:15).

f.  "I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."

1)  Jesus asserted that He testified to Himself and the Father also testified to Him.  Thus, Jesus had two witnesses. 

2)  This has been translated, "I am the One who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me" (HCSB).

g.  "So they were saying to Him, 'Where is Your Father?'  Jesus answered, 'You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.'"

1)  Jesus' Pharisaical opponents asked where His father is. 

a)  Possibly, they misunderstood and thought that Jesus was referring to Joseph and, since Joseph had died by then, hoped to put Jesus on the horns of a dilemma.[15] 

b)  It is also possible that there is an echo here of the scandal of the virgin birth.  It is as if the Pharisees were saying, "We know who our father is.  Who is yours, you illegitimate son?".[16] 

c)  This has been translated, "They said to him, 'Where is this "father" of yours?'" (CJB). 

2)  Jesus replied that His opponents did not know His Father, i.e., God. 

a)  Jesus added that, had they really known Him, they would have known His Father also. 

b)  This has been translated, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is.  If you knew me, you would also know my Father" (NLT). 

c)  When, at the Last Supper, Phillip asked to see the Father, Jesus replied, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '?" (John 14:9). 

d)  To know Jesus Christ is to know God the Father.

h.  "These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come."

1)  John explained that Jesus was speaking in the temple treasury.  This was near the court of women, the location of the lighting ceremony.[17] 

2)  John pointed out that, in spite of the authorities' desire to arrest Jesus, they were unsuccessful because it was not yet the time for Jesus to die.  Jesus was on a divine timetable.

3.  I AM (John 8:21-30)!

²¹ Then He said again to them, "I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come."  ²² So the Jews were saying, "Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come '?"  ²³ And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.  ²⁴ Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  ²⁵ So they were saying to Him, "Who are You?"  Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?  ²⁶ I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world."  ²⁷ They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.  ²⁸ So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.  ²⁹ And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him."  ³⁰ As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him (John 8:21-30).

 

a.  "Then He said again to them, 'I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.'"

1)  Jesus reiterated His claim that He was going away to a place that they could not come and added that they would die in their sin (cp. John 7:34). 

2)  This has been translated, "you will die because of your sin" (GW).[18] 

3)  This too late searching for the Messiah is still the tragedy of Judaism today.

b.  "So the Jews were saying, 'Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, "Where I am going, you cannot come"?'"

1)  The Jewish authorities did not understand and began to speculate that Jesus could have meant that He was going to commit suicide. 

a)  The Gk. word that introduces the question "invites a negative response to the question that it introduces."[19] 

b)  This is the reason for the translation, "Surely He will not kill Himself, will He" (NASB), or, "He won't kill Himself, will He" (HCSB). 

c)  Jews condemned suicide. 

d)  Josephus wrote, "Now, self-murder is ... an instance of impiety against God our Creator....  the souls of those whose hands have acted madly against themselves, are received by the darkest place in Hades."[20] 

e)  Perhaps, some of them wished that Jesus would commit suicide since they wanted to kill Him (see John 8:40). 

2)  Ironically, although Jesus did not commit suicide, He did lay down His life as a sacrifice for us.[21]

c.  "And He was saying to them, 'You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.'"

1)  Jesus explained that His origin was heavenly, but their origin was earthly. 

a)  Jesus claimed to not belong to this world.  

b)  Jesus has said before, "He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all" (John 3:31). 

2)  The reason for their different destinies was their different origins.[22]

d.  "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

1)  Jesus boldly claimed that, unless His opponents were to believe "I AM," they would die in their sins. 

a)  This refers back to John 8:21. 

b)  The Gk. has only "I AM"; there is no "He." 

c)  The best translation is, "For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins" (NAB). 

d)  In Exodus, we find, "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you"'" (Exod 3:14).[23] 

2)  Jesus is claiming to be God.

e.  "So they were saying to Him, 'Who are You?'  Jesus said to them, 'What have I been saying to you from the beginning?'"

1)  Jesus' opponents then ask Him who He was. 

2)  Jesus retorted that He was precisely who He said that He was from the beginning. 

a)  The word "beginning" was an echo of both the first words of Genesis ("In the beginning God" [Gen 1:1]) and John's prologue ("In the beginning was the Word" [John 1:1]). 

b)  The Gk. could be a statement, a question, or an exclamation.[24] 

c)  This has been translated, "Just what I have been claiming all along" (NIV). 

d)  One translation has, "Jesus said to them, 'Why do I speak to you at all?'" (NRSV).

f.  "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world."

1)  Jesus again explains that He speaks only as the Father directs. 

2)  This has been translated, "I have a lot I could say about you and a lot I could condemn you for.  But the one who sent me is true.  So I tell the world exactly what he has told me" (GW). 

3)  Jesus could say more, but He limited Himself to what the Father directed Him to say.

g.  "They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father"--Again the Jewish authorities did not understand.

h.  "So Jesus said, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.'"

1)  Jesus said that His crucifixion and exultation would validate both His identity and the message that He had from the Father. 

2)  For John, the lifting up of Jesus means His death, resurrection, and ascension.[25] 

3)  The Gk. has only "I AM"; there is no "He." 

a)  The best translation is, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM" (NAB). 

b)  Isa 43:10 LXX has almost exactly the same words. 

c)  Robertson observed, "Jesus seems to claim absolute divine being."[26] 

d)  God was dying on a cross for us.

i.  "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him"--Jesus claimed to enjoy God the Father's supportive presence and to live in total obedience to Him.

j.  "As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him."

1)  Grammatically, the Gk. word translated "came to believe" means "started believing."[27]

2)  Many responded to His message and placed their faith in Him. 

II.  Applications

A.  What this says about Jesus Christ ...

1.  Jesus is God; therefore, to know Jesus Christ is to know God the Father.

2.  Jesus could have said more, but He limited Himself to what the Father directed Him to say.

3.  Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice to save us; God died on a cross for us.

4.  Jesus' present mission is salvation, but He will come later as Judge.

B.  What this says to us ...

1.  John wants us to believe because of the reliable testimony of witnesses.  Let us trust Him.

2.  The transcendent spiritual life that Christ alone gives enlightens His followers.  Let us follow Him.