The Light of the World (John 8:1-59)

Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC 

The Light of the World (John 8:1-59)

 

                                            “I am the light of the world.
                                               Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
                                                but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

After God created light, one of the angels asked him, "What are you going to do now?"

 

God said, "I think I'll call it a day."

 

How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?

Just one, but the light has to really want to change.

 

Celebrations during the Feast of Tabernacles included a light ceremony. Four, 75 foot tall pillars, held four large golden bowls atop each pillar. The 16 golden bowls were filled with oil and for wicks they used old priestly linens knotted together. The light from these massive candelabras were said to illuminate all of Jerusalem at night.

 

Light is a powerful symbol in the Bible. At the dawn of creation, God created light. It wasn’t the light of the Sun or stars. It was His divine light that illuminates creation. Divine light represents God’s presence, His righteousness, God’s wisdom and God’s word.

 

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalms 119:105)

 

When the Hebrews escaped slavery in Egypt, God manifested as a pillar of fire, leading them with light in the dark of night.

 

The prophet Zechariah uses the Feast of Tabernacles to illustrate a future when all the nations of the world will be gathered in the worship of the one true God.

 

Just as the festival celebrates the year’s harvest, Jews look forward in hope of the great harvest of all souls. But before the victory of this future, there will be calamity for Jerusalem.

 

The armies of the nations will fight against Jerusalem. The city will be ransacked and plundered, but God will provide a means of escape for His people through the Mount of Olives. The Lord will fight for Jerusalem against the attackers.

 

On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. ⁷ It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light. ⁸ On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. ⁹ The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.

 

¹⁶ Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. (Zch 14:6-9, 16)

 

You can hear both water and light ceremonies mentioned by Zechariah. The book of Revelation uses light to describe the New Jerusalem.

 

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light… (Rev 21:23-24)

 

During the Feast of Tabernacles as the huge candelabras burn with a bright light, Jesus called out to the worshippers gathered at the temple.

 

 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12)

 

What is your guiding light? What helps bring clarity to your life and the decisions you make? We are shaped by many voices. Family shapes our thinking, culture, mass media, newscasters, art and music and publications, all shape our thinking, but the disciple of Jesus must sort through all these voices to hear the voice of Jesus.

 

When Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples on his last night, He told them that He would send another like Him, an Advocate, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would remind the Church of everything that Jesus had taught. (Jn 14:26)

 

 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13)

 

What the Spirit hears is the voice of Jesus, and what Jesus speaks is the truth of the Father, creator of all. Jesus would later say in John 12,

 

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (John 12:46)

 

Darkness in John’s gospel represents evil, spiritual blindness, and confusion. There is a lot of confusion among the Pharisees. They can’t figure out who Jesus is, even though he plainly tells them. Some think he misleads the people. Some think he’s a big fake, tooting his own horn.

 

After Jesus said that he was the light of the world, his opponents started in, “There you go again! You testify about yourself, so why should we believe you?”

 

Jesus told them that His Father testifies on his behalf. The Law of Moses accepts two witnesses as truth. God and Jesus are the two witnesses. And of course, there’s the miracles that Jesus performs that point to His identity.

 

Jesus understands these men judge by outward appearances. Jesus has no formal training. Jesus is a poor man from Galilee. He hangs out with tax collectors and sinners. How could Jesus be from God?

 

They ask, “Who is your father?” Jesus tells them, “I come from above. I am not of this world.”

 

They ask, “Who are you?” Jesus tells them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he.” The Son of Man is a title for the Messiah. Jesus is talking about his death on the cross and his resurrection to follow. It is by his sacrifice, the suffering servant of Israel, and his resurrection, that the world will know that Jesus is the Christ.

 

Some of the crowd believed in Jesus. He encouraged them to keep to His teachings. If we obey Jesus, then we truly are His disciples and by obedience we are set free.

This statement caused more controversy. They were insulted. “We are Abraham’s descendants. We have never been anyone’s slave.” Jesus was talking about slavery to the power of sin. We were made in God’s good image, but we are fallen from our divine potential because of sin at work in us. We naturally resist being told who we are, what to do, or how to behave. Like Adam and Eve, we think being gods unto ourselves is the best way to be.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him (Jesus Christ) the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

We all commit sin and fall short of the glory of God. The payment for sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. (Rom 6:23)

Early in the morning, before Jesus announced Himself to be the light of the world, the Pharisees brought a woman who’d been caught in the act of adultery.

They bring her to Jesus as a trap. They hope to discredit Jesus before the crowd. “In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death such women. What then do you say?” (John 8:5)

If Jesus answered that they should not stone her, they would call Jesus a false prophet who leads the people to disobey Moses. If Jesus agreed that she should be executed as the law states, they would point out that he is duplicitous, teaching mercy and forgiving sins, but now changing his mind and pursuing the sentence of death for her sin.

What’s really interesting is that the Pharisees don’t bring along the man. Who was he? The law states that both should be stoned to death for the act of adultery.

“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10)

Was the man a friend known to the Pharisees? Was he a Pharisee himself? It wouldn’t be the first time a religious leader got caught in an adulterous affair. Why didn’t they bring the man to Jesus and judgement?

The simple fact of the matter is that they weren’t interested in justice. They were interested in discrediting Jesus.

As they awaited Jesus’ response, he bent down and wrote on the ground. What he wrote is up for debate. John doesn’t tell us. It’s left to our imagination. John Calvin thought Jesus was just ignoring them. They didn’t deserve his time. St Augustine thought that he was writing out the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God onto two stone tablets. (Ex 31:8) Here is God in the flesh writing on the ground from which we came. Perhaps the symbolism wasn’t lost on the Pharisees. They understood that we all break the law.

That’s why there’s a sacrificial system to atone for sin. Still others think that Jesus was writing the names of each the accusers, along with a sin they had committed. Only God would know their sins, and here is God in Jesus listing them for all to see.

Jesus stood and said, “Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

One by one they dropped their stones and walked away.

He asked the woman, “Where are your accusers?” She said there was no one left to condemn her. Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go and sin no more.”

Jesus came into this world as a light, a guide to the human heart. He is guiding us still, through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. And here is the truth.

 

Jesus came to save sinners. He came to cure our sin-sick souls.

 

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

 

Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world. He came to save it. We are saved by believing in Jesus and following His teachings.

Love one another. Do good for one another. Bear one another’s burdens. Be patient with one another. Encourage one another. Love fulfills all the law. Love restores us to God’s image, for God is love.

 

 

James the brother of Jesus wrote, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13) That is the power of the gospel. God showed us mercy through the cross of Jesus. And we are drawn to His cross in gratitude.

 

 

He was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

 

 

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. (Isa 60:1)

Therefore, let us come to the light of the world, Jesus Christ.

Come for mercy. Come for guidance, Come for love. Come for Life.