your Bibles, please would you join me in John chapter 8. John chapter 8, we're making our way through the gospel of John. So how can you determine the character of a person? We all evaluate people all the time by their words, by their actions, by their responses, by their attitudes. One of the clearest ways that a person reveals who they are is in conflict. When they are engaged in a verbal dispute with someone else, usually most people are at their worst. They say things in the heat of the moment, out of pride and anger and defensiveness and contempt. This morning we are going to look at Jesus in conflict. In fact, we will be for a few weeks because most of John chapter 8 records Jesus in conflict with the religious leaders of his day. In John chapter 5, for the first time we read that the religious leaders in Jerusalem were seeking to kill Jesus because he healed a man on the Sabbath. And then in chapter 7, Jesus returns to Jerusalem to the Feast of Tabernacles, and there are no less than six references in that chapter to the authorities wanting either to arrest him or kill him. And then in chapter 8, the hostility has grown even more intense. Most of this chapter, apart from the first paragraph and the first statement in verse 12, From verses 13 through 59, it's really a debate or an argument. Sometimes it's called the light of the world discourse because of what he says in verse 12. But it's really not just one person speaking. It's a back and forth between Jesus and the religious leaders. And the longer the conversation goes, the more intense it becomes. The Feast of Tabernacles is over. The crowds have left Jerusalem. But Jesus and his disciples remain in Jerusalem. And so Jesus goes to the temple to teach the people. And the Pharisees are there to do everything they can to discredit and destroy him. And in this passage, we're going to see that Jesus reveals his identity and defends his identity. In his interaction with his adversaries, he will demonstrate that he's a man of courage, patience, and grace. But more importantly, Jesus will also reveal that he is the son of God who is worthy of our trust. Let me ask you this morning, do you know who Jesus is? This week I did something I rarely do, and that is I typed a question into Google. This is how everyone discovers the answers to their great questions in the world today. And I typed in the question, who is Jesus? And of course there were many divergent answers. I was interested to see that most of the Christian responses cited verses from the gospel of John, the gospel we are studying in this time period. And that is because there's no better place to turn to find out who Jesus is than the book that we're looking at today. And this is certainly true of John chapter eight. I want us this morning to see that Jesus reveals and defends his divine identity. And the first point I want you to see is that Jesus is the light of the world. Look with me at verse 12. Jesus, again Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. This is a precious verse that I know many of you here have memorized. This is the second of seven metaphoric I am statements in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is famous for this. The first one is found in John chapter 6 in verse 35, where Jesus says, I am the bread of life. And now here in John chapter 8 in verse 12, he says, I am the light of the world. There's a great deal of theology that's packed in that little declaration. Let me mention three things that it reveals. First of all, Jesus is making a claim to deity. There are many people who like to argue that Jesus never claimed to be God. But just imagine someone saying, I am the light of the world. What would you take for that person? You would take that they are either crazy, delusional, Or they're making a claim that indeed they are God. In the Old Testament, there are many references to Yahweh as light. Let me mention just a couple. Psalm 27 and verse 1, Oh the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? Psalm 36 and verse 9, For with you is a fountain of life, in your light do we see light. Jesus is using the language of I am, which should alert the reader to go back to Exodus chapter 3, where God reveals himself to Moses as the great I am. But what was Jesus specifically referring to when he says I am the light of the world? I believe that he's referring to the pillar of fire that guided the people of Israel in the wilderness. There's a progression in John chapter 6, 7, and 8. In John chapter 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and that is compared to the manna that came and fed the people in the wilderness. He says that he is the true manna, true manna. He is the true bread of life. In chapter 7, he invites those who are thirsty to come to him and drink. This is a clear reference to Moses bringing water out of the rock for the people to drink. And now in chapter eight he says, I am the light of the world, which is a reference to the pillar of fire that guided and protected and symbolized God's presence with his people in the wilderness. What a comfort this must have been. Just imagine this. Do you think, do you think there were anybody in that large group of humanity that left Egypt and were roaming through the wilderness. You think any of those people were ever anxious, worried? Here they were out in the wilderness, in the desert, vulnerable. They didn't have like 20 years of food supplies with them. They were dependent on the Lord for every day. They didn't know what would happen next. They've already encountered many difficult experiences. My point is, I'm sure there were many people who were very anxious and worried. Just imagine, oh, one fretful night you're there, you're in your tent and you're worried and you look out of your tent and you look up and there is that pillar of fire hovering over the people of God. What a comfort that must have been. God is with us. We have nothing to worry about. He will protect us and he will guide us. It was a visible manifestation of his presence. Jesus here when he says, I am the light, I am the culmination of that light here in the world today. He was claiming to be God. You'll notice he doesn't say, I have the light. He doesn't say, I will lead you to the lights. He doesn't say, I have received the lights. He says, I am the lights. This expression is a claim to deity. Secondly, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. Most Bible scholars think that there's a connection he's making between this declaration and the Feast of Tabernacles, which has just ended. We know at the Feast of Tabernacles that every night one of the great elaborate ceremonies, what is a lighting ceremony, where they had four giant candelabras in the Court of the Women, this main court in the temple precincts. Contemporary accounts say that they were about 75 feet high and that they would send up a very fit young priest to go up this ladder and light this candelabra and the light of it could be seen in every household in Jerusalem. And this was done every night of the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a celebration of the goodness of God. And now with his festivities over and the candelabras extinguished, Jesus says, I am the light. of the world. I'm the light that never goes out. I am the light that remains. And this statement thirdly is a confirmation that he is the Messiah. because in Isaiah chapter 9 in verse 2 we read that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. It's a reference to the people of Galilee of the Gentiles and it says there that there's a day coming when a light will come to this dark region of the world and that light would be the Messiah who would live and grow up in Nazareth of Galilee. Isaiah 42 calls Him the Light of the Nations. Isaiah 4 and verse 2, we read that the Son of Righteousness, that is S-U-N, will rise with healing in His wings. This is a reference to the coming Messiah. So this is what we find in this expression, the Light of the World, that we have God in flesh, the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, and the promised Messiah. And then Jesus provides this amazing promise. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And the word not there is emphatic in the Greek text. It has a double negative, as I've told you before. A double negative in English is not good because it means a positive, but in many languages of the world, it emphasizes a rick strong no. So what does he mean by this? Notice he talks about those who follow me. This is used in the Gospel of John as an equivalent for those who believe in Christ, who trust in him. Those who trust in Christ follow him. For instance, in John 10, 27, he says, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. And this following is in a present continuous tense. That is, we keep following him. Those who come to recognize that Jesus is a light, they keep following Him. They don't follow Him and then stop following Him. They keep following Him because their life has been forever changed. Now what does it mean here when it says they will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life The word darkness can be used symbolically for many different things. It can be used for ignorance. It can be used for despair in scripture. But most often it's used for that which is morally wrong or evil. And that is undoubtedly the way John is using it here because this is the way he's used it earlier in this book. In John chapter 3, right after this famous verse John 3 16, We read, and this is the judgment. The light has come into the world and people love the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil for everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light lest his work should be exposed. But everyone, but whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. So for a person to live in darkness is not consistent with claiming that you have come to the lights. Every Christian falls into sin. Every Christian is a work in progress. Every Christian struggles. If you think that you're doing really, really well and you probably haven't sinned in years, I want you to know that you have a problem. You don't have a very good estimation of yourself. None of us are perfect. The idea of walking is of a way of life, a habitual pattern. Christians walk in the light. They don't walk in darkness. So for a person to claim, I have come to light, I believe in Jesus, but the practice of their life, their style of life, their way of life is that they walk in the darkness. Those two things are not congruent. They don't fit. They can't both be true. Your profession does not measure up to your lifestyle. You see, every aspect of a believer's life is to be illuminated with the presence of Christ. Every decision that we make in life of any consequence should ultimately come down to what does the Lord want me to do? The world tells us you do what you want to do. Be authentic to yourself. This is a great expression that people think is so noble and wonderful. I always want to say, well, what if the true self is you're an ax murderer? I would rather that you not be true to yourself. I really would. We say these things all the time as if they're profoundly wise. It's absolute nonsense. Don't be true to yourself. Think about who you are and the decisions you've made. That would be a very dangerous thing to do. No, you are to be true to the identity that you have in Christ if you are a believer. That is you're to walk as a child of light. God has called us to be light in a dark world. A little bit of light in a very dark place can make a huge difference. Every aspect of our lives should be governed by what would the Lord want me to do, what will bring Him glory, not what will bring me comfort and ease and prosperity and make my life just right. If that's the way you think, if that's the criteria by which you make every decision, then you're just like every lost person who's ever lived. We have been called to something greater. That is to walk in the light and not in darkness. Secondly, Jesus reveals here that he is the true witness. This takes up most of our passage, verses 13 through 18. The words of Jesus in verse 12 have angered the religious leaders, and so now they respond. Look with me, please, at verse 13. So the Pharisee said to him, you are bearing witness about yourself. Your testimony is not true. What they're essentially saying, we might put it like this today, well anybody can make a claim like that. It doesn't make it true. Just because you say something loudly and boldly doesn't make it true. They may be referring back to what Jesus says in John 5 31, where he says, if I bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. Jesus did not mean that he was lying. but that according to the law, the testimony of one person was not convincing or valid evidence. However, now he says in verse 14 that he can give testimony to himself because of his unique origin and destiny as the son of God. Look with me in verse 14. Jesus answered, even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true. Why? For I know where I came from and where I'm going. but you do not know where I came from or where I am going. Jesus says that his testimony is true because he has come from heaven and he's going back to heaven. He is the son of God. And he is not bothered about their opinions of him because they don't know him and they don't know the Lord. You ever had somebody say something very mean and angry and nasty about you, but it didn't really bother you that much because you could simply say, they don't know who I am. They've only met me, or maybe they met me one time for like 30 seconds. And they're going to make this grand judgment about my character, my personhood based mainly on hearsay. And they're going to say, this person is this. It doesn't bother me because they don't know me. They never spent time with me. They don't know what I'm like in work and at home and everywhere else. Jesus is saying to his adversaries you don't know me and you don't know my father. You're saying these things out of ignorance. Now look with me at verse 15. He says you judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. What does he mean that Pharisees judged according to the flesh. He means that they judged him from a strictly human perspective. Jesus said something very similar to it in the previous chapter. In John chapter 7 verse 24 he says, do not judge by appearances but judge with right judgments. And what he is saying here is that he didn't fit their idea of the Messiah. He wasn't a sophisticated rabbi from Jerusalem, which is what they were anticipating. He didn't seem to have any interest in gaining political power and status, which they could not understand. And may I suggest he didn't sound like or look like what they thought the Messiah should be. He was from Galilee. They may have even thought he spoke with somewhat of an accent. because he wasn't a sophisticated city dweller of Jerusalem. So they were judging on a superficial level from a very human perspective, not in a spiritual way, not in an authentic way. And then Jesus says that he judges no one. This reminds me of how careful it is to always understand what's being said in the context of scripture. Jesus is not making a categorical statement that he judges no one. How do I know that? Because in the very next verse he says, yet even if I do judge my judgment is true. And later in this chapter Jesus is going to make a judgment about these antagonists of his. He's going to say, you are of your father the devil. and the desires of your father you will do. That was a pretty strong and striking judgment and evaluation of them. What he means when he says that he doesn't judge, he could be saying that he doesn't condemn, because in that sense of the term, because in his first coming he did not come to condemn, as we find in John chapter 3 verse 17. But I think what he's saying is that he doesn't judge the way they judge. He doesn't judge in a superficial manner. And I think that's the point he's going to cross. When he does judge, as he says in verse 16, his judgments are true, genuine, and ultimate. How could Jesus be certain that his judgments were right? Well, because he's the son of God, and because his judgments are always the same as his father who sent him. Look with me at verse 17. In your law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. These Pharisees have just said that Jesus' testimony about himself wasn't valid. It wouldn't stand up in a court of law because everyone knew you had to have two witnesses. Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 15 says, a single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or any wrong. And so now Jesus essentially says, I have two witnesses. Look at me in verse 18. This is a profound verse. He says, I am the one who bears witness about myself. and the father who sent me bears witness about me." Did you notice the careful wording of the beginning of this again? He says, I am the one who bears witness. The wording that he uses, the construction that is present here is again intended to remind his readers and his hearers that he is claiming deity, that he is echoing what God said to Moses back in Exodus chapter three and verse 14. Remember that story? God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush. He's called to go back to Egypt to deliver his people. Moses is reluctant to do so. And he says, listen, the people want to ask me, what is the name of this God that has called you? And God says, I am who I am. He said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. And this is echoed throughout the gospel of John, more so than any other place in scripture. And ground zero of this revelation is actually John chapter eight, the chapter we're in today. Let me show you how often this comes up. We find it here in verse 12 when he says, I am. the light of the world. We find it here in verse 18, I am the one who bears witness about myself. Now skip down to verse 24. Jesus says, I told you that you would die in your sins for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. And that word He is in italics, it's not in the Greek text. He's making a declaration, I am, but then again look at verse 28. So Jesus said to them, when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of my own authority. And then this all culminates to verse 58 at the end of this chapter. Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you before Abraham was, I am. and they picked up stones to kill him because they knew that he was making a claim to deity. There are many people, many sophisticated people who like to say Jesus never claimed to be God. They haven't carefully examined the New Testament, yet that is their claim. And if indeed he never claimed to be God, then all of his people around him misunderstood him. because they either wanted to kill him because he was claiming to be God or they wanted to follow him because they believed it was so. So Jesus mentions here that he provides another witness. He says, and the father who sent me bears witness about me. The last half of verse 18. Jesus is repeating what he said in John chapter five in verse 37. And the father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. How did the father bear witness to this identity of his son? How were the people supposed to know? Because their religious leader said, this isn't the Messiah, don't follow him. And Jesus said, I'm the light of the world. How were they to know? The father gave them abundant witness. We read in John chapter 5 that the Father sent a forerunner, a prophet by the name of John the Baptist, who came and said behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And God the Father testified that he was the Messiah through the miraculous works that Jesus performed on a regular basis in front of the people. supernatural powers that were prophesied in the Old Testament that would be true of the Messiah. And then God the Father testified to his beloved Son through the Old Testament scriptures. In John chapter 5 and verse 39 he says that they bear witness about me. And if that wasn't enough, We read in the gospel record that on three occasions, God the Father audibly spoke from heaven and said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. So there was abundant testimony to the identity of Jesus Christ. We're coming back to verse 18 in the context here that people are saying, well, you need two witnesses. And so Jesus essentially says to them, Well, how about the witness of God the Father and God the Son? Will that do for witnesses to my identity? But his testimony would not convince these men because they were spiritually blind and they did not see the Son of God standing before them. In this contentious debate, Jesus reveals himself as the light of the world and the true witness. And now Jesus shows himself to be the only way to know God. Notice how these men respond to Jesus's claim. The father was a witness to his unique identity. Look at verse 19. They say, where is your father? I can't say this for certain, but I think they said it with a smirk on their face because they believed that Jesus was born illegitimately. How do I know that? Because just a little later in this very discussion in verse 41, Jesus will say, you are doing the works your father did. They said to him, we were not born of sexual immorality. We have one father, even God. And so when they say, where is your father? They are saying this in a blasphemous way. Those rumors from his childhood persisted throughout his life. And Jesus responds, you neither know me nor my father. If you knew me you would know my father also. Once again Jesus is repeating what he essentially says in John chapter 5 verses 37 and 38 when he says, and the father who sent me has himself born witness about me, his voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. This was a stinging rebuke He says to these professional theologians, you don't know God. That would be like saying to an English teacher, you don't know the alphabets. Or to a carpenter, you don't know how to hammer a nail. It's the very essence of what they did for a living. And he says, you don't know God. let me just say that they did have in many ways an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible. It's likely that at least some of these men Jesus is speaking to had memorized the entire Old Testament in Hebrew. They knew a lot of facts, but they didn't have a relationship with God. Because if they knew God, truly knew him, they would recognize his son when he came. Again, something similar in John 5, 23, it says, whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. The Bible is clear about this. And then we have verse 20, which seems like of little importance. It gives us the setting. At the end of the story, instead of the beginning, it's normal. 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. The treasury was a place where there were 13 metal trumpet-like containers that people would give their coins to in the temple. These 13 trumpets had different wording over them of what you were giving to. You could give some to the poor and some to the priest and some for a temple tax and so forth. They could designate 13 different categories. This was in the court of the women. That's confusing to us because we are court of the women. We think this must've been a place where only women could go. Not true. It was the place where women could go no further than that. But men were there as well. They could go further. Just like the court of the Gentiles, Jews could be in the court of the Gentiles, but the Gentiles couldn't go any further than the court of the Gentiles. And in the court of the women is where there was a hall the Sanhedrin met, which were the 70 men who governed Israel and who had conspired to murder the Son of God. So what John is revealing is that Jesus has courageously and boldly gone into the very area on the home turf you might say of his antagonists. in the very, we might say, belly of the beast or in the lion's den where the enemies reign supreme and there he is saying, I am the light of the worlds. And then we read, but no one arrested him because his hour had not yet come. This phrase is often found in the Gospel of John to indicate that God was in control of when his divine son would die and how he would die and the day on which he would die. And it would not happen a second sooner because Jesus, the Lamb of God, would die on the Passover, about six months time from this. But now I want to make application here. Three very quick points of application. Number one, Jesus says in verse 18, I am the one who bears witness about myself. Whatever religious group you follow, you are essentially following the testimony of that founder. If you're going to follow the Muslims, and their whole approach, their whole worldview, you're arresting everything on the testimony of one man, Muhammad. If you're a Mormon and you're going to follow the Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ, which is not a good title, it's not true. You're following the testimony of one man named Joseph Smith. If you're a Christian, you are essentially following the words and the testimony of Jesus Christ. There's no getting around it. Who do you trust? Who do you rest in? I encourage you to feel free to compare and contrast the character in the life of Jesus with the life of Muhammad or the life of Joseph Smith. I think you will see a very profound contrast. I want to also say that every believer is called to reflect the light of Christ. Several times in the epistles we are called children of light. We do not produce our own light, we reflect the light of Christ just like the moon reflects the light of the sun. Everywhere we go We have been called to be a light. Where you live, where you work, where you volunteer, wherever you go and you are known and you're part of some type of community, you are to be a light. People should see that you are different. People should see that something is unusual about you, not in a bad way, but in a good way. That you have been changed on the inside, and that you care for people, and that you express to them the love of Christ wherever you go. God has called us to be children of light. And then finally I want to say that Jesus is the only way to God. This is very politically incorrect. This is out of step with our times, but it's exactly what the Bible teaches. Jesus would say the night before he died, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And there are many other passages that have similar wording. His accusation that these religious men did not know God because they didn't know him supports this claim. He is the only way to God. There are not many roads to heaven. There is not many ways to know God. There is only one way and that is through Jesus Christ. People are very uncomfortable with the profound implications of this truth. because it cuts against the grain of everything that we are taught in the pluralistic society in which we live. Let me just very bluntly say these things. All who claim to know God but reject the deity, the humanity, and the personhood of Christ do not really know God. This means that the Mormons don't really know God because their Christology of who Jesus is is radically different from what Christians believe and what the Bible teaches. This means that all Jehovah's Witnesses who believe that Jesus is just a created being are lost and are actually the false witnesses of Jehovah. This means that all of those in Judaism who claim to honor God but reject Jesus do not really know God. This means that all Muslims who believe that Jesus is just a prophet are ignorant of the one true and living God. This means that all Unitarians who believe that Jesus was just a great man are not honoring God as they suppose. This means that all nominal or cultural Christians who claim to believe in Jesus but live wicked lifestyles dishonor the name of Christ and actually need to be born again. Now perhaps you would think that those are very reckless and bigoted statements to make, because I have literally insulted billions of people. I am not unaware of that and it is not my desire to insult anyone, but to speak the truth. The question is, is what I've just said consistent with what Christ himself has taught in this passage and in other passages? And I think the unmistakable answer is it is consistent. It is the only way you can understand what he has said in a rational way, that he is the only way to heaven. And those who discount Jesus and reject him, therefore do not know the father, because the only way you can come to the father is through the son. And those who claim to know God, but dismiss Jesus, do not really know God. Christianity makes an exclusive claim. There is one way to know God and that is through Jesus Christ and every other way is a false way, is a way that will ultimately lead to destruction. The most loving thing we can do is tell people they're on the wrong path and to warn them to flee from the wrath to come rather than to say, listen, we all pretty much believe the same things. We all come to God and we call him by different names, but it doesn't matter. That is the most unloving thing we can possibly say. So my question for you this morning is, have you received him as your savior? Have you come by faith? out of the darkness and into the light. Are you following Jesus? And you continue to follow him because he's your only hope of your salvation. Is Jesus the light of your life? Because you have come to see that he is the light of the world. Let's close in prayer this morning. Father we thank you for your word. Thank you that it tells us what we need to hear. We thank you that you've given us a great Savior who is the light of the world. And we thank you, Father, that by your grace, so many of us have come to know him and are following him. Father, I think of those this morning who are here who are yet lost in their sins, who perhaps are on the wrong path. were just confused and trusting in themselves, but they're surely good enough to earn your favor. I pray that you would show them that this is not what the scripture teaches, that they must come to trust in Christ alone as their only hope, because he is the only Savior that you have provided. Oh, Father, would you work in hearts to draw them to yourself. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.