John 8:12-30

Read John 8:12-20 Jesus is the light of the world

Verse 12 includes the second of 7 “I am” statements in John’s Gospel where Jesus reveals great truths about himself.  What does it mean when Jesus says he is “the light of the world”?

In the second half of verse 12, Jesus says that those who follow him will not walk in darkness.  What does it mean to you to not walk in darkness?

In the same verse 12, Jesus says that those who follow him will have the light of life.  How is Jesus the light of life?

What does it mean to have the light of life?

If Jesus is the light of the world and we have the light, then we have Jesus.  He is our light.

In verse 20, John says that Jesus had this conversation while he was in the treasury.  The treasury was a place within the Temple’s court of the women where there were large chests or collection boxes into which people could put their donations and offerings of money to the Temple.

Now, picture the scene.  On the first day of the feast of Tabernacles, 4 great torches were placed on golden lampstands or candelabras in the Temple’s court of the women and set ablaze.  How are those flaming torches an illustration of how Jesus is the light?

When those torches were lit, the court of the women would have been full of light, with no darkness.  How does this illustrate how those who follow Jesus do not walk in darkness?

There may be times when we slip partially back into the darkness (or back into the shadows), even though we have become followers of Jesus.  What should we do about that?  How can we stay with Jesus – stay in his light – so that we can avoid slipping back into the dark?

Jesus is not suggesting that we need to muster up our own light by our own willpower.  We don't manufacture the light; he is the light, and we have it because we have chosen to follow him who is the light.  How can you embrace, every day, every hour, every minute, the fact that, because you are a follower of Jesus, you have Jesus as the light of your life?

The Pharisees again challenge Jesus’s credentials, saying in verse 12 that he is testifying on his own behalf and therefore his claims can’t be accepted.  Jesus says in verse 14 that he knows where he came from (he came from his Father in heaven) and he knows where he is going (he will return to the Father after his death and resurrection), and he says that they don’t know these things.  He then repeats in verse 15 that the Pharisees judge by appearances (literally, “according to the flesh”), which we have already explored when Jesus said this in John 7:24.

In verse 15, Jesus says something that sounds contradictory to some people.  He says that he judges no one.  But in verse 16, he says that if he judges, he does it in conjunction with the Father  – which implies that he does judge.  And he says in in John 5:22 and 5:27 that the Father has given all judgment to him.  So why does he say in verse 15 that he judges no one?  There are at least 3 ways to make sense of this:

(1) He could be saying that he does not judge by appearances (“according to the flesh”) as they do.  In this case, he is not saying he absolutely does not judge; he is only saying that he does not judge based on human biases and misunderstandings the way they do.

(2) He could be saying that his purpose is not judgment.  He has not come to judge; he has come to bring people to eternal life (John 3:17; 17:2).  He does only what the Father has sent him to do, which is to bring eternal life to all who will receive him (6:37-40).  Those who reject the light (1:9-12; 8:12) will walk in darkness and not have eternal life.  But that is not Jesus’s desire or purpose: his purpose is not to judge but to give eternal life.

(3) He could be saying that he is not doing any judging while he is on Earth right now.  When he returns in glory, he will judge the living and the dead (2 Tim. 4:1), and that judgment will be based on people’s response to his word (John 12:48; Matt. 25:31-46).  But he is not judging right now, at this point in his life on earth.

Jesus acknowledges that Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15 require two or three witnesses in order for testimony to be accepted.  In verse 18, he offers himself and the Father as two witnesses.

In verse 19, the Pharisees ask where Jesus’s Father is.  He replies that they don’t know him or his Father, but that if they knew him, they would know the Father.  This suggests that if someone were to say that they wish they could know God, you could respond by saying: If you want to know God, get to know Jesus, because Jesus says that if you know him, you know God.  How is that a useful way to encourage people to know God better?

How can you get to know Jesus/God better?

Read John 8:21-30 Jesus says that when they lift up the Son of Man, then they will know that he has been speaking what the Father taught him

In verse 23, Jesus says, “You are from below; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.”  What does is mean when he describes them as being “of this world”?

In what ways are we “of this world,” and in what ways are we not of this world?

Note: Jesus is not saying that the physical world or our bodies are bad.  He is talking about (1) ways that we are stuck in or immersed in worldly thinking (of the world) and (2) ways that we are aware of and responsive to the Spirit prompting us to see and respond to spiritual realities that go beyond this world (not of this world).

In verse 24, Jesus says, “If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”  Some translations say, “If you do not believe that I am he,” but the word “he” does not appear in the Greek.  Jesus is again invoking the “I AM” name of God that was revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

Why does Jesus say in verse 24 that those who fail to believe in him will die in their sins?  What does that mean?  Why is that the result of unbelief?

In John’s Gospel, Jesus appears to say similar things in a variety of different ways: walking in darkness, not having eternal life, not being raised on the last day, dying in your sins.  Do they mean the same thing or are there ways that they convey different truths?  In what ways is dying in your sins the same as walk in darkness or not having eternal life, and in what ways are they different?

Are you concerned about dying in your sins, and, if so, what do you do about it?

John uses the word “true” frequently: true worshipers, true bread, true drink, true testimony about Jesus, etc.  In verse 26, (and also earlier, in 7:28) he says that “the one who sent me is true.”  In what ways is God the Father “true”?

How do you experience God as true in your life?

In verse 28, Jesus refers to when he will be “lifted up.”  This is a reference to his crucifixion (John 3:14 also use the phrase that way), but it also alludes to his resurrection and his ascension into glory in heaven.  All of these are moments when he is lifted up.  He says, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM.”  Why does his being lifted up demonstrate that he is God and that what he teaches comes from the Father?

Verse 29 gives us a little glimpse inside the Godhead, inside the Trinity.  What does it tell us about the relationship between the Father and the Son within the Trinity?

Verse 30 says that because of what Jesus is saying here, many people believed in him.  That was the exact opposite of what the Pharisees hoped would happen as they challenged him.  Why do you think these interactions led people to believe in Jesus?

Take a step back and consider this:

Where there is light, there is not darkness.  Scientists can’t directly measure darkness, because darkness does not have an independent existence: it is merely the absence of light.  When scientists want to measure how dark it is in deep space or in the sky, they don’t actually measure darkness – they just measure how little light there is in those dark places.

When you are in darkness in your home, you turn on a light.  If you are in a dark forest, you turn on a flashlight or light a fire.  The more powerful the light, the more completely it banishes the darkness.  The closer you are to the light, the less you experience darkness.

In John 8:12, Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.”  We mostly interpret that statement metaphorically, as an image of a spiritual reality.  But consider a little bit more literally:

• If Jesus is the light in our world, and we walk away from him, we will walk away from the light and into the darkness.

• Jesus says, “Follow me.”  If, as we walk, we walk in a direction that does not follow Jesus, who is the light, we will walk away from the light and into the darkness.

• If we stand still, or sit around and do nothing, we also will eventually end up in darkness, because Jesus is always in action, always moving forward, always helping someone new.  If we want to follow him and stay in the light, we have to move to.  We have to walk where he is walking, or we won’t be “following him.

How are you doing at following Jesus, at walking in the light by walking where Jesus is walking?

What do you need to do to be a better follower of the Light?

Jesus is always at work, always bringing his light into dark places.  Where do you see him calling you to keep following him into new places in order to stay in the light and not be left behind in the dark?