It's wonderful to be with all of you.
Today, we have a wonderful crowd and we appreciate you for being
here. We have visitors from other
places, other congregations and even perhaps from the community
and we want to say, welcome and we're so glad you're here.
The last time that I spoke, I announced that on that day I had
planned to start a series on the 7.
I am statements, of Jesus, as found in the Gospel of John and
on that particular. Day.
We had 36 folks that were missing because of covid.
So I thought I would hold off until the next time that I
taught and everybody would be back and I'll start this series
and I do that today on the seven, I am statements of Jesus
and the first one that we want to notice is I am the light of
the world. Now this is not the first one
that Jesus actually said. In fact, I believe the first one
is when Jesus said I am the bread of life.
So I'll just say this in advance, I'm not sure the order
that I will take these and I may not talk on all seven.
But at this point in time I am actually planning on doing so.
But today, I want to talk about the one that we all know, the
one that is very familiar to us. The one that said, I am the
light of the world in John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again
saying I am the light of the world he who follows me shall
not walk in darkness, but have the light of life just to kind
of set this up just before Jesus made this statement, this great
statement. You remember that Jesus was
standing there or kneeling there, we don't know exactly as
it All Began but the Bible says the scribes and Pharisees took a
woman to him that was caught in the very Act of adultery.
I'm not Go into that story in great detail.
Want to make a couple of points because this happened right
before. Jesus said, I am the light of
the world. And they brought a woman to him.
And says, what are you gonna do about this woman?
They said, in our law, it states that caught in the act of
adultery. She was an adulterous, she
should be stoned to death. What are you going to do about
it? Jesus, and Jesus, knelt down and
I don't know what he wrote nobody does, but he took his
finger and he wrote something in the dirt and then he said, let
him who is without sin cast the first stone.
Now, the reason I bring that up is because sometimes people,
often times people use that statement in a general sense.
In other words, everybody sins everybody makes mistakes.
So after all, don't worry about this person or that person
because, you know, he who is without sin, Let Him cast the
first stone. But that's not the context, it's
found in the original. That's not what Jesus meant the
context in the original language, literally Stakes.
Let him who is without this sin cast.
The first stone I made that point because I want to make
another one. Isn't it true?
That it's kind of fitting aren't sometimes.
We in that category. We fall under that category, we
fall under that idea that sometimes were the most critical
and the hardest on people who are guilty of the very same
things that were guilty of It's kind of like you can't handle
your own guilt. The guilt is overwhelming
because of something that you're struggling with a sin that
you're struggling with. So you become extra harsh, and
extra critical on someone else, that's guilty of the very same
things. That is true.
All right. Well, at some point after this,
Jesus gave this, I am statement. He said, I am the light of the
world, now, going back to that. Phrase I am we must go back to
the Old Testament for just a moment.
And remember when God said I am, when God said that in Exodus
chapter 3, it was a very pivotal point in Redemptive history.
You remember that Moses was to be the deliverer and Moses was
to be the one to deliver the children of Israel.
Out of Egyptian bondage. And you remember what Moses?
But Moses said when God instructs him and tells him what
he's going to do. Moses says to Things number one.
He says, who am I? That I should go to Pharaoh.
That's number one. But number two, he said, when I
go to your people and I say to them the god of our fathers has
brought me to you when they say, what is his name what am I going
to say? And this is what God said in
response. And God said to Moses, I am who
I am and he said thus you shall say to the children of Israel.
I am has sent me. To you.
I am is his name. and it making that statement, God discloses,
who he is, and what he's like, what is God like, He is eternal.
He is unchanging. He is self-existent, he's
infinite. He's glorious in every way and
above and beyond all created things.
Yes, he is. God, all right, we understand
that they understood that. But what about when Jesus uses
that term? What about when Jesus applies
the statement or the name, I am to himself.
What is he saying? In John chapter 8 and verse 56.
Jesus says your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he
saw it and was glad They said this in response in verse 57.
Wait a minute. You're not even 50 years old and
you're saying, you've seen Abraham and then Jesus says,
before Abraham was I am I got to tell you, I don't know how many
times in my lifetime I've referred to this passage to
prove that Jesus has always existed.
That Jesus was not a created being that he has always
existed. And that is 100% true.
But when Jesus says before Abraham was, I am, it means more
than just always existed. What does it mean?
It actually means he's Divine. He's saying, I am Eternal.
I am pre-existed. I am infinite, I am perfect.
He's saying the words. I am God.
Now, I want to make a point to you about the godhead, sometimes
people have a hard time grasping the concept of how God says he
is God. And Jesus says, he is God.
And also grasping the concept. When the Bible says, there's
three that bear record in heaven, and we know who they
are. There is God, the Father God,
the son, and God, the Holy Spirit, and sometimes people say
what it is, it's one great big being in three parks.
No, it's three separate percentages working together as
13 in the godhead. They would have understood
though. When Jesus says I am, they knew
he was saying, I am God, he's saying I'm greater than Moses
because I'm the god of Moses. I have life in myself and I give
life to others. And the Jews knew that they were
he was making such a claim and that's why in John, chapter 8
and verse 59, it says they immediately took up stones to
kill him. So the seven I am statements and
John May best be understood as falling under and echoing.
This ultimate claim that God or that Jesus Christ.
Is also the god of Israel. I am the light of the world,
they knew exactly what he meant. All right?
So to understand all of this, I know that we're very familiar
with the statement. I am the light of the world but
maybe we might be a little unfamiliar and how it was that
it was received by those religious leaders.
In doing. So let's talk about the
location. Let's go back to what happened
that the specific setting where Jesus spoke these words.
And what we do is we go to John chapter 8 and verse 20, these
words Jesus spoke in the treasury.
Now, this sets up everything because Jesus doesn't just speak
these words, just out of thin air, or out of nowhere.
He's capturing the moment. I love that about.
The preaching of Jesus. He's unlike us, he can go to a
setting. He could cease things.
He can notice the people that are there and preach the perfect
sermon. There were people in the
treasury. Now the treasury is the part of
the temple that's found in one of the courtyards called the
court of the women. And in this, when people would
come to the temple, they would give money.
And there were 13 receptacles in the treasury area in the court
of the women. Now, they were open historians.
Say they were a big opening at the top they funneled down into
a narrow opening and people would go to the treasury area.
And they would drop their money down into that receptacle and it
would go into a particular container.
That's how people gave in the treasury.
So we're talking about in the courtyard of the court of the
women. Fowler says this, there was a
system of Courtyards that surrounded, the temple facing,
the sanctuary, and facing the court of the priest or the one,
we always refer to, as the outer Court.
Beyond that, there was the court of men.
Beyond that was the court of the women and beyond that was the
court of the Gentiles. Now, you know, what's
interesting about the court of the Gentiles, people would go
there and actually, I've read historians say this, there were
Merchants there, and basically, those Merchants were there so
people can do their religious shopping.
Why would they do that? If they were coming for an
animal sacrifice, so they needed an animal for the sacrifice.
It was purchased in the court of the Gentiles.
Also, something else there were money changers there because
people that came from everywhere.
They couldn't take foreign currency and put it in the
treasury. So there had to be money
changers to exchange that currency and have it in the
proper denominations. Therefore, they could put it in
the treasury that was in the court of the Gentiles.
But what we're talking about is we're talking about the Court of
the women. It was a place also where the
Widow was there that Jesus remarked and you remember that?
She gave her last two coins and Jesus said, when she gave two
mites, that what she gave was greater than all the others
combined because they gave out of their abundance.
But she gave out of her necessity that was in the court
of women that was in the treasury.
That's where Jesus is standing right now.
Okay, historians. Tell us all.
So there would have been tens of thousands of people right there
in that courtyard during this time.
I tried to wrap my mind around tens of thousands of people and
the reason they were there was they were there for the Feast of
the Tabernacles. And by the way, we'll get back
to Feast of the Tabernacles and just a moment.
I don't know how what it looked like.
I'm just saying this it was a jam packed audience of people.
I don't know how many were there historians say tens of thousands
but there's a ton of people. He's got this enormous audience
and Jesus is going to preach. This sermon.
So here's where they were in the treasury that Jesus is going to
say these works. All right, here we go.
In John chapter 8, and verse 12. At some point in time after he
had dealt with that situation with the adulterous woman in
John 8 and verse 12. Then Jesus spoke to them again
saying I am the light of the world.
You know, Jesus never said, I am a light in the world.
He said, I am the light. In the world.
You know, a rabbi could have said a light in the world.
And somebody that leads, somebody out of Darkness.
Also, you as a child of God, you as a Christian, you know what
you are? You are a light in the world.
In fact, Jesus calls us salt of the earth and lights of the
world. Here's the difference.
The True Light is Jesus, not us. We are luminaries broadcasting
the Light of Christ to the world so they could see their way out
of Darkness. That's the difference.
We don't make the statement that we are the light.
Only Jesus can do that. Jesus said, I am the light of
the world and the amazing thing is this they knew exactly what
he meant. When he said I am, he saying I
am God and they got that and infuriated them they wanted to
Stone him to death. Okay?
Number two, he says the light of the world.
You know what he's saying? I'm the Messiah I am God and I
am the Messiah. And that's what that means,
those two things and they hated him for it, those, that rejected
him. He is the Messiah, he is the
true light. And, you know, they would have
understood about the Messianic promises about Jesus Christ and
about the Messiah and incidentally, as a side note
here, they believe that there would be a messiah.
They just rejected the one that got.
They rejected the one that God sent, they rejected Jesus, but
they believed in a messiah. How did they do that?
How do I know that? Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 1?
Behold my servant whom I uphold my elect one in whom, my soul
Delights. I have put my spirit upon Him.
He will bring forth Justice to the Gentiles.
That is the prophetic account in the book of Isaiah about the
Messiah that specific passage is fulfilled and in the New
Testament. In Matthew chapter 12 and verse
18 behold my servant whom I have chosen my beloved in whom my
soul. Soul is well pleased.
I will put my spirit upon Him and He will declare Justice to
the Gentiles. Incidentally, who are the
Gentiles? What is meant by Gentiles
plural? The world.
That's what Jesus was claiming. He's the Fulfillment of what
they already knew and always have known.
Interestingly though, you know, Isaiah calls him, the servant a
servant Jesus refers to him also as a servant, in Matthew, 20,
and 28, just as the son of, man, did not come to be served, but
to serve and to give life a give his life a ransom for many.
This passage here is the prophetic fulfillment.
That Jesus would be a servant. He would die for the sins of the
world as The Messiah, but also he wouldn't be empowered by the
Holy Spirit. You know, I don't really
understand everything. It means when we've made the
statement over our lifetimes over and over again, that Jesus
had the Holy Spirit without measure.
Now, the apostles had the miraculous measure of the Holy
Spirit, but they had it within measure.
Jesus had it without measure our Messiah.
When he came to this Earth was going to be a servant and died
for the sins of the world, but he had his Spirit, he had the
spirit, the holy spirit of God without measure.
He was empowered by such to do what to be a light to the world.
Isaiah chapter, 42, and verse 5. The says God, the Lord who
created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread
forth the Earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath
to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it.
I the Lord have called you into righteousness and will hold your
hand. I will keep you and give you as
a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles.
Again, the light of the world eyes.
Isaiah, 42 and verse 8. I am the Lord, that is my name
and my glory. I will not give to another nor
my praise to carved images. So the Messiah would be a light
plural to the nation's, or to the world.
He would be the Messiah. One more passage Isaiah, 49 and
6. Indeed, he says it's too small a
thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes
of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel, I will
also give you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be my
salvation to the ends of the Earth.
And by the way, the very next verse says, this, In the King
James version, Isaiah 49 and seven.
It says the Redeemer of Israel and His holy one.
So, He's God, I am. He's infinite, he's unchanging.
He has always existed. He will continue to always
exist. He is all of that.
What else though, when he was on the earth, and before his
sacrifice, when Jesus came to be the servant, to be sacrificed
for the people, he became Our Savior.
Jesus Is Our Savior now, but he's not a servant.
Anymore. He was a servant while he was on
the earth. Now, he is the king and we honor
him, and we serve him. He is our Shepherd, and we are
the sheep and we follow him. That's what Jesus is.
But Jesus Is Only Our Savior while the life still exists in
Us in the world. Because on that last day, when
God puts an end to all of it, he no longer will be the savior.
He will be the judge. So that's why Christians.
That's why we serve him as our King.
Now, we have obeyed. The gospel he died for our sins,
but he's not the servant anymore.
He's the king and we honor him. So, let's talk about light, for
example, like is a magnificent metaphor and it's the active
power that dispels Darkness. So, let's notice Jesus is the
light of Truth. That dispels, the darkness of
falsehood. He is the light of wisdom that
dispels the darkness of ignorance.
He's the light of Holiness that dispels the darkness of
impurity, he is the light of joy that dispels the darkness of
Sorrow. He is the light of life that
dispels the darkness of death. That is a wonderful picture of
Jesus, and he has the name, I am, I am the light of the world
claiming to be God. And also the Messiah, Psalm 27
and verse 1. The Lord is my light and my
salvation first John chapter 1 and verse 5, God is light and in
him is no Darkness at all, okay? So they understood that They
understood what he meant. My question is this?
When he calls himself the light of the world.
Why here, why now? Not out of the blue.
I think he was seizing the moment.
I think he was capitalizing on the moment.
What do I mean by that? You know, Jesus had done that
many times. Like for example, can't you just
picture in your mind's eye? When Jesus is preaching and all
of a sudden he gives the parable of the sower, maybe he looked
over there and saw a cornfield and said, behold A sower goes
forth to sow and then he says and he talks about the various
kinds of soil, they could look exactly to that place and know
exactly what he meant. What was he doing?
Seizing the opportunity. He was capturing the moment like
he did so many times and that's exactly what he's doing right
now. I said we get back to this.
Here we go. The time was the Feast of the
Tabernacles, that was the ritual feasts that happen back under
the law of Moses and what they did and at the Feast of the
Tabernacles began. And by the way, I don't know
what it looked like. So this picture that I'm going
to show you for what it's worth, just gives you an idea.
Idea of the descriptive historians words about it.
I don't know what it looked like, but there were candelabras
that were placed throughout the court.
And what they would do is they would like them and they would
burn all night long. In fact, historians say, they
literally filled the court of women with the capability of
light every night. They would go around and like
these large candles. In fact, it was also called by
the Jews. The illumination of the temple
and Reason they did this was because the Feast of the
Tabernacles was a celebration of the 40 years that the children
of Israel were in the wilderness.
How were they LED? By light, they were led by light
a pillar of fire, and also a lighted Cloud.
That's how they knew where to go.
That's how they were Guided by God.
So, the Feast of the Tabernacles, it was a particular
celebration of that time. So, how did they do it?
They would put these candelabras up and they would like them and
they would burn and it would give light Illuminating Light in
the area. There's some interesting
descriptions by historians listen to this ancient
historians who described it as a stunning Vision, described it as
a diamond in the midst of the city of Jerusalem.
Another said it was like floodlights coming across its
perimeter walls. Another said, every night they
were lit and the temple became a flashing Diamond.
A symbol of the pillar of the fiery light and Cloud that led
them in the wilderness and some even said, That they could be
heard by quoting the words of Isaiah 42 and 6 and Isaiah 49 +
6, which says I will be a light to the Gentiles.
All right. I can just picture Jesus
standing there. I don't know, maybe at the time
that they were lighting. Those candelabras. and maybe he
said, he saw him lighting and he says, oh, I'm the light of the
world. Or maybe it's even better.
Maybe he was there earlier when they were lighting them, but
maybe now they've gone out, maybe they're extinguished.
And maybe Jesus looks at one of those extinguished candelabras
and says, I am the light of the world and I never go out.
And if you follow me, you will have the light of life.
Maybe that was the setting. Maybe that's what how it was.
When Jesus said those words, I am the light of the world and I
don't go out. If you follow me, the light will
never go out. You will never walk in darkness,
but you will have the light of life.
It's truly a profound moment. So what does it mean to follow
me? What did Jesus mean by that?
I got to tell you there's folks in the world to have All manner
of ideas of what it means to follow.
Jesus. I'm going to do something
though. I've never really done this.
I'm going to just look at the word and its ancient usage.
The word follow. The same word that Jesus used.
Let's look at the ancient usage of this word.
It's used as a soldier follows a commander, it's used as a slave
follows his master, it's used as a sinner turns to follow the
law. It's used as a student follows,
a teacher to be a follower of Jesus means to give your life
totally to him. That's what it means to follow
Jesus. you know, the antagonism when Jesus said this arises
immediately, He says I am the light of the world, I'm God.
And I'm the Messiah. I'm the Fulfillment of all the
prophetic accounts about the Messiah.
That's me. I'm the light of the world, not
just a light in the world. I am the light of the world and
I never go out. And you know, what they said,
look at what they said in response to this the Pharisees
therefore said to him, you bear witness of yourself.
Your witness is not true. Interesting.
You know what they were referring to, they were
referring to their law. That states, you can't make an
assertion, you can't make a statement and you can't make a
claim. If it could not be substantiated
by two witnesses. At least that's what they're
saying. Wait a minute.
You say that you're God, you say that you're the Messiah.
No, we're not going to believe that because you bear witness of
yourself and you can't do that. Your witness is not true because
no one else can confirm it. Had to be confirmed by at least
two witnesses. Notice the Lord's response
though in John chapter 8, 14 through 18.
Listen to this. Jesus answered and said to them.
Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true.
For I know where I came and where I am going but you do not
know where I come from or where I'm going.
You judge according to the flesh.
I judge no one and yet, if I do judge, my judgment is true for.
I am not alone but I am with the father who sent me.
It is also written in your law that the testimony of man of
two. Men is true.
Notice I am Who Bears witness of myself and the father who sent
me bear with bears witness of me, there's your two right
there. There's your two right there.
What's amazing to me is their response.
Then they said to him, where's your father?
And Jesus answered, you know, neither me, nor my father, if
you had known me, you would have known my father.
Also, these words spoke in the treasury as he taught in the
temple and no one laid hands on him for his hour had.
Not yet come folks. This is how unbelief operates
please get this. This is how unbelief operates.
It's really true. Unbelief operates in this way
because unbelief never has enough proof never.
It never has enough proof. If somebody is going to say, I
don't believe because of rejection.
There's never enough proof to change that.
Never Unbelief. Never has enough prove.
It should have been enough. Jesus had power over sickness
and death and blind eyes. He had powers over nature.
He had all the wonderful things in, which he said, in fact, the
Bible says he spoke as one with authority.
Like, no one had ever spoke before.
They should have known. But they didn't believe.
You know why? Again, because unbelief never
has enough proof. It just doesn't And John 7:17.
if anyone Wills to do his will He shall know concerning the
doctrine, whether it's from God, or whether I speak on my own.
Notice that phrase right there. If anyone Wills to do his will
he shall know the he shall know concerning the doctrine.
Now, I'm going to tell you, this tells me that you will know the
doctrine, and you will know it's true.
If you are willing to know that it's true, Have you ever heard
somebody say? How do, you know for sure?
There's all kinds of opinions out there and all kinds of
different beliefs out there. How do you know how do I know
how do I know that I'm following the word of God?
Jesus said these words, you're going to know.
The will of God, you're going to know the doctrine and you're
going to know that. It's true.
If what you're willing, you got to be willing.
You have to go into it with a willing mind that when the word
of God tells us something about Jesus and tells us something
about which we should do in practice.
If we have a desire and a will to know, we will know You know,
it's a safer condition if unbelief is because of
ignorance. Okay.
In other words, if I'm a person that doesn't know anything about
the scriptures and my unbelief is because of ignorance because
I've never heard it before, and the evidence has not been
brought to me, guess what? No problem. if my unbelief is
because of ignorance, I still have hope because I just need
the information and then therefore, I can change and I
can believe, but If a person's ignorance is because of
unbelief. Oh, not good.
Because you know what? That is.
That's willful ignorance, and willful rejection.
So if a person doesn't believe yet, they just need the
information, that's great. But you have to be willing and
Jesus is speaking to a pharisaic audience that were not willing.
They were absolutely not willing.
You know, I'm going to tell you we could pick up the Bible.
We could pick up the scriptures and we know it to be true.
I've had people say to me. How do you know it's true?
Well, it's in the Bible. Yeah.
But how do you know? It's just a book because it's in
the Bible. And by faith, I know, that's
fact. No problem, right?
but, Think about this. I did not stand in the midst of
Jesus himself and see him. Perform these miracles.
I don't really know for absolute certain but this is just kind of
my assumption. I would imagine if I had a
willing heart and I had the right heart, I would have
believed in Jesus, right? Then?
And there he too had me. You like, my dad used to say,
you know, he had all the votes. Absolutely, if I saw that with
my own eyes, I think I would have followed him.
I think it would have been easy to follow Jesus when he would
raise the dead and perform the Miracles that he performed, I
would think that's enough. But those people back then.
They saw all that evidence. They heard all of his teaching.
And they said, no. Their unbelief was not because
of ignorance, their ignorance was because of unbelief that's
willfully ignorant. That is Willful rejection.
So where does that leave us today?
I'm so thankful for all that Jesus has done.
I'm so thankful for the sacrifice that he made.
I'm so thankful that he was willing to empty himself as the
Bible, says, emptied himself. I'm so thankful to Hebrews 12
and 2 says looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. Who for the joy that was set
before him, endured the cross despising, the shame and is set
down at the right hand of the Throne of God.
I'm so thankful for that too. Where does that leave us?
Where that leaves us is our obedience to the word of God.
So, are you willing? If you are willing, Jesus said
himself, you will know the doctrine.
You will know the truth, if you're willing Are you hearing
the sound of my voice and you're not a Christian?
Let me ask you this. Are you willing got to have a
willing heart? Jesus has brought all the
evidence and what did Jesus say when he was here?
Jesus gave us the Plan of Salvation.
Jesus says that a man must first believe he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. But he that believeth not shall
be damned. You have to believe with the
forced to obey. That's not just accepting facts
about Jesus. That's saying, I believe to the
point that I'm going to follow him and do exactly what he says.
What else did he say? Luke 13 and 3.
I tell you. No, but except you repent, you
will all likewise perish. We have to change our life.
It begins with the changing mind, we change our life and it
leads to the best part. It changes.
Our relationship with the Lord. That's great stuff.
What else did Jesus say? Jesus said, if you confess me
before men, I will confess you before my Father, which is in
heaven and the Bible tells us what that confession is.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Those things are leading up to pointing toward the point of
salvation, but it's when we go down to the Waters of baptism
that we contact the blood of Jesus and have our sins washed
away. First, Peter 3:21 says, the like
figure whereunto even baptism doth also.
Now, save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the
resurrection of. Jesus Christ to be baptized into
Jesus Christ. Have your sins washed away and
secondly, and wonderfully. Jesus himself will add you to
his church. The one that died for your sins.
The one that now is our King and savior.
You've never taken those steps. We would encourage you to do
that. We'd love to assist you in that.
Maybe you have and maybe there are things in your life that
aren't what they should be. Maybe you have some things that
you need to correct public things.
Perhaps if that's the case, then repent of those things confess,
those things and we'll pray with you and for you, and God will
forgive and restore. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
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