THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

John: Believing On The Christ, The Son Of God, For Eternal Life

Part XXIV: Trusting In Christ Due To His Teaching On Being The Light Of The World

A. Trusting In Christ As The Light Of The World In Discernment Versus Spiritual Blindness

(John 8:12-30)

I. Introduction

A. Jesus said that He was the "Light of the world" (John 8:12), implying the world was in great spiritual darkness.

B. This claim was dramatically illustrated in Jesus' John 8:12-30 conversation with the spiritually dark rulers of the Pharisees of the day, so we view the passage for edifying application in our lives today (as follows):

II. Trusting In Christ As The Light Of The World In Discernment Versus Spiritual Blindness, Jn. 8:12-30.

A. We before noted that John 8:12 follows John 8:52 in the original Greek text of John's Gospel so that the claim in John 8:52 by Israel's unbelieving rulers of the Pharisees that Scripture did not predict a prophet would arise from Galilee erred in that Jesus implied He fulfilled Isaiah 9:1-2 as the "Great light" of Galilee, John 8:12.

B. Since this error by the Phraisees had arisen from the same spiritual blindness that Jesus had come to counter as the "Great light" of "Galilee," Christ confronted this blindness and countered it in John 8:13-30 (as follows):

1. The Pharisees opposed Jesus' claim to be the "Light of the world" since "(r)abbinic tradition rejected self-testimony," John 8:13; Ibid. Scripture never condemned self-testimony though rabbinic tradition did!

2. However, "self-authentication" is at times "the only way to truth," so Jesus asserted that His witness about Himself was true even if He was testifying it in contrast to rabbinic, legalistic ruling, John 8:14, Ibid.

3. Also, Jesus critiqued the Pharisees as judging by external standards (John 8:15), viewing Him as a mere man and not God, so they misjudged Him where Jesus did not come to judge but to save men, John 3:17.

4. Yet, Jesus explained that when He judges in the future, "He will simply execute the Father's will according to truth and the Law (cf. John 5:27, 45). He Himself will pass judgment on no one," John 8:15; Ibid.

5. Christ added that His judgment would be unlike the Pharisees since their judgment was biased and limited, and His judgment was not His alone, but included the Father's judgment, John 8:16; Ibid.

6. Besides, in line with either the Mosaic Law or Rabbinic tradition (it is hard to discern what "law" Jesus meant by the "your own law" phrase in John 8:17, Ibid., p. 304), Christ said that not only He but also God the Father authenticated Jesus' testimony [by way of the miracles He was performing], John 8:17-18; Ibid.

7. When the Pharisees asked where Jesus' Father was, Christ replied that their ignorance "of Jesus showed their ignorance of God, for Jesus is the Revelation of the Father (cf. 1:14, 18; 14:7, 9)," John 8:19; Ibid.

8. Jesus then predicted that He would go His way, that the Pharisees would seek Him but die in their sins since they could not go where He went, John 8:20-21. Jesus spoke of His return to heaven while the Pharisees would die in sin and go to hell, but they thought He meant He would kill Himself, John 8:22.

9. Jesus explained that His critics were from this world below and He was from above and not of the world, John 8:23. Thus, the Pharisees, would die in their sins as lost since they did not trust in Christ, John 8:24.

10. The Pharisees then asked Jesus who He was (John 8:25a), and Christ answered that He was the One He had claimed to be at the beginning [i.e., that He was the Son of God, John 8:25 with 8:17-18; 5:17-18].

11. Jesus added that He had many things one day to judge of them (in His Second Advent), John 8:26a, but His purpose then was merely to share the message of Him [the Father] Who had sent Him, John 8:26b.

12. The Pharisees in their darkness did not discern that Jesus had just spoken to them of God the Father (John 7:27), so Jesus claimed that His crucifixion would reveal that He was God's Word Incarnate, that exactly what the Father had taught Jesus had taught, John 8:28. Indeed, the Father had not left Jesus, and Jesus always did those things that pleased Him (John 8:29), so Jesus' critics were at enmity with the Father!

Lesson: The spiritually blind Pharisees judged by human false criteria, by externalism and not the spiritual realm, in biased, limited judgment, being unaware of spiritual realities and at times forgetting past revealed spiritual truths. In contrast, Jesus as the "Light of the world" in the discernment of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:1-2; John 1:32) did just the opposite at each point: He judged by divine criteria, by the spiritual realm in God's unbiased, unlimited judgment, He was aware of spiritual realities and possessed complete recall of past revealed truths!

Application: (1) May we trust in Jesus as the "Light of the world" to be saved, John 8:12; 3:16. (2) May we think like Jesus did in properly discerning spiritual truth in the Holy Spirit's power versus how the lost world thinks, and so rely on the Holy Spirit in viewing all concepts and ideas that we might discern the truth, cf. John 14:26; 16:13.