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John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
THIS may be one of Jesus’ most well-known illustrations of the gospel’s power to save. He has been teaching in the temple courts during the Feast of Tabernacles. Many understand Jesus’ teaching here to be the day after the Feast has ended. To fully understand the impact of Jesus’ self-declaration, we should know that light was a significant part of the Feast of Tabernacles. As God sheltered and dwelled with his people during their 40-year journey in the desert, he also led them with his protective pillar of fire. To commemorate this, in the temple square stood four 75-foot tall torches that burned constantly to illuminate the temple, the city and the country. Torches burned, too, on hillsides throughout Judea and Galilee. Light illuminated God’s presence in the world from beginning. His light came to earth before the sun in Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” He created the sun on the fourth day. In Exodus 3, God revealed himself to Moses through the burning bush. God showed himself to his people from Mt. Sinai as a consuming fire. Light also represents God’s revelation, holiness, and salvation is such visions as Ezekiel 1:4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north — an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal. Isaiah prophesied the Servant of the Lord would be a "light to the nations" (Isa 49:6). And gloriously, God will be the light for his people in the Kingdom of God: Isaiah 60:19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. You see this same language and promise in Revelation 22. In effect, the temporary festival lights had been extinguished. But then the eternal I AM God who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who spoke to the doubting, questioning Moses, had come to speak to the doubting, questioning Jews. We will see the Jews continue to stubbornly resist his revelation. I hope you, though, are eager to receive Jesus’ light today. As he lights your spiritual pathway, he will show you the way through even dark, shadowy valleys. The Light of the World will illuminate your heart to heaven’s light. Your heart will love God and love one another. You will walk with joy and wonder, as you remember the Lord God has led you out of sin’s darkness into his eternal glory. Prayer: We praise you, Lord Jesus, for clearly declaring your holiness to us. We rejoice to know you call your people to follow you into heaven’s eternal Light. Amen. John 8:2-11 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
WHEN people talk of sin and God’s forgiveness, they often refer to this passage. For many, it seems the story teaches us that sin does not keep us from Jesus. This shows, doesn’t it, that he loves everyone, regardless of their sins? Because the Lord Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman here, he won’t condemn our sins today. The Bible, though, is very clear that God does judge and condemn our sins. Regarding those who disobey his teachings, our Lord says, “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” (John 12:48) Clearly the adulterous woman had rejected Jesus’ teachings – God’s commands. What then, is Jesus doing here? He is demonstrating the reason he came to live in the midst of sin. Remember how he said in John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” His purpose in his first coming is to open the door of salvation to the world. Jesus’ kindness with the woman is not to say, “Sin is okay.” But he is demonstrating God’s saving mercy that she might know the truth and be saved. The part many people leave out in this teaching is Jesus’ clear command, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” The Lord God is telling her she has sinned. She is a sinner. She needs a heart change to be saved. He commands the woman to repent or be condemned. For he also said in John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” Love the sinner. Demonstrate God’s mercy. Speak kindness. Tell the truth of God’s justice. Direct people to the right path. Help them know they must repent to be saved. Prayer: Lord God, thank you for sending Jesus to serve us with the gospel. I pray for your truth to pour out from me that others will know the pathway to eternal life with you. In Jesus’ name, amen. John 17:50-8:1 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” 53 Then each went to his own home. 8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
WE don’t really know what’s true, do we? Listen to different news broadcasts, for example, and you hear different versions of a news event. We receive tidbits of information. Much is half-true or untrue. A common sin is to falsely accuse others with innuendo and gossip. And self-serving “experts” even use untrue when testifying in court. I heard once of an “expert” who testified with “scientific evidence” that a fire, which murdered three children, was arson. It in fact, each point of his testimony was shown to be false generalities. Sadly, the false testimony sent an innocent man to his execution. Sander is deadly. Do you want to ruin or destroy someone? Just start some gossip. Post a lie on social media, and you will succeed. Our human mind is prone to focus on others’ faults. Pridefully, we proclaim an opinion as true. We want to be the “expert”. False “experts” spoke that day in the temple court. Before the Lord, who is Truth, the Jewish authorities spoke with false authority to negate the truth. First, these men who condemned Jesus’ “unlawful” healings and teachings, denied the lawful pursuit of truth: Deuteronomy 1:16 And I charged your judges at that time: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien. Nicodemus urged them to follow the law they professed to defend. But they ridiculed Nicodemus with a lie. That lie is their claim, “a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” In fact, the prophet Jonah had come from Galilee. And each tribe of Israel had produced a prophet. Their arrogant question was designed to silence Nicodemus’ voice of reason and order. Remember that Nicodemus plays a key role in John. He is the Pharisee who came so eagerly to learn the truth from Jesus in John 3. He is not allowing gossip, slander and “false facts” to negate the Jesus’ identity. He wants to know the truth, believing Jesus came from God. (John 3:2) Satan’s deceit is on the prowl here. The Jews’ sin-filled hearts sought to uproot the growing faith seeds in Nicodemus’ heart and mind. Nicodemus is a good example for us. We must stand against loud liars to courageously speak what is right. Be careful about what you hear and accept as truth. Sift through the daily information. Most pours from people with self-serving agendas. Understand “the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6) Receive it and be true to God for God’s people. Prayer: Remind me, Holy Spirit, to pursue and know, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right” (Philippians 4:8a) In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. John 7:44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
I have asked several times, “Where do I put this verse? Should it be with the previous passage or the next?” Finally, I determined to have it stand alone. Hopefully, you will see how fascinating this moment was in Jesus’ ministry. Think about the Jews. What was the authorities’ desire? From the very first time the Lord came to his city, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Priests “tried all the harder to kill him” (John 5:18b) We have seen, too, both Jesus and the crowd refer to the authorities’ deadly purpose. So why did no one touch him here? The Bible speaks very often of God’s sovereign authority. We see it boldly proclaimed in Psalms 46:8-9 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Our hearts rejoice when the gospel teaches of God’s authority over death in Matthew 28:6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. God displays his sovereign majesty from the creation in Genesis to the new creation in Revelation. And God displays his sovereign authority here, when “nothing” happens. No one seized Jesus because the Father had not yet permitted his Son to be touched, scourged and crucified. It is not yet the time for Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Instead, it is the moment of God’s authority sustaining and protecting his Son until God’s will is done on earth. Yes, God’s will would ultimately move Jesus to the cross, but not yet. We can understand, then, in this verse that the sovereign Lord works to his will in his time. The Father protected the Son until the day he had ordained for the Son’s human death. Then we ultimately know that God’s will protected the Son from the grave to rise from the dead and return to heaven’s throne. Here is God’s will on display. No one seized Jesus because, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) What season has he given to you? Are you under the sovereign Lord’s authority? Rise up and go with confidence into each day as you seek and trust God’s mighty shield around your eternal life. Prayer: Thank you, Lord God Almighty that you are sovereign over my life, that I need not be afraid, but I walk boldly into each day. Amen. John 7:40-43 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.
JOHN repeats the people’s confusion of Jesus’ identity. The apostle was very deliberate throughout John 7 to report this ongoing debate. Even as the people stood listening to God incarnate, only a few called him “the Christ”; yet, none knew him as the eternal Son of God, who “came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10b) Some of the people were close to knowing Jesus, weren’t they? Give them credit for referring to Scripture. Many hearts were hungry to know who was teaching and healing. Who was this who even condemned the learned leaders? The people of God lived with a daily, even desperate, hope that the Messiah would come to end their servitude to Rome. And many sought release from the religious legalism that limited their faith. Their hope, then, was in the prophets’ promises. God’s written and spoken Word was on their hearts. How would their hope guide God’s people to truly knowing Jesus? First, the crowd needed to know the details of Jesus’ ancestry and birth. Do you see why Matthew and Luke wrote of these facts in their gospels? The evidence was available. But the Jews only know Jesus as a miracle-working teacher from Galilee. They had to learn he was descended from David, born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Second, none would fully know Jesus until his resurrection and ascension. Even if his ancestry was known that day, the people would only have seen Jesus as a man come to reign on a throne. His divine character would remain unknown until he rose from the grave and ascended to heaven. Our lesson, I believe, is obvious. To know Jesus, humanity must know all of Jesus. We must believe God formed events throughout world history. And our minds must also know God was born as a man who preached God’s truth; he was crucified, died and buried. We must see the historical evidence that he rose from the grave and ascended to heaven. And we must faithfully believe Scripture points to his return. Know Jesus. Help others to see the evidence that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of all mankind. Prayer: Thank you, Father, for revealing the Son to us that we will be saved as we come to fully know Jesus is Lord. Amen. John 7:37-39 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39 (When he said, “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
GOD speaks. His voice changes all. He speaks in Psalms 29:3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters…4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars…7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert…9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" From the beginning, God’s voice has formed all things to his will: Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Physical life came from the Spirit. He formed a formless void into the glittering heavens. Born again life comes from the Spirit. He formed formless souls into the glory of God’s eternal heaven. “Streams of living water” are words, also, to declare the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies. Here are three:
Yes, the voice of the Lord is life-giving power. He spoke that day in the temple to declare new life was coming to Israel, to stream throughout the earth. The Son of God declared the Holy Trinity’s promise to make all things new. Believe God’s voice. Know it’s true. Acknowledge it is life. Prayer: Quench my thirst, Spirit. Pour living water into my heart daily. Empower me to offer your Life Water to others. Amen. John 7:33-36 Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
SOME in the crowd have begun to believe Jesus is the Messiah. When they said “Messiah”, they saw Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem, not in heaven. Jesus, then begins to teach more of himself. He reveals he is not staying to teach, heal or rule on earth. In the near future he is returning to the Father, who sent him. Of course, they do not understand this, yet. The Jews’ response indicates they remain confused. They wonder if he is going to live with the Gentiles or Jews in other parts of the Roman Empire. We may wonder why Jesus wasn’t more specific. When we view God through our human eyes, we can easily misunderstand his motives. But the Lord had to be careful how he revealed himself here. If he said at that moment, “I am returning to heaven.” the temple guards standing near him would have more reasons to arrest him for blasphemy. In fact, that is exactly what happened at Jesus’ trial. He did tell them where he would be: Matthew 26:64 “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” These were the words that condemned Jesus to the cross. Let’s remember, too, that Jesus was also teaching the Twelve. Despite their constant contact with the Lord, they indicated many times their misunderstanding about Jesus’ short stay on earth. Ultimately, the disciples would need to fully commit to follow Jesus. To go with Jesus to the right “place” at the right time, the disciples would have to remain faithful to their Lord. We know Judas did not remain faithful; he went his own way and is separated from Jesus forever. Do you find Jesus’ teachings unclear at time? Do you perhaps think you have “tomorrow” to learn? Know he has established a time for your life and your learning on earth. Seek Jesus’ teachings. Understand this is the Lord’s gift to you. There is only a short time to know him before this life ends. Be diligent to remain with Jesus. Live with him forever. Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for your remarkable, eternal teaching. I confess I do not always understand at first. Help me, Holy Spirit, to know and remain faithful to the Savior. Amen. John 7:31-32 Still, many in the crowd put their faith in him. They said, “When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” 32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
MUCH turmoil has infected Jesus’ teachings in the temple court. The Jews have accused him of blasphemy. Hard hearts moved them to order Jesus’ arrest to fulfill their desire to kill him. The crowd has said, “You are demon possessed.” Wrong beliefs, wrong judgments, of God have blinded God’s people to God incarnate in their midst. But still faith prevails in some hearts. The hearts, eyes and minds of “many in the crowd” opened to confess that Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures’ prophecies of the Messiah. This is humanity’s history. Genesis records a division in mankind between Seth’s line of believers and Cain’s line of unbelievers. Noah believed. Others around him did not. Abraham believed and left his unbelieving family. And so it goes throughout Scripture and history. Each generation has its testimony of faithful believers who confidently stood for God’s truth Sometimes, God’s faithful became discouraged. Note Elijah’s complaint in 1 Kings 18:22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.” But the prophet would learn he was not alone. The Lord God had preserved other prophets. God is in control. He is above the confusion, always forming and using faithful people to declare God’s truth. As Elijah was, we in the church can become discouraged as we witness the world’s unbelief. It seems the church is too small and evil is too large. Too much division is also in God’s church. But Elijah also has these words for us. To remain faithful to God’s promises, I encourage you to pray these words and be assured the Lord God reigns. 1 Kings 8:56-60 “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. 57 May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. 58 May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. 59 And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, 60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. Be of faith. Pray in faith. Trust God to transform hearts and mind to believe in him and believe him. John 7:27-30 “But we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.” 30 At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.
SOME of the false teaching regarding the Christ – the Messiah – was that no one would know where he came from. This is an obvious error as it is spoken in Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” You see. We must go to Scripture to know the truth. But even for those who knew the truth, Jesus did not seem to meet the origin requirement. The people knew him as coming from Galilee. They knew not of Jesus’ birth but only of his adult life. Here again, limited knowledge limited the way people understood and knew Jesus. Then Jesus responded. He teaches his true origin is from heaven, “I am from him and he sent me.” Lost in the translation is that Jesus was declaring he is a representative of God – of YHWH. The LORD God had commissioned him to this work. Well, can you imagine that? This teacher who they were trying to kill and who was from Galilee said he had come from God? The confused crowd became an angry mob. Now it seems both the crowd and the Jews – the authorities - want to kill Jesus. Do you see sin’s confusing darkness? The Lord God had sent his Son to dwell with his people during the Feast of Tabernacles, which means dwelling. He opened the Scriptures to teach the truth. He healed people. He attempted to lead them into the full presence of God. But they said, “Let’s kill him.” In the Father’s care, Jesus safely moved away. This was not the time for his death. He still had disciples to teach. He turned from the unbelievers to focus his attention on the faithful. We can learn two lessons from the Lord here. One, remain faithful to declare who Jesus is. I know we’ve said that repeatedly here, but there are far too many opinions of Jesus in the world and in the church. Know him and confess him before all. Second, we can know some will never believe and some will. There will always be unbelievers who will attempt to kill your faith. You be God’s witness of Jesus. Let God be the judge of who hears. Prayer: I pray, Lord, for unbelievers. Teach them who you are. Teach me, too, to always confess you. Amen. John 7:25-26 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?”
HAVE you ever been at a lecture when a group around you begins a separate conversation? They disturb and confuse your listening, don’t they? Or maybe people arrive late to the class to ask questions on topics already covered, disrupting delaying the teaching. It seems these disruptive circumstances threatened Jesus’ teaching. Some had earlier asked in v. 20 “Who is trying to kill you?” as if they knew nothing of the Jews’ desire. And here the question is, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?” The people who had come to the Feast had come from many regions and were unaware of the Jews’ motives. No one completely understands Jesus’ words and the reasons for his message. Is anyone really listening to him? John records the crowd’s confusion to highlight the Jewish people’s gross misunderstanding regarding Jesus. The Jews – the authorities – “tried all the harder to kill him” (John 5:18b). But they let him speak here. Some in the crowd then asked, “Who is trying to kill you?” (John 7:20b). And now they ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?” Fragmented by lack of knowledge and preconceived ideas, all the people need to stop talking and begin to listen to Jesus’ clarifying Word. The people’s confusion is the devil’s weapon. Confused minds cannot grasp the truth. Separated groups have their own agenda. Questioning hearts are too often centered on their own answers. One reason the apostle Paul wrote his epistles, his teaching letters, was to clarify confusing teachings in the early church. The Bible and church history record many different groups and doctrines formed in response to Jesus’ gospel. Some were true to Christ as people believed in God and believed his Word. Others were confused, holding to old rules or developing new false teachings. To the Evil One’s delight, confusion weakened and threatened the church’s viability. Here Paul responds to this in the Galatian church. Galatians 1:7b Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! Do you know Jesus’ true gospel? Do you know how to listen to Jesus? Or are you debating his words in your private group? Are your ears attentive to Scripture? Or do you arrive late to the study or resist true doctrine because it offends you? Are you united with others in Jesus’ church to listen and follow Jesus’ teachings? This is God’s will for your faith. Be quiet with God. Hear him speak. Listen closely and know. Prayer: Lord God, I pray your church is mindful, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as we were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4-6) May the confusion stop. Amen. |
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November 2024
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