Open your Bible now to the eighth chapter
of the Gospel of John. It has been a profound blessing in my own
life to be preparing these messages in the Gospel of John and spend time in this truth,
and at the same time, it is a challenge to articulate for you what has been embedded
in my own heart. So I always ask for the Lord's help in delivering
the truth. We come in coming to chapter 8 to a familiar
story. The story of Jesus and the woman taken in
adultery. And the very familiar line, "He who is without
sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." And at this particular point, I face a decision,
which I've already made, and I'll explain. This familiar story, which actually embraces
the last verse in chapter 7, the one that says everyone went to his home, this familiar
story does not appear in the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament. It does not appear in any of them at all. Manuscript study is very important to guaranteeing
the truthfulness of the text. There are about 25,000 New Testament manuscripts,
ancient manuscripts. The oldest of those uniformly do not contain
this story. And so you will find in your Bible probably
a note in the margin that says, "Later manuscripts added this," and that is correct. Because we have so many manuscripts, there's
really little doubt that this was added later. If something isn't in the oldest and shows
up later, obviously it was added. There's nothing in this story that is un-Christ
like or unlike the behavior of Jesus. There's really nothing in the story that's
unlike the behavior of the religious leaders. It's a wonderful story of forgiveness. Very likely, something like this happened
and was passed down orally from person to person to person, and eventually, someone
decided that the story ought to find its way into the New Testament, even though it wasn't
in the original. And so they put it there. In most old manuscripts, it is placed here. But sometimes in Old Manuscripts, we find
it somewhere else in the Gospel of John, and we even find it sometimes in the Gospel of
Luke. So apparently, it was a story that floated
around that somebody decided should find its way into the New Testament. The problem with that is the church from its
earliest years has known it didn't belong there. In fact, if you're looking for ancient commentaries
on this story written by church fathers and leaders, you won't find one until the 12th
century. And even when you start to find the commentary
in the 12th century, the notation is made that this doesn't appear in the earliest manuscripts. Why is it here? Because somebody put it in. Why is it in your Bible now? Because once it found its way in, it became
traditionally a part of Scripture, and apparently, Bible translators are unwilling to remove
it, so they just put a notation. I'm happy to tell you that when this does
happen, and it happens here, and it happened also at the end of Mark, there is a similar
addition to the Gospel of Mark in the 16th chapter from verse 9 on. I'm happy to tell you we know they are additions
because we have those ancient manuscripts. Consequently, we know that the Holy Spirit
has then enabled us to preserve the true text. I have written some notes about this story
in the study Bible footnotes. I've written something about this in the commentary
on John in deference to people who would be interested in some kind of an interpretation,
but the problem is if it didn't appear in the original text, then it is not inerrant. There's no guarantee that it's accurate. There's no guarantee that it's without error,
like every other part of Scripture. Furthermore, it interrupts the story that's
going on here. I guess you could call this internal evidence. It interrupts the story. We are at this point starting in chapter 7
with Jesus at the feast of tabernacles. It lasted a week in the fall of his final
year, six months from the cross. We have been going through the events when
he arrived in the middle of the week, went to the temple and began to teach. What follows this story in verse 12 is part
of the ministry that Jesus had during the feast of tabernacles. So this interrupts those events and the obvious
sequence. It should go from verse 52 to chapter 7 immediately
to verse 12 of chapter 8. So that's what we're going to do this morning. Let me begin reading in verse 12. By the way, for a more extensive explanation
of that, you can check the McArthur commentary on John or any other commentary for that matter. Let's begin at verse 12. "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I
am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the light of life.' So the Pharisee said to Him, 'You're testifying
about yourself. Your testimony is not true.' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Even if
I testify about myself, my testimony is true for I know where I came from and where I am
going, but you do not know where I come from or where I cam going. You judge according to the flesh. I'm not judging anyone. But even if I do judge, my judgment is true,
for I am not alone in it, but I am the Father who sent me. Even in your law, it has been written that
the testimony of two men is true. I am he who testifies about myself and the
father who sent me testifies about me.'" "So they were saying to Him, 'Where is your
father?' Jesus answered, 'You know neither me nor my
father. If you knew me, you would know my father also.' These words He spoke in the treasury as He
taught in the temple, and no one seized Him because His hour had not yet come. Then He said again to them, 'I go away, and
you will seek me and will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come.'" We've already seen this conflict escalating,
and it will escalate fiercely through this chapter in John and through the final six
months of Jesus' life until it reaches the full flame in passion week and takes him to
the cross in God's perfect time. But the things that Jesus said were the things
that kept escalating the animosity of the religious leaders. And one of those statements is found here
in verse 12. When Jesus said, "I am the light of the world,"
they knew exactly what He was claiming, exactly. This is one of the I am statements in the
Gospel of John, of which there are seven. This is a notable one and a memorable one
and one with which we're all familiar. But I don't think we may fully understand
the essence of this and the way those Jewish leaders received it. I'm going to help you with that, I hope, but
let's break the little narrative down into some subsection so we can kind of track our
way. Let's start with the area. The area, that would be the first point to
consider, and for that, I want to take you to verse 20. When I say the area, I mean the exact location
where these words were uttered. These words He spoke in the treasury as He
taught in the temple. I want to start there because that sets up
absolutely everything. These are remarkable words, but Jesus doesn't
just speak these words out of nowhere. There is a compelling scenario that He captures,
and we saw that already back in chapter 7, verses 37 to 39 when He talked about being
the living water, and He said that at a moment when they were going through a ritual remembering
the provision of water in the wilderness, which was a daily part of the celebration
of the feast of tabernacles, which was designed to commemorate the 40 years of wandering in
the wilderness. And Jesus, when He said that He was the living
water and if anybody drank of that water they would never thirst was contrasting that spiritual
water with the water being poured out in the ritual. He had a way of capturing the moment, turning
it to himself, and He does it again here. So it's really critical to know exactly where
He is. He's in the temple, and a section of the temple
where the treasury existed. Now one of the things that people did when
they came to the temple was give money, and there was a massive courtyard in the temple
that had 13 receptacles around the entire area. Thirteen of them. It was in the courtyard called The Court of
the Women. There was a courtyard beyond that, and that
would be the Court of the Gentiles where anybody could come and traffic. But once you left the Court of the Gentiles
and came in, it was for Jews or duly processed proselytes, men and women. But women could go no further. They couldn't go into the next court. They could go into the Court of the Women. So naturally, they put all the places to give
an offering where both the men and women could come. It was in that very place that the widow gave
her last two coins. The first court, again, is the Court of the
Gentiles. The second is the Court of the Women where
the women are allowed to go. The next would be the Court of the Priests,
and that's restricted. Restricted even to men who went in to offer
sacrifices with the priest. And around the porch of this massive Court
of the Women where there would be tens of thousands of people at this particular time
in the feast of tabernacles because they came from everywhere, there were 13 allocated places
to give money, and according to historians, they were trumpet shaped, which means probably
they had a larger opening and funneled down, and the money went into some kind of container. They were very specific as to their connection. Number one and number two trumpet receptacle
was designed for the half shackle temple tax that everyone had to pay. Number three and number four were where women
put money to purchase the two pigeons that they needed to offer to purify themselves
from childbearing. Number five was where the money went to purchase
the wood for the fire on the alter. Number six also for the incense in the alter. Five and six then for things related to the
sacrifices. Number seven was designated as the receptacle
to keep up the golden vessels of the temple. To hire the people to clean them and have
money to replace them. Then you have eight through 13. Those were for the general fund. Anything and everything else. There's where Jesus is. He's in this Court of the Women. It would be the most packed court in the temple. Just keep that in mind. At some opportune moment, go back to verse
12. "He spoke to them again, as He had been speaking. 'I am the light of the world,' he said. 'He who follows me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the light of life.'" He didn't say, "I am a light in the world,"
which some rabbi or some teacher might say that He was a light in the darkness. He said, "I am the light." He didn't say, "I am a light in Jerusalem." He didn't say, "I am a light in Judah." Some teacher might say that. He said, "I am the light of the world." This is exclusive. This is all encompassing. More importantly, this is a direct claim to
be the Messiah, and they knew it. They were very, very familiar with the Messianic
promises that came through the Prophet Isaiah, and in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and 53, you have
Messianic chapters of Isaiah in which the Messiah is called the slave of Yahweh or the
servant of Jehovah. And in chapter 42, you have this prophecy
about Messiah. You will be familiar with it where the Father
speaks of Messiah, His servant, His slave. "Behold my slave, whom I uphold my chosen
one, in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon him." There is a prophecy of the Messiah's coming
and His empowering by the Holy Spirit. It goes on to speak of things concerning Him. All of this, verse 5, "Thus says God the Lord
who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring
who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord," and He's speaking now to His
Messiah. "I have called you in righteousness. I will also hold you by the hand and watch
over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people as a -" what? Light to the world. "As a light to the nations. To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners
from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. I am the Lord. That is my name." He says that the servant of Jehovah, the Messiah,
will be the light of the world. Again, in Isaiah 49, here again this servant
of Jehovah is presented. Verse 5, "And now says the Lord who formed
me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob or Israel back to Him so that Israel
might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the site of the Lord and my God as my strength,"
he says, "Is it 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? And not just Israel. I will also make you a light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth," thus says the Lord, "The redeemer
of Israel and its holy one." This is from God. Messiah will be the light of the world. When Jesus says, "I am the light of the world,"
he is making the claim to be the prophesied Messiah. To be, in the words of Malachi, the son of
righteousness who is now rising with healing in his beams. John even begins his gospel with reference
to this. "In the beginning was the word, and the word
was with God, and the word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it. There was that true light, which coming into
the world enlightens every man." So right at the very outset of his gospel,
he identifies the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the light. The light and the life. The light, of course, is a magnificent metaphor. Light is the active power that dispels darkness. And Jesus Christ is the light of truth that
dispels the darkness of falsehood. Jesus Christ is the light of wisdom that dispels
the darkness of ignorance. Jesus Christ is the light of holiness that
dispels the darkness of impurity. Jesus Christ is the light of joy that dispels
the darkness of sorrow. Jesus Christ is the light of life that dispels
the darkness of death. When He says, "I am the light of the world,"
He even uses the tetragrammaton, the I am. The claim to be God, and the claim to be Messiah. To say, "I am the light of the world," is
to identify yourself as God. Psalm 27:1. The psalm has said, "The Lord is might light
and my salvation." First John 1:5 says, "God is light, and in
Him is no darkness at all." They understood what he was saying. He was claiming to be God. He was claiming to be the Messiah, the light. But the question comes up why here, why now? Why does he say that? Now we learned back in our last message, chapter
7, verse 37, when He said, "If anyone is thirsty, let Him come to me and drink," and then spoke
about the rivers of living water that would flow from the innermost being of those who
came to Him. We know why He said that there because He
was capturing that moment of the pouring out of the water, and He turned it to himself. Well He does the same thing here, and so in
order to grasp this amazing moment, it's really important to understand another ritual at
the feast of tabernacles, another very important ritual. He could have said, "I am the light," just
out of nowhere, and of course, it would have made sense in the world of darkness. We all understand that. All of us are characterizing Ephesians 5:11
as doing the unfruitful works of darkness. "We walk in darkness. The way of the wicked is darkness," the Scripture
says. "The foolish heart is darkened. We are darkened in our understanding and excluded
from the life of God." Scripture talks about that frequently. It's a common description. We have been delivered out of the domain of
darkness, so there was certainly theological understanding of the notion of darkness. Even Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament said,
"The fool walks in darkness." Isaiah said, "Men substitute darkness for
light." So I suppose Jesus could have just popped
up and said, "I am the light of the world," and it would have had some impact because
people use the metaphor of darkness for the disastrous reality of the human condition
even then. But there's far more going on here than that. Far more. And let me help you with that. When the feast of tabernacles began, candelabras
were set up all through the Court of the Women. Candelabras really all around the Court of
the Women. As far as historians say, they literally filled
the Court of the Women with the capability of light. Every night, they would go around, and they
would light these large candles, and they would burn all night. This was actually called by the Jews the illumination
of the temple. And the reason they did was because remember
now, the feast of tabernacle is they're celebrating what? They're celebrating the 40 years they wandered
in the wilderness. And how did they know where to go in the wilderness? They were led by light. They were led by a pillar of fire at night
and a lighted cloud in the daytime. This was the light that led them in the wilderness. To commemorate that, they had this illumination
of the temple, and they lit all these candles and let them burn all night. There's some interesting descriptions of it
by historians, ancient historians who describe it as a stunning vision, like a diamond in
the midst of the city of Jerusalem was the temple ground with like floodlights coming
up across its perimeter walls. Every night they were lit, the temple became
a flashing diamond, a symbol of the pillar of fiery light and cloud that led them in
the wilderness. Some have said they actually quoted Isaiah
42:6 and 49:6. "I will be a light to the nations." I can visualize Jesus standing there. "Maybe they're just lighting them." We don't have the exact moment. "Maybe they're just lighting them." Or maybe He's there earlier in the day, and
they've been extinguished. And maybe He looks at those extinguished Candelabras
and says, "I'm the light of the world, and I never go out. If you follow me, the light will never go
out. You will never walk in the darkness. But you will have the light of life." It's a profound moment. "I'm the light that never is extinguished. And as the pillar of light in the day and
the night led Israel to the promised land, I am the light that will lead you to the kingdom. I will lead you to God, to heaven, to everlasting
life. It's not a light to be looked at. Not a light to be admired. It's a light to be followed. It moves. It's to be followed." Jesus said, "If any man will come after me,
let me deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." He said to His disciples, "Follow me." They followed the cloud, they followed the
pillar, and they were led to the promised land. That whole generation died, of course, and
only the next were able to go in. Jesus said, "If you follow me, you will go
in. You follow me, this will light you all the
way to - you receive the full promise of eternal life." So rather dramatically and beautifully and
powerfully and effectively does Jesus capture the crowd and the stunning temple ritual turns
to Him. "I know the way out of darkness," He says. "I know the way out of the darkness of ignorance. I know the way out of the darkness of sin. I know the way out of the darkness of sadness
and sorrow. I know the way out of the darkness of death. Follow me, and I will lead you to life, eternal
life." What does it mean to follow? Just the word itself. Follow me. The way it's used in ancient usage, it's used
of a soldier following his commander as the believer follows Christ as his sole commander. It's used of a slave following his master
as the believer is to do the same. It's used of someone following a wise counselor. It's used of someone following the law obediently. It's used of a student following the teacher's
line of argument. That's what it means to follow all of those
things, to follow Christ as a soldier follows his commander, as a slave follows his master,
as a person in ignorance follows a wise counselor. As a disobedient sinner turns to follow the
law obediently. As a student follows the teacher's line of
reasoning and argument. To be a follower is to give yourself totally
to Christ. To say with the psalm, "The Lord is my light
and my salvation." Where as it also says in the Old Testament,
"The Lord shall be an everlasting light." "Follow me," Jesus said, "and I'll lead you
to the heavenly promised land. I'll be the light, the true light." It might interest you to know that the rabbis
even declared that Messiah's name is light. They knew what Isaiah was saying. So Jesus is claiming not only to be the I
am, not only to be God who is the true light, but to be the Messiah prophesied. So we go from the area to the assertion. That's what he asserts. It's a powerful, dramatic moment. Captivating the people, and they understand. Certainly the leaders understood because you
see the antagonism that rises immediately. The antagonism appears in verse 13. So the Pharisee said to him, "You're testifying
about yourself. Your testimony is not true," which is to say
you can't do that. That's not how it works. They accused Jesus of an invalid claim because
He's making it for Himself. You're just boasting. Why should we believe you? There are no witnesses to confirm this. This is another calculated attack, and of
course, they're saying essentially this is an illegal claim because you cannot claim
anything, and we cannot confirm it to be true unless it is confirmed by at least what, two
witnesses. And that's exactly what Jesus refers to later
in the discussion. Verse 17. "Even in your law, it has been written that
the testimony of two men is true." So they go onto that legal aspect, this calculated
attack. It's biblical law. You have to have at least two witnesses. You can't possibly think that just because
you say it, it's true. In fact, it's invalidated because there are
no confirming witnesses. This is how unbelief operates, by the way. Unbelief never has enough proof. His words alone should have been convincing
enough. They had enough hearing of His words to know
that He spoke like no other person ever spoke, and that's exactly what was reported to them
by the soldiers they sent to arrest Him in the last chapter. His works, ubiquitous works of healing, power
over disease, demons, death, and nature. His effect. But unbelief never has enough proof. Go back to chapter 7 verse 17. "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will
know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak for myself." If you're willing to know the truth, you'll
know the truth. If you're willing, you will know the teaching. They weren't willing. Their unbelief begat ignorance. Now you can be an unbeliever because you're
ignorant. That's a better situation. Because if we can just remove the ignorance,
perhaps you'll believe. But the worst possible scenario is to be ignorant
because you're an unbeliever so that when you're given the proof, your unbelief locks
you into your ignorance. That was then. They weren't unbelievers because of ignorance. They were ignorance because of unbelief. They didn't process anything He said. They didn't connect any of the evidences,
which were replete. They just wanted Him trapped and dead. And I would just say, generally speaking,
that you want to be very careful if you're rejecting Jesus Christ in unbelief. You're in a safer condition if your unbelief
is because you're ignorant than you are if your ignorance is because of your unbelief. That's terminal. Because if ignorance has been met with truth
and you're unwilling to see it, you are locked into the kind of ignorance that is hopeless. John 7:17, "If you're willing, the truth is
there." The truth is there. Are you willing? When somebody says, "I don't believe the gospel. I don't believe Jesus is the son of God. I don't believe in Him as the Savior," there's
usually two things to say. Number one, "That's such an amazing and such
an astute conclusion. You must have studied the Bible intensely
for years to come to that conclusion." Because the world is full of people and has
been for centuries who have studied it deeply their whole lives and are convinced He is
who He said He was. So for you to overturn that, you must have
made some kind of an extensive and erudite effort to understand everything in Scripture. That's not true. That's a very humiliating thing to say to
someone who probably hasn't even read the New Testament. The second thing you'd want to say is, "Are
you willing? Are you willing? Is your unbelief because of ignorance so that
if ignorance is removed, you're willing?" These weren't. There Pharisees, these leaders, they weren't. So you go from the antagonism to the answer
in verse 14. Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if
I testify about myself, my testimony is true." You know, Deuteronomy 19:15, another passage
in Deuteronomy, talk about two or three witnesses. That's for people who are liars. That works for us because we're all liars. We all live in a world of lies and deception. We've got to confirm things with several people
hoping to get the truth. But that doesn't apply to God. Jesus said, "Even if I testify about myself,
my testimony is true. I'm not subject to those laws that are meant
for a world of liars. I know where I came from, and I know where
I'm going," and He's saying there, "I'm eternal. I'm transcendent." "The law was made for man, not for God. The Sabbath was made for man, not for God. I speak the truth because of who I am." So His answer is, "First of all, my claim
is valid because of who I am and where I'm from and where I am going." We know where he's from. The Word became flesh and dwelled among us,
but it was the eternal Word who was with God. And I know where I'm going, John 17. "Father, restore me to the glory I had with
you before the world began. I came from the Father. I'm going back to the Father, but you don't
know where I come from or where I'm going." In fact, they didn't even know what town He
was from. They thought He was from Nazareth. They never bothered to check. Why would they? Their unbelief confined them to a willful
ignorance. They never looked at the records to see that
He was born in Bethlehem where Messiah is to be born, and He was of the line of David,
both father and mother. And you remember that discussion from our
last message. So first of all, He says, "You don't know
anything about me, even temporally. You don't even know what town I'm from." Back in chapter 7, verse 28, He cried out
on the temple teaching saying, "You both know me and know where I'm from." He's saying that sarcastically. We know where you're from. You're from Galilee. You're from Nazareth. The Messiah doesn't come from there. He says, "You think you know me and where
I'm from? I've not come of myself, but He who sent me
is true whom you do not know. I know Him because I am from Him and He sent
me." And they were trying to seize Him, kill Him. He's saying it again. When He says, "I know where I came from,"
they know He means God. And I know where I'm going. Back to God. I'm transcendent. I'm eternal. I am God. Their denial of His testimony is willful ignorance. Ignorance is cheap. Ignorance is common, and ignorance in the
face of evidence is terminally deadly. Jesus says, "You judge according to the flesh." Verse 15. You judge according to the flesh. Your judgment is superficial. By the way, they judged everyone. That's what Jesus referred to in Matthew 7. A sermon on the mount when He said, "Judge
not, lest ye be judged." Stop the judgment. The final judgment is at your rendering. That's what the leaders were doing on everybody,
but they judge according to the flesh. You don't know me. You don't know me at all, and yet you sit
in judgment on me and judgment on my testimony. All you know is external. All you know is physical, and you don't even
know the town I came from. You haven't even checked the temple records. You don't even know what you could know. And you're the judge of my like you're the
judge of everybody else. Verse 15, He then says, "I'm not judging anyone,"
in that way he means. "I don't judge in the flesh." Apostle Paul, you know, in 2 Corinthians 5:16
said, "I judge no man in the flesh." What did he mean by that? He meant I don't judge people superficially. If you're a Christian, you judge people spiritually. You don't judge people superficially. You judge them spiritually. Pharisees judge superficially, behavior. Jesus said, "I don't judge that way." But, verse 16, "Even if I do judge, my judgment
is true." And by the way, He will judge. Back to chapter 5, verse 22, "And following
all judgment is given to Him, and one day, He will raise all the dead to a judgment of
life and a judgment of condemnation, and the Father has given all judgment into His hand,
and He will judge. But according to verse 30 of that fifth chapter,
"He will judge in perfect harmony with the Father. Next time He comes, He will come as the judge." Back in chapter 3, He said He didn't come
to judge, but to save the first time. "I'm not here to judge, but if I do judge,
my judgment is true, for I am not alone in it, but I and the father who sent me. I judge in accord with the Father." John 5:30. He says exactly the same thing. And then He goes to the second point. Not only because of who I am from heaven going
back to heaven, sent by God going back to God in perfect coordination and harmony with
God. Then there's a second reason, and at this
point, He exceeds to their expectation. Okay, even in your own law, it has been written
that the testimony of two men is true. I'll give you that. I am He who testifies about myself, and the
Father who sent me testifies about me. There's two. You want two? You have two. Myself and the Father. Myself and the Father. This again is an infuriating claim, very much
like the claim he made back in chapter 5. My Father is working until now and I am working,
and they wanted to kill Him because He was making himself equal with God. Here He says, "I judge and my father Judges. I testify and the Father testifies. Two reasons that my claim is valid. Number one, who I am, and number two, the
testimony that my Father corroborates." And of course, their response is predictable. Verse 19, they were saying to Him, "Where
is your father?" Scorn, ridicule, sarcasm, mockery. I don't know whether they were throwing some
slur at Him as an illegitimate child, which of course appears in ancient times. I don't know whether they were mocking the
fact that no one knew His father because His father was long dead by the time He was in
ministry. I don't know really what they were saying,
but it was intended as scornful mockery. "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my
Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also. You don't know me. You don't know my Father. You wouldn't know God if he came up to you. You don't know Him. You don't know me." Back in chapter 5, he said similar words. In verse 23, "If you don't honor me, you don't
honor the Father." Later, he will say to the disciples, "If you've
seen me, you've seen the Father." But this is the final insult. They prided themselves on knowing God. They knew God better than anyone. He says, "You don't know Him at all." Matthew 11:27 says, "The son reveals the father." You don't know God. You don't know Him at all. This is a devastating statement. This is a characterization of the leadership
of Judaism in the time of Christ. They didn't know God at all. Still true of those who reject the Savior. So that was the answer, devastating answer. Verse 20 then, we already looked at these
words He spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple. They are now so infuriated that again, again,
they want to seize Him to kill Him. But they can't. They tried three times in chapter 7 unsuccessfully. They can't because His hour had not yet come. He's on a divine schedule. They can't do a thing. Final statement is the avenging. The avenging, verse 21. Then He said to them again, "I go away. You'll seek me. You'll die in your sin. Where I'm going, you cannot come." That's final. Earlier, He said, "I'm not going to be around
long. I'm just going to be here a little while,"
as if there's still some time. Here we are only hours later, at the most,
days. "Your ignorance is confirmed. It's willful, and it's the product of your
unbelief in the face of the revelation." We know how extreme their rejection was because
they attributed what He did to Satan. So He said, "I'll go away." Not six months from then, but as far as they
were concerned, He was gone. "You will seek me." You know, that's the horror of lostness. And I told you that last time. Hell is where you now know finally who you
need and you seek but never find. That's why there's weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Where I go, you cannot come. You will die in your sin. I want to close with just a look at chapter
12 because I think it ties this together, and I won't take long because time is up. Chapter 12, and we'll obviously get to it,
but for now, verse 35. Verse 35 is a good concluding portion. So Jesus said to them this just before His
last supper with the disciples in John 13 at the end. "For a little while longer, the light is among
you. Walk while you have the light so the darkness
will not overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn't know
where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light
so that you may become sons of light." That's the cry, isn't it? It's the same thing He says in chapter 8. But what's so stunning is immediately in verse
36, it says, "These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid himself from them. They didn't have much time. "Believe now, or I'm gone.' And He hid himself." Verse 37 explains why. "Though He had performed so many signs before
them, yet they were not believing in Him." Was that a shock to God? No, it was a fulfillment of prophecy. It fulfilled the word of Isaiah who said,
"Lord who has believed our report, to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this reason, they couldn't believe. They wouldn't believe, and now what? They couldn't believe. For Isaiah said He is - this is from Isaiah
6, the first one from Isaiah 53. "He has blinded their eyes, hardened their
hearts so they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted,
and I heal them." These things Isaiah said because he saw His
glory and he spoke of Him. Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 6 is a prophecy
of Jesus being rejected, and then God rejecting the rejecters. But thankfully, verse 42, many even of the
rulers believed in Him, say, "That's good." Not so good, but because of the Pharisees,
they were not confessing him for fear they would be put out of the synagogue, for they
loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. What a sad reality. He is the light of the world, the only light. Walk in the light or experience darkness forever. Lord, thank you again for the truth, the compelling
and powerful word of Scripture comes through to us as always. And we bow beneath its glory, its urgency. Help us to understand how serious these truths
are. Believe while you can, come to the light while
the light is available before it is hidden, and the one who would not believe cannot ever
believe. Willful blindness becomes judicial blindness. Lord, may the light shine on hearts today. May Christ be the light of life. May many follow Him. Not walk in darkness, but follow Him all the
way to that glorious light of heaven. Father, now we ask that you would use these
things that we have learned today to enlighten us and to open the hearts of some who perhaps
have been and still are in the darkness and to make us all aware of how important it is
to be lights in the world, for this terrible darkness that binds men's hearts. Use us, Lord, to be the light. We thank you for that great privilege. Do it by your power, we pray. In Christ's name.
