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.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.
My Understanding: Jesus said,
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”This verse is key to the whole rest of the passage, as well as it is key to the message that I believe the Lord Jesus would have me to receive and to share from this passage of scripture this morning. Since this song is about being willing to obey the Lord Jesus Christ in being his witness, in allowing his love within us to spread to all men so that they, too, might know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and so they may know his transforming power in their lives and his forgiveness for their sins, and since it is about the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives to change our hearts and to make us like Jesus in being a light that shines in the darkness, I knew this first verse was the key verse of this passage and of this message this morning.
This first verse packs a powerful punch! Jesus said that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness. This is what it means to follow Jesus. We cannot be his followers if we are still walking in darkness, i.e. if we are still willfully and consciously giving our lives over to sin, and/or we are conforming our lives to the pattern of the world instead of to the pattern and example set for us by Jesus Christ himself. Light and darkness don’t mix, and yet many Christians try to blend the two together when they live lives that are no different from the way the people of the world (outside of faith in Christ) live. In fact, sometimes the people outside of Christ live more moral lives than those who claim to be believers in Jesus. Ouch!
If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, then the light of Christ should be shining through our lives, i.e. our lives should reflect Christ - who he was and is and what he did and does, and should reflect his life and ministry as shared in the gospels in the Holy Bible, which is our example for how to be a follower of Christ, and how to live this life out in our daily lives. So, if we want to know what it means to reflect Christ and his light and love to the world, then all we have to do is to read the gospels and to see, in all practicality, how he lived, walked, obeyed, served and loved others while he was still on the face of this earth.
The Pharisees did not like Jesus because he told them the truth about themselves. He told them that they judged by human standards, but he did not judge in that way. He told them that they did not know him and they did not know his Father, i.e. he told them that they did not know God the Father whom they believed they were serving and obeying. He also told them that they were dying in their sins and that they were not going to heaven. He had the advantage of knowing their hearts, so he could tell them these things. Yet, he made it clear that those who do not believe in him - that he is the Christ, God the Son, creator of the world and Savior of mankind – will die in their sins, so we do have that knowledge.
Jesus, knowing their hearts, continued by telling them that they were from below (meaning of the world and/or of Satan), but he was from above (heaven). They were of the world, but he was not of the world. He also told them that they were going to lift him up on a cross and crucify him, though he did not use those exact words, and that when they crucified him, they would know that he was the one he claimed to be and that he did nothing on his own accord (he was not acting alone), but that he always did what pleased the Father, and he spoke only what the Father had taught him.
You have heard it said, “True friends don’t let their friends drink and drive.” Why? Because they love them enough to tell them the truth about their condition and of the possible consequences should they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while drunk.
Proverbs 27:6 says this: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”Jesus never used flattery to make people feel good about themselves. He never just gave people a pass and a pat on the back, and he never told them that they were ok and that they shouldn’t feel so bad about their sin. He was always loving and kind, except he spoke some pretty harsh words at times to the Pharisees and teachers of the law, but he always told the truth. He let people know that they were dying in their sins and that the only way to heaven is through faith in him, yet he often let them know what faith in him meant, too. That understanding takes me back to the first verse (v. 12) in which he let the people know that his followers do not walk in darkness, but they have the light of life within them. So, faith in Christ means turning from darkness (sin and worldliness) and coming into the light and walking in that light of the gospel of Jesus Christ in full obedience and surrender.
So, we now know, if we did not know before, that reflecting the light of Christ and his love means that we tell people the truth about their sinful condition and that they will face the judgment of God and eternity in hell if they do not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Yet, it also means that we tell them about the hope, love, joy, peace and security that can be theirs through faith in Jesus Christ, via repentance and obedience to the Lord and to his commands. And, it means that we tell them the whole gospel, not a watered-down version of the gospel, and we tell them what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus Christ in leaving our lives of sin behind us and walking in the light that Jesus gives to us.
We also know from Jesus’ example to us here that being his follower and having him as our Lord and Savior means that we don’t walk in darkness and the ways of this world, but that we follow the light of the gospel in obedience to our Lord’s commands. And, being his follower means that we follow the Lord’s example in being his witnesses and allowing the light within us to shine in darkness to the world, exposing the deeds of darkness and bringing people into the light of God’s Holy Word. Following Jesus’ example, we also know that being his followers means that we do not judge by human standards, but that we only judge as Jesus judges, i.e. we only make judgments on matters of which the Word of God makes judgments concerning man’s sinful condition, his need of a Savior, and of the only way in which a person can be saved and can enter into God’s eternal kingdom.
Lastly, in understanding how to be a follower of Jesus Christ and to live by his example to us, we must not be of this world, but we must be born again from above. We should have our minds set on things above, not on things of the earth. We should have eternity’s values in view when we make decisions in this life. In following Jesus’ example to us, we should not live our lives or do the work of the ministry of our own accord and the will of man, but we should operate in the power and authority of the Word which dwells within us and in the power of the Spirit of God who lives and works within us in making us more and more like Jesus. We should not pontificate our own thoughts, wills and desires based upon our own intellect and reasoning or the thinking and views of men, but when we speak, we should speak what the Lord Jesus has taught us through his word and through his life. And, most of all, we should always have in mind to do what pleases God – Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
Willing / An Original Work / August 17, 2011
I am willing to obey You;
Have Your Spirit live within me;
Know Your power; be Your witness
To a world who needs You greatly.
Love within me spread to all men,
So that they might come to know Him;
Know His power; His forgiveness;
Be transformed into His likeness.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Change our hearts within this hour.
May we be like Jesus always;
Be a light that shines in darkness.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
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