I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

- John 12:44-50

It is Passion Week, and Jesus is touching now deeply on themes of judgment. In yesterday's reading, we learned of those whose hearts are hardened -- who are spiritually blind and do not see the light He brings. Jesus spoke also of those who believed and yet, afraid of the Pharisees and their places, did not confess. See They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

My study bible has a note on this entire section of John's chapter 12: "Jesus' last public appeal sums up His message about His unique relationship to the Father, His mission in the world, and the destiny of the people -- damnation or eternal life, depending on their response."

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me." We come once again to the themes that Jesus has returned to over and over again. Here, Jesus makes the claim again that anyone who believes in Him believes in the Father. Seeing Him is seeing the Father. It is a claim of equality and representation in the world. This is the statement that will lead to charges and conviction of blasphemy.

"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." And once again, the summing up returns to the themes of light and darkness. Jesus is the light, the lamp that guides our way. In this sense, He is life itself - He is here so that we have life in abundance. The darkness is death and its shadow over our lives, in any form that it comes. It is evil itself. In a darkened world, full of ways in which our life in abundance may be curtailed, diminished, repressed, and burdened, the light shows us the way through.

"And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world." And we touch on the themes of judgment, finally, and how judgment works. Jesus is here not to judge but to save, to offer a way through the darkness so that we may have life. This is His purpose and His mission. He wishes to keep those who love Him with Him eternally.

"He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." Jesus is in the world not for condemnation and judgment, but for salvation - to give us life abundantly. But our response to that impulse, that life, and that offer determines where we stand. We are free to choose for ourselves. Our Lord does not demand our love, does not compel it. He is here to save. How we respond is our own choice. And note that the judgment of which Jesus speaks is that of the resurrection on "the last day." This is not a speech about worldly judgment.

"For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak." Here is, finally, the summing up of the great power behind Jesus' words and His teachings in the world. It is the presence of the Father and the will of the Father . Jesus has been sent by the Father, and for every word, "what I should say and what I should speak," He has been given a command. There is a unity of will and action here. There is a thread of divine energy, if you will, that is unbroken between the Father and Jesus' teachings.

"And I know that His command is everlasting life." This command, we are told, is in fact, "everlasting life." That divine thread is life in itself. This is not just the life that we consider the everyday ordinary life of the world we understand, but something much deeper and broader and more far-reaching. It is, in fact, a life that is eternal - and in every dimension it is offered to us.

"Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak." And so we come back full circle. Jesus' words are full of this everlasting life, in His words He offers life abundantly. One cannot break this thread, this energy of life, this presence. It is in the words that come from the command of the Father, and this Presence connects in Jesus and in His words. And He asks us to do the same, to be part of this thread, to receive His words.

Elsewhere Jesus has also taught that it is the Father who reveals that He is Christ to those who confess and believe. See Who do you say that I am? for the reading from Matthew's Gospel of Peter's confession of faith. In John's Gospel version of this time of confession, Jesus' preaching has turned many away who cannot believe and follow further. The "hard saying" is "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in Him." Jesus teaches that "no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to Him by My Father." When He turns to his twelve chosen and asks if they, too, wish to depart, Peter replies, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

It's important that we understand Jesus' aim and mission. It is to save. The summing up of the concepts expressed here of this dynamic reality, the union of Father and Son, of the words and commands, and of life itself - is love. In the first Epistle of John, our Evangelist, he will write about this love as it dwells in us, in our acceptance of this full circle of life and love:

"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us."

Can we accept it? Do we accept it? How do we live our faith? It starts in love, it ends in love. And it is love that is the power of life and the reality of God. So teaches our Evangelist. And that love is for the life of the world.