"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true." Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men in true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

- John 8:12-20

In yesterday's reading, we read Jesus' words at the Feast of Tabernacles, at the last, great day of the feast: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, which would come when He was glorified. Many in the crowd said, "This is the Prophet," or "This is the Christ." Some disputed about His Galilean background. Wasn't the Christ to come from the line of David in Bethlehem? Some in the crowd wanted to take Him, but none laid hands on Him. The officers sent by the leaders to arrest Jesus came back to the chief priests and Pharisees who asked why they hadn't arrested Him. The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" The Pharisees scorned, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed." Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

Today's lectionary reading skips over a section of the beginning of the eighth chapter of John. You can read it from an earlier reading and commentary, here: Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? It's the section on the woman taken in adultery, brought by the leadership to test Jesus. Here is the note in my study bible regarding that passage: "This passage, the story of the adulterous woman, forcefully demonstrates the grace and power of Christ to redeem and reclaim all sinners, in contrast to the judgmental attitude of the scribes and Pharisees."

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." My study bible says that during the Feast of Tabernacles, torches were lit in the temple court, and singing and dancing continued each night. In this context, just as Jesus would give living water to those who thirst (see yesterday's reading), He is the One who gives the light of life. It says, "In the New Testament, God is light (1 John 1:5); the followers of Jesus are the light (Matt. 5:14); and believers shine as lights in the modern world (Phil. 2:15). In these and other references in John, God is the source of this uncreated, life-giving light (see 1:4-10, 3:19, 12:35-36)." Coming immediately after the passage of the woman taken in adultery, we can also see this statement applying to His judgment, as shown through that passage. Earlier He has just told us, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true." Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from and where I am going." Here themes are repeated from recent readings, but they are given further elaboration through, first of all, Jesus' righteous judgment of the woman in the previous passage, and also His repeated statements about identity. He bears witness of Himself only because He is loyal to the One who sent Him. They don't understand Him, can't see His identity, can't judge Him properly. Earlier He has taught that those who don't really have the love of the Father in them also cannot know Him.

"You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me." Here we have the crux again. Where does righteous judgment come from?

"It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men in true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." Again, the crux of the matter is here, repeated in John's Gospel. He is true to the One who sent Him. If they had known Him truly, then they would know Christ. They are the experts in Scripture, and yet their hearts are elsewhere, on the things that cloud our reception and understanding. Jesus proclaims His relationship to the Father. In our understanding of theology this is also the crux of the matter of the faith: He and the Father and are one. As my study bible puts it, "One cannot be known apart from the other." St. John Chrysostom wrote, "Indeed, if He were not of the same nature as the Father, He would not have spoken as He did." But the message here is repeated for us: if they had truly known the Father, then they would know Him.

These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. And again, this same theme is repeated. It is not yet His hour. Everything works according to God's schedule, not man's. Jesus has a mission to do, and He will do it.

Judgment and knowledge are intertwined in this Gospel, in these readings. What is it to truly know? What is it to see in the light, to be given the light to see with? To understand with righteous judgment? These things are taught by Christ. He is here to give us the light so that we may walk in the light. This is the light that enlivens all things, gives us a deeper reality, adds to and infuses material life and enlivens it with the Spirit, gives us complexity, depth and meaning, and a greater life of insight and understanding. Can we walk in this light? Can we seek His judgment? In all things, Jesus testifies to the Father, the origin of light. Can we also accept to find His Way? His way of seeing, illumined by the light? We have the example of the woman taken in adultery, but there is so much more to be illumined by that light: our own darkness inside, the things we don't want to look at, the ways we need to change our lives and ourselves, the things we hide from. Maybe we need to stand up and make a decision. Maybe we need to throw off false guilt. To walk in the light is to walk with Him. He will show us the Way.