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 is 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 our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and it is the final year of His earthly life and ministry.  The Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day autumn festival, commemorating the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, which includes many traditional rituals upon which Jesus draws for His teaching and the images He uses.  It is now the last, great day of the Feast.  Yesterday we read that while everyone went to his own house, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, spending the night with the other pilgrims to Jerusalem for the festival.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

  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."   As we have noted, many of Jesus' teachings in this section of John's Gospel (John 7:1-10:21) reflect the events of the Feast of Tabernacles, which Jesus is attending in Jerusalem.  My study Bible notes that these words are spoken in the context of the great lamps being lit at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  These were four magnificent menorahs in one of the courtyards of the temple, said to be approximately 75 feet high.  They were lit at night, which illumined a great part of the surrounding area of Jerusalem.  This was a commemoration of the pillar of light that led Israel through the night during the time spent in the wilderness of Sinai, when the people lived in tents or "tabernacles."   My study Bible explains Jesus is therefore declaring Himself to be the fulfillment and divine object of all celebrations of light, clearly expressing Himself as manifest in human form the God of that light in the wilderness.  In the Scriptures, it adds, God the Father Himself is light (John 1:4-9, 1 John 1:5), an attribute bestowed on followers (Matthew 5:14, Philippians 2:15).  Christ will confirm His claim by performing the great sign of opening (or illuminating) the eyes of a man born blind, in our following chapter (John 9:1-7, see especially verse 5).  

 

 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 is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."   The Pharisees make reference to the law and its call for witnesses.  Jesus has already addressed this question of witnesses to His identity and authority before them, by providing four witnesses (see John 5:31-47).  In that section, He more or less began with the very words the Pharisees say to Him as accusation here; He said, "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true."  But here, He defends His own witness in terms of His divine identity; in that sense He knows where He came from and where He is going.  And then, He returns to the theme of judgment (and we are speaking of matters of truth and the law and judgment).  In Saturday's reading, we read that He said the same thing to them only shortly before ("Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment," John 7:24).  Again, the emphasis on appearance here further distinguishes between Christ in His human identity and from His divine perspective.  They judge according to the flesh, to appearance.  But He is distinguishing between a purely worldly or earthly perspective and one in which the desire to know and do the will of the Father is paramount (see John 7:16-17).  He says He is not alone, but with the Father who sent Him; and so, He offers two witnesses, the Father and Himself.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that, because the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (see John 14:7-11).

This section, and our recent readings in John's Gospel, seems to go over and over again to themes of justice.  What is justice?  How do we know truth?  How do we judge with good judgment?  But let us begin at the root of these questions by returning to something that Christ has taught earlier, which I cited above.  In chapter 7, Jesus taught, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority" (John 7:16-17).  Earlier, He said that no one could come to Him except that they are "drawn" by the Father ("No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" - John 6:44).  We have observed Nicodemus, seeking justice and fairness, the things in the law that provide for a search for truth, who spoke up to His fellow Pharisees: "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" (John 7:51).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus acted in defense of a woman presented to Him as taken in adultery:  "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  In that case, the emphasis is on humility before we condemn others.   Humility is the prime requirement for us if we are honestly to seek the will of God over our own will; it goes hand in hand with Christ's teachings about truly desiring to know the Father, and our ability to recognize truth -- and particularly the religious leaders' capacity to recognize the truth about Christ.  Yet again, today's reading touches upon the subject of judging with good judgment, and not judging by appearance.  He again appeals to a sense of our own deep need to seek the things of God to judge with good judgment, and not to judge by mere appearance.  When Jesus tells the Pharisees, "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,"  He is also reminding us that we have our own capacity for seeking truth through humility and faith, and especially through an honest love of God.   It reminds us of His earlier teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum:  "It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me" (John 6:45).  There is an emphasis here on the fact that it is not only Christ who is set apart from us in His true identity, but that Christ comes to show us the way to the Father, to our own need to love God and seek God's will in our hearts, with humility, because this is the way to truth and good judgment.  We have many laws in place to help us find justice, and many theories about truth and justice.  But ultimately, Jesus places the responsibility in each of our hearts to seek first God's kingdom and the discernment we find through the humility to do so, so that each encounter becomes a prayerful occasion.  He knows the hearts of all, we're told, and so Christ knew to whom to commit Himself, and to whom not to do so (John 2:23-25).  He invites us to at least seek this same discernment, even if we do not share His divine identity and foreknowledge.  In today's reading, Jesus teaches all of us, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Let us seek His light through all the things we do, all our encounters in life, even in the midst of confusion and pressure.  At any time, we can turn in the briefest of moments, with a prayer as silent and swift as a breath, to seek that light and the Father who is with Him, and the Spirit (whom He names as Paraclete) who answers to a call.   We might not be perfect, but we are offered a way of love as our way of life, our way to truth and justice.