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 attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, which commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, dwelling in tents or "tabernacles."  This is an eight day autumn harvest festival, and it is now the final year of Christ's earthly life. Yesterday we read that the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "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."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers of 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."  

 

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 observes that Jesus spoke these words in the context of the great lamps being lit at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  These lamps (oil-fueled menorahs) towered over the city of Jerusalem, and when they were lit, they created such a blaze that it seemed the whole of Jerusalem was illumined in bright light.  Here, my study Bible says, Jesus declares Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, it notes, God the Father is light (John 1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), an attributes bestowed by God on followers (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).  Jesus will confirm His claim by performing the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind, at the beginning of chapter 9 (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."  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.  The Pharisees demand again witnesses, testimony as to who Jesus is, and where His authority comes from.  But Jesus has already offered four witnesses:  John the Baptist, the works that Jesus does, God the Father, and the Scriptures (see this reading).  Here He responds again, affirming that His witness is true, because He knows where He came from and where He is going, and they do not.  Once again, Jesus affirms an emphatic choice in judging with true judgment, as He relies on the Father who sent Him; and judges not according to the flesh, or to appearances (see yesterday's reading, above).  The two witnesses He names here in this passage, therefore, are Himself and the Father.  My study Bible comments that, as the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (see John 14:7-11).  

Between the readings from yesterday and today, beginning John's eighth chapter, there is a reading that is often skipped over as it has been by the lectionary today.  That is from John 7:53-8:11, and it is the story of the woman caught in adultery.  The reason this passage is frequently skipped over is that it's not found in several ancient manuscripts, and it's not covered in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and certain other patristic figures.  But it's still accepted in the Church as authentic, inspired, and canonical, and bearing the authority of all other Scripture.  I mention it today because Christ teaches in today's passage about judgment; that is, about judging good judgment, and that is relevant to the passage on the woman presented to Him in the temple as taken in adultery.  He refuses to condemn her, suggesting to the men who make the accusations that those without sin cast the first stone against her.  In today's lectionary reading, Jesus asserts His own relationship to the Father in repeated ways.  He says that He may bear witness to Himself because He is sent by the Father.  He has come from the Father in heaven, and those who demand witnesses and proof of His authority have not, and do not know where He comes from.  Moreover, it is because the Father is with Him, says Jesus, that He is able to make judgment that is true and good.  In earlier readings, Jesus has taught about judging with righteous judgment (John 5:30; 7:24).  Jesus says, "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."  So, in the context of the two passages, one might suggest that the case of the woman taken in adultery is an example of Christ's true judgment, and it is an example for us all to follow.  We might take this as if we should all use the same principles of judgment, but I for one would suggest that Christ offers us to follow Him in seeking a closer communion with the Father, in seeking the Father's will in all we do.  After all, Jesus is in the world, in effect, to "show us" the Father, whom we know through Christ (John 14:8-18).  Not only is He in the world so that we come to know God more truly, but He brings us closer to God through every sacrament initiated through His life (especially the Eucharist), and also because His Incarnation will facilitate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Let us follow Christ's example of seeking that judgment that sees beyond appearances, that judges with righteous judgment, because we may draw closer to the Father in prayer and worship, seeking that which will help us to see beyond our own limitations, and to grow into the people God asks us to become.  If we but make the effort, the power to accept a maturity we don't yet know is a capacity God will help us to realize, and a path which is illumined by Christ's light.  Some might suggest this is the whole meaning of salvation, the true measure of Christ's Incarnation in the world for us.  Let us endeavor to let Him lead the way, especially in the practice of judgment.  For in this sense He is truly the light of the world, who illumines our way through the darkness.