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.  We will continue reading about events at this Feast through the middle of chapter 10 of St. John's Gospel.  It is an eight-day festival, during which there are many commemorations and rites.  Jesus' teachings come against this backdrop, and highlight and fulfill many of the celebrations.  Yesterday we read that on 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 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." 

 

 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."   For contextual purposes, it's important to know that the lectionary has skipped over a story normally found at John 7:53-8:11.  This is the story of the woman taken in adultery and accused before Christ.  She was presented to Him as a test for His judgment by the scribes and Pharisees, who seek to entrap Him.  Following the reading from yesterday, it continues the theme of judgment, and what constitutes righteous judgment (see yesterday's commentary).  The story of the woman taken in adultery, and Christ's response to the accusers, is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  It's not commented upon by St. John Chrysostom and other patristic sources.  We must assume this is why it is not included at this point in the lectionary.  Jesus' words, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life," further highlight the source of righteous judgment, and how we need His light to know where we are going.  These words were spoken, according to my study Bible, in the context of the great lamps which were lit at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles (on this last, great day of the Feast).  These great lamps were four huge golden menorah reaching approximately 75 feet high.  When they were lit at night, they illumined the whole of Jerusalem around the temple.  Jesus extends our understanding of God as light, and, as my study Bible notes, He is declaring Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, God is light (John 1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), which is an attribute God bestows on His followers (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).  In the chapter that follows (John 9), this claim will be made manifest in the sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  

 

 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."  Continuing the themes of righteous judgment and the law, Jesus once again offers witnesses to His identity.  Previously in dispute with these same men, Jesus offered four witnesses, double the two required in the law (see John 5:31-47).  At that time, He named St. John the Baptist (whom He called "the burning and shining lamp"), the works that the Father gave Him to do, the Father who sent Him, and Moses who testified in the Scriptures to Him.  Here He offers Himself (as He knows where He came from and they do not), and the Father who sent Him.

 

 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.  As the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other, my study Bible notes.  Jesus will later say to St. Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  

 

Midst themes of justice and good judgment, Jesus speaks of the light that is common to Himself and to the Father:  "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  As the light of the world, and the light of life, it is the illumination for all that is necessary.  For without God's light, what do we understand of true justice, and, indeed, of righteous judgment?  In this sense, when Christ speaks of Himself as the light of the world, we are to understand that His illumination is for the righteousness (or "right-relatedness") of all things.  His words imply that if we are to know what we are doing, we need this light to understand ourselves, our world, and where we are headed.  To walk in darkness is also a metaphor for ignorance.  Ignorance is also a root of evil and of heresy, for partial or half-truths are also misleading, a darkness that leads us to stumble and to move in the wrong directions.  For our ancient pagan ancestors, and the earliest Christians among the Greco-Roman world, truth was not something they were strangers to.  In the Hellenistic culture of the period there already existed philosophy, mathematics, study of history, literature, drama, poetry, and many of the classical subjects that remain the pillars of what is considered a good education.  And it also should be noted that the earliest Fathers and great theologians of the Church, the best-educated men of their time (such as St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Gregory Nazianzus, St. Gregory of Nyssa), none of this education was discarded, but was put to use for the Church.  In the sight, therefore, of those who valued the truths of what was already known in their culture (such as, for example, the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle), Christ was seen as a more full expression of truth, as the hope of illumination for things not known and understood, the light that would shine in the darkness so that God was illumined for all.  We can observe from the ancient plays such as those of Sophocles or Euripides that the notion of what constituted justice was already a highly debated and seriously considered ideal.  But Christ's righteousness indeed did become the light of the world for this educated class of those earliest centuries of the Church and the greatest minds of the time, and Christian theology was born from this understanding.  Christ's light is also the foundation of the mystical orientation of our faith, in which we join with St. Paul who writes of the greatest illumination as love.  He says, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:11-13).  So we look to the light of the world today, the One who shows us the way, who is love Himself, and illumines our own path to His greater understanding of the righteousness we so need.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, 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 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."

 

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 comments that these words were spoken by Jesus ("I am the light of the world") in the context of the great lamps being lit at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles.  This is now the last day of that feast.  Therefore, my study Bible says, Jesus declares Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scripture, it continues, God the Father Himself is light (John 1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), an attribute which God bestows on the faithful (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).  Christ confirms His claim by performing the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind in the chapter that follows (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."  Earlier in this chapter, Jesus gave four witnesses to His identity (see John 5:31-47).  That took place during Christ's time in Jerusalem at the Feast of Weeks (the Old Testament Pentecost; see this reading).  Here, once again, He anticipates their argument, and responds accordingly.  Jesus cites Jewish tradition, in which a valid testimony required two witnesses.  Here He gives two:  Himself and God the Father.  

 

 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 (John 14:7-11).  Note once again how the Gospel emphasizes that no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

 

Once again (as in the reading in which Jesus gave four witnesses to His identity) we are invited today to think about witnesses and witnessing.  In today's reading Jesus gives two witnesses to back up His claim that He is the light of the world:  Himself and God the Father.  Jesus replies, "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."  How many of us can say with confidence that our witness is true in this same sense that Jesus claims it.  There is the obvious understanding that He knows where He came from and where He is going, and no one else knows that -- certainly not the men who challenge Him.  Note how His claim that His witness is true is linked to the next statement:  "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 who sent Me."  Christ's judgment is based on that which He is given from the Father, not His own perspective in terms of a worldly point of view (according to the flesh).  How can we best be true, and how can our own witness be true?  Let us practice what Jesus does, let us seek to defer to God our judgments.  In this way is Christ true, for He will repeatedly say that His goals and ambitions are not worldly, not for Himself alone as human being, but rather His choices in all things are made to serve the will of the Father.  He aligns Himself with the Light and Source of all light (as He is "light of Light, true God of true God"), and therefore is His witness true.  Later in this chapter, Jesus will declare, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things" (John 8:58).  This is how His witness is true, even as the Father teaches Him, so He speaks.  He affirms this in today's reading when He says, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  So closely does Jesus reflect the Father that we know the Father through Him.  Our endeavors in our own lives, in order to be true, should always attempt to follow this pattern, that we seek to do the will of the One who is the light of the world.  We seek to align ourselves with Christ, to bear His light into the world, for He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and so in this sense we also can best be true witnesses.  Let us remember that the word in Greek for witness is μαρτυρας/martyras; we have come to know this word "martyr" in English as one who witnesses for Christ (and of course, one in particular who has perished rather than deny one's Christian faith).  To witness then, or to testify, is to be present in that truth through all things, to bear witness to the truth of Christ as best we can through all circumstances.  In order to do so let us emphasize in our own lives that we seek to align ourselves with His light, to seek God's will in all things, to practice what we know and to pray at all times for what we don't.  To seek God's truth is also to delve into mysteries, but that means primarily that we put our trust in God through all things.  Listen to Christ's words of absolute, unshakable confidence in the Father.  For Jesus knows His witness is true, and He knows who He is.  Let us be those who also know who we are in our faith in Him.  

 

 

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.

 

 

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 eight-day Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, an autumn festival.  It is the final year of His earthly life.  Yesterday we read that while everyone went to his own house, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, staying with the other pilgrims to the feast.  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."   At the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, great lamps were lit in the outer courtyard of the temple, called the Court of Women (perhaps relevant to the story in yesterday's reading, above).  These were four oil-fed menorah lamps, 75 feet high, kept lit all night.   Their brilliance was so stunning that it illuminated the city.  These lamps were meant to remind the people of the pillar of fire that guided Israel on their wilderness journey following Moses.  It is in this context that Jesus says of Himself that He is the light of the world.   In so doing, my study Bible says, He declares Himself to be the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, it adds, God the Father is light (John 1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), an attribute which is bestowed on followers (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).  In the chapter that follows, Jesus will confirm His claim with the sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind (John 9:1-7; esp. 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."  We recall that in chapter 5 (John 5:31-47), Jesus gave four witnesses to Himself as testimony to confirm His identity as Messiah and Son of God:  God the Father, John the Baptist, His own works which bear witness, and the Old Testament Scriptures.  Here, Jesus first defends His own judgment and contrasts it with that of the leaders, who do not truly know "where I come from and where I am going."   Only He knows these things about Himself.  He contrasts their judgment according to the flesh, with His judgment which always comes from the Father.  He offers two witnesses this time for testimony:  Himself, and the Father who sent Him.  

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

Once again, we're given an example in today's reading of how Christ is the fulfillment of the "types" we read about in the Old Testament Scriptures.  As the great lamps of the Court of Women were illuminated, lighting up the whole city of Jerusalem in an image of the pillar of fire that led Israel through the wilderness (Exodus 13:17-22, esp. verses 21 and 22), Jesus declares, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   We have to consider how Christ is the fulfillment of those brilliant lamps of illumination which commemorate the pillar of fire leading the way in the darkness.  First of all, He is the Lord, and so we consider Christ the divine Son to have been active in leading the people of God throughout Israel's history and in this case specifically through the Exodus.  Jesus has used the language for the identity of the Lord proclaimed to Moses, I AM, in Exodus 3:14.  He will make this connection explicitly clear as we reach the end of this chapter, when Jesus declares to the religious leaders, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58).  We may also understand Jesus as "the light" which illumines our way in the world.  That is, the way of one who would be a pilgrim and disciple to Christ, to find our way to God, even as we pray to our Father as He taught, "Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (see Matthew 6:8-15).  Christ is the light that leads the way for those who desire God's kingdom manifest in this world.  He is the light that restores sight to a man blind from birth in the following chapter, as another aspect of His works or signs done at this Feast of Tabernacles.  Of course, St. John's Gospel tells us that He is the light shining in the darkness, that the darkness can neither understand nor take into itself (John 1:1-5).  Whether we believe that He is the One who provided the pillar of light, or Himself was present in the pillar of light, whether we understand the Eternal Word to be that which illumines or enlightens life itself, if we believe that this light is personally present to guide us and communicate with us through the mystery of the great communion of saints, all of the above is at once possible.  What we understand of His light communicates, guides, illumines us spiritually, enlightens our minds, uplifts our hearts with hope, and teaches us what we need in life and how to go forward in the path towards God and God's kingdom.  This is where we start, in that myriad of ways the light can show in our lives and has been present with humankind from the beginning. 

 

 

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "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.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

 Yesterday we began reading chapter 7 of John's Gospel, in which Jesus has chosen to walk in Galilee after confrontations with the religious leaders; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because they sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."   When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "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.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true and no unrighteousness is in Him."   Let us notice once again Jesus' emphasis on the love of God -- and particularly the honor that comes from God, as opposed to worldly glory.  My study bible comments here that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness, it says, comes from an unwillingness to know God or to recognize the authority of God.  Here is the way that St. John Chrysostom paraphrased the words of Christ in this passage:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God."  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."  

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus is referring to His healing of the paralytic, which took place at a previous religious festival (the Feast of Weeks, commemorating the giving of the Law by Moses); see this reading, and Christ's dispute with the religious leaders which followed (here and here).   In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gave examples from the Old Testament of blameless violations of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:3-5), and here He refers to circumcision on the Sabbath.  His point is regarding healing and wholeness.  To judge with righteous judgment would mean considering the true purpose of the Sabbath, and Christ's aim to heal and to restore.  See also Mark 2:27.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  My study bible comments that these crowds are mistaken, both in an earthly sense and in a divine sense, when they say, "We know where this Man is from."  In human terms, they think of Jesus as being from Nazareth in Galilee.  But they aren't aware that His birth was actually in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:1-7).   Moreover, they can't understand that He has come from the Father in Heaven, and is eternally begotten before all ages -- and so His divine origin also remains unknown to them.  

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   His hour is the time of His suffering and death.  My study bible comments that Christ is the Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone.  He comes to His Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plotting of human beings (see also John 8:20, 10:39).  

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  Here Jesus refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  But as is a common theme in John's Gospel, Jesus uses everyday language to describe events of great mystical significance, which will later be expounded in the Gospel.  The religious leaders do not understand His meaning and are perplexed.  To go among the Greeks means among the Gentiles, as Greek was the international language of the time.  This unwitting prophecy, according to my study bible, points to the time after Christ's Ascension when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

When John's Gospel describes the reactions of the people we can see the unfolding popularity of Christ's ministry, and how that plays into this drama of the increasing hostility of the leadership, as well as Christ's preaching.  In yesterday's reading (see above), we were told that there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  That is, the term "the Jews" here represents the religious leadership, and is used as a political term.  All the people in the Gospel, except where noted, are Jews, and that includes the author of this Gospel, and Jesus Himself.   John notes for us the conflicts and stirrings among the people around Jesus.  Some say He is good; others say He deceives the people.  And all are afraid of the religious leaders who seek to seize Jesus, and so will not speak openly.  In today's reading, taking place in the middle of the feast, we're told that some people from Jerusalem say, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."   After Jesus responds to this, we're told that the religious leaders sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"   So by this time, in the middle of this eight-day Feast of Tabernacles, many of the people have come to believe in Him.  And we can clearly see the response of the religious leaders:  the Pharisees seek to arrest Him and send their officers to take Him.  It's almost a picture of the growing and emerging chaos around Jesus in the conflict His ministry stirs among the people as all respond to Him in their own way.  And Jesus is the center of that storm, the One who remains firmly committed to His mission, asserting the truths which He is given to tell to the people, and placing all of His own faith in His communion with the Father.  As the actions continue to swirl about Him, Jesus goes deeper, digging in and revealing new truths about His ministry and hinting at His Passion, death, and Resurrection to come.  Where He goes, they cannot follow, He says, warning them that He will be with them only a little while, and when they seek Him then, they will not be able to find Him.  Jesus emphasizes that He is true to the One who sent Him, whose glory He alone seeks -- and that the One who sent Him is true.  But they do not know Him; their love is not for God, but for the glory they derive from one another, from other human beings.  "Do not judge according to appearance," He says, "but judge with righteous judgment."   And this is really the key to His Gospel, the gist of His warnings that there will come a time when they will seek Him and they won't be able to find Him, because ultimately He Himself will be the Judge.  If they have no love for the One who sent Him, they cannot have love nor understanding of the doctrine He teaches, the compassion to heal on the Sabbath, the good judgment He asks them to prefer above their own valuation of rules and honor.  But in these statements, Jesus doesn't simply speak to the people of His time or the religious leaders of His time.  He speaks to all of us for all of our times.  He speaks to us about times we follow social rules and customs that are nominally meant for good but in fact do harm.  He speaks to all of us when we're asked to judge according to appearances, instead of using good judgment which would be pleasing to God.  He stirs the crowds with His teaching but His real mission is far more urgent than anything that they can imagine, because it is really about life and death, what we care about, and what we ignore.  Jesus links our tendency to judge by appearance, to want the glory that comes from the world -- as opposed to God -- to the ultimate judgment to come, and we have already been told that He is the Judge (see John 5:22-23).  If we are encouraged to judge by appearance, then we are being asked to blind ourselves to the truths Christ taught, for He judges according to the heart and intention, and asks us to do the same.