Find Life In the Light
Notes
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27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Setting the Stage
Setting the Stage
The realities and horrors of the Cross have flooded the mind of the Savior.
Christ is troubled in His soul.
Christ takes His troubles to His Father.
His Father responds audibly in order to glorify the Son before the people.
So as to give them reason to believe upon Him for eternal life.
Jesus tells them that glory not only has surrounded His miracles…
But great glory awaits Him at the pinnacle of His ministry, the Cross.
Jesus mentions being lifted up…
Which John tells us…
33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
Did They Understand Jesus’ Teaching About His Death?
Did They Understand Jesus’ Teaching About His Death?
Let’s look at the response we see regarding Jesus’ statements in v.31-32…
34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
They understood that Jesus was talking about His death.
They understood that Jesus meant by being lifted up He meant dying on a cross.
They understood that the Son of Man was associated and even synonymous with the Messiah.
They knew that Jesus called Himself the Son of Man.
It was His favorite title for Himself.
That’s why they say…
“We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up?
From the Law, here, means from the OT.
It can also be used as the Law of Moses.
Or it can be used as the Law of Moses & the Prophets.
Here, they are designating the Law as the entirety of the OT.
But, what we see here is not an honest inquiry.
It is actually a response with mockery in it that exposes the hardness of their hearts…
The Hardness of the Heart Exposed
The Hardness of the Heart Exposed
When they say…
Who is this Son of Man?
This is not an honest inquiry.
It’s not as if they don’t recognize this title, Son of Man.
It was clouted with mystery at this time.
But, it was one of the most discussed titles because of the mystery.
The word this is emphatic and so what they’re saying is…
What kind of Son of Man are you teaching?
—> It’s not one that we believe in.
So, in reality, and far from an actual honest question…
They are, instead, mocking the thought of a Dying Messiah.
The hardness of the heart is that it can get so entrenched in what it wants to believe…
That it will not investigate whether it could be wrong.
All that Jesus has done in their midst.
They even admit of the overwhelming evidence that His miracles reveal.
But, Jesus does not fit their desires, nor their felt needs…
And, so they entrench themselves further into their error…
Rather than investigate what Jesus is actually saying.
It’s not as if what Jesus is teaching is not in the OT.
It’s not as if Jesus is saying, “God left this out and wants me to say these new, never revealed truths.”
Jesus has literally, throughout His ministry, been taking them to the Scriptures and pointing out to them what they have…
Not missed, but rather refused to believe.
And, as an attestation, from the Father, of His power and authority to teach the Scriptures…
And, point them to a proper understanding of the OT…
The Father has been glorifying the Son through miraculous signs.
But, here again, we see this hardening of hearts towards Jesus.
It’s interesting that they don’t get everything wrong…
It’s interesting that they don’t get everything wrong…
For instance, when they say…
We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever.
What they are saying is this…
The Law teaches that the Christ has an eternal kingdom.
And, they’re not wrong about that truth.
The OT does teach a King of the line of David that will have an eternal Kingdom.
A kingdom that never ends.
A kingdom that is ruled by a perfectly righteous King.
As is promised in…
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
This passage which speaks of the incarnational ministry of the Messiah…
Speaks of an eternal kingdom that is established by justice and righteousness.
The well known passage on the Son of Man in…
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
The universal truth of the OT’s foretelling of the Messiah was that He would be an everlasting King over a righteous kingdom.
God, through Ezekiel promises a Davidic King…
24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.
25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
Again, the promise of a FOREVER Savior of a FOREVER Kingdom.
So, those speaking to Jesus are not wrong about the enduring nature of the Messiah or the everlasting nature of His kingdom.
What they’re wrong about is the path of the Messiah to inherit such a kingdom.
They refused to believe passages such as…
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
This passage like so many of the suffering Servant passages found in the Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Micah…
Again in…
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
They refused to believe that this could be the path for the eternal Davidic King.
And, their refusal to believe such passages regarding the suffering Messiah caused them to be a main reason for His suffering at the hands of men.
And, isn’t it interesting that the preaching points in the NT to the Jews are these types of passages that point out to the Jews what they refused to believe about the Messiah…
Already written in the OT.
The Jews think the path to the throne is victory over Rome.
This is because they think Rome is their greatest enemy.
They think Rome is what stands between them and a right relationship with God.
The reality is, and the Bible teaches, that the greatest enemy is actually sin.
The victory that every person needs IS for sin and death to be conquered on their behalf.
That victory over sin is a victory over Rome and every other enemy that stands between a person and a right relationship with God.
And, that is the real enemy.
The real enemy is anything that can separate you from the love of God.
Christ on the Cross removed all barriers…
So that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus…
And, nothing can now separate us from the love of God in Christ.
That very Victory in Jesus not only ensures that very truth…
But it ensures a circumcised heart so that you will receive that victory by faith.
Let’s think about this...
Let’s think about this...
In the history of man, there are no heresies more firmly defended and so difficult to correct…
As those which are based on a perverted view of some portion of scripture.
This is why Satan loves dealing with others with half truths from the scriptures.
He tempted Christ by twisting Scripture.
He tempts with half truths, that completely miss the whole truth.
So, let this be a warning for us to always be students of God’s Word.
To always be diligent to go back to the Word and make sure it is the actual teaching of God.
We should be Berean in our Christian life.
Now, how does Jesus respond to this contemptuous response?
Jesus’ Urgent Warning
Jesus’ Urgent Warning
35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
There’s no real answer to their question.
He has no time for their dishonest arguments in which they attempt to deceive.
Remember they asked…
How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?
He doesn’t answer their question directly.
But, He does reply to their contempt with a stern warning.
Jesus is warning them of what John records as past history in…
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
This is a tragic report by John in the opening words of his gospel.
Jesus is urging them to not miss their opportunity of grace.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This wonderful visitation of the Lord to incarnate, keep covenant with God, and walk to the cross…
A cross upon which they will plead for Him to hang.
The Messiah, who is out from their own people, they will cast away.
What is Jesus saying to them?
The light is among you for a little while longer.
The Light
The Light
Obviously, Jesus is the light.
And, as Jesus has just stated that He will be lifted up…
Meaning killed by crucifixion.
So, He will not be with them much longer.
After death, resurrection.
After resurrection, ascension.
Now is the time to earnestly seek the truth.
Earnestly investigate Christ.
Earnestly ask questions of Him.
Earnestly seek refuge in Him.
He is their only hope.
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you.
Walk in the Light
Walk in the Light
Find safety for your soul in the light.
The Light being Christ.
Jesus is bidding them to live in Him.
Find life in Him.
The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.
The Danger of Darkness
The Danger of Darkness
Obviously it is dangerous to travel in the dark.
There are all sorts of dangers lurking that want to harm you.
It is difficult to walk in the dark as there are many things that can cause you to stumble.
If they do not find solace in the light, Jesus Christ…
They will find themselves in judicial darkness.
They will have chosen judgment over salvation.
Why live in the darkness of judgment…
When you can find eternal life in Christ.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
Safety for Your Soul
Safety for Your Soul
Believing in the Light, places one in the security of enduring light.
The person that puts their faith in Christ…
Is given the HS, who dwells in them, secures them…
Works in them both to will and to do according to God’s good pleasure.
Christ keeps His own in the light.
As the Sheep of Christ…
We become Sons of the Light by faith in the Light…
And, we are brought into union with and placed under the full influence of light.
Let’s think about this...
Let’s think about this...
The beautiful gospel is what Christ urges upon them.
Behold Him.
Believe upon Him.
Trust Him.
Depend upon Him.
Find all satisfaction in Him.
Outside of Christ, there is no hope.
The gospel, the good news of Christ is our joy!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
