JOHN 8:12-20 ESV. LIGHT OF THE WORLD, JESUS’ FATHER

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

This is one of Jesus’ “I Am” statements. John identified Jesus as the light in the first chapter. Jesus spoke obliquely about being the light in chapters three and five. Now, he makes no bones about it. He is the light of the world. From Exodus 13:21 when the Lord appeared in a pillar of fire by night to light the way for Israel to Zechariah 14:7 when the Lord is the light of the world in the evening, God has always been associated with light.

During the Feast of Booths, there were two gigantic candles in the temple court that were lit each night. They were a reminder of the column of smoke and fire that led the Israelites as described in Exodus 13:21. When day approached, the candles were put out.[1]When Jesus arrived early in the morning to teach, the light of the world had arrived. Jesus’ declaration was a fitting time and place to identify himself to the people.

We must keep reminding ourselves and those who do not know Jesus that they are in darkness. The spiritual darkness that surrounds us before we come into the light of Jesus can have many degrees. There is the real spiritual darkness that is associated with Satan and his demons. As indicated by Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (ESV). We also have the darkness of our own sinful nature where we declare that good is evil and evil is good, and light is darkness and darkness is light (Isa 5:20). Then there is the darkness of depression and desperation when we can’t see the light. Job expressed this kind of darkness several times and in Job 30:26-27:

 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me (NIV).

There is also the darkness of God’s wrath.

A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness (Zeph 1:15 NASU).

All these forms of darkness flee from the Light of the World, Jesus. Satan and all his powers are defeated. In Revelation 20:1-3 it takes only one of Jesus’ angels to bind and throw Satan into the pit of his darkness. We overcome the darkness of our own sinful nature and even the depression and anxiety because of God’s light. We overcome when Jesus comes into our life and dwells in us giving us the fullness of God and his power working in us (Eph 3:17-21). We escape the darkness of the day of God’s wrath because there is no condemnation for anyone who is in Christ (Rom 8:1-2).

13 So the Pharisees said to him, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true." 14 Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me."

We’ve already discussed this accusation that Jesus was testifying to his own credentials and therefore not being sufficient under the Law. It was when we looked at John 5:31-40. It appears to be almost the same issue. This time, Jesus adds his warning of judgment to the discussion.

Pharisees were noted for judging others. It seems to be their whole purpose in life. They judged the common people, they judged anyone who didn’t follow their traditions. They had very recently judged a woman they had set up to trap Jesus. We can fall into the same trap of judging others. This is especially the case when we think we are doing quite well in a particular area of life and see others that are struggling to maintain a Christian walk in the same area. That is what judging by the flesh is. We look at the outward struggle of the person and judge their moral character as being insufficient. Instead of extending compassion and grace, we throw the Bible at them. We quote verses but seldom offer practical advice. When they react and get angry, we assume the worse.

Thankfully, Jesus and the Father judges us with compassion as Psalm 103:8-14 indicates.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust (NIV).

We can trust the Lord to be compassionate with us. This doesn’t give us license to sin, but it gives us the knowledge that he won’t give up on us. As Philippians 1:6 explains, we can be confident that he will keep working in us until we go to be with Jesus or he comes back. We should never give up hope in overcoming our sins.

19 They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

They thought they had Jesus when they asked where his father was. They had done their research and thought that Joseph was his father. Joseph isn’t mentioned and it is assumed that he had already died since Jesus entrusted his mother to John when he was crucified. We know that Jesus is speaking of God the Father and not of his adopted father on earth.

It just keeps getting back to this theme. If you know Jesus, you will know the Father. If you claim to know the Father but don’t know Jesus, then you are a liar and in deep spiritual trouble. Jesus will continue to teach this and the authorities can’t stop him. He will only be stopped by the cross and that is only a pause, not the end.

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[1]A. R. Fausset, “TABERNACLES, FEAST OF,” in Fausset's Bible Dictionary(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984, Biblesoft Database, 2006).

 

JOHN 8:1-11 NKJV, WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY

There is much controversy as to the legitimacy of these verse because the earliest Greek manuscripts do not contain it. It is beyond the scope of this book to get into all the details of why and how the passage appears to be genuine or not. I have addressed this passage in my book, Term Papers for My Liberty University Master of Arts in Theological Studies.[1] This is also available on my blog.[2]Suffice it to say, in my opinion, there is enough evidence to take this passage seriously as the Word of God.

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 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.

Previously, we are told that everyone went to their homes. Jesus didn’t have a home in or around Jerusalem. Yes, he often stayed with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary a short distance away. However, this evening, he went to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives has a prominent place in Scripture. It is mentioned when David fled from Absalom and escaped Jerusalem (2 Sam 15:30). It is most important in the prophecy from Zechariah 14:4 stating that this is where Jesus will return. It is where Jesus instructed his disciples to prepare for his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1). It is where he told his disciples about the end times (Matthew 24:3) and it is where he went with his disciples after the Last Supper as was his habit (Luke 22:34). It was where he was betrayed. It is where he ascended into heaven (Acts 1:12).

It is mentioned here to show the contrast between the other people who were either against him or those who were confused about him. They had made this world their home, but Jesus didn’t have a place in this world (Matt 8:20). When things get tough, where do we go for peace, quiet, and comfort. Do we turn to our earthly homes, or do we turn to the Lord? Jesus knew the significance of this place and it was where he could be close to his Father even with the impeding betrayal.

It was also a place where he could easily return to the temple to teach the people that would gather for the morning sacrifice. Since the eighth day of the feast was to be a solemn assembly and do no work (Leviticus 23:36), Jesus would need to be close by.

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.”

Anyone with the vaguest knowledge of the OT should see this as a farce from the very beginning. The leaders of the religious establishment bring only the woman who was caught in adultery. They should have also brought the man. Some say that it was because the man was a Pharisee that he wasn’t brought. They didn’t want to embarrass one of their own. However, that wouldn’t make sense. The crime for a Pharisee would have been so heinous that they would have banished him from their ranks. They prided themselves on keeping the externals of the law.

This was simply a trap. They didn’t care what the hoi palloi, the common people did. They may have even paid the man to set up the circumstances so that they could catch him in the act. It is hard for me to imagine that this apparently large group of people were just standing around on the street corner looking for someone they could blame.

5 “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" 

Under what circumstances was stoning the penalty for adultery? Leviticus 20:10 clearly states that both the man and the married woman were to be put to death but doesn’t specify how. There is only an implication of stoning mentioned in Ezekiel 16:38-40. This is obviously another attempt by the Pharisees to assert their own versions of the Law. Leviticus 19:20-22 only prescribed scourging if the woman was a slave promised to another man. If this woman was an unmarried prostitute, then it would be a different story all together. Since it is a trap, then it is very possible that she was a prostitute, then the penalty would be different.

We need to be careful when we interpret Scripture. The Pharisees were experts at adding to the Law but were very negligent in applying grace. We only have to look at David’s adultery with Bathsheba to see that the laws and penalties for adultery and other matters in the OT were often pardoned. We should extend the same grace when people repent.

6 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.

If we hadn’t already guessed, Scripture makes it clear that the leaders were setting up a trap for Jesus. The trap was simple. If Jesus agreed with them that the woman should be stoned, they could tell the Romans that he was advocating breaking the Roman law. If he said the woman should not be stoned, then they would spread the word that he was rejecting the Law of Moses.

Jesus’ response is quite unusual. The comment, “as though He did not hear” is not even in all the manuscripts that include this incident. However, it certainly displays what Jesus was doing. Writing on the ground and stooping down tells us something very important. First, Jesus stood up when the woman was brought to him. A teacher always sat while he taught. Now he is no longer standing but stooping down and scratching in the dirt. It shows his disdain for those who came to him.

We should be so careful in the way we respond to people who want to trap or insult us. In our culture, it would be the same as turning our backs and even walking away. How many times would fights, arguments, name calling, and all sorts of other difficulties be cooled off if we didn’t immediately engage our mouths and even fists.

7 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."  8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Perhaps Jesus needed a moment to come up with a good solution. His human nature processed the data from the situation while he was stooped down. His divine nature could have informed him how to handle it, but this is a temptation and in his human nature, he had to be tempted just as we are. Since they weren’t going away, Jesus responds with wisdom. He knew that the Law required the ones who heard a person blaspheme were the ones to stone the offender (Lev 24:14). Since the Pharisees had extended stoning to adultery, then the ones who witnessed it should be the ones to do the stoning. However, as God’s spokesman, Jesus had the authority to interpret the Law correctly and added that the requirement that the sinless one should do it.

Who was sinless in this crowd? Certainly not the Pharisees since their motives were nothing but evil. Jesus is the only sinless one. He is the only one there qualified to condemn this woman to death. While legitimate governments are empowered to execute people, individuals and mobs are not. The reason is simply because we are sinful.

9 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.

I’m afraid that in today’s world, this would not have gone the same way. With the relativism of truth that is so pervasive, people today can be dreadful sinners and think they without sin. As we grow older and wiser in Christ. We should become more aware of our sin, though our sins shouldn’t be as blatant and grievous. We have the Holy Spirit to convict us if we listen.  

10 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?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." NKJV

A lot of people read this passage and conclude that Jesus forgave this woman. However, there is nothing here that says he did that. He was talking of condemnation. That means punishment. When he tells her that he will not condemn her, he means that he will not punisher her because she deserved death for her adulty, or at least scourging. He warned her to sin no more, so he didn’t excuse her sin either.

What would it have taken for Jesus to forgive her? First, she would have had to admit her sin. She had opportunity to do so but simply said no one condemned her. Second, she would need to ask for forgiveness. It is most likely that she didn’t even know who Jesus was, certainly not the Son of God who alone can forgive sins. She didn’t express any faith in him. This is not the same situation as when Jesus forgave the paralytic because he saw their faith (Matt 9:2).

The application is simple. Have faith, confess our sins, and ask Jesus to forgive us. Surrender your life to Jesus and receive the free gift of salvation. Then, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can go and sin no more.

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[1]“The Woman Caught in Adultery” Ruppert, Ray. Term Papers for My Liberty University Master of Arts in Theological Studies (Kindle Locations 1461-1462).

[2]https://ray-ruppert.blogspot.com/2015/05/exegetical-paper-adulteress-faces-jesus.html.

JOHN 7:37-53 (NASU) LIVING WATER, FALLACIES OF DEBATE

37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.”

A short reminder that this was the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. Everyone was supposed to live in temporary shelters for the full week to remind them of their ancestor’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Each day, a priest would go to the pool of Siloam to draw water in a golden pitcher. He would take it to the temple where it would be poured into a basin with holes in it – a drink offering. This was a reminder of the water that was provided for the Israelites in the desert upon leaving Egypt. The last day was the culmination of the feast and was also the day that Haggai prophesied about rebuilding the temple which has elements of Jesus return included (Hag 2:1-9).[1]

In this setting, Jesus interrupts the proceedings or perhaps makes his announcement after the water has been poured out. Three times in the exodus, the Israelites grumbled about not having enough water (Ex 15:24, 17:3, Num 20:5). He is explicitly telling the people assembled in Jerusalem that it wasn’t Moses who provide water for them, but God. Now, their greatest thirst and that of any person will be fulfilled if they come to Jesus. He is echoing what the Lord told the people hundreds of years before. “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money!” (Isa 55:1 NLT).

What a testimony about the grace of God! If we truly thirst for God, we can come to him and be satisfied. It doesn’t cost us anything, except to humble ourselves and admit our need. We can’t do anything to earn our salvation. It is a free gift.

38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jesus doesn’t stop at saying that the gift of salvation is free. He adds the qualifier that we must believe in him. It is free from works but salvation must still come from faith in Jesus. He also explains that when we believe, we will have living water flowing from us. Jesus must have stitched together several portions of Scripture and summed them up their meaning. We can see this in Isaiah 12:3 where God says we will drink for the fountain of salvation. It reflects the water flowing from the temple in Ezekiel which causes the Dead Sea to blossom with life (Eze 47:1-12). The stream just kept getting bigger and bigger which is what should be happening with each of us we grow in our walk with the Lord. We grow in our knowledge and love of the Lord leading to a more holy witness to the world. This is the new life created by the Holy Spirit as Jesus told the woman by the well (John 4:13).

Again, we must point out that there is some bad news in Jesus’ words. The Spirit only comes to those who receive Jesus. He isn’t given to the whole world, meaning all people. The Bible repeats this exclusion and inclusion over and over. It has been summarized on bumper stickers, “Know Jesus – know peace, No Jesus – no peace.”

This also points to the cross and the suffering Jesus had to endure before the Holy Spirit would be given to believers in a way that had not been known in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit would come and indwell all believers only after Jesus was crucified, buried, risen, and ascended back to his eternal position of glory with the Father.

40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet." 41 Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Here comes the same confusion and error that occurred in verses 25 and 27. It shows the contrast between those who know Jesus and are instructed by the Holy Spirit with those who are trying to piece together who Jesus is by their fallen reasoning. They guess at who Jesus is and go back to the promised Prophet or the Christ. They do not understand that Jesus is both. Someone in this crowd knew the basics that the Messiah had to be a descendant of David and be born in Bethlehem.

The result of error is always the same. Division and discord arise. As it did with the crowd, so it happens even in the church today. Division over critical issues of theology should separate true believers from those who are heretics and false teachers who mean to lead people away from Jesus. The sad truth is that problems even occur when Christians who adhere to the same doctrines divide and become hostile to one another over things such as politics. This happens when they ignore the teaching of the Bible and let the errors of the world direct their thoughts and actions.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, "Why did you not bring Him?" 46 The officers answered, "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks."

We have charismatic people today who awe their audiences with their charm or oratorical abilities. Some preachers are very gifted, and God uses them, but hopefully, it is the Holy Spirit working through them. We’ve also seen how some people like Hitler could sway a nation when spouting out evil. But there has never been anyone who spoke the way Jesus did. Jesus already gave the primary reason; he was teaching only what the Father wanted him to teach (John 7:16).

47 The Pharisees then answered them, "You have not also been led astray, have you? 48 No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed." 50 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said to them, 51 "Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?" 52 They answered him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee." 53 [Everyone went to his home.[2]]

This passage gives us a glimpse of several fallacies of debate.[3]Fallacies of debate are methods we use to put down those who have a different opinion than ours when we don’t have a good argument for our opinion or against theirs.

The first is Appeal to Authority. The Pharisees claimed that none of the rulers or Pharisees had believed in Jesus. Since the authorities didn’t believe in him, then they concluded that Jesus could not be the Christ. If the nonbelievers were not part of the authority structure, then this would have been an example of Bandwagon Fallacy where we are called to agree just because others do. Buried in their claim is also the fallacy called Hasty Generalization. They claimed that none of them had believed in Jesus without taking a census. Nicodemus may very well have been a believer by this time. We certainly don’t know the position of all the rulers and Pharisees.

They attacked the person instead of the issue. This is called the Ad Hominem argument. They based their conviction that the soldiers and the crowd were wrong because they were essentially incapable of being right. They accused the soldiers of being led astray and they called the crowd stupid or accursed because they didn’t know the Law, so they supposed.

When Nicodemus tries to inject some sanity to their bias by pointing to the Law, they also put him down. They also use the technique of Appeal to Ignorance. They argue that Jesus can’t be a prophet because their search of Scripture doesn’t predict a prophet from Galilee. However, they have been blinded to the prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2 which predicts the people will see a great light in Galilee.

Nicodemus is the only one that is setting a biblical example. This is the pattern we should use when we are discussing how to live godly lives. I don’t want to fall into these fallacies either, but I have seen many Christians using these fallacies in their arguments instead of looking to Scripture to understand how we should live.

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[1]“Festivals,” Unger, Merrill F., and R. K. Harrison. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1988. BibleSoft Database.

[2]The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.

[3]https://thebestschools.org/magazine/15-logical-fallacies-know/