Prayer: Abba Father – we return to Your Word today for new revelation. Help us to humble ourselves to see Your will more clearly, so that we may submit ourselves to Your authority. For we live in a dark world and You, Lord Jesus, are the Light of the World. Open our eyes to the wisdom of following obediently in the ways of Our Savior Jesus.. We ask You for this in His name, Amen.
8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
Points to ponder: An interesting choice to begin a new chapter mid-sentence. This technique does two things: (1) reminds us to review the context… how did the last chapter end? [It was the last and greatest day of the festival. The temple guards did not arrest Jesus, the Pharisees accuse them of being deceived, Nicodemus tries to play the middle-man peace-broker, the Pharisees snub his efforts.] And (2) forces us to take note of Jesus’ regular pattern of behavior – Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives… to pray.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Points to ponder: It is this story that has been misused and misapplied throughout history in such a way that a faithful Christian is sometimes paralyzed from becoming the iron that sharpens iron. People get defensive about their ‘pet sins’ and are quick to lash out to any well-meaning Christians by quoting Jesus… Let the one without sin cast the first stone.
If you want to hold onto your pet-sins, this is a pretty effective technique since there was only one man, Jesus, who committed no sin. But it neglects the rest of the Gospel!
Perhaps we forget how best to apply the story’s punchline… neither do I condemn you, but go and leave your life of sin. Jesus didn’t come the first time to condemn us, but to save us. He invites us to leave our lives of sin and follow Him. When we place our trust in Him, our sins are cast as far as the east is from the west and we are being made presentable, righteous, and able to stand in front of our Father in heaven. We can take nothing with us – our pet-sins work against us as the Spirit is trying to conform our spirits into the image we were meant to reflect – Him. We will have no peace with God as long as we rebel against Him.
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Points to ponder: Jesus already announced He was the Bread of Life, now His ‘I Am’ statement is claiming the title of the Light of the World and that following Him is connected to ‘life’. Naturally, the Pharisees challenge Him… He’s stepping on their territory. They try to discredit Him and His defense blows our mind.
Like the temple guards in the last chapter, I find myself saying… ‘No one speaks as He does.’ Of course, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we see that Jesus’ response is brilliant! Jesus ties the requirements of the law – two witnesses – to Himself and God the Father.
The Light of the World implies that without Jesus the world is a dark place. This brings to mind the time just before the flood described in Genesis 6:5 where every inclination of the human heart was only evil all the time.
Since we live in that in-between time of Jesus’ resurrection and return, our only experience of this world has been shaped by the growing light of the Church since Pentecost. It was Christians who brought education and hospitals to the poor; it was Christians who fought for the dignity of women, children, and the abolition of slavery. Most judicial systems in the ‘free world’ are based on Scripture – the ten commandments and the concepts of justice and mercy as outlined in God’s Word.
This ‘light in the world’ attracts everyone; and many, even those that call themselves Christians, have taken advantage. We forget to glorify God and tend to take credit for ourselves… i.e., ‘Man is basically good.’ This is a real paradox in which we live where both light and darkness prevail. We must choose, we cannot have both – there is no peace in our souls so long as we try to live in both worlds. We must choose who is sovereign in our lives.
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
Points to ponder: In this section on illustrating people defending their sins… thinking they are ‘good’ or at least ‘good enough’… thinking they don’t need to follow Jesus… we see a blunt pronouncement from Jesus… some will die in their sins and where Jesus is going, they cannot come.
The use of the ‘I am he’ term is a directly link to God revealing Himself to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. If you do not believe that Jesus is God, you will indeed die in your sins.
V26 shows Jesus’ obedience to the will of the Father. He has much to say in judgment, but He is holding back… for now.
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
Points to ponder: The Pharisees… the Jewish leaders… those with only the knowledge of Scripture… can not pick up what He is putting down.
Jesus drops a few other hints here… ‘lifting up the Son of Man’… speaks forward to the crucifixion and backward to that odd scene of the bronze snake in Numbers 21:8. Claiming the Son of Man title points back to the vision in Daniel 7:13. If Jesus is ‘I AM’… but a Son, then He’s begotten, not made. Not a ‘creation’ but one of the same… and only God the Father can give us a God the Son… and Isaiah 9:6 – with the distinction between a child and a son, makes more sense.
Paul writes in Romans 10:9 that Only those that have confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead, will be saved. This is quite a new perspective for Paul, the former Pharisee… after his conversion on the Damascus road and being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul clearly saw the fulfillment of the scriptures that he knew so well, in a new light. They were fulfilled in Jesus.
Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
Points to ponder: Don’t miss this. Jesus is speaking to the Jews who believed Him. He begins to open their minds to the truth of their identities and it’s tough to hear.
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
Points to ponder: Jesus makes a statement – if you sin, you’re a slave and a slave is not part of the family – but a son… a child… belongs to the family forever. When the reality of our sinful condition is revealed to us we see the promise that Jesus gives us here – if He sets us free, we are free to have that permanent part of the family… but holding onto our sin keeps us slaves. His offer; our choice.
It is true that the Old Testament points to the nation of Israel as God’s son. [Exodus 4:22] But the unconditional covenant to Abraham was for all nations [Genesis 12:1-3] – before Israel was even formed. Jesus acknowledges that they are descendants of Abraham, but not his children.
It is an interesting statement Jesus makes… you have no room for my word. It makes me ask myself, What am I holding onto? What occupies me so that I have little room for His truth? [I still check myself periodically for the big ones… Pleasure, comfort, laziness, lust, greed, pride, haughtiness, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit?]
His next statement cuts my heart… you are looking for a way to kill me. If I have no room for His Word, His truth… then I am trying to kill Him in order to keep whatever false idol I hold so dear, (OUCH!!! Tough teaching indeed that He is giving to believers.)
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Points to ponder: This is very hard to read since Jesus is talking to believers. A couple of things to take note of… being a child of God and a recipient of the promise made to Abraham is not inherited rather it is an event in an individual’s life.
Think back to Jesus telling Nicodemus that we must be born-again [John 3:3] Think further back to Genesis 3:15 and the only division in humanity that matters… we are all born into the darkness as offspring of the snake. We are born-again into the light as offspring of the woman – followers of Jesus – children of God.
These images are used because they make sense in our natural world. You can bring a light into darkness and make the darkness disappear. You cannot bring darkness into light. If you are holding onto darkness in your natural life, you have no room for His word.
Check yourself for whatever lie you are holding onto. Do you think you can hold onto sin and be ‘good enough’ to be a child of The Holy Father? Jesus clearly says… No. You are actually choosing to live as a slave… looking for ways to kill Him!
Jesus’ Claims About Himself
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
Points to ponder: Seriously? When trying to hold onto a lie and needing to defend their position, some wild accusations are thrown at Jesus.
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
Points to ponder: This is one of those profound statements that made me reconsider everything I ever thought about ‘obedience’ being a bad thing.
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Points to ponder: Remember, these were the Jews that believed Him and the chapter ends with them trying to stone Him. If we can disregard our personal feelings for a minute and reread this chapter as to how Jesus confronts ‘believers’, we might have a more realistic understanding of what being born-again should mean and what it should look like.
We might actually expect that our new Christian life following Jesus into the presence of the Father might have difficulties, because there are spiritual battles to address. Our natural father, the devil, will not let go easily but we must willingly allow the Word of God to confront our sinful nature and destroy it, by our acts of obedience to His Word.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Points to ponder: What a great story to illustrate the teachings of the last chapter. We see here that this man’s condition, his blindness, was not attributed to an individual’s sin. (So forget any generational curses you may be holding onto.) God had chosen this man… at this point in history… to be used by Jesus to teach His disciples, and us, about darkness and light… about Jesus being the ‘light of the world’… about the power of Jesus’ kingdom… about how others might respond, even to the clear demonstrations of His power.
Jesus sent this man to see and to tell others.
Ask yourself… is there a clear difference in your life once Jesus opened your eyes? Do people notice? And when they do, do you glorify God by telling them that the difference is the result of your obedience to Jesus?
When people expressed interest in Jesus, the blind man did not know where Jesus was. Do we? Can we articulate an answer to this most important question?
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Points to ponder: As in the previous section, we see again, how people respond to the clear demonstrations of the power of Jesus. Sadly, it is the rejection by the Pharisees that is on display here.
We take note that not all religious leaders are worthy of our attention. The Pharisees used coercion to threaten people – if you didn’t agree with them, they threw you out of the synagogue. The fear they instilled kept people away from God… away from Jesus. Unfortunately, this technique has been repeated throughout history. Do we reject churches because of this? Not at all! Hebrews 10:25 calls for an act of obedience. But test your church and its teachings and ground yourself in the Word. [1 John 4:1 Acts 17:11]
Beginning in verse 30, the now-sighted man responds brilliantly and boldly to the Pharisees using logic, reason, and the scriptures they knew. [Isaiah 59:1-2 or Proverbs 1:29]
He also introduces a paradox to contemporary believers… if God doesn’t listen to sinners… but we know we’re all sinners… so… does He hear me or do I have to clean myself up first?
Context matters; this is pre-resurrection! We have new revelations from God in these Gospels and in the New Testament writings that build onto these concepts. Such as… yes, we’re all sinners but Jesus came to save sinners! Tie this to ‘opening the eyes of a man born blind‘ and we begin to see some details about our own identities before and after placing our faith in Jesus.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
Points to ponder: Jesus personally matures the blind man into a believing Christian… an obedient follower of Jesus… and the man responds by calling Jesus, LORD. Jesus also throws down the gauntlet by provoking the Pharisees who keep rejecting His authority.
If you claim that you can see, but still deny the Lordship of Jesus? He’s pronouncing a coming spiritual blindness as your judgment. This seems to tie to concepts of hardening our hearts or having itching ears – in Hebrews 3:13, we are called to encourage each other in order that none of us may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. In 2 Timothy 4:3, we are warned that the time is coming when we will no longer endure sound doctrine but will listen to teachers that line up with what we want to hear.
Summary: Jesus is the Light of the World. We have all lived for some time in darkness and a great many of us grew comfortable there… like mushrooms or fungus. We were not meant for such an environment – we become enslaved to all that thrives there.
At the Festival of Tabernacles where the Jews were called to remember God’s presence among them in the wilderness, they can’t help but remember how they rebelled. But God was faithful and remained with them, even as only Joshua and Caleb remained of that original generation. God led them through that wilderness, after redeeming them from Egyptian slavery, into the promised land. As a cloud by day… but by night, in the darkness, He led them as a pillar of fire. And it is in this festival, Jesus makes the claim to be THE LIGHT… not of the wilderness but of THE WORLD. Many hyperlinks to the early part of God’s redemptive story should be going off!
As God calls us to the work of God – [John 6:29] to believe in the One He sent – He also calls us out of our former way of life. With our former lives behind us and heaven in front of us, let us remember the words of Jesus to the Jews who believed Him… If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples… then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
🙏 Lord, thank You for Your Word and Your Spirit to open these teachings to us. Continue to guard us, to protect us, and to keep us in Your Word so that we are not tempted to listen to false doctrine. We know from Philippians 1:6 that You are continuing to work in us – remind us that it is our obedient, submissive spirit to Your authority, Lord, that brings us to maturity. It is in the Holy name of Jesus, that we pray. Amen.