Slideshow image

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 13Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 14Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid, for it is not I alone who judge but I and the Father who sent me. 17In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” 19Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

21 Again he said to them, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22Then the Jews said, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are from this world, I am not from this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” 25They said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Why do I speak to you at all? 26I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. 28So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. 29And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

 

Jesus steps right in our text today and flips on the light. He not offering a flashlight to the Pharisees, he instead says he is the Light. He is claiming to be the power source for your life. When we follow Jesus, we are not just getting help finding our way. Instead, we are getting the Light of life. A way of keeping us living from half-truths, sin, and guessing who God is.

Of course, there is pushback in the verses. The Pharisees are challenging Jesus’ authority. Jesus doesn’t need their approval. He knows his origin and he knows his destination. They are judging Jesus by human standards based upon their limited perspective from an earthly point of view. But Jesus is speaking from above, from a heavenly point of view.

So, the question for us today isn’t "who do people say that Jesus is?” The question is, “Who IS Jesus to me?” Jesus makes it clear in our text; you cannot separate God from him. Today, the shadows in our lives have been brought into the light. We place our trust in who Jesus says he is, and we follow Jesus like and trust in where he is taking us.

Let us pray: Lord, thank you for bringing me into this new day. I trust in your promises and ask that you lead me in your path this day and always. Bless me as seek to serve your kingdom, bless me in path and guide me in interactions with others. I pray this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Pastor Steve Cauley

pastorsteve@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concerns - Pray for those living in the shadows that they might know that Light has dawned on them.