August 18, 2026 • 23 mins
A single sentence from Jesus can sound comforting until you hear it in context: “I am the light of the world.” We’re in John 8 on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, when giant lamps lit Jerusalem in memory of the pillar of fire that led Israel through the wilderness. Then Jesus takes that image and applies it to Himself, leaving almost no room for a “nice teacher” interpretation.
We follow the clash that comes next as the Pharisees challenge His credibility and demand legal proof. We talk through why Jesus points to the Father as witness, how the Bible consistently uses “light” to mean truth, salvation, and God’s presence, and why people can still choose darkness when the light exposes what they want to hide. Along the way, we connect key passages in Psalms, Isaiah, Jude, and John’s Gospel to show the bigger storyline of Scripture and the identity Jesus claims.
The tension rises when Jesus warns, “You will die in your sins,” and roots salvation in believing “I am” (eggo emee), language that echoes the divine name. We also unpack “lifted up” as a clear reference to the cross, including the bronze serpent picture from the wilderness and what it teaches about repentance and faith. If you’ve wrestled with Jesus’ authority, the meaning of sin, or what it actually means to follow Christ, this conversation aims to make the text plain and personal.
Subscribe for more verse-by-verse Bible teaching, share this with a friend who has questions about Jesus’ identity, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
Grace and peace to you, and thank you again for
joining me for the mysteries ofGod's Word.
Today we are in John chaptereight, and Jesus continues to
speak to the Jewish people onthe last day of the feast of
tabernacles six months beforehis crucifixion.
(00:36):
Beginning at verse twelve, weread Again Jesus spoke to them,
saying, I am the light of theworld.
Whoever follows me will not walkin darkness, but will have the
light of life.
So the Pharisees said to him,You are bearing witness about
yourself.
(00:56):
Your testimony is not true.
In our first two verses, versestwelve and thirteen for today,
we are introduced to Jesus'second public I am statement.
Now during the feast oftabernacles, there were large
lamps that were burning, andthey lit up much of Jerusalem.
(01:20):
These large lamps were lit up inremembrance of the great pillar
of fire that led the Israelitesthrough the wilderness and gave
light to them at night.
Remember that pillar of cloudduring the day and the pillar of
fire at night.
So picture this.
(01:41):
During the feast, the feast thatcommemorates God's provision for
Israel in the wilderness,there's giant lamps lit to
remember this pillar of firethat guided them in the darkness
through the night of the desert.
And Jesus declares I am thelight of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walkin darkness, but will have the
(02:05):
light of life.
For those with ears to hear,Jesus leaves very little room
for question.
He is claiming to be theRedeemer God that led Israel out
of slavery.
As a side note to this, I wantto read you fifth verse of Jude,
(02:26):
which reads Now I want to remindyou, although you once fully
knew it, that Jesus, who saved apeople out of the land of Egypt,
afterwards destroyed those whodid not believe.
Yes, Scripture itself clarifiesthat it was Jesus.
(02:46):
He was the one who led Israelout of Egypt.
It was the Son of God who hasalways been.
Now both the Old Testament andNew Testament use the word light
as a metaphor for truth, thetruth found in God's Word, and
(03:07):
for the Lord God as the way ofsalvation.
Let me just read a couple ofthose verses.
Psalm twenty seven one reads TheLord is my light and my
salvation, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of mylife, of whom shall I be afraid?
(03:32):
Psalm one hundred nineteen oneoh five reads Your Word is a
lamp to my feet and a light tomy path.
Isaiah nine two reads The peoplewho have walked in darkness have
seen a great light, those whohave dwelt in a land of deep
(03:52):
darkness, on them has lightshone.
And in this very gospel of John,he uses the word light
throughout his gospel todescribe Jesus.
John one four reads, In him waslife, and the life was the light
(04:13):
of men.
John three nineteen reads, andthis is the judgment, the light
has come into the world, and thepeople loved the darkness rather
than the light, because theirworks were evil.
We could go on and on talkingabout how God is described as
light.
(04:33):
Throughout Scripture itdescribes God as light and
clothed in light.
For example, Isaiah chaptersixty verse nineteen prophesies
about the new heavens and newearth, saying, The sun shall be
no more your light by day, norfor brightness shall the moon
(04:53):
give your light.
But the Lord will be youreverlasting light, and your God
will be your glory.
And finally, as we wrap up thisidea about how God is light, at
the very end of his ministry,Jesus proclaimed, I have come
into the world as light, so thatwhoever believes in me may not
(05:15):
remain in the darkness.
Of course, as Jesus says this,the Jewish leaders know very
well what he's saying.
They know he's proclaiming to bethe God of light that has come
into the world.
And they immediately say toJesus, You're bearing witness
about yourself.
(05:35):
So your testimony can't be true.
These Jewish leaders are mockingJesus, even returning to an
argument they had with Jesusback in John chapter 5, verse
31, where Jesus had alreadypreviously corrected them that
he doesn't bear witness abouthimself.
And there are four specificwitnesses that bear witness to
(05:58):
him legally.
Those witnesses are John theBaptist, his own works, his
miracles, Father God bearswitness to him.
And finally, the scriptures bearwitness to Jesus.
Picking up in verse 14, Jesusanswers, Even if I do bear
witness about myself, mytestimony is true.
(06:22):
For I know where I came from andwhere I am going, but you do not
know where I come from or whereI am going.
You judge according to theflesh.
I judge no one.
Yet even if I do judge, myjudgment is true.
For it is not I alone who judge,but I am the Father who sent me.
(06:48):
In your law it is written thatthe testimony of two people is
true.
I am the one who bears witnessabout myself, and the Father who
sent me bears witness about me.
In verses fourteen througheighteen, Jesus responds to this
accusation that he is bearingwitness about himself.
(07:12):
And as we described earlier,Jesus had these four witnesses
that bore witness to who he was.
And those four witnessessatisfied the law of the Old
Testament.
John the Baptist testified thathe was a legal witness for
Christ.
But Jesus here says, it was notrequired of him in order for his
(07:36):
testimony to be true.
Why?
It is because Jesus is God inhuman flesh.
Jesus is the very essence oftruth and godliness.
Yet even as Jesus says this, hepoints to how the Father is
giving testimony, and the Fatherbears witness to who he is, how
(07:58):
Jesus came from the Father, howhe represents the Father and
will go back to the Father.
Jesus tells these Pharisees thatthey judge according to the
flesh.
They have no true spiritualdiscernment.
They are only judging by naturalor superficial appearances.
(08:20):
Jesus says, I judge no one.
Now, Jesus is not saying helacks the capacity to judge
circumstances or people.
He's not saying he lacks thecapacity to judge right and
wrong.
Rather, what Jesus is saying isin his first coming, he did not
(08:40):
come to judge the world andcondemn it, but he came to save
it.
Just as John 3.17 reads, for Goddid not send his son into the
world to condemn the world, butin order that the world might be
saved through him.
And then Jesus says, Even if Ido judge, my judgment is true.
(09:03):
Jesus clarifies for us that hiswords are true, his judgments
about right and wrong are true.
Even though Jesus did not cometo condemn the world, even
though he didn't come here tobring his wrath upon the world,
his statements about right andwrong, his statements about
truth are true.
(09:25):
They're correct judgments.
Jesus was indeed sinless, andhis judgments about everything
were flawless.
In John chapter 5, verse 30,Jesus said, I can do nothing on
my own.
As I hear, I judge, and myjudgment is just, because I seek
(09:48):
not my own will, but the will ofhim who sent me.
In John 7 24, Jesus said, I donot judge by appearances, but
judge with right judgment.
And here in these verses, Jesussays, Even if I do judge, my
(10:09):
judgment is true.
The very presence of JesusChrist on the earth judges man's
hearts.
It reveals their sin, that theymay repent and turn to Jesus as
their Savior, because Jesus willcome a second time.
He's coming again, and he willjudge all of mankind in a final
(10:32):
eternal judgment.
In our next chapter, chapternine, Jesus says in verse
thirty-nine, for judgment I cameinto this world, that those who
do not see may see, and thosewho see may become blind.
Jesus is the light.
(10:54):
Those who see through him and byhim will have true judgments.
When the Son of God came asJesus, he came in full
submission and complete harmonywith God the Father.
Jesus sets an example for us, sothat we too might submit
(11:16):
ourselves to the will of God.
Then Jesus says to thesePharisees, In your law it is
written that the testimony oftwo people is true.
But I am the one who bearswitness about myself, and the
Father who sent me bears witnessabout me.
(11:37):
It is very interesting how Jesuswords this.
By Jesus Christ, who is God.
But Jesus is pointing to theseJewish leaders and saying, In
your law, because these peopleare trusting in something
(12:00):
superficial, they don'trecognize that Jesus is the very
one who gave them the law.
They don't recognize Jesus isthe very truth and essence of
truth standing before them.
But he reaffirms that he is theone who bears witness about
himself, and there is anotherwho bears witness too, and that
(12:23):
is the Father.
Picking up in verse nineteen,they said to him, therefore,
Where is your father?
Jesus answered, You know neitherme nor my father.
If you knew me, you would knowmy father also.
These words he spoke in thetreasury as he taught in the
(12:44):
temple, but no one arrested him,because his hour had not yet
come.
We continue to see this exchangebetween the Pharisees and Jesus.
The Pharisees continue to mockJesus, saying, Where is your
father?
They might as well have beensaying, If you have this witness
(13:05):
that confirms what you'resaying, bring him out so we can
question him.
Show us this father of yours.
But there is another level tothis also, a deeper, more
personal jab at Jesus.
Jesus' earthly father Joseph isbelieved to be dead at this
(13:26):
point during his ministry, evenbefore Jesus' ministry began,
and the Pharisees, the Jewishleaders, would have known of
Joseph's death.
So not only are they mockingJesus over what he is saying,
but they are attempting toantagonize him over the death of
his earthly father.
(13:46):
And Jesus responds, If you knewme, you would know my father
also.
And in verse twenty we see thatJesus was speaking these words
in the treasury, as he continuesto speak in the temple on the
last day of the feast of Booths.
This area of the temple, knownas the treasury, is a place
(14:08):
where offerings were oftengiven.
It was also known as the courtof women, and there were
thirteen boxes in this areawhere you could give offerings.
It was a place where all Jewscould gather, both male and
female, although this would notbe a place where the Gentiles
would come.
And again we see that while theyhad a desire to arrest him and
(14:30):
had given orders to arrest him,no one did, because his hour had
not yet come.
Picking up in verse twenty one.
So he said to them again, I amgoing away, and you will seek
me, and you will die in yoursin.
Where I am going you cannotcome.
(14:52):
So the Jews said, Will he killhimself since he says where I'm
going you cannot come?
And he said to them, You arefrom below, I am from above, you
are of this world, I am not ofthis world.
I told you that you would die inyour sins, for unless you
(15:16):
believe that I am he, you willdie in your sins.
In verses twenty one throughtwenty four, Jesus tells these
Pharisees quite plainly thatthey will die in their sin, that
he will go away, and where he'sgoing, these Pharisees will not
be able to come.
(15:37):
When Jesus says this, the Jewishleaders continue to mock Jesus.
Their response to Jesus, tellingthem that they will die in their
sin and that he is goingsomewhere they can't come is to
ask him if he will kill himself.
These Pharisees don't take Jesusseriously at all.
(15:59):
By their standards, he iscompletely unworthy to be
trusted.
They do not believe Jesus shouldbe considered a serious teacher
or rabbi at all.
As these Jewish leaders continueto mock Jesus, Jesus tells them
again very plainly that they arefrom below and he is from above,
(16:21):
that they are of the world, buthe is not of this world.
Jewish theology understood thatbelow it meant the underworld,
the underworld of death andSatan.
And to be from above meant to befrom God.
And as Jesus does this, he tellsthem that they're going to die
(16:43):
in their sins unless theybelieve that I am He.
Now this Greek phrase, I am He.
I'm going to try and pronouncethe Greek ego emi, and it means
I am.
The way that this has beentranslated in English really
(17:03):
does not give it the powerfulimpact that the Greek does.
Jesus is making an absoluteusage of the phrase I am.
Jesus is saying, unless youbelieve that I am, you will die
in your sins.
In fact, this phrase that Jesusis using is a direct quotation
(17:27):
from Isaiah forty three ten, andit teaches that the servant of
the Lord will know, believe, andunderstand that I am He.
Picking up in verse twenty five.
So they said to him, Who areyou?
And Jesus says to them, Justwhat I've been telling you from
(17:48):
the beginning.
I have much to say about you andmuch to judge, but he who sent
me is true, and I declare to theworld what I have heard from
him.
In verses twenty five and twentysix, the Pharisees knew that the
people were calling Jesus theprophet and the Messiah.
(18:10):
The Pharisees were alreadyplanning to kill Jesus because
he was making himself to beequal with God, declaring
himself to be I am.
The purpose for their questionhere is not out of genuine
curiosity or because they'regenuinely confused about who he
says he is.
(18:31):
Their desire here is to trapJesus in open blasphemy.
And Jesus replies, I have muchto say about you and much to
judge.
Jesus has a great deal more thathe will eventually say to these
Jewish leaders.
There was much more he couldhave said here about their
(18:53):
willful rejection of him as theMessiah.
But Jesus continues to obey thedirection and the timing of the
Father, and Jesus only speakswhat he hears from him.
The Father did not send the Sonto condemn the world, but to
declare salvation to it.
(19:14):
Therefore, Jesus' rebukes tothese Jewish leaders are given
at the direction of the Father,for the purpose of correction
and the salvation of those whowould believe.
Picking up in verse twentyseven, they did not understand
that he had been speaking tothem about the Father.
(19:35):
So Jesus said to them, When youhave lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He,and that I do nothing on my own
authority, but speak just as theFather taught me.
And he who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone, for Ialways do the things that are
(19:57):
pleasing to him.
As he was saying these things,many believed in him.
In our last three verses fortoday, the Jewish leaders did
not understand that Jesus wasspeaking about the Father.
Why?
Because they had mentallyblocked out the possibility that
(20:19):
Jesus came from the Father.
Their hearts were hard againstJesus being one with the Father.
Jesus replied to them, When youhave lifted up the Son of Man
you will know that I am He.
It's very interesting how Jesussays this.
His reference to being lifted upis clearly describing his death
(20:42):
on the cross at Calvary.
Jesus would later parallel hisdeath on the cross to the bronze
serpent that Moses lifted up inthe wilderness when the
Israelites were bit by poisonoussnakes.
And if you remember, the reasonthat God sent those venomous
snakes was because Israel hadbegun speaking against God and
(21:06):
his prophet.
But when Israel cried out to Godin their suffering, God in his
mercy told Moses to make abronze serpent and set it on a
pole.
And anyone that would repent oftheir rebellion, anyone that
would trust to look upon thatserpent that Moses had placed on
a pole would live.
(21:27):
Jesus says that when you lift meup, you will know that I am He.
Jesus will carry the poison ofthe ark serpent Satan.
And those who look upon Jesusthe Christ and repent of their
sin and trust in Jesus will besaved from the sin of their
(21:50):
rebellion.
The Father and the Son are one.
They're one in purpose, they areone in action.
While we know that God isomnipresent, He's everywhere at
all times, Jesus says that theFather is with him.
(22:10):
He's declaring that the Fatheris always helping him.
He's saying that the Father isin an intimate relationship with
him.
He's on his side, as opposed tothe Jewish leaders who are
against the Father.
Jesus always did what waspleasing to the Father.
(22:32):
And as we see in our last versefor today, because of this, and
because of what Jesus was sayingand how he was rebuking these
Pharisees, many believed in him.
Believe on Christ today, the onelifted up for the sin of the
world.
(22:54):
Thank you for joining me today.
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you, and thank you again for
joining me for the mysteries ofGod's Word.
Today we are in John chaptereight, and Jesus continues to
speak to the Jewish people onthe last day of the feast of
tabernacles six months beforehis crucifixion.
(00:36):
Beginning at verse twelve, weread Again Jesus spoke to them,
saying, I am the light of theworld.
Whoever follows me will not walkin darkness, but will have the
light of life.
So the Pharisees said to him,You are bearing witness about
yourself.
(00:56):
Your testimony is not true.
In our first two verses, versestwelve and thirteen for today,
we are introduced to Jesus'second public I am statement.
Now during the feast oftabernacles, there were large
lamps that were burning, andthey lit up much of Jerusalem.
(01:20):
These large lamps were lit up inremembrance of the great pillar
of fire that led the Israelitesthrough the wilderness and gave
light to them at night.
Remember that pillar of cloudduring the day and the pillar of
fire at night.
So picture this.
(01:41):
During the feast, the feast thatcommemorates God's provision for
Israel in the wilderness,there's giant lamps lit to
remember this pillar of firethat guided them in the darkness
through the night of the desert.
And Jesus declares I am thelight of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walkin darkness, but will have the
(02:05):
light of life.
For those with ears to hear,Jesus leaves very little room
for question.
He is claiming to be theRedeemer God that led Israel out
of slavery.
As a side note to this, I wantto read you fifth verse of Jude,
(02:26):
which reads Now I want to remindyou, although you once fully
knew it, that Jesus, who saved apeople out of the land of Egypt,
afterwards destroyed those whodid not believe.
Yes, Scripture itself clarifiesthat it was Jesus.
(02:46):
He was the one who led Israelout of Egypt.
It was the Son of God who hasalways been.
Now both the Old Testament andNew Testament use the word light
as a metaphor for truth, thetruth found in God's Word, and
(03:07):
for the Lord God as the way ofsalvation.
Let me just read a couple ofthose verses.
Psalm twenty seven one reads TheLord is my light and my
salvation, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of mylife, of whom shall I be afraid?
(03:32):
Psalm one hundred nineteen oneoh five reads Your Word is a
lamp to my feet and a light tomy path.
Isaiah nine two reads The peoplewho have walked in darkness have
seen a great light, those whohave dwelt in a land of deep
(03:52):
darkness, on them has lightshone.
And in this very gospel of John,he uses the word light
throughout his gospel todescribe Jesus.
John one four reads, In him waslife, and the life was the light
(04:13):
of men.
John three nineteen reads, andthis is the judgment, the light
has come into the world, and thepeople loved the darkness rather
than the light, because theirworks were evil.
We could go on and on talkingabout how God is described as
light.
(04:33):
Throughout Scripture itdescribes God as light and
clothed in light.
For example, Isaiah chaptersixty verse nineteen prophesies
about the new heavens and newearth, saying, The sun shall be
no more your light by day, norfor brightness shall the moon
(04:53):
give your light.
But the Lord will be youreverlasting light, and your God
will be your glory.
And finally, as we wrap up thisidea about how God is light, at
the very end of his ministry,Jesus proclaimed, I have come
into the world as light, so thatwhoever believes in me may not
(05:15):
remain in the darkness.
Of course, as Jesus says this,the Jewish leaders know very
well what he's saying.
They know he's proclaiming to bethe God of light that has come
into the world.
And they immediately say toJesus, You're bearing witness
about yourself.
(05:35):
So your testimony can't be true.
These Jewish leaders are mockingJesus, even returning to an
argument they had with Jesusback in John chapter 5, verse
31, where Jesus had alreadypreviously corrected them that
he doesn't bear witness abouthimself.
And there are four specificwitnesses that bear witness to
(05:58):
him legally.
Those witnesses are John theBaptist, his own works, his
miracles, Father God bearswitness to him.
And finally, the scriptures bearwitness to Jesus.
Picking up in verse 14, Jesusanswers, Even if I do bear
witness about myself, mytestimony is true.
(06:22):
For I know where I came from andwhere I am going, but you do not
know where I come from or whereI am going.
You judge according to theflesh.
I judge no one.
Yet even if I do judge, myjudgment is true.
For it is not I alone who judge,but I am the Father who sent me.
(06:48):
In your law it is written thatthe testimony of two people is
true.
I am the one who bears witnessabout myself, and the Father who
sent me bears witness about me.
In verses fourteen througheighteen, Jesus responds to this
accusation that he is bearingwitness about himself.
(07:12):
And as we described earlier,Jesus had these four witnesses
that bore witness to who he was.
And those four witnessessatisfied the law of the Old
Testament.
John the Baptist testified thathe was a legal witness for
Christ.
But Jesus here says, it was notrequired of him in order for his
(07:36):
testimony to be true.
Why?
It is because Jesus is God inhuman flesh.
Jesus is the very essence oftruth and godliness.
Yet even as Jesus says this, hepoints to how the Father is
giving testimony, and the Fatherbears witness to who he is, how
(07:58):
Jesus came from the Father, howhe represents the Father and
will go back to the Father.
Jesus tells these Pharisees thatthey judge according to the
flesh.
They have no true spiritualdiscernment.
They are only judging by naturalor superficial appearances.
(08:20):
Jesus says, I judge no one.
Now, Jesus is not saying helacks the capacity to judge
circumstances or people.
He's not saying he lacks thecapacity to judge right and
wrong.
Rather, what Jesus is saying isin his first coming, he did not
(08:40):
come to judge the world andcondemn it, but he came to save
it.
Just as John 3.17 reads, for Goddid not send his son into the
world to condemn the world, butin order that the world might be
saved through him.
And then Jesus says, Even if Ido judge, my judgment is true.
(09:03):
Jesus clarifies for us that hiswords are true, his judgments
about right and wrong are true.
Even though Jesus did not cometo condemn the world, even
though he didn't come here tobring his wrath upon the world,
his statements about right andwrong, his statements about
truth are true.
(09:25):
They're correct judgments.
Jesus was indeed sinless, andhis judgments about everything
were flawless.
In John chapter 5, verse 30,Jesus said, I can do nothing on
my own.
As I hear, I judge, and myjudgment is just, because I seek
(09:48):
not my own will, but the will ofhim who sent me.
In John 7 24, Jesus said, I donot judge by appearances, but
judge with right judgment.
And here in these verses, Jesussays, Even if I do judge, my
(10:09):
judgment is true.
The very presence of JesusChrist on the earth judges man's
hearts.
It reveals their sin, that theymay repent and turn to Jesus as
their Savior, because Jesus willcome a second time.
He's coming again, and he willjudge all of mankind in a final
(10:32):
eternal judgment.
In our next chapter, chapternine, Jesus says in verse
thirty-nine, for judgment I cameinto this world, that those who
do not see may see, and thosewho see may become blind.
Jesus is the light.
(10:54):
Those who see through him and byhim will have true judgments.
When the Son of God came asJesus, he came in full
submission and complete harmonywith God the Father.
Jesus sets an example for us, sothat we too might submit
(11:16):
ourselves to the will of God.
Then Jesus says to thesePharisees, In your law it is
written that the testimony oftwo people is true.
But I am the one who bearswitness about myself, and the
Father who sent me bears witnessabout me.
(11:37):
It is very interesting how Jesuswords this.
By Jesus Christ, who is God.
But Jesus is pointing to theseJewish leaders and saying, In
your law, because these peopleare trusting in something
(12:00):
superficial, they don'trecognize that Jesus is the very
one who gave them the law.
They don't recognize Jesus isthe very truth and essence of
truth standing before them.
But he reaffirms that he is theone who bears witness about
himself, and there is anotherwho bears witness too, and that
(12:23):
is the Father.
Picking up in verse nineteen,they said to him, therefore,
Where is your father?
Jesus answered, You know neitherme nor my father.
If you knew me, you would knowmy father also.
These words he spoke in thetreasury as he taught in the
(12:44):
temple, but no one arrested him,because his hour had not yet
come.
We continue to see this exchangebetween the Pharisees and Jesus.
The Pharisees continue to mockJesus, saying, Where is your
father?
They might as well have beensaying, If you have this witness
(13:05):
that confirms what you'resaying, bring him out so we can
question him.
Show us this father of yours.
But there is another level tothis also, a deeper, more
personal jab at Jesus.
Jesus' earthly father Joseph isbelieved to be dead at this
(13:26):
point during his ministry, evenbefore Jesus' ministry began,
and the Pharisees, the Jewishleaders, would have known of
Joseph's death.
So not only are they mockingJesus over what he is saying,
but they are attempting toantagonize him over the death of
his earthly father.
(13:46):
And Jesus responds, If you knewme, you would know my father
also.
And in verse twenty we see thatJesus was speaking these words
in the treasury, as he continuesto speak in the temple on the
last day of the feast of Booths.
This area of the temple, knownas the treasury, is a place
(14:08):
where offerings were oftengiven.
It was also known as the courtof women, and there were
thirteen boxes in this areawhere you could give offerings.
It was a place where all Jewscould gather, both male and
female, although this would notbe a place where the Gentiles
would come.
And again we see that while theyhad a desire to arrest him and
(14:30):
had given orders to arrest him,no one did, because his hour had
not yet come.
Picking up in verse twenty one.
So he said to them again, I amgoing away, and you will seek
me, and you will die in yoursin.
Where I am going you cannotcome.
(14:52):
So the Jews said, Will he killhimself since he says where I'm
going you cannot come?
And he said to them, You arefrom below, I am from above, you
are of this world, I am not ofthis world.
I told you that you would die inyour sins, for unless you
(15:16):
believe that I am he, you willdie in your sins.
In verses twenty one throughtwenty four, Jesus tells these
Pharisees quite plainly thatthey will die in their sin, that
he will go away, and where he'sgoing, these Pharisees will not
be able to come.
(15:37):
When Jesus says this, the Jewishleaders continue to mock Jesus.
Their response to Jesus, tellingthem that they will die in their
sin and that he is goingsomewhere they can't come is to
ask him if he will kill himself.
These Pharisees don't take Jesusseriously at all.
(15:59):
By their standards, he iscompletely unworthy to be
trusted.
They do not believe Jesus shouldbe considered a serious teacher
or rabbi at all.
As these Jewish leaders continueto mock Jesus, Jesus tells them
again very plainly that they arefrom below and he is from above,
(16:21):
that they are of the world, buthe is not of this world.
Jewish theology understood thatbelow it meant the underworld,
the underworld of death andSatan.
And to be from above meant to befrom God.
And as Jesus does this, he tellsthem that they're going to die
(16:43):
in their sins unless theybelieve that I am He.
Now this Greek phrase, I am He.
I'm going to try and pronouncethe Greek ego emi, and it means
I am.
The way that this has beentranslated in English really
(17:03):
does not give it the powerfulimpact that the Greek does.
Jesus is making an absoluteusage of the phrase I am.
Jesus is saying, unless youbelieve that I am, you will die
in your sins.
In fact, this phrase that Jesusis using is a direct quotation
(17:27):
from Isaiah forty three ten, andit teaches that the servant of
the Lord will know, believe, andunderstand that I am He.
Picking up in verse twenty five.
So they said to him, Who areyou?
And Jesus says to them, Justwhat I've been telling you from
(17:48):
the beginning.
I have much to say about you andmuch to judge, but he who sent
me is true, and I declare to theworld what I have heard from
him.
In verses twenty five and twentysix, the Pharisees knew that the
people were calling Jesus theprophet and the Messiah.
(18:10):
The Pharisees were alreadyplanning to kill Jesus because
he was making himself to beequal with God, declaring
himself to be I am.
The purpose for their questionhere is not out of genuine
curiosity or because they'regenuinely confused about who he
says he is.
(18:31):
Their desire here is to trapJesus in open blasphemy.
And Jesus replies, I have muchto say about you and much to
judge.
Jesus has a great deal more thathe will eventually say to these
Jewish leaders.
There was much more he couldhave said here about their
(18:53):
willful rejection of him as theMessiah.
But Jesus continues to obey thedirection and the timing of the
Father, and Jesus only speakswhat he hears from him.
The Father did not send the Sonto condemn the world, but to
declare salvation to it.
(19:14):
Therefore, Jesus' rebukes tothese Jewish leaders are given
at the direction of the Father,for the purpose of correction
and the salvation of those whowould believe.
Picking up in verse twentyseven, they did not understand
that he had been speaking tothem about the Father.
(19:35):
So Jesus said to them, When youhave lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He,and that I do nothing on my own
authority, but speak just as theFather taught me.
And he who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone, for Ialways do the things that are
(19:57):
pleasing to him.
As he was saying these things,many believed in him.
In our last three verses fortoday, the Jewish leaders did
not understand that Jesus wasspeaking about the Father.
Why?
Because they had mentallyblocked out the possibility that
(20:19):
Jesus came from the Father.
Their hearts were hard againstJesus being one with the Father.
Jesus replied to them, When youhave lifted up the Son of Man
you will know that I am He.
It's very interesting how Jesussays this.
His reference to being lifted upis clearly describing his death
(20:42):
on the cross at Calvary.
Jesus would later parallel hisdeath on the cross to the bronze
serpent that Moses lifted up inthe wilderness when the
Israelites were bit by poisonoussnakes.
And if you remember, the reasonthat God sent those venomous
snakes was because Israel hadbegun speaking against God and
(21:06):
his prophet.
But when Israel cried out to Godin their suffering, God in his
mercy told Moses to make abronze serpent and set it on a
pole.
And anyone that would repent oftheir rebellion, anyone that
would trust to look upon thatserpent that Moses had placed on
a pole would live.
(21:27):
Jesus says that when you lift meup, you will know that I am He.
Jesus will carry the poison ofthe ark serpent Satan.
And those who look upon Jesusthe Christ and repent of their
sin and trust in Jesus will besaved from the sin of their
(21:50):
rebellion.
The Father and the Son are one.
They're one in purpose, they areone in action.
While we know that God isomnipresent, He's everywhere at
all times, Jesus says that theFather is with him.
(22:10):
He's declaring that the Fatheris always helping him.
He's saying that the Father isin an intimate relationship with
him.
He's on his side, as opposed tothe Jewish leaders who are
against the Father.
Jesus always did what waspleasing to the Father.
(22:32):
And as we see in our last versefor today, because of this, and
because of what Jesus was sayingand how he was rebuking these
Pharisees, many believed in him.
Believe on Christ today, the onelifted up for the sin of the
world.
(22:54):
Thank you for joining me today.
God bless you this week.
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