The Light of the World

John 7:53–8:30 – That You May Believe
5th Sunday in Epiphany  – February 9, 2025 (am)     

We have a very interesting passage before us this morning, one that presents us with some things we can’t know right along with some things we can. And in the process, it makes a statement that pretty much captures the heart of what it means to be and to live as a Christian—that highest of all callings! Let’s jump right into those three points.

Some Things We Can’t Know about Jesus – 7:53-8:11

There are likely few encounters in Jesus’ life and ministry on earth that are more broadly known, deeply loved, and often cited than this one, a woman caught in the act of adultery (4). It speaks of His compassion and mercy every bit as clearly as when He raised Lazarus from the dead (11:1-44). It speaks of His wisdom and discernment as much as when He said: render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s (Mat.22:21). But while there is little reason for doubting that [this] event [actually occurred] (Carson 1991 333), and surely there [seems to be] nothing in it that is [contrary to] sound doctrine (Köstenberger 2008), almost certainly this encounter was not included by John as he originally wrote his Gospel, nor is it likely that it was included in Scripture at all. Even though its style resonates a bit with the other Gospel writers, especially Luke (Carson 1991 333), these verses… are absent from virtually all early Greek manuscripts…. They are also missing from the earliest forms of the Syriac and Coptic Gospels, and from the many Old Latin, … Georgian and Armenian [texts]. All the early church Fathers omit this [passage when] commenting on John[;] they pass immediately from 7:52 to 8:12. … Although most of the manuscripts that include [it] place it here, some place it [elsewhere in John, or even in Luke]. The diversity of placement alone confirms [its lack of authenticity] (Carson 1991 333).

It’s for these reasons that I wanted to separate it from the reading of God’s Word this morning. That said, it is surely a long-attested story, present in most medieval Greek… manuscripts, and it was first commented on by one of the Eastern Fathers in the tenth century (Carson 1991 333), over a thousand years ago. So, it’s worth hearing this morning as a stand-alone encounter with Jesus, helpful to His people not unlike the disputed final twelve verses of Mark’s Gospel, and as a reminder both of the many things Jesus did that weren’t included in the biblical narrative (cf. 20:30), but also as a clear acknowledgement that we really aren’t doubting that it happened, but just that John himself included it.

7:53 They went each to his own house, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. This detail makes it seem like it would fit better with the passion week (Carson 1991 333). All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Some Things We Can Know about Jesus – 8:12-30

Now to our text for today, and a profound statement from Jesus; we may not know whether vv.1-11 happened, but we know this did. And if we assume that 7:40-52 are important narrative details that John included, but that they describe context, not continuing conversation, then 8:12 follows nicely [on the heels of Jesus’ proclamation] in 7:37-39 (Carson 1991 337), as all one piece. Dave Newton described well last Sunday the joyful celebration that happened daily during the seven-day Feast of Booths (7:12), gathering water from the pool of Siloam and [carrying it] in a procession into the temple. [When it] approached at the watergate …, three blasts from the [shofar] (celebratory trumpet) were sounded [and the people] watched as the priests [surrounded] the altar and the temple choir sang the Hallel (Psa.113-118). When [they] reached Psa.118, every [man] shook a [collection of branches] in his right hand, and raised a piece of citrus fruit in his left (a sign of the… harvest), and they all cried together, ‘Give thanks to the Lord!’ three times. The water was offered to God at the time of the morning sacrifice, along with the daily drink offering (of wine). The wine and the water were poured into their respective silver bowls, and then poured out before the Lord. [These] ceremonies of the Feast of [Booths] were related in Jewish thought both to the Lord’s provision of water in the desert and [of His promised] pouring out of [His] Spirit in the last days. So, pouring at the Feast of [Booths] refers symbolically to the messianic age in which a stream from the sacred rock would flow over the whole earth (Carson 1991 321-2). That’s what’s behind Jesus’ [shout] (37): If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. As Dave pointed out, it was said: He who has not seen the joy of the place of water-drawing has never in his life seen joy (Carson 1991 337).

It’s in this same setting, then, that we move into the heart of today’s passage. Right after the pouring of the water was completed on the last day of the feast, the great day (37), four huge lamps [were lit] in the temple’s court of women[; here’s a description] of the exuberant celebration that took place under their light (Mishnah Sukkah 5:1-4): ‘Men of piety and good works’ danced through the night, holding burning torches in their hands and singing songs and praises. The Levitical orchestras cut loose, and some sources [say] that this went on every night of the Feast of [Booths], with the light from the temple area [casting] its glow all over Jerusalem (Carson 1991 337).

Some still remember the celebrations in the streets and city centers at the end of WWII. I remember living downtown just a block or two north of the celebration center when the Bulls won their first NBA Championship back in 1991, then their second in ’92, then their third in ’93. Sitting in the living room of our tenth-floor condo, we couldn’t hear to talk on the phone.

Magnify this by any factor to account for the fact that all these folk traveled to Jerusalem anticipating this celebration. Then raise it to any power to account for the fact that their excitement was rooted in their anticipation of the arrival of God’s long-promised Messiah—maybe this year! Then add in the fact that there was a legitimate possibility this year: that miracle-worker—from Galilee, yes, but He was doing amazing things and teaching with unprecedented authority!

Now we have the setting for Jesus’ next words, on the heels of come to me and drink (7:37). Got the scene in mind? 8:12 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 such a powerful statement that we’re going to ponder it alone in our third point in just a few minutes. But let’s first see what happened in the wake of this statement from Jesus. In this mixed crowd that held many different ideas about Who He was, the leaders didn’t like it at all: 13 … the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true”, picking up on His own statement earlier (5:31) and thinking He alone was testifying. 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. I have knowledge you don’t have because you don’t know me like you think you do. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one, not in the way you do. 16 Yet even if I do judge, for surely He does (5:22ff.; cf. 2Co.5:10), my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me—back to His well-established point. 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,” a very convicting statement to Jewish leaders.

He continued along the same line into this next paragraph and they just couldn’t grasp what He meant (22, 25, 27)—where He was from and where He was going (21, 23), what He was telling them about themselves (24), even what He was telling them about Himself (26, 28-29). So, He just dropped the core of the gospel on them in a couple of verses. We’ve talked several times about how so much of John is written so that, even if it’s pretty murky on the first read, it’ll make more and more sense as it’s read a second and third time. Thus, in the midst of their confusion about Who Jesus is, seemingly without the slightest understanding of how serious a matter it was, He said to them: 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he—I am (ἐγώ εἰμι, the first time this statement appears without an object like the light of the world [12])—you will die in your sins. Then, a moment later: 28 … When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he (again, ἐγώ εἰμι alone), and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. When you see my greatest miracle, one you won’t recognize for what it is right away—when you see me lifted up on the cross, dying in the place of all who will believe—then you’ll finally realize that I’ve been telling you the truth (cf. 32) all along!

Some Differences What We Know Can Make – 8:12

Now it’s time to go back to v.12, drill into it, and see what rich resources the Spirit provides for us today through it. 12 … I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. What are we really being told here? What do we learn from it? How do we live it out—how does it change our lives? It sounds pretty significant, and maybe clear in some ways. But it surely sounds like there’s more to it than is immediately obvious.

To begin, this light metaphor [draws many] OT allusions [to mind]. The glory of the… presence of God in the [pillar of] cloud led [Israel across the wilderness] to the promised land (Exo.13:21-22) and protected them from those who would [harm] them (Exo.14:19-25). [God’s people] were trained to sing, ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation’ (Psa.27:1). The word of God, the law of God, is a light to guide the path of those who cherish instruction (Psa.119:105; Pro. 6:23); [338] God’s light is shed abroad in revelation (Eze.1:4, 13, 26-28) and salvation (Hab.3:3-4). ‘Light is [God] in action, Psa.44:3’ (H. Conzelmann, TDNT 9, 320). Isaiah tells us that the servant of the Lord was appointed as a light to the Gentiles, that he might bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (Isa.49:6). The coming eschatological age would be a time when the Lord himself would be the light for his people (Isa.60:19-22; cf. Rev.21:23-24). Perhaps Zec.14:5b-7 is especially significant, with its promise of continual light on the last day, followed by the promise of living waters flowing from Jerusalem—this passage [likely] forming part of the liturgical readings of this Feast (cf. notes on 7:37-39) (Carson 1991 337-8). All this is surely edifying and thrilling to bring to mind, but I’m not sure it helps us know what difference it makes to us to have the light of life.

Let’s see some hints in the text itself, and the context. First, the call is to follow Jesus like we follow a light. Obey Him. That helps a bit. Also, a light can help with navigation even in the daytime, much as the pillar of cloud did for Israel (Exo.13:17-22). But here the contrast is with darkness. Following Jesus in the way He calls for/enables, is like having a light when it’s dark, like the pillar of fire for Israel. The light Jesus is talking about, then, brings not only guidance and protection but illumination, perception, understanding of all that’s around us, even of life itself: 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men—3:19 … the light has come into the world, [but] people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light—he’d rather stumble around in darkness, lest his works should be exposed, lest he have to give up the favorite sins he loves. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, that’s helpful, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. Having the light means following Jesus (12), living in the light, the understanding, the freedom from sin, that He alone enables, the light that He alone can bring. It means believing in Jesus (6:29) as the bread of God who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (6:33). It means abiding in Him (6:56), knowing His truth and the freedom that brings (8:31). It means walking (12) with Him, obeying all that He taught such that we know life! We have the light of life, the light of life is the light that produces life. Psa.36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light (Carson 1991 338). Jesus is the light by which all else that is light is recognized as light, the light that ends up being virtually synonymous with life, abundant life (10:10), joyful life (15:11), unending life, eternal life (6:47), walking in the light, His light, such that we know fellowship with God and with one another that comes along with the cleansing from all sin (1Jo.1:7) that we receive by believing in Jesus (24), through the blood of Jesus (1Jo.1:7) that will be shed when He’s lifted up (28).

Conclusion

That’s what Jesus is talking about here at this great and ceremonial moment at the Feast of Booths. Come to Him. Believe in Him. Walk in His ways. And not only will you become increasingly confident that He comes from the Father and speaks only the truth, you will also know the fullness of life He came to give. Just as we come to Jesus, believing He’s God’s Solution for our separation from Him, and also from one another—as we drink from Him (7:37), the fountain of living water (cf. Jer.2:13), and are turned into conduits of living water (7:38), washing out into this dry and thirsty land (cf. Psa.63:1 kjv)—even so, when we come to Jesus, the light of the world, we’re turned into carriers of His unrelenting, irrepressible light (1:5) into the repressed and relentless darkness of this world (12). We truly become to this world precisely what it needs in order to be transformed from all that it presently is. That is a high calling—the highest.

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Resources

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                  , Gordon D. Fee, & Ned B. Stonehouse, gen. eds. 1995. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. The Gospel According to John, Revised Edition, by Leon Morris. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

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                  , R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham, eds. 1994. New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition. John, by Donald Guthrie, 1021-1065. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

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Dever, Mark. 2005. The Message of the New Testament. Ch. 4, The Message of John: Jesus, the Son of God, 101-122. Wheaton: Crossway.

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Morris, Leon, gen. ed. 2003. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Vol. 4, John, by Colin G. Kruse. Downers Grove: InterVarsity.

Osborne, Grant, ed. 1993. Life Application Bible Commentary. John, by Bruce B. Barton, Philip W. Comfort, David R. Veerman, & Neil Wilson. Wheaton: Tyndale.

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Tenney, Merrill C. 1976. John: The Gospel of Belief. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

NEXT SUNDAY: John 8:31–47, Kipp Soncek