Video teaching coming soon
There is no online teaching for this study yet, but the written notes and any available study resources are still below.
These are the original teaching notes from this passage.
Review…
- John 7:1-53 – Jesus attended the Feast of Tabernacles…
- Jesus went in secret – but half way thought the festival – He stood up and taught!
- And on the last day of the feast Jesus stood up – ‘Any one who thirst come to Me!’
- John 8:1-11 – The woman caught in adultery…
- The next day the Religious Leaders brought a woman to Jesus – caught in adultery…
- They pointed out the Law demanded she be stoned for her crime…
- But they wanted to know what Jesus said – hoping to trap Him to accuse Him…
- He who has no sin cast the first stone…
- Jesus stooped down and wrote in the sand – perhaps the sins of the people…
- From the oldest to the youngest they all left – only the woman remained…
- Jesus looked up – where are your accusers…
- No one could accuse the women – because God was the one who forgave her…
- Jesus told her – ‘neither do I accuse you – go and sin no more.’
The light of the world… (3 things)
- 1st – I am the light of the world… vs. 12 (4 things)
- 1st – Jesus spoke to the crowd in the Temple on another day…
- The 7 ‘I Am statements of Jesus’…
- There are seven ‘I AM’ statements given by Jesus in the book of John…
- The ‘I AM’ – is one of the titles given by God to Moses (burning bush) – Exodus 3
- These 7 statements reveal the character of God through Jesus Christ…
- Jesus already showed us He is the ‘Bread of life’ – He is our Spiritual food…
- Now He tells us that He is also – ‘the light of the world’…
- Jesus is the literal the light of the world…
- In Genesis 1:3 – on the first day of creation God said let there be light…
- Yet the sun and moon were not created until day 4 – where did the light come from…
- The answer is Jesus – He was the light that first shined down on the world…
- In fact when we get to heaven there will be no sun or moon…
- Revelation 21:23 – “[Heaven] has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates [it], and the Lamb is its light.”
- Jesus was quite literally the light in the beginning and will be the light in the end!
- 2nd – Jesus is the light that shines into the darkness of our hearts – John 1:5…
- Before Jesus we did not think about sin – we just did what we wanted…
- We did not think about God – think about righteousness – we were bound to sin…
- When we sinned – we did not care – sin did not bother us…
- And with every sin we sank deeper into ‘debt’ – a debt we had no way to repay…
- Only living to please ourselves – destined to face the wrath of God!
- Before we knew Jesus we walked in spiritual darkness – lost in our sin…
- Every new idea – we blindly followed after – not knowing where we were going…
- No thought of consequence/no plan – obeying our sin without question…
- We had no direction – no purpose – no hope – and we did not even see our problem…
- 3rd – Jesus came so we could see…
- The light of Jesus shows us the way to heaven…
- II Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts…”
- It is only through Jesus – His Word – we were able to see our sinfulness…
- Once we understood we were sinners – we saw our need for Jesus as a savior…
- We could see the door God opened up to heaven through the sacrifice of Jesus!
- The light of Jesus gives us victory over sin…
- I John 1:7 – “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
- It is as we walk with Jesus – walk in the light – that we can see clearly…
- Victory over sin in our life – is a direct result of our relationship with Jesus…
- The more time we spend with the Lord – the more we find we overcome our sin…
- Jesus changes our desires so we do not want to do the things that are wrong…
- Instead we will want to do those things that please the Lord!
- The light of Jesus shows us how to live our lives…
- How do we know what God has called us to do – He lights the way for us…
- We go to the Word – His light for our path – so we can see where to walk by faith!
- Psalm 119:105 – “ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
- Before we knew Jesus – the Bible did not make any sense to us – in the dark…
- It is only because of the Holy Spirit in us – the Word is a light to us…
- 4th – Now we are called to be a light to the world – Matthew 5:14…
- In of ourselves – we are not that light – we do not shine like the sun…
- We become that light by being transformed / changed…
- Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…”
- It is really easy to get caught up in cares/concerns of this world…
- If we are not careful those cares will consume all our time – and snuff out our light…
- Because if we conform to the world – we are not transformed for Jesus!
- We are a light – only as long as we are full of Jesus…
- If our eyes are focused on Jesus then we will be full of light – Luke 11:34…
- If we loose that focus – get our eyes off Jesus and onto anything else – darkness…
- Be careful what you allow your eyes to see – what you spend you time watching…
- We choose daily what we fill our minds with – by choosing what we watch on TV…
- What do we fill our heads and hearts with – this world / or with God’s Word…
- As we are full of Jesus – we shine as a light of Jesus for all to see!
- Without Jesus – we are just a big dead rock…
- The moon is a just a large dead rock – it gives off no light…
- If the world comes between the sun and the moon – it stays dark…
- But when the moon looks at the sun – it is transformed…
- It reflects the light of the sun for the whole world to see!
- II Corinthians 3:18 – “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
- When we look to Jesus – we are transformed – we reflect the Light of Jesus…
- We become that light that shows the world the hope of Jesus!
- 1st – Jesus spoke to the crowd in the Temple on another day…
- 2nd – Rejecting the light… vs. 13-20
- 1st – The religious leaders accused Jesus of making claims about Himself… vs. 13-16
- In the Law – a truth had to be established by 2 or more – Deuteronomy 17:6
- Anyone could go around ‘claiming’ they were ‘The Light’ – but where is the proof…
- Not that the leaders needed any more proof – Jesus had already proved Himself…
- The lame man / feeding of the 5000 – the problem is they did not want to believe…
- People will always looks for excuses why not to believe in Jesus…
- I had a friend many years ago that believed in evolution – ‘because of the facts’…
- He challenged me that if I could show him he was wrong – he would change his mind…
- I took up the challenge – dismantled the theory – he admitted he could not defend it…
- Forcing him to admit he still believed in Evolution – because he wanted to!
- No matter what the ‘excuse’ – people do not believe – because they do not want to…
- And if they do not want to believe – no amount of proof will be able to convince them!
- Jesus answered – ‘I know where I came from and where I am going’…
- Even if no one else testified for Jesus – His words were still true…
- Because He was not like everyone else – He was eternal – He was God…
- He had come from Heaven – and would return to Heaven when He was done!
- Romans 3:4 – “Let God be true but every man a liar.”
- No matter what people might say / no matter what excuses they may invent…
- The bottom line is in the end – God is right and everyone else is wrong…
- You can say – ‘I do not believe in God’ – but He will still judge you one day!
- The Leaders judged only what they could see…
- And when they looked at Jesus – they did not ‘see’ the Messiah / God…
- Their problem was they were in darkness – they were blinded by their sin…
- Everyone has their ‘ideas’ and ‘wisdom’ to offer about life …
- Men have ideas about how to make money / raise a family…
- Men have ideas on how to be happy / even how to get to heaven…
- These ideas may even seem wise to us – they might make a lot of sense…
- But if we follow the ideas of blind men – we will end up sharing their fate…
- Luke 6:39 – “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch.”
- 2nd – Where is Your Father… vs. 17-20
- Jesus had no need to prove Himself – but He still gave them an answer…
- Jesus gave them the second witness ‘THEIR’ Law required – His Father…
- Speaking of the Word of the Father – the testimony of the Word of God about Jesus…
- If we are truly looking to find the truth – God is always willing to answer…
- Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
- Where is your Father – the leaders were looking for Joseph (step-father)…
- They did not understand who the Father was – because they were not looking for God!
- Jesus explained – ‘You do not know Me – so you do not know My Father’…
- Because they did not have a relationship with Jesus – were could not see God!
- The only way to see God – is by having a relationship with Jesus Christ…
- Jesus is the key the opens up the door of heaven for all those who believe…
- He is the only way to get to God – the one door / the one bridge that leads to heaven!
- Jesus taught this in the Temple – but no one arrested Him – it was not His hour…
- 1st – The religious leaders accused Jesus of making claims about Himself… vs. 13-16
- 3rd – Not of this world… vs. 21-29 (3 things)
- Jesus taught on another day – ‘I am going away – and where I go you cannot come’… vs. 21-25
- The people mockingly questioned – ‘will He kill Himself’…
- The belief of the day was if you committed suicide – you would go to hell…
- They mocked Jesus by suggesting He would ‘go to hell’ – where they WOULD not follow!
- Can someone who commits suicide go to heaven – the Bible is silent on the issue…
- To someone who has lost a loved one to suicide – I would say…
- A momentary foolish decision – made in desperation – cannot undo God’s Grace
- To those who are contemplating this choice – I would say…
- There is a much better option – repent – humble yourself and fall on Grace…
- Because the last thing you want is to enter eternity with is a question mark
- Jesus clarified – you are from this earth / I Am from heaven…
- Referring to their different citizenships – He points out He is going back home…
- And since they did not have citizenship in heaven – they could not follow Him there!
- We can only be citizens of one of two kingdoms…
- We either belong to the Kingdom of God – or the kingdom of this world…
- When Jen and I were in Israel in 2008 – we had to pass through the Netherlands…
- Because my passport said I was from the ‘US’ – I was allowed go out…
- But because Jen’s passport said she was from the ‘Philippines’ she was denied…
- It had nothing to do with being a good or bad person – or our religion…
- We were granted or denied solely based on our citizenship!
- If we try to get into heaven with the wrong ‘passport’…
- We can argue all we want we were a ‘good person’ / attended church…
- But we are going to find the door is closed to us – we have the wrong citizenship!
- You will die in your sins… vs. 24-25
- Jesus told them – ‘you will die because you do not believe I AM…’
- They asked Jesus – ‘who are you’ – they still did not understand Jesus is God…
- Jesus answered – ‘the same one I have been claiming to be from the beginning!’
- But because they would not believe Jesus is God – they had no hope of forgiveness!
- There is a very real consequence to rejecting the Gospel message…
- Someone has to pay the price for our sin – and if we reject the sacrifice of Jesus…
- Then we will have to pay our own debt – we will die for our sins – the second death!
- When I am lifted up – then you will know who I Am… vs. 26-29
- There were lots of things Jesus could judge / condemn the people of…
- But instead He choose to give them the message of hope from the Father…
- He would be ‘lifted up’ – a term that was used to signify crucifixion…
- Jesus was willing to die – because He always obeyed the Father…
- When they saw Jesus crucified – then they would believe He was the I Am – God!
- The simple solution – look up and see J esus on the cross..
- Once we are born again – saved – we are no longer foreigners…
- We no longer belong to this world – we have changed our citizenship!
- And when one day we stand at the entrance into heaven – Jesus will welcome us in!