After his sermon in the temple, the furious religious leaders confront Jesus. Whether the incident with the woman caught in adultery is correct or not, they face off with him over a bold claim over his identity.
With contribution from Nathan and our favored bible teacher of the airways, J Vernon McGee we take a deep dive into this passage from John 8:12-20. Jesus makes the second of several “I am” statements. Previously he claimed to be bread from heaven, now he claims to be the light of the world, the light of life.
The statement relates to John’s earlier claim from chapter 1.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:4-5 NASB
For all who trust in him, his followers won’t be in the dark. At the end of the feast of booths, the Menorah would be blown out. But his light could never be blown out.
The Pharisees called foul. They recognized the truth claim and declared a second testimony is needed to validate it.
- Do they have him on a technicality?
- Can Jesus produce a witness to back his claim?
- Will the canceled culture of the day silence him?
Jesus says, “so what. I know what I say is true.” I know my past and future. By this he means eternity. He has Come from God and will be returning to him. We can’t know our future, but Jesus knew his. His truth was not a physical one, but an eternal one.
The standards of judgment are different. It’s a matter of comparing “apples to oranges.” The comparison of the limitation of fleshly understanding to eternity. People of flesh, mere mortals, even two or more can’t judge eternal matters. Jesus’s mission was to judge no one. That would be a later mission for him. He wasn’t passing sentence, judging since everyone is already condemned.
Jesus sticks by his guns, and his truth claims. His claim is backed by his father. God. He made a similar claim in John 5:23,24,37.
23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
24 ¶”Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
37 “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.
Jesus points to claims that God already put forth in scripture. 2 men are indeed needed for proof of a claim. Especially one carrying the death penalty.
Deuteronomy 17:6 NASB
“On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.
He lays out the two witnesses he has for his proof. Himself and his father. A divine, eternal truth requires a divine witness. not a fleshly one. Did the Pharisees understand the gravity of the proof Jesus was offering?
Were the Pharisees bewildered? Insulted? The Jewish leaders were OK with the statement but seemed to make a slur on Jesus’s parentage. They still demanded, “Just show us your father.” Did they not know that Jesus meant God, or were they unwilling to admit it? Jesus was a little cryptic in his answer, but his standard of proof was still there. “You don’t know me. You need to know me to know the father.”
John offers this statement in verse 20, “These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.”
This places the action of the conversation in the temple, and in a particular place in it. We also see that once again, Jesus was not arrested. He lived a protected life… until it was time for the cross.
But more on that thought next time.
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Thanks to the recorded comments from J Vernon McGee. His ministry and daily bible study lives on through Through the Bible Ministries (ttb.org)
Scriptures in the show notes and episode are quoted from the King James Version, except when read by Keith, then it’s the NASB.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”
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