Let's turn together to the gospel of John, the gospel of John, the gospel of course meaning the way of salvation, gospel also referring to this particular book, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, sometimes called the synoptics at least as far as Matthew, Mark, and Luke go, John being a bit unique in his presentation, not exactly parallel with the others, but nevertheless a perspective and a presentation of the life of Christ and the teaching of Christ for us. John, chapter 8 I believe I said six, this is chapter 8, beginning at verse 12 and going through verse 18. John, chapter 8 beginning at verse 12, listen for God would speak to us. 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. So the Pharisees said to him, you are bearing witness about yourself, your testimony is not true. 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. You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one, yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true. For it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. And your law is written that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. Lord bless the reading of his word. John opened his gospel in the first chapter describing Jesus as the light in verse 4. He said, in him was life and that life was the light of men. He mentions light six times in that context, six times he used the word light to describe Jesus. In chapter 3 verse 19, it reads, the light has come into the world and people love the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. John uses this idea of light a great deal and without explanation as he says, Jesus is the light of the world. He then doesn't go on to explain what he means by Jesus is the light of the world until we arrive here at chapter 8 verse 12. And now we find where John received the idea of light. It was from Jesus himself. Of course, the Scriptures are God breath and we know they are inspired by God. So we wrote according to the direction of God, but in his own mind as John is explaining Jesus as the light, where did the concept come from? It came from our Lord who calls himself the light of the world. This is the second of the I am statements that are given to us in the Scriptures. Jesus calls himself as we've already covered the bread of life. I am the bread of life. Here he says, I am the light. He also calls himself the gate or the door in some translations. He is the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection in the life. I am the way and the truth in the life. And also I am the vine. Well, as I mentioned last week, the context that Jesus is presenting this in, not just textually in our scriptures, but also culturally. And also of the day in which he gave it, is vital as we consider what Jesus is saying when he says the words, I am the light. He gave this pronouncement in what is called the court of women. It's in the tabernacle structure, rather the temple structure as Jesus is now in the court of the women. It's during the feast of the tabernacles. The first word that we have here, again, is to link this with a previous teaching. And last week, as we talked about the Pharisees bringing the woman who was called into the very act of adultery and how they brought an accusation. And then Jesus then sends her own with the instruction going send no more. We talked about the difficulty of the placement of that actual text, as far as when it is happening in the sequence of events here with the feast of tabernacles. It could be that it immediately precedes this, but it seems that, as far as grammatically speaking, when it says, again, Jesus spoke to them as taking us back to when Jesus was saying that he is the living water, and that from him flow the waters of life. So you get the sense that in the morning, Jesus goes to the ceremony where the high priest, and we talked about this in detail before, where the high priest holds up the water pitcher and he begins to pour it. And the people are cheering because the pitcher of water is representing the blessing of God coming down to them. They were very dependent upon water. It also was reminding them of the water that came forth from the rock so much of the feast of tabernacles takes them back to the time of Exodus. And it takes them back to the wilderness wanderings when they were following the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire and when water came from the rock. So as they are pouring out the water and the people are cheering, remembering the blessing of God as he provided for his people, Jesus stands in, he says, I am the living water. And we talked then that week about how that must have been a very tense and an exciting moment as Jesus was saying to them, all that you see in that water, the blessing of God and the life that it provided, I am the source of all of those things. And then we read in verse 12, again, Jesus spoke to them, carrying the same sort of sentiment or the same sort of electric atmosphere along, he now says to them, I am the light of the world. Now it's in the evening. And the court of the women during the feast of tabernacles at the close of the day, there would be in this court a place for offering some, it looked like upside down trumpets without the keys, just the more of the horn, the long horn, it'd be a slender tube with a large bell at the bottom and each was designated for a different offering. So it was a place that was taken very seriously as we all know, taking offerings is very serious. And so these would be lined up and the people would give offerings as they had, it was obligatory to give in the first ones and then as you went through to the end, the very end ones where if you had the means to give to the extra, to the extra giveings, to whatever those were designated for. In that same court, there were these four torches, tall torches, candle operas actually, that would stand there and at the top were four torches or bowls, shall we call them. So imagine, if I can create the image in your mind, these large golden candle operas with four bowls on each one that could hold a large amount of fuel, there would be ladders placed up against these four candle operas. And standing near those four ladders would be four of the younger priests holding pictures that contained large amounts of oil for burning. The wicks were the old priests clothing, their old trousers that were worn out or other articles of clothing would be the wicks that were placed up in the bowls. And as the night began to fall, the people would come in with torches and it was a time of incredible festivity and celebration. They would dance with torches, they would play symbols and they would play all of the instruments of the temple out in this courtyard. It wasn't a service of worship, it was a celebration. And the people would dance, the priests would dance with torches that thankfully passed now from the liturgy of the church. But they would, they would dance with torches, now we would use, I guess, flaming batons as is invoked now. But unless someone here has that skill, we will probably not resurrect that practice. And so with these, with the celebration and with the people going the priest would then ascend the ladder, pour the oil into the bowls and like the bowls. And then what would happen is that the light would shine from these four large burning cantalabras. So brightly that it was said that not a single core and all of Jerusalem was not illuminated by this light. So bright was this illumination and so great was this blaze that it spread throughout all of Jerusalem. And like a great spotlight, it spread its glow all across the city. And you could see it from anywhere in the city, you could see that glow from the cantalabras. What was this to remind them of? Two things. It reminded them of a time when the God, when God's glory, the chicana glory of God was occupied the temple and that his chicana glory would shine forth from the temple. And also reminded them of that time again in the wilderness when they would follow at night the pillar of fire. And so they were reminded of God's leading them and of God's presence with them as part of that celebration. Two priests with trumpets would start at the upper gate in the temple complex. And they would come down ten steps or so and then they would let loose a threefold blast with the trumpet. And then they would continue on marching a few steps and then blowing these horns and all the people could hear and they would blow these horns every few steps until they come to what's called the beautiful gate or the eastern wall on the outside of the city. And then they would turn and face west back into the city towards the temple and towards the holy place in particular. And this is what they would say. Our fathers who were in this place, they turned their back upon the sanctuary of Jehovah and their faces towards the east. And they worshiped towards the rising sun. But as for us our eyes are towards the Lord. What they were doing was they were affirming that their fathers strayed from God and that they began to look outside of the city with their backs to the holy place. Not that they didn't believe that God was there but the attraction of what was out there caused them to look out there and to long in their hearts for what was out there and they turned their back on the temple of God. They turned away from God and these priests were saying no more and not us. And so they turned with their backs to the east facing the holy place and they would say our fathers did that but for us our eyes are towards the Lord. Many of us have hanging in our homes with little plaques that you can buy now at Christian bookstores that say as for me in my house we will serve the Lord. Isn't this in a sense of modern Christian piety hour saying the same thing? Aren't we saying there are many out there who turned their backs on the Lord but as for me in my house we will look to God and we will follow Him and we believe He is present with us and we depend upon Him for all things in life and happiness and so we know something of what these priests were doing but not only was this a solemn event, not only was this a festive event both at the same time but it was also a time where Christ would speak in the amber glow of that great light. The great light which the people were dwelling in because ordinarily they dwelled in darkness but now that light was shining forth from the temple and it was bathing them in light even though they dwelled in the land of the shadow of death and so we have in the gospel of John with this being the third three great wilderness images don't we? John has now used the Exodus to present to us Jesus as the new manna sent from heaven the bread of life he has used the wilderness wanderings to present Jesus as the living water the water that is from the rock he's used the wilderness water wanderings to present Jesus as the light because he is that cloud or that that pillar of fire and that pillar of cloud the cloud what was that to the people it was God's presence and God's protection in addition to the supernatural appearance of the cloud as they looked at it it was a cloud by day at a fire by night God spoke from the cloud and he broke forth in judgment against the people sin from the cloud never were the people able to forget the presence of God because the cloud was always there sometimes the cloud when it would stop that meant for them to set up camp sometimes it would be for an extended period sometimes only overnight what they would set up camp anywhere that the cloud stopped they never presumed to strike out on their own away from the cloud wherever the cloud went without question that's where the people stayed they traveled by day as it was a pillar of cloud and then at night it was a pillar of fire always burning always present with them always assuring them that God was with them in Ezekiel chapter 10 verse 4 that glory of the Lord that light of God that they enjoyed in the temple we are told departed the glory of the Lord is departing Israel he's leaving Israel in the verse reads the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord but in Ezekiel 43 too the Lord is returning and the earth shown with his glory so there is the promise of his return Ezekiel sees God leaving the temple in a magnificent vision which is certainly worth a read as he sees the wheel spinning in the air in the chair of him which are described in detail and there the glory of the Lord begins to lift up in the holy of holies and it moves out to the temple gate and then it moves out to the outer gate of the city and then it moves out across the horizon and it leaves Israel but there's the promise in Ezekiel 43 of the Lord's return and now Jesus stands here in the courtyard of the temple with the light shining and the people whose minds are fixed upon the glory of God and his presence and his leading them in that pillar of fire and Jesus stands up and he says I am that light I am the light I am that pillar of fire I am that chicana glory this is what the people heard that Jesus himself is saying I am God with you to be present and to protect I am God with you Jesus is here saying he and no other is the light of the world and him alone does all the glory of God shine forth it means that he stands among them to illuminate their condition and their need of salvation and to show them the way that is in himself to the ignorant he proclaimed was wisdom to the impure holiness to the sad gladness he not only proclaimed salvation but he brings salvation but not all men will follow even though he illuminates so brightly because we know that many are called but few are chosen in Zechariah 13, 7 and 8 strike the shepherd in the sheep will scatter two-thirds will be cut off and perished and a third will be left alive refined and called the people of God to follow the light means to trust and obey him to surrender the will to be regenerated to be converted to be changed to be justified and then sanctified it's not just a decision it's a calling Christianity true Christianity encompasses all of your life it consumes you you do not consume it it consumes you and the old man dies and the new one is born again it's not just a sense of feeling better about yourself it's not just a brighter outlook it's not just better music or better reading better experience better friends better teaching and moral living it consumes you men must follow the light through the wilderness of life they can't map out their own course they consult God and they follow him in the wilderness the Hebrews follow the light they never mapped out their own course they stopped when the light stopped they went when the light moved I ask you how do you discern your path in life how do you discern where your next step will take you how do you know what will be around the next corner you turn when it comes to your vocation when it comes to your school when it comes to your family when it comes to finance or friendships or residences that you live in or your conversation how do you make the decision of where you will go and what you will do there are plenty of people to give you advice Lord knows pastors get plenty of advice but where does it come from when people give you advice where does it come from where are they gaining the wisdom that they share with you this aspect of following in the wilderness mesh as well with Jesus's discipleship theme doesn't it when he says follow me follow me and I will make you fishers of men he said follow me following him as synonymous with faith believing without following is not saving faith faith follows Christ and faith walks in darkness no more so I ask you again how do you discern and decide that what you will do now tomorrow and the next day how will you know what you are to do where is God leading you he did not save you and desert you he leads his people still will you follow him or will you thank him kindly that he is so gracious to you and walk off on your own charted course God does not abandon us he does not abandon his people but his people sometimes turn their back to the holy place and look to the east the rising sun and worship something else
Jesus said I am the light there is no other place to find light or illumination Jesus said follow me how will you follow him daily how do you follow Christ if you haven't a process if you haven't a thought process of how you seek God's will for life then you haven't followed him following him is a practice of scripture reading and prayer and consulting your brothers and sisters in the church being attentive to what God is doing in your life as he changes you and changes the people around you God has not left you deserted on an island to pick you up at the second coming Jesus said follow me follow me he is the light though we dwell in the shadow of the darkness of the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil for our Lord and our God goes with us
Lord God Almighty we give thanks for your word and for your grace and for your love and we pray Father that you would bless us with a love for you teach us Father teach us of Christ that we might follow him we pray this in Jesus' name Amen