Our Lord is sitting there in
the courtyard of the temple, and he's surrounded by people. And he begins to speak to them.
It says in verse 12, Then spake Jesus again after this interruption,
after the Pharisees had come and brought to him the woman
that settled this issue. He began again to speak to them,
and here's what he says, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life. I've said so often there are
two things necessary to sight, both physical sight and spiritual
sight. If a man is going to see physically,
He's got to have eyes. You can't see unless you have
eyes. But a man may have the best eyes
and have no light, and he can't see. He walks in darkness. And that's true spiritually.
The seeing eye is of the Lord, and the hearing ear is of the
Lord. But Christ said, I'm the light. I'm the one by whom you
see who God is. and what God's purpose is and
will is. I'm the one by whom you see.
That's what Paul is saying over in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Turn over there with me. In verse 3 of 2 Corinthians 4,
if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are lost, in whom
the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them. They have
minds, but they're blinded. They're in darkness. They have
eyes, but they're blinded. Christ said they have eyes, but
they can't see. They have ears, but they can't hear. They have
hearts, but they can't understand. Lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. But we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Ourselves
your service for Christ's sake, for God. who commanded the light to shine,
Christ to come, the fulfillment of all things, the Promised One,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. It's the same
God who in creation, the world, was without form and void and
darkness upon the face of the deep. He said, let there be light.
And when there's light, things appear as they are. And God commanded
Christ to shine out of darkness into our hearts, to give us the
light of the knowledge, who God is, what sin is, who we are,
what we need. The knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Christ Jesus. John 14, turn over there. John
14. And Philip said unto him, John
14.8, Lord, let us see the Father. Show us the Father, and it will
satisfy us. And Christ said, Philip, have
I been so long time with you, and you've not known me? He that
has seen me, I am the light by which you see God, by which you
see the glory of God. He that has seen me, He's seen
the Father. And that's what He's saying to
these people here, I'm the light. I'm the light of the world. And
there are two things necessary to hear, and that's an ear. But there's got to be a word.
If a person does not speak, you won't hear anything. You may
have the best ear, but you don't hear unless they speak. Christ
is the light. spiritual life, all spiritual
life, only spiritual life. Christ is the Word of God. He
that spoke to our fathers for the prophets has spoken to us
by His Son. He's the only messenger. He's
the last messenger. He's the truth. We've got to
hear Him. And He says, He that followeth
Me, verse John 8, verse 12, He that followeth Me, He that looketh
to Me, seeth Me, He'll not walk in darkness. But the person who
doesn't see me and know me and look unto me walks in darkness. But he that seeth me and followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but has the light of life. This
life and light is the same thing. Turn to John 1. The light is
the life. Christ is the light. Christ is
the life. In John 1, listen to verse 1
through 4. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. And all things were made by Him,
by Christ. Without Christ was not anything
made that was made. And in Him was life. In Him was life. He is the life.
You hear people say, God is alive. Such comments indicate an ignorance
of who God is. God is life. God's not alive. God is life. Jesus is alive. The person that makes that statement
indicates a total ignorance of who He is. He is the light. Without Him is darkness. He is
the life. Without Him is death. There is
no life. Listen, John 1-4, "...in Him
was life, And the light was the light of
men. Unfortunately, the light shineth in darkness, and the
darkness comprehended it not. One other reference in 1 John. In 1 John, chapter 5, verse 20. And this is a verse that is so
very important. It's just a summary of God's
grace and gift and salvation in 1 John 5, 20, and we know
that the Son of God has come, the light, the life, the truth,
the bread from heaven. He has come and has given us
hearing, sight, understanding that we may know Him that is
true. The only way to know He that
has seen me has seen the Father. The only way to know anything
about God is in Christ, and given us an understanding that we may
know Him that is true, and we're in Him. By His grace, in Christ,
through Christ, we're in Him that is true. Even not in His
church, that's a byproduct. In His Son, even in His Son,
Jesus Christ, this is the true God. This is life. And that's what he said to them
as they gathered about him there. I'm the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Outside of
Christ there's no light and no life. And then the Pharisees, they
always were contentious. argumentative, agitating, religious
people, perverted, warped, crooked, self-centered,
self-seeking, covetous, religious people, leaders, blind leaders
of the blind. They therefore said to him, you
bear record of yourself. Your record is not true. I listened
to how he replies. He answered and said to them,
you know, he had set this matter straight over in John 5, this
same crowd. He said himself, if I bear record
of myself, my record is not true. But he said, the Father bear
record of me. If I bear record of myself, my
record is not true. in the sense that every word
according to Scripture has to be established for the mouth
of two or three witnesses. But he said, my father bear record
of me. John the Baptist bore record
of me. The works that I do, they bear record of me. The Scripture
that you search bears record of me. But he's here, listen,
he qualifies that and he says in verse 14, though I bear record
of myself, my record is true. He's the only one who can say
that. He's the only human being who can say, if I'm the only voice you hear,
it's voice enough. If I'm the only record you have,
it's record enough. If I'm the only witness you have,
it's witness enough. Because, listen, I know who I
am. I know, he said, whence I came.
I speak things that I do know. I know who I am. I know who sent
me. I know whence I came and why
I came, and I know where I go. But you, you cannot tell. You do not know who I am. The
world knew Him not. He was in the world. The world
was made by Him. The world knew Him not. He came
unto His own. The people, the Jews, the temple,
and they received him not. And the leaders of this world,
the princes of this world, Paul said in 1 Corinthians, if they
had known him, they would have crucified him. And he said again,
you neither know me nor my father, but you do not know. You don't
know who I am, whence I came, why I came, and where I go. Do you? What a blessing to know who He
is. What a blessing to know who He
is, to be able to say with power, Oh, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
Seen of the angels, justified in the Spirit, preached to the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in the glory.
I know who He is. I know whence He came. I know
who sent Him. My Father sent me. I know why
the Father sent Him, to redeem a people. And I know where He
is now, received up into glory, seated at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, where He ever liveth to make intercession for
us. I know He's sent. If I bear record
of myself, my record is true because I know who I am. And who sent me? And why I came? And whether I go?" But he said,
you don't know. You don't know those things.
You do not know. Now listen carefully. In verse
15 and 16 through 18, he makes such a strong claim to deity. Total sovereignty. You know,
when he prayed in John 17, he said, Father, you've given me
all power, all authority over all flesh. We're in his hands. Believers are on his hands. Unbelievers
are in his hands to deal with as he will. But God put him,
us, on his hands, a surety to bring home, redeem. But now listen
to what he says to them. So powerfully, so plainly, you
judge after the flesh. He's saying here, you set yourself
up as authorities and judges. You judge according to the flesh.
You judge as the flesh sees. and surmises. You set yourself
up as judges by what you see, and only by what you see. And
you condemn based on external human standards
and human appearances. You are a man, they said. That's
what they said to him. You're a man. You can't be God.
They were judging totally and solely according to the flesh. Why, they said he's the carpenter.
We know his mother. We know his father. We know his
brothers and sisters. How can he give us his flesh
to eat? How can he know Abraham? He's
not fifty years old. You judge by the flesh, he said. You think you know. But he said,
listen, I judge no man. Not this way. Not by the flesh,
not by human standards or human appearances. God does not look
on the outward countenance. God looks on the higher. That's
what Job said to his friend, the root of the matter is in
me. They were judging by what they saw. And he said, you judge
everything by what you see. What appears in the flesh according
to human standards. I judge no man. He means two
things by that. I don't judge by outward appearance.
And as a Redeemer, I didn't come to judge. In John 12, turn over
there a moment. As the Redeemer, as the Messiah,
I didn't come to judge. In John 12, look at verse 47. If any man hear my words and
believe not, I judge him not. Not now. I came not to judge
the world, but to save the world. The Son of Man didn't come to
condemn the world. He came that the world through
Him might be saved. You see that? He's speaking to
these religious leaders, these religious Pharisees. He said,
your judgment is limited to what you see, what appears to your
eyes in the flesh. I don't judge by outward standards,
and I don't judge any man at this time. And yet, verse 16,
if I judge, You can change that word to when, because He will
judge. And yet, when I judge, my judgment
is true. When I judge, my judgment is
true. Let me show you what He's saying here. John 5, 22. Look at that. John 5, 22. He
said, For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all
judgment to the Son. And then in Matthew 7, turn to
Matthew 7, here are people at the judgment, religious people
at the judgment. Matthew 7, 21, look at it. Not
everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. Many will say to me, he says, I judge no man, not
now. I didn't come to judge, I came to say. But yet when I
judge, my judgment will be just. Listen. They'll say to me, Lord,
have we not preached in your name and in your name, cast out
devils in your name, done many wonderful works? And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never
do. He will judge. He will judge. God has appointed a day in which
He'll judge the world by that man, Christ Jesus. And He's given
witness to every man in that He raised Him from the dead.
Turn back to the text. This is so... He said, I'm the light of the
world. Though I bear record of myself,
my record's true. I know who I am. I know who sent
me, I know why I came, I know where I'm going. But you don't
know that, he said. You judge everything by what
you see with these natural eyes, by what appears to your flesh.
I don't. And I don't judge any man yet,
but when I judge, my judgment will be just. Because, listen,
I'm not alone. I and my Father that sent me,
I'm not alone. I and the Father are one. And
my judgment will be His judgment. And His judgment will be my judgment. Isn't that awesome? Oh, I'll
tell you, I said to the folks Wednesday night, how your heart
covets to be in His audience. Like Mary, to sit at His feet.
and listen with some comprehension, with some understanding. God's
given us understanding. We can listen to a man talk about
what he said, and we understand. I understand what he's saying.
I understand this. Yet when I judge, my judgment
will be just, and it will be true, because I'm not alone. I'm not alone. He that heareth
me, heareth my Father. He that denieth the Son, denieth
both the Son and the Father. Turn to 1 John. Let me show you
that. We're one. What the Son doeth, the Father
doeth. In 1 John 2, listen. 1 John 2, verse 22. Who is a
liar? Who is a liar? But he that denieth that Jesus
is the Christ, he's an antichrist, and denieth both the Father and
the Son. For whosoever denieth the Son
the same hath not the Father. And he that acknowledgeth the
Son hath the Father. I'm a father, I'm not alone.
All right, let's see what they reply
to this. Religious people are contentious.
They don't just hear the Word and receive it and rejoice in
it. They've got to have it on their
level, you know. So they've said, verse 19, listen,
well, where's your Father? Where's your Father? And He said,
you do not know Me, nor My Father. What a sad thing. What a solemn
charge. You don't know me and you don't
know my Father. If you'd known me, loved me,
received me, you'd know my Father too. If you knew me, you'd know Him.
And if you knew Him, you'd know me. All right. And now let's look at verse 20. These words spake Jesus in the
treasury. This is an interesting place.
Our Lord visited and taught in the temple where they said the
13 chests were, where they stood, in which the people put their
tithes, their offerings. Therefore, it was a very important
public place, very public. I show you that in Mark chapter
12. Turn to Mark 12. Mark 12, verse
41. The Lord Jesus Christ is here
in the temple, in the important place, in the very conspicuous place, right in the
treasury, right where the people came to bring their offerings,
and they brought them every day. It says in verse 41 of Mark 12,
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the
people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast
in much. And there came a poor widow,
and she threw in two mites, which make a fathering. And he called
unto him his disciples, and he saith unto them, Verily I say
unto you, that this poor widow, hath cast more in than all they
which have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their
abundance, but she of her want did cast in all that she had,
even all her living." This is an open, conspicuous, awesome
place. And here he sat. That's what
it says here in verse 20. These words that he's speaking
is in the treasury. as he taught in the temple. And
strangely, though they hated him and despised him and wanted
him dead, they didn't lay hands on him. Couldn't touch him. The Pharisees couldn't touch
him. They despised him, would put him to death and one day
dead. But they could not until God permitted it. His hour had
not yet come. He said that on many occasions.
Mine eye was not yet come. Our Lord came at the appointed
time, God's appointed time, to redeem His people. And His eye
was not yet come. They couldn't touch Him. And
then He speaks to these Pharisees. Those are the ones He's speaking
to in verse 21. And I believe He speaks to them as if He's
speaking to the whole nation of Israel. the whole nation,
and also to all people who do not believe Him. He said unto
them, I go my way. I go my way. I go the way God
ordained for me. I go to the cross. That's the
way. I go to the tomb. I go to the
Father. I go my way. And listen, and
you'll seek me. and you die in your sins, for
where I go you cannot come. I go my way and you seek me.
Someday, now listen, someday, he's saying to these Pharisees
and to Israel as a whole, someday you'll seek me. Someday you'll
seek a Messiah. Someday you'll seek a Deliverer. Someday you'll seek a Savior.
In your great distress, When the floodwaters come in upon
you, you'll seek deliverance. You'll
seek help. You'll seek a Messiah. You'll
seek a Savior. But you'll seek in vain. For
you have denied the Holy One. Therefore, He says, you'll die
in your sins. And where I am, you cannot come.
Solomon wrote about that in the Proverbs. Listen, turn to Proverbs
1. Proverbs chapter 1. What a solemn
scripture. Listen to it. This is what our
Lord is saying here. Someday you'll seek me. He's
saying that to these Pharisees. Someday you'll feel a need. Someday
you'll need help. And he says, Solomon wrote about
this in Proverbs 1 verse 24, because I've called and you refused. I've stretched out my hand, no
man regarded. You said it not, all my counsel,
and you would none of my reproof. Now he said, you'll seek me,
but you'll not find me. Listen, I also will laugh at
your calamity. I will mock when fear engulfs
you and overcomes you. When your fear cometh as desolation,
and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and
anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer. They'll seek me, but they'll not find me. That's
what he said. The day is coming when everybody
is going to need some help. Death and eternity and judgment
are too fearful, awesome, to tackle alone. And you'll seek
me, but you can't find me. Where I am, you can't come. For
you hated knowledge. Verse 29, you hated knowledge. You didn't choose the fear of
the Lord, but rather the fear of men and the honor that comes
from men. You would none of my counsel.
The counsel was there, but you didn't want it. You despised
my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the
fruit of their own way. They sought their own way. I'll
have my own way. This is my religious way, my
way of doctrine, or way of belief, or way of faith, I'll do my own
thing. They'll eat of the fruit of that
way. You see, there's a way that seems right to me. This doesn't
seem right. Man's foul and inability and
depravity and emptiness, that doesn't seem right. God in grace
and mercy choosing a people in an everlasting covenant Giving
Christ a kingdom to redeem, to bring home, to reign over. Sending
Him to die on a cross, first to obey the law as our righteousness
and die on a cross. Helpless mass of tortured human
flesh hanging on a tree. A helpless man taken down from
a tree in death and buried in a tomb. Rising the third day
and ascending to glory, and there is our great high priest seated
at the right hand of God as our deliverer, Savior, salvation,
hope, life, righteousness, wisdom, all things, sanctification. That's
not our way. That's God's way. And those who walk God's way
are going to enjoy the fruit of the way, and they that walk
their way are going to eat the fruit of their way and be filled,
verse 31, with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them. Prosperity of fools shall destroy
them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me
is going to dwell safely and be quiet from the fear of
evil. It's alright, he said. I go my
way. I go my way. You walk your way.
I go my way. This is God's way. And someday you'll seek me. Someday
when the fruit of your way... There's no peace except in the
Prince of Peace. There's no rest except in Christ.
There's no joy, no hope, no life except in Him who is life. You go your way, and someday
your way, you'll see your way is not the way. It's just not the way. That's
not it. All we've given our lives to
is not the way. And then we're going to seek.
In these last days, when panic and fear and trouble and distress
overwhelm us, He said, you're going to seek me, but you're
not going to find me. Because I told you, and I warned you,
and I counseled you, and you would have none of my way. You
want your way. And where I go, you can't come.
That's so heartbreaking. And then they mocked again. Oh,
these fellows at verse 22, they've always... Religion today has
to make a mockery of everything. Will he kill himself? Because
he says, you can't go where I go. He said, that's all right. That's
all right. You're from beneath. You're from beneath. You're of
the world. That's the way you think. That's
the way you reason. That's the way you observe things.
Flesh from the sole of your feet to the top of your head. You're
flesh. You're from beneath. I'm not from beneath. I'm from
above. You're of this world, this world is your home, this
world is your passion, this world is your ambition, this world
with its honor and glory and praise and comforts and luxuries
are your living in. I'm not of this world. And I said to you, and he said,
therefore, I'll say it again, you're going to die in your sins. If you believe not that I am
he, If you receive not the Son of God in truth, in heart, you
die in your sins. Die in your sins. The horror
of dying in sin. So look unto Him. Isaac Watts wrote, you sinners,
own your God. You fallen race, look, and be
saved by Christ alone, redeemed. by His grace. See all our sins
on Jesus laid, the Lamb of God was slain. His soul was once
an offering made for us believing men. He speaks. I listened to His voice and knew
life the dead received. The mournful broken hearts rejoiced,
the poor and needy, they believed. Weak is the effort of my heart,
and cold my warmest thought, but when I see Thee as Thy heart,
I praise Thee as I am. May God grant that none of us
here die in our sins, but that we believe that He is. I know who I am. I know whence
I came. I know why I came, and I know
where I'm going. And by God's grace, we do too. It's only by His grace. And rest,
rest in Him. Let's sing how sweet the name
of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear.