What do we do when we are faced with a reality we do not like? People tend to respond in a variety of ways. (1) Some choose to ignore that reality and just pretend it does not exist. This is called denial. Romans 1 describes this kind of response as mankind repressing the knowledge of God. (2) Others try to put a spin on their view of reality to make it less offensive. "Oh ,sure God exists, but He is so loving that even when He disapproves of how we live, He just says, 'I forgive.'" (3) Still others will find what they think is a technical problem in what is being said, and use the perceived problem to mask the truth which is being presented. This is the approach the Pharisees are taking here in John 8:13-20.
In John 8:12, the Lord Jesus once again asserted His deity by claiming He was and is "the light of the world." Light does two things: (1) it dispels darkness and (2) it reveals what is hidden in the darkness. Our Lord Jesus, who is the light of the world, did both of these things. First, He dispelled the darkness of ignorance of God. He is the expounder of who God is in John 1:18. Second, He exposes the sinfulness of humankind. This is what Jesus was talking about in John 3:19-21. "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." Light in this way produces pressure and it is this pressure which the Pharisees feel and respond to in our text.
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Dr. Don has over fourty years of Pastoral experience. He planted churches with Galilean Baptist Mission for twelve years (3 churches) and served as Senior Pastor in three other churches. He retired as the Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Lansing, Michigan in 2020. He...
