Walk in the light that you still have

Sermon for Holy Tuesday

John 12:34-50

Last night, we heard Jesus say that He must be lifted up. And the people clearly understood that He was talking about His death, because it left them utterly confused. The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

The “Law,” which here refers to the Old Testament in general, does say that the Christ would remain forever. For example, all the Jews knew the promise God made to King David, a prophecy which ultimately spoke about the Son of David, the Christ: I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Or think of those familiar words we hear at Christmas, Unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The Christ would remain forever.

And yet, what all the Jews seem to have missed was that the Christ also had to suffer and die, and that “remaining forever” meant that He would rise from the dead, as Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 so clearly teach. So the people were confused by Jesus’ words about the “Son of Man,” thinking that maybe He was not referring to the Christ after all.

It wasn’t possible for Jesus to spell out the mystery for them at that time, during Holy Week. He couldn’t explain it all to them. Events had to play out as the prophets had said, which meant that the people had to be left in the dark as to the details, for the moment. But they weren’t entirely left in the dark. Jesus provided all the light they needed to believe and to be saved. He said to them, A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

From the very first chapter of his Gospel, John has been describing Jesus as the Light that came into the world to give light to all men. He describes Jesus that way, because Jesus spoke of Himself that way. While He was in the world, He was the light of the world, the one true source of light, of knowledge, of wisdom, of who God is and how sinful man can be reconciled to Him. As the Light, He exposed people’s sins, but He also exposed how those sins would be paid for, and how believing in Him was the only way to be saved. That light didn’t reveal everything everyone ever wanted to know, but it revealed enough.

We no longer have the light in the same way those people did, in the Person of the Son of God walking among the people of Israel. Instead, He’s given us the light of the Gospel. People turn to so many sources for knowledge, for wisdom, for understanding. They turn to philosophers, theologians, experts, scientists, dieticians, specialists, gurus, yearning for enlightenment, yearning for someone to follow, to tell them what they need to do, what they need to understand. And all the while, the Gospel goes out, like a still, small voice into the world. “Here is the true light, in the good news of Jesus. Believe in Him, that you may become sons of light!”

“But, that’s not as good as having Jesus, the Light, right there in your midst!” The truth is, the light of the Gospel of Christ has been far more successful in enlightening people than it was to have Him right there with them. As John writes, Although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

You see? Having the Light shining brightly on them, seeing all the miracles that Jesus did—most of the Jews still didn’t believe in Him, as Isaiah told them ahead of time that they wouldn’t, and they still didn’t listen. And because they cared so little about the Word of God, because they despised it, God blinded them further and hardened their hearts further, so that the more they saw and heard from Jesus, the less they perceived. What a terrible judgment God brought against those people!

Now, remember that everything that happened to Israel in the Old Testament, and also at the time of Jesus, serves as a pattern and as a warning for us. There’s still time to humble yourselves before God, if you’ve been exalting yourself. There’s still time to hear Jesus calling you to follow Him, if you’ve been putting it off, for some foolish reason. The light of the Gospel still shines in the world, wherever people hear the preaching of it. Even here. Even now.

Then follows another warning from the apostle John, who tells us that many, even among the rulers of the Jews, did believe in Jesus, but! (And you never want to have the conjunction “but” come after “they believed in Him.”) Even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. Here’s an example of what Jesus talked about in the verses we heard last night. He who loves his life will lose it. Those rulers knew better. They knew that Jesus was God’s gift to them, God’s own Son, sent to Israel to save them. But they still valued their important place in the synagogue more than they valued Jesus. As John puts it, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Oh, don’t let this be you! Is there anything you value more than Jesus? Your job, your reputation, the praise of men? Is there anything you’re not ready to give up today, right now, if obedience to God requires it? If so, repent, before it’s too late. Surely you don’t want it to be said of you, they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. Likewise, to not believe in Jesus is to not believe in the Father who sent Him. As He’ll say later to His disciples, He and the Father are One. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father’s being. So to listen to Jesus is to listen to the Father. To know Him is to know the Father. And yes, there’s some Trinitarian mystery involved in that, but the basic truth is simple enough. You can’t have one while rejecting the other. And if you have Jesus, you have God, the eternal Father, as well. What more could you want?

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Again, Jesus shined His light on everyone, because God wants all men to be saved. As He said back in John chapter 3, He came into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, so that all who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. As for those who didn’t believe in Him when He came the first time, they didn’t have to worry about Jesus killing them or destroying them, judging them right there on the spot. That’s not why He came the first time. He came not to judge the world but to save the world. But not all men are saved, because so many reject the word of Jesus that provided, and still provides, a way for all sinners to be saved. The Father commanded His Son to speak to the world for Him, that men should believe in Jesus, and that all who believe will be reconciled to the Father through the Son. So the Son spoke.

Amazingly, God has given me, as a called minister of the Christian Church, the exact same command, with the exact same promised attached: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. Believe in Him, and you will have everlasting life. May the word of Christ and the light of Christ penetrate your hearts again this evening, that you may continue to see God through Jesus, and to treasure this light that you have—the light that gives you life that will last forever. Amen.