Jesus: The Only True Light

Jesus: The Only True Light

by Wayne Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Jesus is declaring to the multitude that He is the Light of the world. He came that we might have the Light of life. There's no need of our walking in darkness. When we follow Jesus, we have the light of life and we walk in that light.

This was what the Lord was speaking here in John 8. He wanted to break through the barrier of their minds and hearts that they could open their hearts to receive this light. They needed this light. Without it they would perish.

Few There Be

It's sad how few there be who truly see this light, though it shines so brightly. And how few there are who receive the light of life.

Matthew 7:14
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

There's no use kidding ourselves. We either have the Light of life or we don't have it. We either have received the light of salvation, or we are still in darkness.

You try to talk to those who don't have everlasting life, and many will declare they're all set: They go to church, they lead a good life, they do this, and they don't do that.

But we've got to receive the Light of life to be saved, to gain eternal life; and we have to walk in that Light.

Jesus Is That Light

John 1:4
In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Jesus is the Light that lightens every man that comes into world. In Him is no darkness. He is a burning, bright and shining light, bringing life to the heart and soul of those who will receive Him and walk in His light.

In chapter 8 Jesus had a lot to say that day. Some of His statements were blunt, right to the point.

John 1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

"I Can't See it!" That's the way it is with those who walk in darkness. It's awfully hard for some to receive the truth. The light is not in them and, therefore, they can't understand or see.

Here we see the Master at work, talking to people, wanting them to see the Light. They needed to come to the true Light of the world, turning their hearts and lives unto Him, but it wasn't easy for many of them to do this. They chose to remain in darkness.

John 8:14
Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of Myself, yet My record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

The Father that sent Him was with Him. The people said He was just making this up, that His witness wasn't true because every word should be established in the mouth of two witnesses.

John 8:15,16
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, My judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me.

So, He wasn't alone; He wasn't bearing witness alone: He and the Father who sent Him were bearing witness.

John 5:36-38
But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me. And the Father Himself, which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. And ye have not His word abiding in you: for whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not.

Jesus wanted to get through to people with the Gospel message, but back there they were just like so many are today: firm in their resistance to His message.

John 8:19
Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

You neither know Me nor My Father: These words were hard for people to understand and grasp. It was a matter to take a giant step of faith and determine to listen to what Jesus had to say, not piping up at every word He said. Just listen, and see what He was trying to tell them.

If they'd stop long enough to listen, then the truth might come through and enter their heart, where they could see and understand.

This is where the multitude should be; but there was a blindness, drawing a blank. The message was so different. Nobody had ever talked like Jesus was talking that day. He was talking as though He was God! speaking with such an authority and such plainness.

You Shall Die in Your Sins

John 8:21
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go My way, and ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

What a strong statement! I understand what He is saying today, but I didn't understand before I was saved. It was after I got saved that I began to understand the Scriptures and what He was talking about.

There was this multitude that day, and the Lord was in their midst wanting to tell them the truth. But the truth can be shocking: "You don't know Me, and you don't know My Father. If you knew Me, then you would know My Father. One of these days I'm going back where I came from, when I dwelt with Him."

Yes, one of those days He was going back to heaven; and if they refused to believe in Him and receive the Light of life, they would die in their sins.

John 8:23
And He said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Now, those words would cause people to think. What was He referring to here? What did He mean He was from above?

Why doesn't somebody walk up to Him and say, "Look, just tell us plainly; we want to know what You're talking about."

Faith is the Key

But people are going to have to receive Christ and believe on Him in faith before they understand. It's more than just getting answers to their questions. They have to believe on Him.

If you're saved, it's because you believed. Without that believing you'd still be lost.

John 8:24
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.

"Who is He? What is He saying to me here? He's telling me that if I don't believe in Him, I'm going to die in my sins."

That's the state of the world, isn't it? It's "believe the Gospel and be saved," or "refuse to believe and die in your sins":

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Two Choices

Two choices: You can either go with God, make the kingdom, and have eternal life — by believing in Jesus and following Him — or you can follow the world, follow in your own ways, be stiff in your neck and hard in your heart, and what will happen? You'll die in your sins.

Now, thinking about dying in your sins for a moment: What does that mean? It means to die unsaved, unforgiven.You'll be judged on the light that you had. Light has come into this world.

There's a lot of light in our nation. We are without excuse. What will many say in that day? Those who die in their sins will be weeping and wailing, gnashing their teeth. They died in their sins and now are going to have to face God in judgment.

The sad part is that they could have been forgiven of all their sins. God, who is gracious to forgive, forgives on the basis of the cross and the shed blood of Christ: the merits of Jesus making the way of salvation for those who would believe.

Ephesians 2:8,9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.

So, without believing, without embracing Jesus, there's no salvation. And to die in one's sin is to bring them before the great judgment, where they will be judged according to their sins.

He's telling them they would die in their sins. Dying a sinner? A lost sinner? I wouldn't want to die a lost sinner.

What do you think would happen if you died in your sins? What could you expect?

You die . . . and then what? The body suddenly falls to the floor, you can't get your breath, and you begin to fade and fade . . . and, suddenly, where would you be? Where would you be? What would be next?

I would never want to find out. I would never want to come to such a place. Would you?

We should be in the place where our hearts rejoice in the Light. Jesus is that Light. He's that Light that came into the world. He's that Light that brings us into the realm of having the Light of life.

We don't have to die in our sins, if we would but turn to the Light. We can die saved, die cleansed in the blood of Christ, and go on to be with the Lord.

So, for those who are saved, to die is merely to go on to be with the Lord. To be absent from the body for the believer is to be present with the Lord.

This is where we want to stand. But to die in our sins? Never!

The Cross

John 8:28
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things.

We don't realize as fully as we should what Jesus is saying concerning His relationship with His Father. It's similar to our being filled with the Holy Ghost, where He is inside of us: helping us, teaching us and showing us. Jesus was saying that He could do nothing apart from the Father. He spoke those things which the Father taught Him.

And here the Lord is saying, "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you'll know that I am He." Notice that He carefully avoids saying, "I am the Christ." He declares who He is and then leaves it for men to believe. He didn't teach people how to believe, didn't go around twisting arms to make them believe. It's brought to the realm where they must take hold of Him by faith and believe.

Jesus spoke of when He would be lifted up: When He was nailed to the cross, that's when He was lifted up. He was spiked to that cross, hanging between heaven and earth, suffering and dying for this world. This should have brought a lot of light to a lot of people: what He did, what He endured, what He went through.

I'm glad that down here, at the end of this dispensation, there are still people who will believe. There are those who are believing in Jesus, holding on, believing in the truth and in the reality that they know who He is. They know that He is the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, sent into this world as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

When we know who He is, it would be foolish on our part to not act upon what we know: embracing Him, believing on Him, calling on His name, and brought into a living relationship where it's Christ in us the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

The Resurrection

We realize that the point of the resurrection is the highlighting point. Without His resurrection there would be nothing. A dead Jesus would be unable to save anybody.

What would you be doing tomorrow if you were dead? You wouldn't be getting your supper ready. You wouldn't be out there shopping or going to work.

We recognize Jesus: He was lifted up; and if anything would affect us, it is Calvary and the resurrection from the dead. For someone to get anointed of God and raise somebody from the dead, that's great! That's a work that was done in the Bible. But when you look at it from this point, it's quite different: when you raise yourself from the dead! God gave power to His Son to lay His life down and to take it up again.

We know Jesus is the only begotten Son of the living God. How long does it take to get this light through to one's mind and heart? Many have gone to the grave in darkness because they refused the Light.

Pleasing the Father

John 8:29
And He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.

This is Jesus talking. He was always doing those things that pleased His Father. And isn't that what we should want to be doing? Every day? We shouldn't want to do the things that are displeasing to the Lord. Yet many do things that grieve the Lord's heart. They grieve the Spirit of God, whom God gave to us, grieving Him because of the things which they do, things they say.

He speaks of those who have bitterness of heart, such a deep bitterness in their heart and spirit. They're always bitter about something or someone.

You know, bitterness grieves the heart of God. "Well, if you knew how I've been mistreated!! You'd be bitter, too, if they treated you that way."

People think because someone did something to them they ought to be bitter about it, unforgiving. No, we don't want to grieve the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let's not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Let's be careful about the manner of life which we show forth. After all, what we claim we believe ought to set us on high to want to walk straight with the Lord, walking in the light as He is in the light.

Get Beyond If

I John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

"If" may look like a small word, but it can actually be a big word sometimes. There are a lot of things in which we need to get past the "if" and get into it.

John 8:31
If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed

There were some that day who heard His words. They listened carefully, paying mind to what Jesus had to say. They realized that there was something precious about this man who was speaking to them. The words they heard were touching their hearts. There hearts were being opened, and they began to believe on Jesus.

Jesus told them that if they continued to believe His words, they were His disciples indeed. If they would just continue to believe, just continue to follow, they would truly be His disciples in reality.

Here some are turning, some are believing.

The Truth Makes You Free

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

It's good to know the truth; for when you do, it will make you free. What Jesus does for man, in reality, ought to bring man to this place: where he will know the truth that will make him free. So to be set free is to know Truth.

You can't be set free building your belief on a new lie. Build your life on a lie and it's going to crumble; it won't give you eternal life. But turn from the lies of the adversary, turning to believe the words of Jesus, and the truth will set you free. It makes you free.

Free from what?

John 8:34
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Does that sound like freedom?

John 8:36
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

To know the Son is to make us free from sin, to bring us under the blood, to bring us into a relationship with God where knowing this Gospel will make you free.

I thank God there is a freedom in Jesus. He made us free at Calvary, where He shed His blood. Believing these things makes one free.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

Here's a truth to hang on to: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the only way we can come to the Father. That's a strong message. No man comes to the Father but by Me.

. . . but by Me! Those three words exclude everyone who doesn't know Jesus. You can't come unto the Father but (except) by Him.

John 8:37
I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you.

Why were they trying to kill Jesus? Because His words had no place in them. It didn't matter what He said; His words found no place, didn't sink down into the heart nor enter the mind.

Now, as the Lord was the Light of the world while He was here, He pointed to us that He would put His light in us who believe, that there should be a bright light shining from our lives.

Matthew 5:14
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Are You Believing Truth or Lies?

People see you; they know who you are; they know you're different, that you're a Christian . . . but they don't want what you have. They want to continue walking in darkness.

John 8:44,45
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not.

Look at what goes on in the world these days by those who think they're going to heaven. They're believing the false prophets, the false teachers, false religious leaders, believing what they have to say.

They're believing, but what are they believing? They're believing lies that won't set them free, lies that put them in yet greater bondage.

I Timothy 4:1,2
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron

It's important to know in the depths of our heart that what we are believing is the truth of God's Word; and believing in Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. As He told them in John 8:32: it is the truth that shall make you free.