❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
Where Do We Come From and Where Are We Going?
(John 8:12-20)
Mari Ikeda
Today we continue with the Gospel of John, and today we will read 8:12-20. We will read the whole passage in three parts. Let’s start with reading the first 12-14 verses.
A. Jesus is our guiding light.
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.
Jesus declares here, “I am the light of the world.” He then says that if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but will always have light.
Do you who already believe in Jesus realize this? Namely, do you always feel, “I never fall into darkness, but always walk in the light.” My feeling is that sometimes I fall into darkness, but when I ask Jesus for help, the light is always lit up in my heart again and I can get out of the darkness. Sometimes it only takes a few hours, sometimes it takes days or sometimes a few months.
Perhaps there is no one whose heart is always cloudless and sunny, with light shining brightly. Everyone has darkness, and while sadness and anxiety cannot be erased, we live our lives relying on some kind of light. But I think it is important to know if that light is really something we can rely on.
Jesus is the one who can guide us as a light that never goes out, no matter what our circumstances. As to why we can say that, Jesus says in the passage we just read, v. 14, “For I know where I came from and where I am going.” To know where you come from and where you are going means that you know for what you are here. Jesus knew it clearly. Jesus came to this world from God to share God’s love with this world and would eventually return to God.
I can affirm that here and now because it has already come to pass. Jesus indeed existed in this world 2,000 years ago, died on the cross, was resurrected three days later, and returned to heaven, leaving his ministry to his disciples. Jesus knew from the beginning that people would kill Him, and it can be said that He was born to be killed. It was in order to take our place, to bear our sins, and to pay the price of death.
If Jesus were just one man, God would be a terrible God who sacrificed one man for all, but He is not. Jesus was God Himself. God took our sins upon himself and tried to free us from them instead of condemning us. So Jesus died for our sins but was resurrected. Through that, He proved Himself that neither the power of our sin nor the power of death can control God, and that He desires to forgive us.
Can you answer with conviction where you came from and where you are going? Jesus tells us that we are all God’s beloved children, placed in this world by God with a purpose and eventually called back to Him. God’s love for us is a love that willingly sacrifices Himself for us. God wants us to receive that love and realize it among one another as well. Therefore, Jesus is the one who shows us the direction we should go and corrects and guides our steps. We can also say that He is the one who shows us what we should be and transform us. We do not need to strive to be loved, nor are we living together to compete and hurt each other. We are here together to forgive and support each other.
In this way, Jesus is our guiding light because he teaches us about God’s love for us. It is Jesus who proves that no matter what our condition, God’s love is solid, unchanging, never ending, and will never leave us.
Now, no matter how much I affirm this here, no matter how many other churches in the world speak the same thing, only Jesus can give a person conviction that this is true. Unless each one of us hears the voice of Jesus speaking to our own hearts, no matter how much others may say, there will be no conviction of God’s love. Let’s move on to the next verses, 15-18.
B. Only Jesus can prove it.
15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
As Jesus says here, the Jewish law required that there must be two or more witnesses to any crime. However, a witness cannot be the person involved. Therefore, although Jesus says here that he is testifying about himself, he could not be a witness in the first place. Moreover, since he says that the witness other than himself is God in heaven, it is better for us to consider this series of Jesus’ statements as having a different dimension from the provisions of the Jewish law.
A clue to our interpretation is the phrase “You judge according to the flesh” in verse 15. As this verse is translated in English as “human standards,” I believe this is being said, “You judge things according to human standards, but I will not be held to those standards.”
So what I think it means as a whole is that in order to know that Jesus is really God Himself, who came from God, and that He is telling God’s truth, we must not be limited by human standards. There are limits when we try to understand Jesus with the common sense and values of human society. More to the point, our reason also has its limits. The only person who can truly attest to Jesus is Jesus Himself and God Himself who sent Him. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of God, although the Holy Spirit is not mentioned here.
This is further discussed in another aspect in the following verses 19-20. Let’s read.
C. The reason why we cannot accept it.
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Jesus says, “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” At first glance, these words seem strange, but they illustrate the truth of what it means to know God. We can know that Jesus is God because we know who God is. Or, if we are seriously seeking to know who God is, we can see that Jesus might be the One, whom we are seeking, when we meet Him.
This is a little too abstract, so let’s talk about it from a slightly different angle.
The people Jesus is talking to in today’s passage are the Pharisees. Why couldn’t they understand Him? And why does Jesus also say to them, “You do not understand”? It is simply because they believed they were right. They thought they understood God so well that they even believed that they could rule over the people on God’s behalf.
If I were to say one thing sympathetic to them, they had a good reason to resist to Jesus, when He said about Himself as equal to God. No one would immediately believe it if they were told that the one person in front of them was God Himself who created this world.
But, in fact, He was really God.
What is the difference between those who believe in such nonsense and those who don’t? I think it is whether we admit that we are not always right. And it is whether or not we are seriously seeking what is truly right, where is justice, and where is truth.
God’s Spirit works in those who know that these things are not in them. Only God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, can teach us that true justice, truth, and love are found in Jesus. The Holy Spirit works abundantly in those who know their limitations and ask for help, even if they do not believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit cannot work freely with those who believe they are righteous.
Can we humbly admit that our common sense and values can be wrong? If we cannot do this, we will make assumptions about God based on our own selfish images and expectations, and we will not be able to understand the true God. This is a mistake that those who already have faith are in danger of falling into. God is not someone who fits into our understanding. Neither is He the One who works the way we want Him to work. We must always acknowledge that there are limits to what we can understand and that God sees things that we cannot. But if we don’t forget that, God will steadily transform us and make us grow to be able to share His love with others.
God, who created this world, is an extraordinary God who gave his life for each and every one of us. His love is so great that it is extraordinary. I hope that more and more people in this world will be convinced that God’s love is real, and that they will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. I would like to conclude by reading Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:20.
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
I think it is the greatest joy given to those who believe in Jesus to be able to confirm to each other that you and I both came from God, were placed here to share His love, and will eventually return to Him. May we spend this week remembering this.
(Prayer) Jesus, thank you for coming into each of our lives. Thank you for teaching us the meaning of our birth, the purpose of our lives, and what happens after we die. Please guide us so that we can receive your love and live our lives the way you want us to. May we be able to rely on You, our light, when darkness seems to take over our hearts. When we are overconfident in our own strength and are taking the wrong path, show us our mistakes. Teach us more of the joy of living following you. Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
Jesus knew that He came from God and that one day He would return to Him. He knew very well about God, who sent Him to this world, and also knew that God sent Him to this world in order to let this world know that He loved this world. To know Jesus is to know that love of God and to know that we are loved by God. All it takes to know it is true is to acknowledge that we are weak and make mistakes. God’s Spirit works in those who know they are not always right.
For Discussion
1. Where do we come from and where are we going?
2. What are we put in this world for?