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MAY 24
being convicted by their conscience, went out 22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself,
one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”
last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath;
standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised I am from above. You are of this world; I am not
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Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He of this world. Therefore I said to you that you
said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that
of yours? Has no one condemned you?” I am He, you will die in your sins.”
She said, “No one, Lord.” Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
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And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I con- And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have
demn you; go and sin no more.” been saying to you from the beginning. I
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12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I have many things to say and to judge con-
am the light of the world. He who follows Me cerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and
shall not walk in darkness, but have the light I speak to the world those things which I
of life.” heard from Him.”
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You 27 They did not understand that He spoke to
bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not them of the Father.
true.”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if
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I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true,
for I know where I came from and where I am
going; but you do not know where I come
from and where I am going. You judge 8:24 if you do not believe.Jesus emphasized
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according to the flesh; I judge no one. And that the fatal, unforgivable, and eternal sin is
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yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am failure to believe in Him as Messiah and Son of
not alone, but I am with the Father who sent God. In truth, all other sins can be forgiven if
Me. It is also written in your law that the tes- this one is repented of.I am He.“He”is not part
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timony of two men is true. I am One who of the original statement. Jesus’ words were
bears witness of Myself, and the Father who not constructed normally but were influenced
sent Me bears witness of Me.” by Old Testament Hebrew usage. It is an
19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your absolute usage meaning “I AM” and has
Father?” immense theological significance. The refer-
ence may be to both Exodus 3:14 where the
Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor Lord declared His name as “I AM”and to Isaiah
My Father. If you had known Me, you would 40–55 where the phrase “I am” occurs repeat-
have known My Father also.” edly (especially 43:10,13,25; 46:4; 48:12). In
20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury,
as He taught in the temple; and no one laid this, Jesus referred to Himself as the God
(Yahweh—the LORD) of the Old Testament and
hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come. directly claimed full Deity for Himself,prompt-
Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going ing the Jews’question of v. 25.
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away, and you will seek Me, and will die in
your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
DAY 24: How is Jesus the light of the world?
In John 8:12–21,the word “again”indicates that Jesus spoke once more to the people at this same
Feast of Tabernacles (7:2,10).While Jesus first used the water-drawing rite (7:37–39) as a metaphor to
portray the ultimate spiritual truth of Himself as Messiah who fulfills all that the feast anticipated,
He then turned to another rite that traditionally occurred at the feast:the lighting ceremony.During
Tabernacles, 4 large lamps in the temple’s court of women were lit and an exuberant nightly cele-
bration took place under their light with people dancing through the night and holding burning
torches in their hands while singing songs and praises.The Levitical orchestras also played.
Jesus took this opportunity of the lighting celebration to portray another spiritual analogy for
the people:“I am the light of the world” (v. 12).This is the second “I AM” statement (6:35). John has
already used the “light”metaphor for Jesus (1:4). Jesus’metaphor here is steeped in Old Testament
allusions (Ex. 13:21,22; 14:19–25; Pss. 27:1; 119:105; Prov. 6:23; Ezek. 1:4,13,26–28; Hab. 3:3,4). The
phrase highlights Jesus’ role as Messiah and Son of God (Ps. 27:1; Mal. 4:2).The Old Testament indi-
cates that the coming age of Messiah would be a time when the Lord would be a light for His peo-
ple (Is. 60:19–22; see Rev. 21:23,24), as well as for the whole earth (Is. 42:6; 49:6). Zechariah 14:5b–8
has an emphasis on God as the light of the world who gives living waters to His people.This latter
passage probably formed the liturgical readings for the Feast of Tabernacles.

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