Twice in a fairly short span of John's Gospel we find Jesus detailing and defending God-given witnesses that testify to His divine identity. Given their similarities, I thought we would consider them together.
Jesus boldly declares to the offended religious leaders of His day that He is "the Light of the World" and that whoever follows Him will "not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." That is quite a claim. We have had time to grow accustomed to thinking of Jesus as such, but imagine being in the original audience and hearing an ordinary looking man declare "I am the (not a) Light of the World." Naturally, they wanted some supporting evidence and thankfully Jesus gives them some. He tells them to look at God's witness, works, and word.
First, Jesus directs them to John the Baptizer. He tells them that, unlike them, He is not looking for the praise that comes from men, but nonetheless John had it right when he declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is interesting to note Jesus' purpose in directing them to John. He specifically said that He was doing it "so that (they) might be saved." That is important for us to remember when we who by God's grace are being saved by trusting Christ are discussing our Savior with those who currently reject Him. We are not debating to win an argument. We are presenting and defending truth with love for our lost neighbors, even the combative ones, in the hopes that God will grant them exit from death's darkness and entrance into Life's Light.
Next, Jesus calls their attention to His miraculous works. It is one thing to say that you are God's Messiah. It is another to publicly tell people known to have been lame for more than thirty years to get up and then after they do so to claim to be the Messiah. Jesus told the weather what to do, and it obeyed Him. He told sick people to be well, and they obeyed Him. He told demons to leave people, and though they protested, they obeyed Him. He even told dead people to live, and they obeyed Him. Jesus told the unbelieving religious leaders to take a long, hard, serious look at His works, which demonstrated His divinely given authority over the spiritual and physical realms, and most of them foolishly disobeyed Him. Why? Jesus said the main hindrance was their vain glory. "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" - v. 44. How much religious performance flows from our desire for other's approval and admiration! We need to regularly seek God's humbling illumination to see our hidden motivations more clearly, and when He shows us our vanity, we need to sincerely repent to enjoy His restoration.
Finally, Jesus directs them to God's written word. They were quite familiar with God's written revelation, but they were missing the proverbial forest for the trees. To avoid doing the same, we need to be aware that the entire Bible is God's unified revelation. It is not just a collection of disjointed accounts of God's interventions. It is the unfolding story of God's redemption, and His redeemer, Jesus, is centrally featured throughout both testaments. After His resurrection, Jesus walked with two disappointed men on their way back to the town of Emmaus. In Luke's account of their walk with Christ (Luke 24:25-27), we learn that Jesus began with Moses and explained the many Scriptural references to Him. I would have loved to have heard that Bible study! There are many, many Old Testament references to Christ, but let's close by looking at just one - Isaiah 53, and let's help others see the life-saving Light of the World there too.
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