THE GOSPEL OF JOHN III. The Opposition to the Son of God (5:1–12:50)A. At The Feast In Jerusalem (Jn 5:1-47)B. During The Passover (Jn 6:1-71)C. During The Feast Of Tabernacles
(Jn 7:1 – 10:21)D. During The Feast Of Dedication
(Jn 10:22-42)E. Because Of The Death And Resurrection Of Lazarus (Jn 11:1-57)
F. Because Of The Triumphal Entry (Jn 12:1-50)1. The Thanksgiving Dinner (12:1-11)2. The Triumphal Entry (12:12-19)3. The Total Sacrifice (12:20-36)
a. His Hour Has Arrived (vv. 20-23)
b. His Sacrifice Is Explained (vv. 24-27)
c. His Father Is Glorified (vv. 28-30)
d. His Death Is Revealed (vv. 31-33)
e. His Identity Is Disclosed (vv. 34-36)1) The question: Who is the
Son of Man? (v. 34)2) The answer: Believe in the
Light (vv. 35-36) Read Jn 12:35. Jesus reminded them of their grave
responsibility. ~ It is a reply to the spirit in which they
had asked it.
~ Jesus the Messiah and Son of Man “remain[s] forever”: in function of
His glorification through the shame and pain of His death.
~ What Jesus does is refer to His impending death and encourage
the crowds to walk in that light as long as they have it.
~ The darkness of Satan’s evil influence and sin would overtake
those who would refuse to accept Jesus’ light.
Read Jn 12:35b. This saying sheds light on the
meaning of Jn 1:9.~ The Jews have the light, indeed!~ They should take advantage of His
presence while they had it. ~ He would point out the way they
should walk. ~ If they walked in His light, they
would become “sons of Light,” revealing the truth and pointing people to God.
The Greek might be rendered, “lest the darkness master you”.
~ In that sense, the onset of “darkness” is inevitable.
~ But if they walk in the light as long as they have the light, then the
darkness, when it comes, will not overpower them, master them. Everyone should walk carefully, for
darkness will follow if one is contemptuous of “the Light.”
~ Christ enlightens us by His Gospel, that we may follow
the way of salvation which He shows us. Natural man, even though the Gospel
be preached to him, does not have an inner, experiential, spiritual insight into the mysteries of God and of redemption.
~ Such knowledge is wholly reserved for the children of
God (1Cor 2:14)
~ Nevertheless, any man to whom the Gospel is proclaimed receives a
certain amount of illumination – he gets to know the will of God for his life – that he is a sinner who needs to come in faith to Christ to be saved.
~ Although we may not see everything clearly in life, we must act on the
light we have. ~ Hear the urgency in Jesus’
words!~ If Christ calls you, follow His
light.
That’s why the alternative is terrible: Jn 12:35c.
Christ issues this warning about how wretched is the state of those who are destitute of “Light” and do nothing but go astray in the whole direction of their lives.
~ Such a person does not know where he is going.
~ He is completely in the dark, having no guide, no star, no compass.
To walk in Satan’s darkness is to stumble through life with no guidance, no help, no protection, no understanding, no ultimate goal or meaning.
Our passion for sharing the gospel can almost be measured by how deeply we recognize the lostness of others.
~ What does it say about us if we know they are lost but never
offer to help?
~ As Christians, we are to be Christ’s light bearers, letting His light
shine through us. At the same time, there are so many
people who hear the Gospel who do not walk in the light, i.e., they do not show by their daily conduct that they have accepted and appropriated the truth as proclaimed by Christ, the Light.
~ This again highlights how important it is for those of us who are in Christ to not only share the gospel but to live the gospel.
~ J. Mack Stiles: “The message we share should be the
message we bear.” Read Jn 12:36. The crowds are strongly urged to trust
Jesus, the Light of the World, based on what they do know of Him.
~ A “son of light” displays the ethical qualities of “light”, and has
become a disciple of the “light”, therefore, having the light of Christ not only around but within their hearts and minds. By this statement also, Christ declares
that we are in darkness unless He shines on us.
Read Jn 12:36b.
~ Not only is the public ministry of Jesus now drawing to a close, but
by His withdrawal, His self-conscious hiding from the people, He is acting out the judicial warning He has just pronounced.
