Who's your father - John 8:12-30

The Pharisees are disappointed that their attempt to trap Jesus in a political snare failed, and leave, but are back for another conversation shortly. Jesus does engage them in a discussion, and I feel like he’s leaving a testimony against them, giving them knowledge to recognize that they are wrong, and letting them see just how serious their conduct is. The conversation is really long and honestly, pretty hard to follow at times, but it’s the cross references that are really interesting.

8:12 - It’s still the Sabbath, and Jesus is still teaching in the temple, and the IM suggests that he is standing by one of the huge 70+ foot menorahs when he states, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” The IM quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks as teaching, “Jesus Christ is the light of the world because he is the source of light which ‘proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space.’… Jesus Christ is also the light of the world because his example and his teachings illuminate the path we should walk to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven… Jesus Christ is also the light of the world because his power persuades us to do good.” It’s a pretty abstract concept to consider that Jesus as the “light of the world,” what does that even mean? The light of the world has to contrast with the darkness and if he is THE light of the world then that means that there is no other light in the world except him. Let’s consider a situation where it would be total darkness, except for a single light, let’s consider a ship in the ocean and a light house. The National Parks Service defines a light house as “a tower with a bright light at the top, located at an important or dangerous place regarding navigation (travel over water). The two main purposes of a lighthouse are to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. It is like a traffic sign on the sea.”

If there was no light house, ships would be at the mercy of the elements and nature. They could navigate ok during the day time but at night they would be screwed. Let’s imagine that there was no day time and no inhabitable land, because if Jesus is the only light then there would be so sun in this analogy either. Perpetual night with no light at all, there would be no way to know where you were going, how you could get there, and you couldn’t leave the ship to live on land because there was no land that you could live on. If we’re all on our own little personal boat in the middle of the ocean in the dark, that is certain death. That would be like living in a world where there is no love, no concern for anyone else, no one would even make it out of childhood to be old enough to reproduce, and anyone who did would be so caught up in hate and violence and selfishness that only the strongest would be able to survive, and they would enslave everyone else. That’s the ultimate goal of Satan, I think, he likes to think of himself as the strongest person out there, but he’s not, and he desires for all of us to be his slaves, to serve him and validate his decisions all the time. There would be no point to that existence because it would be certain death for all, there would be no hope of ever being able to live and be happy or to return to Heavenly Father after we die.

As the light of the world, Jesus offers protection to the weak, he offers guidance, he offers strength, he offers a best friend and a helping hand. He teaches us the universal laws governing happiness, and no one else does that. He tells us how to live in order to be happy, he tells us how to act and think and feel to be happy, and no one else does that. He’s the only one to tells us how to get back to Heavenly Father, but even more than that, none of us are entitled to get back, but because He performed the atonement, he gives us a way that we can get back. And what’s the most interesting to me is that there is the law of happiness, and there are Jesus’ requirements for us to be able to use his atonement. He could have made it be anything, he could have required all of us to crawl hands and knees across shards of broken glass through the desert in order to have access to the atonement, or something completely arbitrary like that, he has the right to make that requirement, and honestly, I’d like to think that I’d pay it if I had to. But his requirement for us is to live the law of happiness. So if we follow his law, not only will we be forgiven of our sins and able to return to Heavenly Father after we die, but we will be happy at the same time. It’s like saying, “be happy and I’ll forgive you.” Seems like a no brainer, and incredibly generous at the same time. But Jesus doesn’t want to see us suffer, he wants to see us happy, and I guess that’s the point right.

8:13-28 - The Pharisees remind Jesus that the testimony of one man is not sufficient to establish truth, so basically, they are saying, “yeah? You and what army?” They tell Jesus, “Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.” It’s like when the people of Ammonihah tell Alma, “Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony of one man?... who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?” The when Amulek got up at started preaching, “the people began to be astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused.” Jesus reminds them “I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.” He’s saying, “I know where I came from and I know where I’m going.” It’s worth noting that the first “whence” is cross referenced with John 16:28 which says, “I came forth form the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” He came from the Father and he’s going back to the Father when he’s done. He continues, “Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.” The word judge is cross referenced with John 12:47 which says, “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”

I have to ask myself why Jesus is making these statements. The conversation goes like this: “I am the light of the world.” “You’re the only one saying that, so you’re not for real.” “I know where I came from and where I’m going. You can only see earthly things, but I came to save the world.” Interesting take on that. Jesus then goes on to remind them that God the Father has testified of him, and according to the law “the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.” The IM says, “The Pharisees challenged the Savior’s testimony that He was ‘the light of the world’ by stating that they did not have to accept the witness of one person who bore record of Himself. Jesus responded by appealing to the law of Moses, with which they were very familiar. In this instance, the law of witnesses was satisfied by the two Beings whose testimonies were irrefutable- the Father and the Son.” We know that the Father’s voice was heard when he was baptized, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” I’m not sure if all these Pharisees were there at that time, if they were then they would have to acknowledge that what he says is true. But if they weren’t there, then how else would they be able to know that the Father testified of the Son? Through the testimony of the Holy Ghost, which comes to the righteous who seek it, so the Pharisees would probably not be receiving that witness anytime soon. Taking him literally, they ask Jesus, “where is thy Father?” They probably expected him to say “in Nazareth or something like that, but he tells them that they don’t know him or his Father: for “if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.”

8:29-30 - Jesus continues to teach about his Father, saying, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” The IM gives a very interesting explanation of this statement, saying, “Jesus Christ is the only One to ever live on this earth who could accurately say, ‘The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.’ Perhaps that is why ‘he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.’ He not only refrained from sin, but He actively did what pleased God.” It’s hard to relate because he was the only sinless man, but when we strive to be sinless, it’s not just a matter of not doing bad things, but the other side of that is that we need to be actively engaged in doing good things. It’s like the difference between not needing a car because you lay in bed all day and never get up and not needing a car because you walk every where. John says that “as he spake these words, many believed on him.” When referring to the temple priests inability to arrest Jesus the day before, JTC says, “To the angry demand of the chief priests and Pharisees as to why they had not brought Him, they acknowledged that they had been so affected by His teachings as to be unable to make the arrest.” The power and authority with which Jesus spoke was so strong that many people were able to believe in Him simply by his teachings.