As I wrote earlier, we can just hit a few highlights of John’s gospel – there’s so much there. I really love John 8 and 9, stories that fit together as we’ll see shortly. The chapter opens with the woman taken in adultery, something I’ve written about before. Check it out. After that event, Jesus speaks again to the Pharisees, the conservative religious elite of his day:

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are bearing witness about Yourself; Your witness is not true.” (John 8.12, 13, LSB)

The Pharisees’ response makes no logical sense. They could say, “We don’t know if what you say is true. We need another witness.” Just because they perceived there wasn’t another witness doesn’t make Jesus’ witness untrue. The conversation goes on and some actually believe:

As He was speaking these things, many believed in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8.30 – 32, LSB)

There it is again. “Abide in My word.” I did a two-part series on “eat my flesh, drink my blood,” which I believe is less about how we do the Eucharist and more about “abiding” — obedience to the word.

There follows a long argument on Jesus’ relationship with the Father contrasted with their relationship with their father, the devil. (See John 8.34 – 59.) When he says, “I AM,” they pick up stones to throw at him, and Jesus goes out of the temple…where he passes a blind man. The conversation on “I am the light of the world” is illustrated beautifully.

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might be manifested in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9.1 – 5 LSB)

“I am the light of the world.” Watch. (You can read the whole story here.) And Jesus heals the man’s blindness. The Pharisees are furious because it happened to be a Sabbath. The seeing man doesn’t know any theology. He’s not “smart” like the religious leaders. But he does know one thing:

Therefore, a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9.24, 25, LSB)

And, as usual, the humble and uneducated are in while the educated proud are out:

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9.35 – 41, ESV)