I. "THE PEOPLE ANSWERED HIM, WE HAVE HEARD OUT OF THE LAW THAT MESSIAH ABIDETH FOREVER. WHO IS THIS SON OF MAN?"
A. In
II Sam. 7:13, God promised to David concerning his seed, that He would build a house for His name and that He would establish the throne of His kingdom forever.
B. In
Psalm 110:4, "The Lord hath sworn and shall not repent "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
C. In
Isa. 9:7, The promise of the Messiah was that of the increase of His government and peace there should be no end.
D. "Who is this Son of man?"
1.Jesus had taken the title of "Son of Man."
a. You remember that He said, "The foxes have their holes, the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of man has no where to lay His head."
b. In
Matthew 16:13 He asked the disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" He also spoke of the Son of man coming in the glory of the Father.
c. In
Matthew 18:11 He said that the Son of man had come to seek and save those who were lost.
2. Son of man was a Messianic title.
a. In
Daniel 7:13,
14, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory and a Kingdom that all people, nations and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
b. This is probably the verse that they were alluding to.
3. Jesus has been talking about being cast out and crucified, hence the question of "Who is this Son of man?"
4. There is obviously some kind of discrepancy here.
E. This has been a problem for the Jews through the ages. Paul said that the preaching of Christ crucified was to the Jews a stumbling block.
1. The prophecies concerning the Messiah seem to be contradictory, for on the one hand you have the predictions that His throne would be eternal, and on the other hand you have the predictions that He would be despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
2. You have the predictions that He would be numbered with the transgressors in His death, and that He would make His grave with the rich.
3. In
Psalm 22, His death by crucifixion was predicted.
4. In
Isaiah 9:7, we are told that of the increase of His government and peace there would be no end.
5. Hence the problem the Jews had with His statement that the Son of Man must be lifted up.
F. We know that the problem is solved by the understanding of the two comings of the Messiah.
1. He came the first time to give His life as a ransom for sinners.
2. He is coming again to reign forever as King of kings.
II. "JESUS SAID UNTO THEM, YET A LITTLE WHILE IS THE LIGHT WITH YOU, WALK WHILE YOU HAVE THE LIGHT LEST THE DARKNESS COME UPON YOU."
A. Notice that He did not answer their question. He just told them that the light was only to be with them for a a little while, and to walk while they had the light.
1. Jesus had said that He was the light of the world. To walk in fellowship with Him is to walk in the light.
2. To walk in the light is to walk in purity.
3. It is to walk in righteousness, in obedience to the revealed will of God.
4. To walk in darkness is to walk in sin which is disobedience to the revealed will of God.
5. If we say that we have fellowship with God and we are walking in darkness, we lie, and we have not the truth.
6. If we walk in the light as He is in the light then we have fellowship with God and the blood of Jesus Christ is cleansing us from all sin.
B. Those who walk in darkness do not know where they are going.
1. They are really going nowhere. Their life on earth is a waste. They are doing absolutely nothing of eternal worth. "We have only one life, it will soon be past, and only what's done for Christ will last."
2. They don't realize that they are on the road to hell. They are blindly and blythly walking down the path to destruction.
C. Jesus is basically warning that you need to take advantage of the opportunities that God has given to you now to know the light and to walk in the light.
1. Darkness will overshadow those who do not walk in the light.
2. Now God is giving you opportunities that may not always be there.
III. "WHILE YOU HAVE THE LIGHT, BELIEVE IN THE LIGHT, THAT YOU MIGHT BE CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT."
A. Jesus is saying in essence, "Believe in Me." For He has declared that He is the light of the World.
B. By believing in Him we become children of the light.
C. In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians he reminded them that the coming of Jesus would be like a thief in the night, but he said, "You are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief, but you are children of the light. He then described the characteristics of those who were in darkness.
1. They were asleep, as to the hour and times in which they were living.
2. They were drunk.
3. As children of the light we should be sober.
4. We are to put on the breastplate of faith and love.
5. Put on the helmet of salvation. For God has not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Those who walk in darkness are appointed unto wrath.
6. You might ask yourself, "Am I walking in the light or in darkness?"
a. Do I walk in true fellowship with Jesus Christ?
b. "If a man say that he is in the light yet he is walking in darkness, he lies and knows not the truth."
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
Abbreviate Books
Use SBL Abbrev.
