I Am

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Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 1-12)
Passage Breakdowns, SOAPS Format & Instructions (Weeks 13-26)

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8:40 Service | 10:00 Service | 11:20 Service | Sermon Audio

Good morning Chapel family. Next Sunday, we are so looking forward to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. It’s going to be a joyful day; four services; I hope you’ll bring your friends. But before Sunday comes Friday. And the joy of Easter will be greater if you feel the weight of Good Friday. So we have put together a challenge for our whole church family: a 24-hour Good Friday Fast. So after you have breakfast on Good Friday morning, abstain from food until Saturday morning. A 24-hour fast. Which, for most of us, is not easy! So why do it? Because fasting clarifies our minds; it helps us focus on Christ; it gives us just a little taste of the suffering Jesus went through on the cross. Fasting is not about what you’re giving up; it’s about making room something deeper. On our web site, if you go to “Events” and choose the Good Friday service, you’ll find this “Good Friday Prayer and Fasting Guide” to guide you through the fast. So, I hope you’ll join us. I hope you’ll show up at the Good Friday service hungry for a deeper experience of Christ. I will be fasting with you, and I'll be praying for you.
I also want to mention that we have some great resources on our web site to help you get the most out of our study of John. So when you click on each sermon, you’ll find the passage broken down into smaller chunks spread throughout the week, and some great questions to help you study it.
Okay… before we look at today’s passage in John, I want to go back to the beginning. Remember the very first words in John? In the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. If you were a Jewish person and you read those words, In the beginning, your mind would immediately go to…what? The beginning of the Hebrew Bible: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So John is clearly presenting his Gospel as a new creation—a new beginning. John 1:1 parallels Genesis 1:1.
Now look at Genesis 1, verse 2: Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep… So in the beginning there was darkness. The earth was formless and empty. And that is an excellent description of life without God. When we’re disconnected from God, our lives are formless and empty. We try to construct some kind of meaning, because nobody wants to think life is random and meaningless. But if we’re not in relationship with the One who created us, life is ultimately formless and empty. That was the condition of the universe before God stepped in, and that’s the condition of a human life before God steps in.
But then, verse 3: And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God’s first move in bringing order out of chaos was to introduce light. And from that starting point, God took what was formless and empty, and he brought beauty and harmony and purpose. That was the original creation. And now John, in his Gospel of new creation, is going to show how God brings beauty and harmony and purpose to people. And just like at the very beginning, it always starts with light.
As our culture becomes more secular, very predictably, people are struggling to find meaning. Life seems formless and empty. Maybe you have felt some of that. And that’s why we need today’s Scripture. Let’s look at it together—John 8, verse 12 through verse 35. Let’s hear God’s Word…
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. This is the Word of the Lord.
Let’s talk first about The Light of Jesus. In this scene, Jesus is still in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles, so the city is filled with people. And Jesus says to the crowd, “I am the light of the world.” This isn’t the first time in John that mentions light. Back in John 1:4 it says 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. In chapter three, it says This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. So John has already referred to Jesus as the light. But this is the first time Jesus himself claims to be “the light of the world.” And as he continues teaching, he points out some of the benefits that light brings.
First, Light brings direction. In verse 12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” When you choose to follow Jesus, you gain a sense of clarity and direction. You no longer have to think up some purpose for your life; you get to discover the purpose that God has for you, as you follow in the footsteps of Jesus. So light brings direction.
And this becomes so clear when you consider the context. They’re at the feast of Tabernacles, which was all about celebrating how God had sustained his people through the wilderness for 40 years as they traveled toward the Promised Land, living in tents. So every fall, faithful Jewish people would come to Jerusalem and live in little tents or huts for a week. And during that time there were some special ceremonies. Two weeks ago we talked about the water-pouring ceremony, where the priest would take a golden pitcher of water and pour it over the altar, symbolizing God satisfying the thirst of his people. And Jesus stood up at that moment, and said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” He was claiming to be the fulfillment of the water-pouring ceremony. He’s the one who satisfies our deepest thirst.
But there was another ceremony, called the lamp-lighting ceremony. In the courtyard of the temple they set up four huge, golden lampstands; each lampstand had four big, golden bowls mounted to it. So, four lampstands, four bowls each, total of 16 bowls. Each bowl was filled with oil, with a wick in each one. And every night during the festival, there was a ceremony with singing and dancing, where a priest would climb a ladder and light all 16 wicks, which gave a tremendous amount of light to the whole temple area.
Why did they do that? Well, remember the purpose of this holiday: to thank God for guiding his people through the wilderness. Do you remember how God guided them? With a pillar of cloud by day, which became a pillar of fire by night. So every night during this feast, they would light up the night sky with these huge lamps to remember how they were guided by the pillar of fire.
Why do I bring this up? Look at verse 20: He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. The part of the temple where the offerings were put was called the Court of Women. And historical records tell us that the lamp lighting ceremony also took place in the Court of Women. Which means, when Jesus said I am the light of the world, guess where he was standing? Right by those huge lamp stands, blazing behind him. And the message could not be more clear: you are commemorating how guided his people with the pillar of fire—with light from heaven. And now the ultimate light has come. Isn’t that awesome?
So just like Jesus fulfilled the water-pouring ceremony when he said, “Come to me and drink,” he fulfilled the lamp lighting ceremony when he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
I remember what it was like to walk in darkness—trying to make life work without God. No matter what I did, the main piece was missing. When I finally put Jesus at the center, it was like the lights came on. Decisions became easier; I knew what things to say “No” to. My path was lit up like it hadn’t been before. C.S. Lewis said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.” If you’ve been walking around in the dark, you need the Light of the World. Light brings direction.
But also, Light brings truth. In verses 31 and 32, Jesus says 321a “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Which means, contrary to popular opinion, there is such a thing as truth. I don’t know if that sounds threatening to you; it should sound incredibly reassuring and grounding. There is such a thing as truth!
Last Thursday, the results of a major study were published in the journal called Science. They were studying the AI chatbots that people often look to for advice. So in case you weren’t aware, it’s become extremely common to go on ChatGPT, or MetaAI, or Google Gemini, and ask it personal questions about relationships or ethical issues. Like, “I just had this argument with my neighbor; am I wrong to feel this way?” And people feel like they’re getting objective advice on their problems. So they did a major analysis of the kind of advice given. You know what they found? The vast majority of the time, chatbots are highly sycophantic. Which means they suck up to you and take your side. They tell you what you want to hear. Even in situations where you’re clearly in the wrong, they’ll usually you you’re right. Why would they do that? Because they know that people are more likely to keep using something that affirms them, rather than challenging them. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. Did you ever imagine the teachers people would gather around them would be AI chatbots? But it’s happening.
And one of the reasons that so many younger people are turning to Jesus today is because they’re tired of a culture that just tells them to follow their heart and come up with their own truth. And in Jesus they see an alternative to that. They see someone who has the courage to challenge them, and speak truth to them. The human heart longs for truth, and light brings truth.
And then, third, Light brings freedom. So Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Look at verse 33: 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” It is crazy that they would say that. Because the story of the Hebrew people is a story of being slaves: of the Assyrians, and then the Babylonians, and then the Persians, and then the Greeks, and currently—at the time of this event—the Romans. They’d been slaves almost constantly! So that statement shows a massive lack of self-knowledge.
But then Jesus comes at it from a different angle, like he often did—verse 34: 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. So forget about all the national slavery your people have experienced. Let’s get on the personal level. Everyone who sins—everyone who feels the pull of pride and lust and greed and anger—in other words, every single person—is actually a slave to sin. You might think you’ve got the upper hand, but then it just sneaks up on you again. You’re a slave to it. It’s too strong for you. And then he says 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Jesus came to set people free from the slave master called “sin.” Because when you give your life to him, and you follow him, you now have access to a power that’s stronger than the power of sin. So you can experience true freedom.
See, people assume freedom means you have no constraints; no restrictions; nobody telling you what to do. And Jesus says, “That’s not freedom. You think that’s freedom, but it’s actually slavery, because sin is ruling you and you don’t even know it.” Freedom, ironically, means giving up rights to your life and putting yourself under the lordship of a new master, named Jesus. Only then are you free to become the person God made you to be. If the Son sets you free, you’ll be free indeed.
Light brings direction, light brings truth, and light brings freedom. And Jesus says, “There’s only one way to experience that kind of life: come to me and follow me.”
And of course everyone immediately believed what he said. Right? Of course not! Verse 13: The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” In other words, “Anyone can make big claims. But we’re not buying it.” So a lot of this passage is Jesus establishing his credentials for saying the things he says.
So let’s talk about that: The Credentials of Jesus. This is why they should believe him, and why we should. Two big reasons.
First, His origin. Almost 59 years ago, in Staten Island Hospital, Dave Gustavsen came into existence. Before that date—May 16, 1967, I did not exist. Well, technically nine months before that, when I was conceived in my mother’s womb. Which means: I am from this world. I know that’s shocking. I am an earthling. And every other religious leader, every guru, every philosopher who’s ever lived is an earthling. They originated right here on planet earth.
Except for one. Verse 14: Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. In other words, “I’m not from here. I’m not some guy who experienced spiritual enlightenment. I come from a different place.” He circles back to that in verse 23: "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
Merril Tenney, the Bible scholar, said: “Jesus never speculated about a future life; he spoke as one who is as familiar with eternity as one is with his hometown.” Jesus’ hometown was not Nazareth. It wasn’t Bethlehem. Bethlehem is where he took on his human body, and he grew up in Nazareth, but his hometown was heaven. So when he speaks about heaven; when he speaks about God and truth and reality…he speaks with an authority that no one else has.
But believe it or not, there’s an even more powerful reason we should listen to Jesus: His identity. Let’s go back to that moment when God provided the pillar of cloud and fire to guide his people—there’s something I want you to see. Exodus 13:21—By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Look carefully: does it say God sent the pillar of cloud and fire? Not exactly. What does it say? “The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud and fire.” So the pillar they followed wasn’t something sent by God; it was God! It was the visible manifestation of God’s presence. God himself was leading his people! Which means, if Jesus is the fulfillment of that—if he’s the true light that guides his people—then Jesus is God.
Is he really claiming that? Some people say, “No—Jesus never claimed to be God. That’s a myth the church created.” But look at this. Not only is he the fulfillment of the pillar of fire; look at verse 24: I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” That phrase “I am he” is the best attempt of our English translators to translate a Greek phrase. And the Greek phrase is actually two words: “I am.” So in the Greek, this literally reads: “if you do not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins.”
Why is that important? Because when God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush, he told Moses to go and set his people free, and Moses says, “What if they ask who sent me? Who should I say sent me?” And God says, “Tell them I am sent you.” My name is “I am.” I am self-existent. There’s never been a time when I didn’t exist. I am the uncreated Creator. The Hebrew is YHWH. My name is I am. And now Jesus uses that same phrase for himself. If you don’t think the religious leaders caught that, look at this: Verse 56: 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” And if you still doubt that Jesus was claiming to be God, look at the next verse: 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. In the mind of that crowd, Jesus was a mere man claiming equality with God—claiming to be YHWH—and that was blasphemous. It was worthy of stoning. And somehow Jesus slips away.
Jesus realized that people would struggle to believe this. So he points them to a future event that will confirm what he’s claiming about himself. Look at verse 28: 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he… That phrase “I am he” is that same Greek phrase again, “I am.” Then you will know that I am. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man.” Every time in the Gospels when Jesus talks about being “lifted up,” he’s talking about his crucifixion. Being lifted up on a cross. So Jesus is pointing ahead to his death and resurrection. He’s saying, “When you see that, then you’ll see. Then you’ll know that I Am.”
Like the Roman soldier who watched the way Jesus died, and he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”
Or like the skeptical disciple Thomas. When he saw the risen Christ, with holes in his hands, he fell on his knees and said, “My Lord and my God.”
Because the death and resurrection of Christ are the ultimate proof that he is who he says he is. Anybody can make big claims about why you should believe them. But only Jesus has the credentials to back up what he says.
Brian Welch, nicknamed “Head,” was the cofounder and lead guitarist of the metal band Korn. He was internationally famous and wealthy. He won Grammy awards. But life was not good. He struggled with severe meth addiction, alcoholism, broken relationships, and depression. He said he felt empty, numb, and spiritually dead. At his lowest point in the early 2000s, he described himself as a “shell walking around.” He dealt with suicidal thoughts; he tried to quit drugs but never could, even with several rehab attempts. And through all that, he had a young daughter he was trying to take care of. In 2005, someone invited him to church. He says he cried out to Jesus in desperation, to take away his addiction and give his life some kind of meaning. In his case, the change was dramatic. The next day, he threw away his drugs and made the shocking decision to quit Korn—his band—at the height of their success so he could pursue sobriety and faith and fatherhood. He said Jesus gave him a reason to live and to be present as a father.
Two decades later, he’s still sober. He speaks publicly about faith and purpose. He wrote a book called Save me From Myself. And he’s rebuilt his relationship with his daughter. He often says his life is not perfect, but it’s anchored. In other words, he went from dark and formless and empty to direction and truth and freedom, because he found the Light. I love that story, don’t you?
Jesus stood up at the feast, with those huge torches blazing behind him, and he said, “I am the light of the world. I’m the pillar of fire you need to guide you. I’m the truth that sets you free. Trust in me. Follow me.. And you will never walk in darkness.”