Believe in the Light of the World

John 12:20-36

The Fruitful Grain of Wheat

20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

23 But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross

27 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."

30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

34 The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"

35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

Jesus is the Light of this world that is enveloped in the darkness of sin’s corruption and the adversary’s destruction.  Only through belief in Jesus as the Son of God who is the Light come into this world can anyone be saved out of the darkness of sin and be moved into His marvelous light (Acts 26:18, 1 Peter 2:9-10).  This belief is more than intellectual assent or an emotional response without the supernatural enlightenment by God Himself in the soul’s eyes and ears of spiritual perception and conviction of our foul state we arrive in this world with at birth (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23, 5:12, Ephesians 2:1, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).  Here we find some who are being drawn to see Jesus and He turns the conversation to the need to die to self to live and to believe in the Light of the world (John 1:4-5, 7-9, 8:12) by receiving Him as we believe into and not just in the Son of God come to us as Jesus the Christ of God.  We let the Light into our opened eyes when we understand and trust His word and work to save us out of the darkness of sin’s bondage that shackles us as slaves (John 8:34-36) to this present darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6, Galatians 1:4, Colossians 1:13).  Those who are being drawn to the light come to realize that they must die to live again (John 11:25, Galatians 2:20) just as a seed of grain has to die before a root can be set down into the lifegiving soil.  We see also how this means we cannot love our own lives more than the life He offers us in Christ.  Fruitfulness comes from serving our Lord and not ourselves as a result of this transformation of death to life (John 5:24) through real belief that receives Him and His word and work on our behalf to deliver us into the Light and eternal life.  This is honoring God by believing His Word we have heard and His Light shone into us.  Jesus then spoke of the coming self-sacrifice which would make this possible.  He was troubled by the suffering for our sin and yet was purposed to finish the work to save His people from this present darkness.  Jesus spoke out loud that the Father glorify His name in what He faced on the cross set before Him (Hebrews 12:2) and was answered from heaven with a thunderous response of divine words.  The hearers imagined it was an angel answering Jesus because they could not understand the source nor to whom it was directed.  Jesus told them what they heard was for their sakes because He always hears His Father’s voice, unlike them.  This message of God glorifying His name through His Son standing on earth before them was loudly proclaiming the judgment on the world of sin as well as the calling of His people to Him through Jesus’s death set soon before Him.  He predicted His crucifixion with the intent and certain hope of their resulting salvation.  They still did not understand what they had read in Psalm 89:36-37 that the Messiah (Christ) remains forever so how could He be the Christ and be lifted up as from death to that eternal existence.  They did not understand how the Son of Man could be the eternal Son of God and die to live again, not grasping the sacrifice of God’s Son for them to undo the curse from Adam (Genesis 3:15, Galatians 3:13) as planned from the beginning of creation (Romans 16:25).  Jesus then told them and us to believe in Him as the Light of the world bringing life and hope in everlasting deliverance.  They were to live in the Light while He walked among them to escape the darkness of sin’s power over them that they might believe and receive Him to be made into children of the light, sons and daughters of God.  He then left them and they could not see where He was.  We also come to Him as our light of salvation even though we cannot see Him with physical eyes now, but we trust in His illuminating grace that worked deliv from darkness for we who believe and trust in Him.  Do you truly believe in the Light of the world?