Paul Wooderson

Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. HE WHO FOLLOWS ME WILL NOT WALK IN THE DARKNESS BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.

(John 8:12)

The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths, was celebrated to remember the fire that guided the Israelites after they escaped Egyptian captivity and were in the wilderness.  At the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a ceremony called The Illumination of the Temple. When the dark came the large lampstands were lit up in the temple area. It is said that the light from the large lampstands was so bright that it lit up every courtyard in Jerusalem. In this setting, Jesus once again takes the opportunity to say: I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.  

In response to this phrase, William Barclay says Jesus was saying, “You have seen the blaze of the Temple illuminations piercing the darkness of the night. The light in the Temple is a brilliant light, but in the end, it flickers and dies. I am to men the Light which will last forever and forever.”  

The phrase, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, also highlights what is said in Psalm 27:1. “Yahweh (the Lord) is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?”

WALKING IN THE DARKNESS. The Apostle Paul says, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 6:23). At times, even we who profess to be Christians are guilty of walking in the darkness. It is the symbol of sin and sin is rebellion against God. King David was known as a man after God’s own heart, but he was guilty of sexual sin with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. David tried to keep his sin a secret but to accomplish that David ordered Joab to make sure Uriah was killed in battle (2 Samuel 11). It wasn’t until Nathan confronted King David about his sin that he repented (Read 2 Samuel 12:13). One sin leads to another. “A true believer may backslide and fall into a terrible sin that warrants physical death” (Merrill F. Unger).

Jesus says HE WHO FOLLOWS ME WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God

(John 3:21).

LIGHT IS A SYMBOL OF PURITY AND HOLINESS.

It has been said,

THE BELIEVER WHO FULFILLS THE CONDITIONS OF BEING GUIDED

BY HIS (Jesus’) LIGHT REFLECTS HIS CHARACTER

-All Scripture passages are based on the World English Bible (WEB)-

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Therefore, Jesus said again:

“I tell you the truth, I am the gate (door) for the sheep.”

(John 10:7, NIV)

The door, in this case, is an implicit comparison of a word that primarily is used for one thing and applied to another (a metaphor). It could be an indirect reference to Psalm 118:20 which says, “This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous can enter. In the Gospels, many times this psalm is quoted as a messianic message. The “gate” is symbolic of “Christ.” The Apostle Paul says, For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:18, NIV) … Therefore, brothers, since we have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body (Hebrews 10:19-20, NIV).

The only way we can have entrance to God is through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The “sheep” are His people. We who have professed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Through Him, Jesus Christ gives us what is most important. That is a life more abundant than what the world offers.

Christ came so that we may have eternal life, both now and in the world to come. Once we receive eternal life, if we are obedient to God life can become even more wonderful. In Christ, we enjoy the peace and joy which passes all human understanding. A peace and joy that the world cannot take away. The Bible says all of this is summed up in that triumphant shout of the Apostle Paul, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 15: 57).

William Barclay said, once a man discovers through Jesus Christ, what God is like, a new sense of safety and security enters life. If life is in the hands of a God like that, the worries and the fears are gone.

I am an example of what William Barclay said. In 2011, something incredible happened to me that proves God is all-powerful. I was standing in a parking lot off the square in Independence, Missouri. When I looked up into the sky, I had a vision. I felt like a warm white light came down from heaven that shined on and around me. Suddenly, I knew I was standing in the direct presence of God. A peace that was even greater than I had ever experienced filled my soul. I became more aware of God’s love for me. The experience was so overwhelming that tears of joy flowed down my face uncontrollably. There was something even greater that happened!  God made a radical change in the kind of man I was. On the inside, that part of me that makes me alive, I became a different man. Many fears that I had before were gone. It has been more than twelve years since I had that vision. Yet today, that experience continues to be a real part of my life.

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John 10:11

                                                     THE HIRED HAND (The Hireling)

In Palestine, the shepherd had the responsibility to protect the sheep. If any of the sheep were injured or killed, the shepherd had to prove it was not his fault. Evidence “would be a couple of leg bones or part of an ear from the jaws of a wild animal” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary).  

A hired hand was paid to take care of the sheep. When the sheep were not in danger, he had no problem taking care of the sheep. But when danger came, he was more likely to be concerned about himself than the sheep.  The Apostle John says when he sees the wolf coming …  he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he’s a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:12-13, NIV) John MacArthur gives the text a spiritual application. He says, “The hireling (or hired hand) represents religious leaders who perform their duty in good times, but who never display sacrificial care for the sheep in times of danger.”

Dr. W. M. Thomson in The Land and the Bookwrites: “I have listened with intense interest to … descriptions of (faithful shepherds in) downright and desperate fights with … savage beasts … to defend (their) flock …  The true shepherd never (hesitates) to risk, and even to lay down, his life for his sheep.”

Jesus says I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP. (John 10:11, NIV) We are “the sheep.” The Apostle Paul says God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness (that we might become in Christ all that we could never be in ourselves, that which is required) of God.              (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV) Jesus loves us so much that I think it is beyond human comprehension. Jesus reminds us that Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  (John 15:13, NIV)

                                     WE, WHO PROFESS JESUS AS SAVIOR AND LORD,

 ARE TO BE IMITATORS OF THE TRUE SHEPHERD

We are to love each other as Jesus loves us. John says This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16) We who are born-again are called to the same kind of sacrificial giving toward one another.  

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Jesus said to Mary,

I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

(John 11:25-26, NIV)

The sisters Martha and Mary had sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was sick. They wanted Jesus to come immediately and heal their brother. The Bible says when Jesus arrived at the home of Martha and Mary Lazarus had already been dead for four days. Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, NIV). To comfort her Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23, NIV).  Martha did not have a full understanding of what Jesus meant. The Bible says, Jesus went to Lazarus’s tomb and called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out”!” The dead man came out … (John 11:43-44, NIV).    

Sooner or later every one of us will die physically. But there is good news! JESUS IS THE AUTHOR OF THE RESURRECTION. HE ALONE CAN RAISE THOSE WHO ARE PHYSICALLY DEAD.

What did Jesus mean when He said to Martha, He who believes in me will live, even though he dies? He was thinking about the death of sin. Even in the world that we live in today, the reign of the Messiah has already begun. Jesus asked Martha, Do you believe this (John 11:26b, NIV)? And you, do you believe it?

The Apostle Paul says, … As for you, you were dead in your …  sins, which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world … because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, (makes us alive spiritually) … (Read Ephesians 2:1 & 4, NIV).

William Barclay tells us the story of a man whose name was Tokichi. He was a murderer of men, women, and children. Anyone who stood in his way was pitilessly eliminated. He was in prison awaiting death. When some women tried to talk to him through the bars. He only stared at them, like he was a caged and savage animal. Finally, they gave up their attempt to speak to him; but they gave him a Bible. He began to read it, and having started, Tokichi could not stop. He came to the words Jesus said on the Cross: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.Those words broke him. “I stopped,” he said. “I was stabbed to the heart as if I had been pierced by a five-inch nail. Shall I call it the love of Christ? Shall I call it His compassion? I do not know what to call it. I only know that I believed, and my hardness of heart was changed.” Later, when the jailer came to lead the doomed man to the scaffold, the jailer found a smiling radiant man. The murderer had been born again. Literally, Christ brought Tokichi to life.

THE CHANGE IN HIS LIFE OF TOKICHI IS A REMINDER THAT EVEN

THE HARDENED HEART OF A MAN CAN BE CHANGED BY THE LOVE OF GOD.

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Jesus said I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Many years ago, I decided to take a shortcut to drive from Tennessee to Iowa. The shortcut I took was through the bootheel of Missouri. Little did I know that I would regret it. Multiple times I drove in and out of the same two counties. I wished somebody could have been with me to show me the way.    

William Barclay says the Jews talked much about how men must walk and the ways of God. To Moses God said Walk in all the way that the Lord your God commanded you …(Deuteronomy 5:33). The Psalmist said Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path … (Psalm 27:11)

Jesus says I AM THE WAY.

“He does not (solely) point the way; he is also the way.” (The Interpreter’s Bible). The disciples were amazed at his words. … Jesus (told them) … how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:24! In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says, Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction … (Matthew 7:13-14). The wide gate includes all religions of works and self-righteousness, with no single way (cf. Acts 4:12); but it leads to hell, not heaven. Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to (Luke 13:24, NIV). The Apostle Paul says, … by grace (unmerited favor) you have been saved, through faith – not by works … (Ephesians 2:8-9).  

Jesus said I AM THE TRUTH.

The Interpreter’s Bible saysJesus’ words I AM THE TRUTH are“The divine reality, the goal of all thought and effort.” The psalmist says Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth … (Psalm 86:11) Jesus not only gives us direction but He walks with us and guides us. Jesus is the revealer of the Father. Moral perfection finds its realization in Him.

Jesus said I AM THE LIFE.

Jesus is the life, “the real and living way” (Moffatt). Eternal life “means literally “life of the age to come” and refers, therefore, to resurrection and heavenly existence in perfect glory and holiness. This life for believers in the Lord Jesus is experienced before heaven is reached. This “eternal life” is, in essence, nothing less than participation in the eternal life of the Living Word, Jesus Christ. It is the life of God in every believer, yet not fully manifest until the resurrection. (Read Philippians 3: 20-21)

                                                                                                                                      -John MacArthur-

WITHOUT THE WAY THERE IS NO GOING. 

WITHOUT THE TRUTH THERE IS NO KNOWING.

WITHOUT THE LIFE THERE IS NO LIVING.

-Thomas Kempis-

-All Scriptures passages are taken from the New International Version (NIV)-

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Jesus said I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

 (John 15:1).

 In the fifteenth chapter of John there are four key words that can help us have a

better understanding of the Christian life.

 1. The VINE in the Old Testament was a symbol for Israel. Isaiah said, The vineyard of the Lord

    Almighty is the House of Israel … (Isaiah 5:7). Jesus is presented “as the true Israel, the

    genuine vine, the man of God’s right hand” (F. F. Bruce).  In the Gospel of John Jesus says, I

    am the true vine.

2. The BRANCHES are a symbol for Christ’ followers. Those who believe in Him. They

    are His disciples.

3. The VINEDRESSER is a symbol of the Father. He watches over the vine with loving care. The

    Father makes the vine as fruitful as it can be. If a branch did not bear fruit, it was useless and

    thrown away.  

4. The FRUIT is a symbol of the invisible power of the Holy Spirit. This power abides in

    those who are genuine Christians.  In Jesus Christ (the vine or tree) we find the source of eternal life.

   The Apostle John said For God so loved the world (that is you and me) that he gave his one and only

   Son, that whoever believes (trust and put their confidence) in him shall not perish (shall not die

   spiritually) but have eternal life) John 3:16.

At times I have wondered how many, who profess to be Christians, remember how excited they were

when they first met the Lord? I was so excited that I hardly could wait to tell others about my

 conversion experience. But, in time, I like many professing Christians lost some of that excitement.

John MacArthur said something that is so true. “The ultimate test of Christianity is endurance … The

proof of real faith is devotion to Christ even when unfavorable circumstances surround us.  

A branch cannot bear fruit if it is not attached to a vine (tree). Jesus, the vine, said, … apart from me

you can do nothing (John 15:5). If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, which

is the invisible power ofthe Holy Spirit(John 15:5).  

T. W. Manson said (living the Christian life is) a passionate devotion – a devotion to a living Lord and a

call to reproduce in their own lives the new divine life that is in (Jesus). Paul said, I can do all things in

him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

TRUE CHRISTIAN LIVING IS A DAILY PERSONAL LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD.

 -The Scripture passages are taken from the New International Version (NIV)-

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