January, 1937
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 17 INTERNATIONAL LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson BY B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , Dean, Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
FEBRUARY 7, 1937 JESUS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD J o h n 7 :1 to 9 :4 1
which was His (v. 4). He then declared: “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (v. 5). The Lord Jesus Christ is no longer in the world, but He has left His church in the world. To that church He said: “Ye are the light of the world,” and the members of that body are expected to “ shine as lights in the world” (cf. Matt. 5:14; Phil. 2:15, 16). The method of bestowing light upon the individual was simple, sudden, and satis- fying. Placing clay upon the man’s eyes, the Lord told him to wash in the pool of Siloam (vs. 6, 7). The man obeyed, and “came seeing.” There was no healing effi cacy in the clay, nor in the water, but there was healing efficacy in the simple obedience to the Lord’s word. We should remember that while the Lord is “the same yesterday,' and today, and for ever” in His being, He has and uses different methods and dif ferent means. At one time He speaks and the work is done (cf. Mk. 10:52); at an other. time He anoints the eyes and com-' mands the individual to wash, and then the work is done. Because of their great astonishment, the neighbors questioned that the man was the same individual that they had known (v. 8). The man himself knew and de clared that “a man that is called Jesus” had given him sight (v. 11). Later he came into a fuller understanding of Christ’s person (v. 38). The Light of the world had come to the man. Even so does the Light come to every man who hears and obeys God’s will, and such a one, like this healed blind man, will return “ seeing.” Points and Problems 1. “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). The immediate occasion for this claim by our Lord is to be found in the incident which precedes it, namely, that of the woman taken in adultery (vs. 1-11). So blazing was the “ light” of His omnis cience and holiness that the woman’s ac cusers, probably guilty as she was, slipped away in utter silence. Because of the omis sion of this story in certain ancient ver sions and manuscripts, some textual critics have denied the genuineness of the account. But they are wrong, I think, for the inci dent accounts perfectly for the claim made by our Lord in verse 12, and for the bitter attack of the Pharisees that follows through out the chapter. 2. The Old Testament background of our Lord’s claim is found in Isaiah 60:1-3. Beholding in prophetic vision the coming of Messiah, Isaiah cried to Israel: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come.” Nor was the Messianic light to be confined to the chosen nation, but “the Gentiles shall come to thy light.” When our Lord declared that He was “the light of the world,” He only asserted that which was written in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah.
Lesson Text: John 8:12, 31, 32; 9:1-11. Golden Text: “ I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Outline and Exposition I. T h e D e c l a r a t io n by J esus (8 :1 2 ) L ight is one of the great words in the Book of John. The Gospel of John sets forth the deity of Jesus, and we are told elsewhere in the Word that “ God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). In John 8, Jesus is seen tak ing the Old Testament name of God, “ I AM ” (v. 58; cf. Ex. 3:14), and claiming to be “ the light of the world” (v. 12). Thus it is clear that Jesus deliberately claimed equality with God, who is Light. Without Jesus Christ, this world would be in impenetrable spiritual darkness, a darkness existing because man turned his back upon God, the Light. The world of unbelief is even now in darkness and is stumbling (cf. Prov. 4:19) because it has rejected and crucified Him who is the Light of the world. The nations preparing for war, individuals tensely anxious con cerning tomorrow, and even the professing church seeking greatness in this world, all proclaim that the world needs light. And darkness cannot be removed apart from Jesus, the Light of the world. Jesus promises to all who follow Him that they “ shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Christ’s true followers will be able, like the Apostle Paul, to touch lives with the gospel that opens eyes and turns men “ from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18). II. T h e P rom ise fro m J esus (8:31, 32) When He proclaimed Himself as the Light of the world, the Lord met with de termined opposition. With patience and clearness Jesus answered the Jews’ ques tions one by one, gradually drawing nearer and nearer to the great truth of His essen tial deity. He stated a test of true disciple- ship: “ If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed” (v. 31). Be cause Jesus is the Light, His Word is light and provides deliverance from all dark ness. True discipleship is bound up with the Word of Jesus. No one can be a true [These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted, 1934-, by the International Coun cil of Religious Education and used by permission .—E ditor .]
disciple and treat Christ’s Word with care lessness or indifference, much less with un belief. The pitiful ignorance and evident lack of power which mark the great pro fessing church today are traceable to deser tion of the Word of Jesus. T o all men who continue in His Word, the Lord promises knowledge of the truth and that the truth will make them free. He gives liberty from the blindness of tradi tion which obscures the clear shining of the light which flows from the truth; He gives freedom from the fear and dread of the unknown, enabling the believer to look with calmness upon any providential action of God, and He gives the believer victory over the Adamic nature. This threefold freedom is much needed today. It still re mains true, however, that whenever Chris tians continue in the Word of the Lord, they come to the knowledge of the truth, and in that knowledge the shackles forged by “the world, the flesh, and the devil” are struck off and the soul finds true liberty. III. B e st o w in g L ig h t (9 :1 -1 1 ) In the account of the man born blind we have an illustration of the universal need for light, and we find an example of how that light may be obtained (vs. 1-5). The man whom Jesus sent to the pool of Siloam had been born blind; the optic nerve had never functioned. No blame could be at tached to him nor to his parents, for his affliction was not caused by any specific sin on his part nor on theirs. Yet, like all deformity, physical, mental, and moral, his trouble had its source in the sin of the race, sin of which every member of the race partakes. But this particular incident and case had been permitted “that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (v. 3). The special work to which reference is made was that of bringing light into the darkness. In the words, *‘I must work,” Jesus recognized His responsi bility; in the words, “him that sent me,” He recognized the authority under which He labored, and in the statement, “ while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work,” He recognized the opportunity BLACKBOARD LESSON
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