“I
Am the Light of the World”
Lesson 15 – John 7
Imagine
that we have made the room as dark as possible by turning off the lights and
closing any curtains or blinds. Now, in the darkened room, read Doctrine and
Covenants 93:1-2. Is it difficult to read these verses in the dark? Certainly.
More light would obviously make it much easier, so imagine that we turn on the
lights and open the curtains or blinds. Now read Doctrine and Covenants 93:1-2.
Light is used throughout the scriptures as a symbol for Jesus Christ. Jesus
himself used this symbol while teaching in the temple. This lesson will discuss
the ways in which Jesus Christ is a light for us. Today’s lesson also teaches that Jesus Christ is our Savior and
that by following him we can gain true freedom.
Jesus attended the Feast of Tabernacles and taught in
the temple.
The
Feast of Tabernacles was an annual Jewish feast held six months after the Feast
of the Passover. It lasted eight days and commemorated the Lord’s blessings to
the children of Israel during their travels in the wilderness. It also
celebrated the year’s harvest and marked the end of the harvest season. The
Jews considered this feast the greatest and most joyful of all their feasts. (See Bible
Dictionary, “Feasts,” 673; see also Lev. 23:34-43.)
John
7:1-10
Jesus traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem to attend this feast at the temple.
John
7:12 The
people at the feast murmured about Jesus as they waited for him to arrive—some
saying he was a good man, others calling him a liar.
John
7:14-15
People were amazed when Jesus began to teach because they did not think he was
educated.
John
7:16 Jesus
told the people in the temple that his teachings were not his, but “his that
sent me”.
John
7:17 He
instructed the people to gain a testimony of his teachings by doing them.
Elder
John K. Carmack of the Seventy said:
“Jesus explained, ‘If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself’ (John 7:17). In other
words, as you try it you can know it is true. This requires the faith to try,
but it yields spiritual evidence. To the disciple who tries the experiment will
come conviction, knowledge, and light” (Ensign, Nov. 1988, 26).
Think about how your testimony of a gospel principle was strengthened as you lived it. The opposite of the promise in John 7:17 is also true: if we do not live the principles of the gospel, our testimonies will weaken.
As
Jesus taught, the people continued to be divided in their opinion of him.
John
7:31, 37-41
Some of the reasons people believed he was the Christ included his power to
work miracles and their belief that he spoke as a prophet.
John
7:27, 41-42, 52 One of the reasons people did not believe he was the Christ was a
question about his connection to Galilee.
John
7:28-29; 8:14, 19, 23-29 In one sense the people knew where Jesus was from because
they knew his family and his hometown. But in another sense they did not know
where he was from because they did not understand that Heavenly Father sent him.
In
one of the ceremonies conducted during the Feast of Tabernacles, a priest put
water from the pool of Siloam on the altar. This offering was made to request
rain and the success of the next year’s crops. As Jesus taught in the temple on
the last day of the feast, he invited the people to partake of ‘living water”
(John 7:37-38).
John
4:5-15
records another setting in which Jesus mentioned living water—as he conversed
with the Samarian woman at the well. “Living water” is a fountain of life
enjoyed by becoming a true disciple and making the teachings of Christ an
integral part of our lives.
A woman taken in adultery was brought to Jesus.
John
8:4-6 The
scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to Jesus. They wanted to trap
Jesus into condemning the woman to death or contradicting the law of Moses.
John
8:7 Jesus’
counsel to the scribes and Pharisees questioned their right to judge anyone
else.
John
8:9 tells
us why they didn’t stone the woman.
John
8:10-11
While Jesus did not approve of the woman’s sin, he did not condemn her for
it. Think about what we learn from the
Savior’s example about how we should respond to people who have sinned
seriously as you consider these words from an apostle:
Elder
Marvin J. Ashton explained: “The
scribes and Pharisees brought before the Savior a woman taken in adultery.
Their purpose was not to show love for either the woman or the Savior, but to
embarrass and trick Jesus. … Jesus did not condone adultery; there is no doubt
about His attitude toward proper moral conduct. [But] He chose to teach with
love—to show the scribes and Pharisees the need of serving the individual for
her best good and to show the destructive forces of trickery and embarrassment” (Ensign,
May 1981, 24).
Jesus declared, “I am the light of the world.”
During
the Feast of Tabernacles, the temple in Jerusalem was illuminated by the flames
from four enormous candelabra. These flames could be seen throughout the city. (See Bible
Dictionary, “Feasts,” 673.) This provided an appropriate setting for Jesus to announce,
“I am the light of the world” (See John 8:12).
John
8:12; Alma 38:9; 3 Nephi 15:9; and D&C 88:6-13 help us understand what it
means when Jesus says he is the light of the world.
Matt.
5:14; 3 Nephi 18:24 teach that as people strive to be like Jesus, they too
become the light of the world, reflecting his light.
Matt.
5:16; Matt. 28:18-20; Philippians 2:14-15 show us how we can help others see the light that
Christ offers.
John
8:29 Jesus
told the people in the temple that he always did the things that pleased his
Father.
How can we become more committed to doing things that please Heavenly Father?
John
8:30 As
Jesus testified of his Father in Heaven, “many believed on him”.
John
8:31-32
Jesus promised these people that if they would continue to follow him they
could be free.
John
8:33-34 He
taught that the truth frees us from the consequences of sin.
Alma
12:11; Alma 34:35 teach that committing sin places us in bondage to Satan.
John
14:6 Jesus
later called himself “the truth”. This affects our understanding of the promise
in John 8:32 as we realize that knowing the Savior makes us free.
John
8:39-40
Jesus told the unbelieving Jews that they were not children of Abraham because
even though they were literal descendants of Abraham, they did not do righteous
works as Abraham did.
John
8:41-44 Jesus
told them they were not children of God because he said that they did the works
of Satan—and they were therefore the children of the devil. Obviously, we need to demonstrate by our
actions that we are Heavenly Father’s children.
John
8:51-53, 56-57 teaches that the Jews were upset by the Lord’s comments about Abraham.
They did not realize that Jesus was referring to his ability to overcome
spiritual death [verse 51] and to his premortal life [verses 56-57].
John
8:58
Jesus’ statement, “Before Abraham was, I am” helps us understand that he was a
God before coming to earth. (See footnote 58b; see also Exodus 3:13-14.
Jesus is Jehovah, the Great “I Am,” the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.) It
important to know that Jesus was Jehovah before his mortal life to recognize
his mission as lawgiver and Savior for this earth.
Jesus
Christ is our Savior and only he can free us from the bondage of sin. We must
remember to follow Christ, “the light of the world,” so he may guide us to
spiritual safety.
These lessons are posted on the Internet at http://www.neumanninstitute.org