The one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.

John 8:1-20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them. ³ Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. ⁵ Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” ⁶ Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. ⁷ When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. ¹⁰ And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.”

¹² Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I am testifying about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. ¹⁶ But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷ Even in your Law it has been written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” ¹⁹ So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” ²⁰ These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple area; and no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.

When asked about the signs of His return at the end of the age, in Matthew 24:4-5 Jesus says: “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people.”  In today’s text it says: Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones…   

One of the greatest deceptions in this age is that people are misled by those who say that if Jesus were here today, He would be different than the Jesus of the Bible, that He would accept and embrace the immorality of our culture. While Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery, neither did He accept or embrace her sin. The text continues: and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.”  In Luke 5:32 Jesus says: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” We are misled, or mislead others if we believe and say that Jesus would embrace the very things He went to the cross to redeem us from. He calls sinners to repent and not sin any longer. Jesus did not redeem sin to make it acceptable to God. He redeems sinners so that by His righteousness we are acceptable to God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

In the text, Jesus says: “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  1 John 1:5-10 says: God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.  On the cross, in Luke 23:34 Jesus said: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” So, there is grace when we sin unwillingly or unwittingly. Perhaps even worse than saying we have no sin, is to call evil good and darkness light. That too is a deception that is prevalent in our society and culture today. In Isaiah 5:20 God says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Again, Jesus says: “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”   In Matthew 5:14-16 He says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your grace and forgiveness. Precious Holy Spirit thank You for the conviction of sin, that I can see the light of life. By Your indwelling power, may I walk in the light so that others too may see and glorify You.  Amen.