JOH 12:44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.
45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.
46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."

The words we have before us are the very words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In fact, these words of Jesus are the last words He will speak publicly to the crowds of Jews in Jerusalem as it relates to His teachings concerning Himself and His mission as Savior.

He will utter a few words to the Sanhedrin after He is arrested and He will utter a few words before Pilate, but the words we have before us this morning are the concluding words of His public ministry.

And what is noteworthy is the way in which He delivers these words. The apostle John, who was there by the Lord’s side, gives us a sense of the manner in which Jesus offers up this final public statement.

This is our Lord’s last appeal to the Jews as He pleads with them to accept the truth before it’s too late. The Greek word for cry out can literally be translated to croak, as of the cry of a raven.

In other words, Jesus is very purposeful in His desire to get the attention of these people one last time. This is not normal conversation as He might have one on one. He is trying to raise the level of importance to a state of immanence as their eternal destinies are on the line. And now that He has their attention He speaks.

JOH 12:44 ..... "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.
45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.

What has Jesus been saying all along? He has been saying that He has been sent from the Father to do the Father’s will. He has been saying that He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, both designations explicitly pointing out that He is no less than God Himself.

LUK 4:41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

JOH 5:25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin they specifically asked if He was the Christ, the Son of God.

LUK 22:67 "If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me,
68 and if I asked you, you would not answer.
69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
70 They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am."

And now, in our text Jesus is reiterating that His message is the same. He is the Son of God sent from the Father to redeem them which is why He points out that to believe in Him is to believe in the One who sent Him.

In other words, both the Father and the Son are not only on the same page as it relates to the plan to redeem sinful men, but that only God Himself could accomplish that salvation which is why Jesus left His throne and the glory He shared with the Father. Jesus had to be God to be able to take the penalty of our sin.

If He were merely human the best He could do would be to pay for His own sin, which of course we know that no man can do because all mere men are sinners who are not capable of paying for their own sin. And yet Jesus can claim to be able to pay for the sins of the world, which John the Baptist acknowledged.

JOH 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The writer of Hebrews also points this out by comparing Jesus with the lamb of the sacrificial system given to Israel by God to make atonement for the sins of people as they placed their faith in the God who gave them that system.

HEB 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

And of course the apostle John in his first epistle makes this abundantly clear.

1JO 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus had to be God to be able to accomplish this wonderful salvation as He sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay for our sin in full.

But the beauty of this statement of Jesus in our text also shows how His love for us is such that He was willing to reveal God to us. It is one thing to theorize about God as to what kind of a God He is and what His desire for mankind is, but it is quite different to get a clear picture of who God is as God Himself shows us who He is.

This is what Jesus was doing. In Him coming into this earth our Lord was essentially saying, "I, as your creator, love you so much that I Myself am willing to come and show Myself to you as I reveal My will for you."

God is not obligated to reveal Himself to sinful men, other than the obligation He placed upon Himself in promising Adam and Eve that He would do such a thing after their rebellion as He vowed to send a Savior through the seed of the woman.

Jesus Christ owes us nothing, but promises everything, as only God can, which is why He equates Himself with the God of Israel, and the Jews would have recognized Jesus doing this very thing.

And so, when Jesus says in verse 45, "When [one] looks at me, he sees the one who sent me," He assures us that God was in their midst.

James Montgomery Boice in his commentary on John puts God revealing Himself to sinful men into perspective when he says, "If God does not intervene in history to speak of Himself (which is what we have in Scripture), and if He does not act to show Himself (which is what we have in Jesus Christ), then we have no knowledge of Him. We can hold conferences. We can say, "I think God must be a being who cares for us. But that is all inferential....

It may be right, but we do not know that it is right. On the other hand, when God intervenes to tell us about Himself in Scripture -- through men who, as Peter says, were "borne along by the Holy Spirit" -- then we have sure knowledge about God. That is why the Word is important. And when God intervenes in history in Jesus Christ to give us not just words but also to show us personality, then we know Him personally.....

What is God like? That answer is that God is like Jesus. That is the importance of the deity of Jesus Christ."

And so, when Jesus Christ speaks; that is when God speaks, we need to listen. And these Jews in our text need to listen as well. What does Jesus say?

JOH 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

We need to keep in mind that this kind of language addressed to Jews would not have been lost on them if they only had considered their own history. It’s not a coincidence that Jesus uses this contrast between light and dark and how the light is able to deliver them from darkness.

The first time Israel was introduced to this concept of light and darkness as it pertained to their ability to be delivered from bondage was when God brought them out of Egypt and enabled them to travel both during the night and daytime as He led them.

EXO 13:21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

This pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night is what is referred to as the Shekinah glory of God as He demonstrates to the people of Israel that He is in their midst.

And so, when Jesus says, that I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness, it is a direct reference to His ability as God, to not only reside in the midst of His people, but also His ability and power to deliver them from the darkness in such a way where they can follow their God to deliverance.

That’s what He did with Israel in the desert, and that’s what He does with people today as He delivers us from sin. But that deliverance only comes through following our God and Savior, Jesus Christ as we believe on Him alone for our salvation.

Not to believe on Christ puts the consequences of that decision squarely on our own shoulders as we bear the full brunt of judgment and condemnation. And this is what Jesus points out in our text.

JOH 12:47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.
48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

Keeping in mind that Jesus is speaking to these Jews during His earthly ministry we need to note that our Lord’s mission was not to come into the world to condemn them but to save them.

JOH 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

And so, Christ’s mission in coming from the Father into this world as He took on flesh, was to come specifically to save us from our sin as He would die on the cross and raise from the dead. But this does not mean that Jesus Christ has relinquished His power and authority as judge, nor does it mean that men are not judged in this world by rejecting Christ.

JOH 12:48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

In other words, the very words Jesus spoke, and which the people reject, will act as judge as they choose to bring condemnation on themselves. This by the way, is why our Lord pointed out to the Jews that He didn’t need to personally condemn them because there was another witness who did that for them.

JOH 5:45 "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.

The law itself would act as judge, and would condemn them on its own merits. As to Christ not being a judge we know that that is not the case. It simply means that His particular function in coming the first time was not to judge. But there will be a day in the future when He will.

ACT 17:31 For he [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

And of course Jesus alludes to this quite clearly in verse 48 when He said, that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

And let me also say that this expression makes it clear that there will be a last day. Things will not go on as they are, forever. Have you ever thought to yourself, is this all there is to life? Or, is this my lot in life, to have to endure this sickness, or this financial situation, or whatever?

Will the people of this world, who hate Christ, always seem to be the winners of life while I struggle, even when I’m trying to live a holy life before the Lord? In fact, you might be able to identify with this very thought which the prophet Jeremiah put into words.

JER 12:1 You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.

You ever feel like that? Well, David did at times too, and yet he shares these words with us.

PSA 37:1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.

There will be a last day and all men will stand before God, as Paul says in ROM 14:11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

But there’s another aspect of this last day that should make every believer rejoice. Because the world has accused us of dreaming in a hope that will never come. They scoff at the idea that Jesus Christ will ever fulfill the promise He made to come back for us. Peter reminds us of this.

2PE 3:4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."
5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Today we are one day closer to the culmination of God’s plan for mankind. And though it may appear that everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation, we can be assured that Jesus Christ will be faithful to come a second time, not as one who is meek and mild, but as the mighty and all powerful King and judge.

JOH 12:49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

Everything Jesus speaks is the will of the Father who has given our Lord His orders as it relates to our salvation. And so, once again, Jesus identifies Himself with the One the Jews are saying they embrace, and yet by their actions they prove they do not.

Jesus and the Father are one, both in will and in nature. And when Jesus speaks He speaks for the Father as they are in total agreement. These Jews in our text would not accept the words of Jesus as being the words and will of the Father and in rejecting Christ they rejected God.

1JO 5:10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

And now we come to the last words Jesus will speak to the public. These words are chilling and yet filled with hope.

JOH 12:50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."

These Jews had always prided themselves in having the words of the Father as they proclaimed the importance of the Scriptures. And yet, the words of the Father as found all throughout the Old Testament Scriptures were listened to selectively by these Jews.

Yes, they could memorize the law and they could recite the prayers, but when it came to actually hearing from the Father they didn’t have ears to hear how the word of God continually spoke of Christ. This is what I cited earlier.

JOH 5:45 "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.
46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

But verse 50 of our text gives us some insight into the importance of obeying the Father as it relates to His Son and the salvation which is offered.

More times than not we approach salvation as something we invite people to partake in, being polite and kind in the process. And of course we must as we share the gospel with gentleness and love.

But there is another side of this invitation which really needs to be considered as we share this truth with urgency as God does not leave the world the option of believing or not believing.

Again, notice the way verse 50 starts as the words of Jesus leap off of the page. "I know that his command leads to eternal life."

His command leads to eternal life? What happened to His invitation? The command is the invitation. God is not playing games here as it relates to where we will spend eternity. He is not pretending that it doesn’t make any difference if we respond or not. He is commanding us to turn from sin and embrace His Son for salvation.

This is precisely what Peter told the Jews on the day of Pentecost. We usually associate that day with a warm and fuzzy invitation as thousands come down to the altar as they sing one more refrain of, "Just as I am."

The truth of the matter is that Peter was not trying to persuade these people as he set the mood with wonderful music and tear jerking testimonies. He cut right to the heart of the matter. Here’s how he started.

ACT 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Now, if you and I shared the gospel like this all of the church growth guru’s would have a fit as they would point out that unless you have a user-friendly approach to the gospel no one will ever come to Christ.

And yet, what do we find as a response to Peter’s sharing of Christ with these people?

ACT 2:37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

And the answer that Peter gives them is precisely what Jesus speaks of here in our text as He testifies that the command from God leads to eternal life. A command which people are obliged to obey. Here’s what Peter says.

ACT 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This was not a request from Peter or God. Peter meant business when he laid this out before these people because he knew that for them not to heed this command meant that they would be eternally lost as they would one day face God in their own righteousness, which by the way, none of us possess.

Repent and turn to the only one who can save you. This was the same message Paul gave the Athenians as he walked their streets which were full of idols. A few days after being in Athens he actually got a chance to share with some of the Greek Philosophers about the difference between their gods and the One true God.

ACT 17:29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone - an image made by man's design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

He commands all men everywhere to repent, which of course simply means turning around from going down the path of destruction as we rely on ourselves to get us to heaven, as we then turn to the only one who can save us as He commands us to do one simple thing. The command?

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Yes, we need to invite people to Christ, but we should never give people the impression that this invitation is simply one alternative among many. It is a command from God Himself and we need to share it with the same urgency Christ shares here in our text.

As James Boice so aptly puts it, "It is out of love that God calls us to repent. But at the same time, the matter of belief is not optional. It is required of us. Therefore, to fail to believe is not just a misfortune. It is sin."

You and I in Christ have embraced the light of the world. What we need to do now is be that light as we illumine to them the Savior who has given us life that they may see Jesus in us.

LUK 8:16 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.

Let your light shine. And when given the opportunity invite the world to the most gracious command we will ever hear. Repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and the hope of eternal life.

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