Exegesis of John 8:12-27. The Biblical Hermeneutics

Exégèse , 2021 , 7 Pages , Note: 100

Théologie - Théologie biblique

This article consists of an exegesis of a passage taken from the Gospel of John. The author chose John 8: 12-27, the verses, which evoke Jesus as the Light of the world. The paper examines the boundaries of this passage, its context, and how the passage relates to the rest of the Gospel.

It describes how the passage compares or contrasts with the Synoptic Gospels and gives a legitimate application for modern times. The author concluded that although the Jews questioned his testimony, Jesus was the hidden secret as even the Father (who is true) testifies on his behalf. Therefore, anyone who does not believe in Jesus, who is the light and the life, will rather die than have life because of their unbelief.

Exegesis on John 8:12-27: Jesus, the Light of the World

Sixbert Sangwa

Master of Theological Studies Student

Nations University

April 2021

Abstract: This article consists of an exegesis of a passage taken from the Gospel of John. The author chose John 8: 12-27, the verses, which evoke Jesus as the Light of the world. The paper examines the boundaries of this passage, its context, and how the passage relates to the rest of the Gospel. It describes how the passage compares or contrasts with the Synoptic Gospels and gives a legitimate application for modern times. The author concluded that although the Jews questioned his testimony, Jesus was the hidden secret as even the Father (who is true) testifies on his behalf. Therefore, anyone who does not believe in Jesus, who is the light and the life, will rather die than have life because of their unbelief.

Key words: The Light of the World, John and the Synoptic Gospels, Woman Caught in Adultery, The Son of a Man, The Hidden Secret.

Introduction

Narrative has a plot and in order to understand a section of the narrative we need to look at the whole story, especially previous stories. However, John 8:12-27 seems not to have clear literary relevance with previous stories. John 8:12-27 talks about Jesus as the light of the world and the validity of testimony of Jesus, while 7:53-8:11 talks about the woman caught in adultery and 7:37-45 talks about rivers of living water, division among the people and the unbelief of those in authority. Therefore, in order to understand what this specific text says we need to look at not only the previous stories but also whole story, the gospel of John. Through this broad view toward the gospel of John, I will argue that in John 8:12-27, a hidden secret, Jesus is the light of the world that came into darkness in order to give life, is revealed in public and everything he says is true, because he and the Father who is true are one. But, if there is anyone who does not believe in him, they will die in their sin of disbelief rather than have life.

Interpretation of the text

First, in John 8:12-27 a hidden secret, Jesus is the light of the World that came into darkness in order to give life, is revealed in public, as the text begins with a proclamation of Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus is the light of the world. Even though the previous stories about the woman caught in adultery and the unbelief of those in authority have no mention of the light at all, ‘ the light,’ especially the contrast between light and the darkness, is one of the dominant themes of the gospel of John as it is mentioned from the beginning: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5). This light is Jesus as John the Baptist testified to him: “He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light” (John 1:8). Even though he had “his light” (John 5:35), Jesus is only true light that came into the world (John 1:9). However, up until John 8:12, the author only indirectly says that Jesus is the light. But, in John 8:12 Jesus proclaims himself to the people including Pharisees (John 8:13) and the Jews (John 8:22) as the light of the world in public for the first time: “I am the light of the world.”

If Jesus is the light, what does the world mean here? In John’s gospel, the world is the realm where the darkness dominates, because “people [in the world] love the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19). The world is an opponent of Jesus: “It hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil” (John 7:7). However, the world is not an object that God and Jesus hate but the very object that God loves, so that God sent the son, Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). Nevertheless, the world is evil and dominated by darkness as Jesus clearly differentiates himself from the world: “I am not of this world” (John 8:23). Therefore, it needs the light, Jesus, and to be saved: “God…sent the Son into the world…in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). Jesus came into the world as the light. Therefore, whoever follows him, who is the light, will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12). It is because Jesus, the light, is the life itself, “the life was the light of all men” (John 1:4), as well as he has received the life from the Father, “For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26).

Second, everything Jesus says is true, because he and the Father who is true are one. After Jesus says that “I am the light of the world,” the Pharisees answer Jesus. But, their answer is not about whether Jesus is the light or not, but “Your testimony is not true” (John 8:13).¹ It is because the author indirectly but constantly says that Jesus is the light of the world in the previous chapters (John 1:5, 8, 9; 5:35). Therefore, what is at stake here is whether the ‘testimony of Jesus’ is true or not, as Pharisees points out invalidity of his testimony because he is testifying on his own behalf (John 8:13). Jesus answers to them: “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is true” (John 8:14). But, the reason that he uses to support his argument in verse 14 is ambiguous: “because I know where I have come from and where I am going.” But, the reason becomes clearer in verse 16: “my judgment is true; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.” In other words, Jesus knows that he has come from the Father and he is going to the Father, as the author clearly says that Jesus is going to the Father later in John 14: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…I go and prepare a place for you” (John 14:2-3). Furthermore, his Father who sent him to this world is with him and judges with him. Therefore, even if they judge Jesus by human standards, his judgment is true (John 8:15-16), because his testimony satisfies requirement of the law that asks the testimony of two in order for the witness to be true (John 8:17): “I testify on my own behalf and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf” (John 8:18).²

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¹ NRSV translates the same Greek word, αληθής, as “valid” in verse 13; 14; 16; 17 and into “true” in verse 26. But, NJB translates αληθής into “true” as a whole and this translation helps readers of the text to relate verse 26 to verse 13, 14, 16, and 17: As the one who sent Jesus is “true” (verse 26), testimony of Jesus is “true” (verse 13; 14; 16; 17).

² It is not strange for the author of the gospel of John to depict the law as “human standards” in verse 15 and to express it not as “our law” or “my law” but as “your law” in verse 17. It is because in the gospel of John the law is frequently described as a negative object, which opposes to Jesus: “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God” (John 19:7).

• Université: Nations University
• Cours: The Gospel of John
• Note: 100
• Auteur: Dr. Sixbert Sangwa (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2021
• Pages: 7
• N° de catalogue: V1025274
• ISBN (ebook): 9783346444431
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: The Light of the World, John and the Synoptic Gospels, Woman Caught in Adultery, The Son of a Man, The Hidden Secret