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Jesus, The Light Of The World (John 8:12-20)

 Light and darkness is a constant theme for St. John in this Gospel. If you want, you can go back to my thoughts on the prologue at the very beginning to see this. That's St. John talking directly to the readers, in a sense before he begins to tell us the story of Jesus. Even there, St. John wants us to know that he believes Jesus is the light of the world. In this section, Jesus tells us himself.

Jesus and the Pharisees get into an argument about the authority of Jesus's testimony, because everyone in the discussion is aware of what the law given to Moses says about the importance of witnesses. Jesus again reminds the listeners that he has been sent by the Father. For Jesus, this would be enough, but he had also previously said that his own works bear witness to his identity. In other words, according to Jesus as recorded by St. John, Jesus has provided enough evidence to be trusted and listened to. It is up to each of us to decide what we think about the most important question: is Jesus God, and the Son of God, sent by the Father?

The opponents of Jesus wanted to arrest him then, but "his hour had not yet come." Here again is the mystery of the Father's plan. We will see soon enough that Jesus will not walk free, and as unjust as that was and is, it has a purpose. The Father will use the injustice of the cross to save you, me, and everyone from our sins. Not only from the guilt of our sins, but from their power in our lives. And it is never too late, as long as we live, to begin again.

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