It is worthwhile to note that the Episcopal Lectionary does not schedule anything from John’s eighth chapter to be read aloud and/or preached. The Roman Catholic schedule includes reading John 8:12, on two occasions (one Lent, one after the Epiphany ordinary), with both paired with other Gospel readings. John 8:12 states: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” One can assume that the reason for this omission is someone has determined that nothing worth speaking about is contained within John’s eighth chapter (even though this is the only place where one finds Jesus saying, “I am the light of life.”) Certainly, that assumption would be erroneous. As I read and wrote what came to me (from a higher voice within) from John 8:12-20, I could see myself as Jesus, amid a world of disbelievers. Instead of Pharisees calling me a sinner, it is Christians. They see themselves as self-righteous. They see me as sacrilegious. Whereas a true Christian should welcome a fellow Christian with love, they reject me through ignorance [they ignore everything I write]. Whereas a true Christian should listen to what I have to say; and, if I were wrong in what I say, a true Christian should lead me to see where I was wrong, so I could see clearly enough to write the truth. However, the Christians I know treat me with less respect than did the Pharisees treat Jesus – as all Jews, regardless of sect affiliations. I had one man confront me (with my wife, his priest) by saying, “I cannot tell anyone I know what you say.” His reasoning was [I intuit], “No one else says what you say, so you must be wrong, or there would be someone to second your opinion.” That was the argument used by the Pharisees against Jesus. That man, just like the Pharisees could only see the flesh of Jesus, could only see measly old me as one man in the flesh, talking crazy talk. Thus, he, like them, could not see the source of my words as being the same as those spoken by Jesus, which was the Father.
In this selection from John’s Gospel, I ask all who read it to see the lesson contained within the words that were recorded. It was not written for historical purposes, although it can be assured this event took place as John wrote. When John wrote his Gospel, there were no Pharisees that were going to read it and proclaim, “How stupid we were!”
The words of John 8:12-20 [all of John 8, minimally] were written for the purpose of Christianity; and the words need to be understood in that light.
For Jesus to stand before Pharisees, on their turf (Herod’s Temple) and proclaim, “I am the light of the world …,” the Pharisees obviously rejected Jesus because he was taking up their space. They refused to see Jesus as being any form of light. They were blind and not about to be his followers. Christians read these words and proclaim, “I believe you Jesus! You are the light of the world ….”
That becomes the reason this was written, because Jesus was NOT the light, God IS. God spoke through Jesus, as Jesus freely admitted. Thus, Christians, like the Pharisees, rejected Jesus as God, just as anyone else who would be Jesus reborn must be rejected – at all costs.
“Who do you think you are thinking you can be Jesus?”
On the most famous Pentecost Sunday (the only one Christians know of), twelve men [along with the women who followed Jesus] began to speak just like Jesus did, with none of them actually being Jesus of Nazareth. Had Christians existed then, one can only imagine they would not have been among the three thousand (there about) who likewise became Jesus Christ reborn [the beginnings of the true Christianity movement]. One should see this reading from John 8 as prophesying how Christians [had they been there in the Essene Quarter then] would have shouted out, “Show us Jesus! We only believe Jesus! No one else can ever be Jesus!”
There is no Gospel of Jesus. Had there been, Christians would have thrown away everything in the Holy Bible as useless trivia. They would bow down and worship that book, rather than God. There is no Gospel of Jesus because it is as John wrote, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
Not even close!
That would have been the ‘Gospel of Jesus,’ had there been one. However, everything written in the New Testament is the Gospel of God the Father, written by those who were reborn as Jesus Christ and enabled to write the truth by God.
When Jesus stood before the Pharisees [he did that many times], he always said the same basic thing: “You have it all wrong; and God sent me to tell you.”
The same message stands for all Christians, as well as anyone else in the world that says, “I believe in God.” Anyone who holds God as an entity outside one’s own being, does not truly believe in God. The have thoughts of the concept of God. They think about God. Likewise, anyone who says, “I believe in Jesus,” but holds Jesus as an idol of worship, external to one’s own self-identification, then they do not truly believe in God or Christ, because Jesus is the Son of God, as seen in every Apostle that carries the light of life to the world.
I write these ‘articles’ because God is my Father and I am His Son reborn. I speak for the Father because the Father is within me. John was the same way. The words were written so you will also become the Son of God, reborn in the same way. I am going to post an in-depth analysis of John 8:12-19 separately. It is long, because it is in-depth. To reduce that length, I will post the reading (NRSV translation) here. Please read the following and then read the analysis. Thank you.
John 8:12-19
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 13 Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” 19 Then they said 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.”
[P.S.] In addition to the analysis on the above, I also include observations about what John wrote in verse 20. Here is that verse.
20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.