{"id":30953,"date":"2024-05-05T22:00:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-8_1-11-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-04-16T14:04:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T21:04:23","slug":"john-8_12-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-8_12-20\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Judge a Situation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

John\u00a0 8:12-20\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 8:12-20.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 8:12 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 12:\u00a0 Throughout the book of John, Jesus uses some of the most basic pictures that represent life, like bread and water, to describe Himself and to show how He and life go hand in hand.\u00a0 He calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35).\u00a0 He says that for those who believe in Him, streams of living water will flow from within (John 7:38).\u00a0 And now, after using life-giving images like bread and water, Jesus brings up another image: \u201cI am the light of the world\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Just as our world cannot survive without light, so we can\u2019t live without Jesus.\u00a0 Like light, Jesus brings energy, warmth, hope, joy, strength and clarity to our lives.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0That is why when you have Jesus, you have the light of life.<\/p>\n

John 8:13-18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-18:\u00a0 When the Pharisees challenge Jesus and question the validity of his testimony, Jesus responds in two ways.\u00a0 First, Jesus says that he is able to testify on his own behalf because He is the Son of God from heaven, altogether different from any other human being (v14-15).\u00a0 As the Son of God, Jesus has credibility and authority like no other and owes no one an explanation.\u00a0\u00a0 As a second response to the Pharisees\u2019 challenge, Jesus cites one witness in addition to his own testimony: his Father (v16-18).\u00a0 It\u2019s as if Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, \u201cI don\u2019t owe any of you an explanation (v14-15), but since your own law asks for the testimony of two men, if you\u2019re needing an extra witness to support what I\u2019m saying, that other witness if my Father.\u201d (Earlier in John 5:31-40, we saw that Jesus cited 4 witnesses that testify about him and that lend credibility to what Jesus is saying.\u00a0 In this case Jesus cites just the one, his Father.)<\/p>\n

By the way, why would Jesus say \u201cI pass judgment on no one\u201d (v15)?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t this seem to contradict statements Jesus would make in John 5 like:<\/p>\n