John 12: No Longer Remaining in the Darkness

Introduction

"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness." This verse, John 12:46, is at the heart of a message preached at ADD Nantes. The preacher titled it: "No Longer Remaining in the Dark."

The passage read is John 12:44-50. Jesus has reached the end of his public ministry. He knows that once he declares this openly, a door closes behind him and there will be no turning back. So he makes one last appeal, in a loud voice.

The context is a sad observation from the apostle John: despite so many miracles, the religious people persist in their unbelief. The preacher follows the text verse by verse and invites everyone to leave the night and come into the light.

Outline of the Message

1. Unbelief That Does Not Come From a Lack of Proof

John observes in verse 37: "But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him." Everywhere he went, Jesus did good.
Their unbelief cannot be explained by a lack of proof. Jesus proved that he was the Son of God, and John adds that he did many other signs that are not written in his book (John 20:30).
In John's Gospel, Jesus says "I am": "I am the way, the truth, and the life," "I am the light of the world," "I am the resurrection and the life." For the preacher, Jesus shows clearly and convincingly in these words that he is God.
Even so, the human heart wants to remain in the darkness. They wanted a political king to rule over them, but refused to repent.

2. Why Jesus Cries Out

The text does not simply say that Jesus speaks: he "cried out." Another version translates it as speaking in a loud voice before the crowd. He wanted the matter to be heard and known by everyone.
Three times in John's Gospel, we hear Jesus cry out. He cries out because his message is important, essential, "I would even say vital."
The first time is the invitation of John 7:37: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." The preacher asks: are you thirsty for peace, for love, for forgiveness? This world is a cracked, leaking cistern: you will never be satisfied by drawing from it. You must go to Jesus, the spring of living water.
The second time is at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:43). The preacher repeats a remark from another preacher: it is a good thing Jesus called Lazarus by name, otherwise all the dead would have come out. And perhaps today the Lord is crying out in someone's heart: "Come out."
The third time is here. Jesus declares one last time what he came to do in the world and what awaits those who reject him.

3. Whoever Sees Jesus Sees the Father

"He who sees me sees him who sent me" (John 12:45). Jesus emphasizes his oneness with the Father: "The Father and I speak the same language."
Jesus is the one sent, the Father is the one who sends. Everything he said and did, he did on behalf of his Father. "What harmony!" He was faithful to the end and lost none of those the Father had given him.
No one can see God and live. But whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father. "We did not go up to heaven. But Jesus, by coming down, brought heaven to us."
You do not need to know the angels, the archangels or the seraphim: when you know Jesus, you have everything fully in him (Colossians 2:10). And if you say, "I have never seen Jesus," the preacher answers that he sees him through his brothers and sisters.
No longer remaining in the dark means leaving obscurity, half-light and night, but also silence, ambiguity and vagueness. Jesus is the God of light.

4. To Reject Jesus Is to Reject the Father

Jesus was the perfect expression of the Father. To reject him is to reject God himself and his kingdom. "It is a simple teaching, certainly, but oh so deep."
Many have heard this message and rejected it: "It's not enough for me, I don't want Jesus."
The preacher recalls the rich man of Luke 16. He lived a bright, cheerful life without the fear of God. Death came for him as it did for Lazarus. Lazarus was carried to Abraham's bosom, while the rich man found himself in the place of torment. He prayed, but was not answered.
It is appointed for people to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). It is therefore during our lifetime, here on earth, that we must respond to Jesus.

5. The Light Who Came for Everyone

Jesus did not say, "I am the light of the Jews only." He is the light of the world, for all people.
For this, he left his heaven of glory, where he had been praised and worshiped from eternity. He emptied himself (Philippians 2:7) and came as an ordinary man to die on the cross for the sinner "that you are, that I am."
No one forced him: it was a deliberate act, the expression of God's love and grace. None of us deserves it. And there is no other way: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
Physically, we see well. But spiritually, a person without Jesus is in the darkness. As the man born blind in John 9 told the religious leaders, it is astonishing that they do not know who this man is.
Jesus calls you to stop living in hiding. Believe that he is the Son of God, listen to his word, trust him, obey him and commit to following him. "Walking after him is not easy, it's true," but this walk is worth it. Whoever has the Son has life (1 John 5:12).

6. Came to Save, but the Word Will Judge

"I came not to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47). The preacher points out that this refers to his first coming. Jesus came knowing what would happen to him, because he knew what would become of the person who walks in the darkness.
Jesus is the offspring of the woman announced in Genesis 3:15, who crushes the head of the serpent, the devil. He crushed it on the cross of Golgotha.
The Father himself loves us, because we have loved Jesus and believed that he came from God (John 16:27).
Rejecting his words is serious: "The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). The word that offered salvation will be the basis of the condemnation. "What have you done with that word?"
Jesus did not speak from himself (verses 49 and 50, see also John 8:28). He did not take away one iota from the Father's word, and he did not go beyond it. So we can receive the word of Christ as the word of the Father.

7. The Glory of Men or the Glory of God

In verse 43, John explains why some did not follow Jesus: they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.
They saw Jesus do good, preach the kingdom and reveal the Father, and many preferred the fleeting glory of men to the eternal glory of God. What do you desire today?
Eternal glory is found in Jesus Christ. The preacher concludes with John 8:12: "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."

Key Takeaways

Unbelief does not come from a lack of proof: the human heart loves to remain in the dark.
Jesus cries out because his message is vital. He still calls today to come and drink, to come out, to believe.
Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father: in Jesus, we have everything fully.
Jesus came to save, but the word he proclaimed will judge, in the last day, the one who rejected it.
Following Jesus, the light of the world, means preferring the eternal glory of God to the fleeting glory of men.

Personal Application

In what area of your life are you still remaining in the dark, the half-light or the fog?
What are you thirsty for today: peace, love, forgiveness? Where do you go to quench that thirst?
What have you done with the words of Jesus that you have already heard?
Is there a call the Lord is making to you that you keep putting off, when it is during your lifetime that you must answer it?
Do you seek the glory of men more than the glory of God?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Jesus cry out in John 12:44?

The text says that Jesus cried out, speaking in a loud voice before the crowd. The preacher points out that Jesus cries out three times in John's Gospel: to invite those who are thirsty (John 7:37), at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:43) and here. He cries out because his message is vital and he wants it known by everyone.

What does "he who sees me sees him who sent me" mean?

Jesus affirms his oneness with the Father. No one can see God and live, but Jesus, the one sent, perfectly reveals the Father, the one who sends. We did not go up to heaven: by coming down, Jesus brought heaven to us. To reject him is therefore to reject God himself.

If Jesus did not come to judge, who will judge on the last day?

In his first coming, Jesus came to save the world, not to judge it. But he says that the word he proclaimed will judge, in the last day, the one who rejects it (John 12:48). The word that offers salvation becomes the basis of condemnation for the one who heard it and despised it.