Light of the World

Hey, everyone. Today is Thursday, March the 9th. I'm Ryan Hill.

I'm John Galantis. You're listening to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com. If you have any questions for Dr. Shah or suggestions for future episodes, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or you can send us an email at contact at ClearViewTodayShow.com. That's right. And what we want from you guys is to help us keep the conversation going by supporting this podcast, sharing it online, leaving us a good review on iTunes or Spotify, anywhere that you get your podcast and content from.

And we're going to leave a couple of links in the description of this show so you can do just that. Absolutely. You want to read the verse of the day today, my friend?

Let's do it. Matthew 5, these are three verses, 14 through 16. The verses of the day. The verses of the day. You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. So this is a really interesting verse because it says that we as believers are the light of the world. This is Jesus' address in the Sermon on the Mount. He's addressing the multitudes. He says, you are the light of the world. But then Jesus also goes on to say that he is the light of the world. That's right.

And that's what we're going to talk about on today's episode. Right. So how can both be true?

How are both statements true at the same time? And it goes back to the light source. Right. It's the same light that is shining, but what is the source of that light?

Right. And we're going to talk about it, but of course that source is Jesus. We're not the source of that light. There's nothing good that comes from us. It is God shining through us.

So we are merely outlets of that light that originates in Jesus, the true light of the world. That's right. Fantastic reminder and a great way to start your day.

I am kind of glad to pivot. I am no stranger to Southern nomenclature. We both grew up in the South.

Yes, we did. So I've heard Southernisms my whole life. Countryisms. What is a lie bump?

Oh, yeah. A lie bump. What is a lie bump? We call them story bumps growing up, but same concept.

Story bumps? Yes. You know when one of those taste buds on your tongue gets swollen and irritated and inflamed? It's like not... Is it like a canker sore?

No, it's not. It's not like an ulcer or like a canker sore. It's on your tongue. It's one of your taste buds.

It just kind of swells up and gets irritated. My mom would always tell us that happens when you tell lies. That's why we call them story bumps because she told like, you told a story, but I've heard them called lie bumps too.

Why? I think I know. Is it when like there's a little like, I mean, it's just like a little bump on your tongue. Like if you bite your tongue or something and something like that happens? It can happen when you bite your tongue, but from what I understand, it's a vitamin deficiency. So one of your taste buds just kind of like swells up, it like turns white, it gets like really irritated.

Yeah, I think I've had that. You kind of run it over the roof of your mouth a little bit to irritate it further. I don't know why we do that. It's like the thing like when the tooth hurts, you bite down on it. Because like you're in control of the pain.

Why do, so, so, okay, I get it. Why do parents associate medical stuff with morality? Like if this happens, that means you've been telling lies. If you like sit too close to the teeth, it's not morality, but it's like if you sit too close to the TV, like your eyes are going to cross and your brain's going to melt. It's like... Don't make that face because your face is going to get stuck that way. It'll get stuck that way. Why would you make stuff like that up?

Why would they do that? And then to associate like, you must have been doing something wrong because this happened to you. It's like, it actually happens.

You have a vitamin deficiency. Instead of taking care of it, you're like, I need to rub in. What lies did I tell? I think it's like, it's two birds with one stone mentality. Like just in case you were telling a lie, I'm going to get you with this one.

Yeah. And if you weren't telling a lie, I still want you to feel guilty like you were. I want you to know that I'm smarter than that. It answers the why question that is inevitably coming. Mom, why is my tongue doing this?

So it answers that. Plus it also like, Hey, make sure you're not telling lies. You know what's the funny thing is like, you like the lie bumps too, but do you ever like burn the roof of your mouth? Like with hot pizza, like you take a bite into something and then it's, it's that way and you can't feel it for like three days and then you like run your tongue over it. Yep. It's that's one of the worst ever.

Yeah. You bite into pizza. It's deceptive because on the surface, like the cheese is like cooled down. The crust is cooled down, but you bite into it and there's just that pocket of magma that's in the pizza slice. That sauce, that molten lava.

An instant third degree burns on the roof of your mouth. You're like, well, there that goes. That's it. I'll be, I'll be messing with this for the next few days. I'll be, I'll be dealing with this discomfort. So here we are. Well, we got a question coming in. Our question of the day is coming from Jackson P and it says, what is the best biblical site you've ever visited? Ooh, I know Dr. Shaw's been to a lot of them.

World traveler, Dr. Shaw is. And I, I'm going to guess, I'm going to guess Temple Mount. I think he's really into the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount.

Okay. Yeah. Temple Mount or... I'll go with that too. Maybe Sea of Galilee. I don't know.

That's my favorite for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Cool.

We'll see. We'll bring Dr. Shaw in and we'll ask him that question at the end of the episode. But if you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes, send us a text to 252-58-25028 or you can visit us online at cleareaviewtodayshow.com.

We're going to get Dr. Shaw and we'll be right back. Well, good morning, afternoon, evening, Clear View Today listeners. My name is Jon. And I'm David. And we just want to take a quick second and let you know about another way that you can keep in touch with Dr. Shaw's work.

And that is his weekly podcast series, Sermons by Abaddon Shaw, PhD. As a lot of you may know, or maybe some of you don't know. If you don't know, you do now. And if you don't know, then maybe just hop off the podcast.

David. I'm just playing. Hop off the podcast.

I'm just playing. Keep listening. Dr. Shaw is actually the lead pastor of Clear View Church in North Carolina. Every single weekend, he preaches expository messages that challenge and inspire us to live God-honoring lives. Well, one of the four core values of Clear View Church is that we're a Bible-believing church. So every sermon is coming directly from scripture, which is great because that guarantees that there are timeless truths that are constantly applicable to our lives. This is a great resource because whether you're driving, whether you're cleaning the house, whether you're working out, you can always benefit from hearing the word of God spoken into your life. And God's word is always going to do something new for you every time you hear it.

Sometimes it's conviction and sometimes it's encouragement. But know that every time you listen to God's word, you're inviting the Holy Spirit to move and work in your life. You guys can check out the Sermons by Abbadon Shaw, Ph.D. podcast. First and foremost, check it out on our church app. That's the Clear View app. You can get that in the Google Play Store. You can get that on iTunes. But you can also find the podcast on the Apple Podcast app or on our website at ClearViewBC.org. And listen, if you've got a little extra time on your hands, you just want to do some further reading, you can also read the transcripts of those sermons.

Those are available on Dr. Shaw's website, AbbadonShaw.com. And we're going to leave you guys a little link in the description so you can follow it. But for right now, David, let's hop back in.

All right. Welcome back to Clear View Today with Dr. Abbadon Shaw, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at ClearViewTodayShow.com.

Or if you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes, make sure you send us a text at 252-582-5028. Dr. Shaw, welcome to the studio today. How are you doing today? I'm doing very well. Hope you guys are doing well. I'm doing very well. Hope you guys are doing well out there listening to the radio, listening to the podcast. If this is your first time ever tuning in, I want to make sure you feel welcome. You know who's talking to you today. Dr. Abbadon Shaw is a Ph.D. in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's episode. You can find all of his work on his website.

That's AbbadonShaw.com. That's right. And you remember from yesterday, if you listened to yesterday's episode or watched yesterday's episode, we began a discussion about how Jesus is sufficient for all of our needs, talking about the different I am statements in the Gospel of John. We talked about what it means that Jesus is the bread of life yesterday, but today we're going to examine the next of those I am statements of Jesus.

Right. So we're going to go to number two, which is I am the light of the world. But again, before we begin that, Ryan, you already mentioned that, you know, sufficient for the day is its own trouble, right? And we focused on the fact that Jesus is sufficient for today. So the question comes up, how is Jesus sufficient for us? I said it another way. How is Jesus everything I need?

Right? Sufficient means everything I need. So we went through the Bible and looked at the seven I am statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John. Last weekend, we focused on Jesus' statement, I am the bread of life.

Today we go to I am the light of the world. Now, once again, as we've been doing so far, keep in mind when Jesus said the words, I am, he was invoking the name of God. He was claiming to be equal to God, the father and the Jewish people, you know, contrary to what is often proclaimed and preached and taught, it's not that they were shocked that a man would claim to be God. It's the fact that Jesus was claiming to be God. That to them was a blasphemy. They would not worship a man.

And yet here, of course, there are times they struggle. Jesus did miracles. He proved for them through the signs, S-I-G-N-S, that he was the one. So he kept proving to them that he was the one. He wasn't proving to them that a man can become God or Jesus is God in flesh.

He wasn't proving that. He was proving more that he is the one who fits the model, the promises, all the things that have been said in the Old Testament about the coming one, he is the one. And what does that one signify? He signifies fully God, fully man. And Jesus, by claiming I am or using those words, I am, before Abraham was, I am, he was saying, I'm the one. I'm the one who fits the bill. I'm the one who is fully God, fully man.

And the only way you can come to the father is through me. And the Jewish people picked up stones. And when I say Jewish people, I'm referring more to the religious leaders. Of course, John refers to them as Jews. And the reason I think he does that is because keep in mind, he's the last gospel to be written. So we're talking about somewhere in the eighties of that first century, already Christianity has split from Judaism. So it's no longer Christianity being a fulfillment of Judaism or this offshoot, now it's done.

The break has happened. After the temple was destroyed, the break had happened. And so, you know, when John says, the apostle John says in his gospel, the Jews, he's referring to the religious leaders, the Pharisees, the scribes, they didn't like the fact that Jesus was claiming to be the one. It bothered them because he didn't come from their ranks.

He was not approved by them. How dare he walk into Jerusalem from where? Galilee? From Nazareth? You know, when nothing good comes out of Nazareth and he comes in here and trying to teach us morality and righteousness and kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven. Get out of here. So again, the question is for all of us, what do you believe about Jesus?

C.S. Lewis's, I don't want to say dictum, but his challenge, I guess, who is Jesus to you? Is he liar or lunatic? Because the third option is he's Lord. That's right. Right? He's gotta be one of those three. Either Jesus, either what he said was not true and he knew what he was saying was not true. He was intentionally putting out falsehood or he believed what he was saying, but he was crazy. Like it wasn't true, but he believed it to be true.

Right? But then the third option is what he was saying was true and he knew that it was true because he is the Lord. You know, it's interesting because I think when people come to passages like this, we, and I think I kind of mentioned this in the last episode, we tend to focus on what he's comparing himself to. I'm the bread of life.

I'm the light of the world. But I like that you're starting with this and that you're hitting hard the point that Jesus is proclaiming to be God, because that's the whole point of why he's giving these I am statements. You know, it's that when the Jewish people, like you said, when they heard I am, they understood immediately what we have to kind of sit here and think about and look at and explain on the radio or whatever, but they would have instantly heard it. Oh, I know exactly what he's trying to say. Not every single Jewish person, but of course those who were steeped in the law, those who knew Moses and the prophets, they knew what he was saying because they said it. You're claiming to be equal to the father. So that tells us that they understood.

Yeah. I love the way that you're painting that picture too, because it almost like we read it as I am the light of the world. I am the bread of life. But the way that, I mean the way that you're explaining it almost makes it seem like I am the bread of life.

I am the light of the world. It's like a subtitle or a clarification. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Almost.

I think that's what's happening here. So now last weekend, or last episode, we focused on bread of life and the feast that was taking place was a feast of the Passover or the feast of the unleavened bread. And we, we learned how Jesus, you know, is better than any Passover or unleavened bread and better than any manna.

He's the one we feed upon as we go into that dark and uncertain night and those 40 years of wandering and he not only satisfies us, but we can never have enough of him. But now when it came to the light of the world, there was another feast going on and it tells us in John seven verse two, now the feast, the Jews feast of tabernacles was at hand. A lot of feasts, a lot of feasts in the gospel of John, at least four you will meet.

Wow. So what does it mean? It says in verse 14, John 7, 14, now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. What is the feast of the tabernacles?

So give you a quick lesson here if that's okay. We know about the feast of the Passover, right? The, the feast that was celebrated because on the night they left Egypt, before the death angel passed through the land, they were supposed to put door, blood on the door, pose the lintels of their homes and they were safe, right? But the feast of tabernacles is a little different. Keep in mind that Jewish people had many feasts, but only three of them became what's known as a pilgrimage feast means you have to go to Jerusalem to celebrate them. And the three are this number one, feast of the Passover, the unleavened bread.

We just looked at that. Second is a feast of the weeks or Pentecost or feast of first fruits. And the third one would be the feast of the tabernacles, the feast of booths, not boots, but booths and, or also known as the feast of Sukkoth. So this is about a seven day feast that would start somewhere about the 15th day to the 21st day of the seventh month, which would be our September, October.

Okay. And it marked the end of the religious calendar that began the Passover. This, this feast, according to God's command given in Leviticus 23, they were to make simple tents out of leaves and branches. And they were to live in them for seven days. It's like a little camping, like a little family camping trip and camping trip. And the reason Leviticus 23, 43, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in boots when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. So it's a time to reminisce, to go back and just kind of think what it must've been like.

Yeah. Like out there in the wilderness. Like experientially, like this is what your ancestors did. This is what your forefathers went through both with, I mean, with, with the feast of Passover as well. Like this is, this meal is reminiscent of what your ancestors ate and this feast of booths. This is how your ancestors lived. Kind of that reminder, like you're in this dangerous land, but God's at least God's protecting you.

He's kind of like you were talking about yesterday with the man. I like, it's not comfortable. It's not good. It's not yummy, but God is providing for it.

He's seeing you through, he's giving you what you need. And so also God is protecting them because those booths made out of twigs and leaves and branches and whatever was left over in the wilderness. Do you really think that that little makeshift hut can protect them from wild animals? Do you really think they can protect them from marauding tribes? Do you think it can protect them from all the wind and dust storms and all the elements?

Of course not. So the whole point was this. It is God who protected you inside those tabernacles, inside those huts. So celebrating the seven day feast was a reminder of how God had been faithful to them and was their protector in every generation. They were supposed to celebrate this.

Beautiful. So this is what the feast of tabernacles was all about. This is the time that Jesus said, I'm the light of the world, but there are some other things happening too.

So let's look at those other things. One was that this was not only, you know, a time to celebrate their wanderings in the wilderness and God's provision and protection upon them, but it was also given as a feast of thanksgiving for the harvest where they were also pray for rain. So if rain fell during this time, it was an assurance of abundant early rains so necessary for fertile crops for the following year. So when you're in these boots for seven days and rain comes, it's like, yay! Which means next year we're going to have a great crop. People will shout and scream and run in the streets and play in the rain.

Depends on how long the rain lasted. And so it sort of became associated with the day of the Lord because it's like the fertile rains was a reminder that God is coming. So it became known as the day of the Lord feast. Kind of like a foreshadowing of the Messiah almost that someone's coming.

Yeah. The celebration of the rain of God's provision pointed toward a greater provision. So in John 7.28, it says, Then Jesus cried out as he taught in the temple, saying, You both know me and you know where I'm from. And I have not come of myself, but he who sent me is true, whom you do not know.

But I know him for I am from him and he sent me. So Jesus stands there and he says these words. What he was really saying to them is, I am the true tabernacle of God. You know, you're celebrating these festivals, staying in these booths and you know that God protected you. Guess what? I am the one who was protecting you.

I am the one. The reason they were safe in those booths is because he was in the booth with them. The word is schenopegia for tabernacle or schenae for dwelling. It says, But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle. Same word for the festival of booths.

Wow. So Christ came with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands that is not of this creation. And again, in Revelation 21, verse two, Then I, John, saw the holy city in New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. So the whole festival of tabernacles was to remind them of God's presence. And Jesus stands up and says, I am the light of the world. Now, this is also very important because during the feast, there was another tradition that sort of became part of the festival. And the tradition was this. The priest would lead a procession with water taken from the pool of Siloam and head to the temple. The people would be behind him waving the lulabs, which has branches, carrying citrus and singing Psalms like Psalm 118, right? And the priest would then take the golden pitcher, pour it on the altar. And it was a picture of the messianic expectation, which is found in Ezekiel chapter 47 and Zechariah chapter 14. Do y'all want to read one of these?

Yeah, let's do it. I'll take Ezekiel if you want. Ezekiel 47 one says, Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple towards the east, for the front of the temple faced east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by the way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside of the outer gateway that faces east. And there was water running on the right side.

Wow. And this is Zechariah 14 verses eight and nine. And in that day it shall be that the living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea. In both summer and winter it shall occur, and the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day it shall be the Lord is one, and his name one.

So picture with me on that last great day of the feast. This is John 7 37. Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke concerning the spirit whom those who believe in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. So can you imagine the commotion and the contempt for this preacher of Galilee for disrupting a Salem, kind of a solemn, sacred, and time-honored tradition? It's more than just pretty language.

He's using, not inflammatory language, he's not saying it to rile them up, but he's using language that they get and they understand, they know very well. Just like you said, Dr. Shaw, when we see it in the context, we begin to see those like shining gemstones, we begin to see that pattern and understand just the weight of what Jesus was saying, the implications behind what he was saying, and it makes sense why the Pharisees weren't happy with it. Now, going back to the whole lighting thing, right? We know about, you know, the Feast of the Tabernacles, the booths and all that stuff, and then somehow the whole lighting tradition got involved in it. So now the question comes, you know, why did Jesus say, I am the light of the world?

You know, what was so special about that? Because something else would happen on each of those days of the Feast of the Tabernacles. And something was the lighting of the four large lampstands in the court of the women. So the one, like a young high priest or priest really, would climb up this ladder and light these lamps, and it symbolized the pillar of fire by day, God's presence with his people by night, and it also signified that women are important, because this was not in the court of the men or the court of the Gentiles, but in the court of the women.

So they also have a part to play in God's presence. And so think with me, John 8, verse 2, what is the incident that happens? The incident that happens is something that, you know, text-critical scholars say, oh, it's not in the old manuscripts.

And really, truly, it's only two manuscripts who don't have it. And that is the pericope adultura, which is the pericope or the little section of the woman caught in the adultery passage. This is right in the middle of that.

Right in the middle. I mean, we've talked some this month already with it being Women's History Month of, you know, how the Bible and Christianity and Jesus elevated women everywhere he went. And this is a perfect example of that. This symbology could have been taken from anywhere, but it takes place in the court of the women. It takes place in such a way that, you know, Jesus accomplishes what he set out to do and elevates women at the same time. And then we get this passage where he interacts with this woman caught in adultery. And what happened to that woman? Yeah, she was caught in adultery. They brought her before Jesus. And, you know, he said that.

He said, you know, if you're a man without sin, you cast the first stone. But I love that because they had those big fire, those pillars in the court of the women. Because they were there, it makes much more sense that he would use that imagery.

I'm the light of the world. Without that context, it seems like it just comes from nowhere. But it's one of those things we hear all the time, so it's like, oh, it makes sense.

I'll accept it. But you look at where he was. Look at what was going on around him.

It made much more impact to them, I think, than it does to us a lot of times. Right. And so Jesus, you know, helps this woman. And after the people leave, you know, he started writing on the ground, who knows what he was writing, maybe their names, maybe the names of her lovers. So Jesus gives them this illustration right in the middle of it, like a real live illustration. And he demonstrates the exposing and sanctifying life, the light of Jesus. You know, that's what it's really about. So Jesus makes this statement about the light of the world and all that.

And then there's one more time Jesus is going to claim to be the light of the world, and that's in John 9, verse 1. Somebody want to read it? I can read it. Sure.

Go for it. Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.

The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said to him, Go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which is translated, sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Now think for a moment. Jesus is declaring that he is the light of the world. When we find ourselves worn down by life's journey, he refreshes us. He is the true tabernacle. He fills us with joy and gladness. He quenches our every thirst, just the way he does here for the people. But he also lifts us up when we feel broken, and he gives us his vision for life. So when you really look at all of this, man, he is the light of the world. He comes to bring joy and gladness into our lives. He truly refreshes us. He exposes, but he sanctifies us. He gives us his vision for life.

I mean, the benefits are limitless. That's beautiful. So beautiful.

And it gives such a weight, such a depth to what Jesus says there. If you guys enjoyed today's topic, or you have questions or suggestions for new episodes, send us a text to 252-582-5028. Or you can visit us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com. You can partner with us financially on that same website. Every gift that you give goes not only to building up this radio show, but countless other ministries for the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's right. I got a question coming in from Jackson P. Dr. Shaw. What's your favorite biblical site you've ever visited?

It's kind of funny. We were just talking about the Pool of Siloam. I know it's not your favorite, but just biblical sites that we've been to. I love the Temple Mount, because to know that that's the site of the Jebusite settlement, the first peoples that God put there. And they had Melchizedek, the priest king. And so these people were worshiping the living true God, even before Abraham got there.

And then they messed up. Those people, the Jebusites messed up, and the land had to pass into the hands of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then David bought that piece of land from Arunah, the Jebusite, right in Jerusalem, which is now the Temple Mount. And so, so much significance there. So I like the Temple Mount.

But secondly, if I were to pick up second place, it would be the tomb of Moses in Egypt. Do you want to just really, really quickly tell them how you were able to, because they don't let people really go in there. Yeah, they don't let people go in there, but we had some connections, and we were able to get in there. And I was like a kid in a candy store. I was so excited.

I was lying on the floor of this tomb, unfinished tomb, taking pictures, taking videos, going down to the tunnels, taking videos, because it was a very special day. Yeah, that's awesome. That's incredible. We love you guys. We'll see you next time on Clear Read Today.