Today’s Scripture:
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” — John 12:46 (ESV)
Reflection
In Jesus’s passage, Jesus cries out to the crowd. He talks about how people who believe him and see him see the Father, and also that he didn’t come to judge the world, but to tell the world of the commandment that was given to him by the Father, which is eternal life. It also says that the words that Jesus spoke will judge the unbeliever on the last day even though Jesus didn’t come to earth as a judge during his first coming.
This passage shows Jesus’s perfect submission to the Father’s will. The song we sang earlier today, Man of Sorrows, has this line that says “Bowing to the Father’s will, he took a crown of thorns.” For those who know me well, I have a history of being against certain artists, but I do appreciate this song’s theology. Through Jesus’s life, death and resurrection, we can see the will of the Father and the ultimate commandment of Jesus to speak of the promised eternal life that is attainable not by our own works, but by the grace of God and the death of Jesus.
Again, mentioning Small Group, we talked about the three purposes of God’s Law last week: to limit sin in society, to be a mirror for our sins/show our need for a savior, and to teach us the way to live as Christians. Although Jesus’s words aren’t exactly God’s Law referring to the Pentateuch, Jesus lived a perfect life that was consistent with those five books, and he was also with God when he wrote down the law for Moses. For those who don’t believe in Jesus, God uses the law to judge these people. By not believing in Jesus, we fail to follow the purpose of the Law as being a mirror to show us our need for a savior, who is Jesus. But there is good news! For believers, Jesus promises double imputation, which is the doctrine of the book covers as P. Abe likes to say (thanks mom and P. Abe for teaching me this!). Instead of being judged by the law for our own works, we have received Jesus’s perfect life, and there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).