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If you don't know the whole story of John, then our Gospel reading this evening may be a little difficult to fully grasp. Fortunately, we have two resources you can use to get a clearer understanding of what John is about. The first is our Tuesday morning Bible Study, starting at 10 AM. The other is the Daily Office Lectionary, which is what we use for the Scripture readings each Wednesday night. These readings are more or less sequential on a daily basis, and they have been following through the early parts of John the past several weeks.
But until you get the chance to read through the Gospel yourself, I will do my best to parse out what is going in tonight's reading. Jesus has been talking for quite some time at this point, and He begins this section saying "I am the light of the world."
Those who dislike what Jesus has to say declare "Ah ha! Your word is invalid because you don't have another witness." In Jewish legal practices, as Jesus reminds us, you needed to have at least two witnesses. This is a subject that Jesus has addressed before in chapter 5, and He addresses it again now.
Jesus does, in fact, have another witness. His witness is the Father, that is, God, and His proof is the testimony of His actions and words. Jesus performed many signs and miracles, some of which are recorded in John. Two weeks ago, we even heard Nicodemus declare that Jesus a teacher and that no can do such signs unless God is with him.
That's Jesus' point here and throughout the Gospel according to John. God is with Him. Indeed, God is with Jesus so much, that when we recognize who Jesus is, we recognize the Father as well.
Jesus' words and actions are the proof that God is with Him and testifies for Him. Jesus is truly God's own because God is in Him always.
As Christians, we show that we have Christ Jesus within us through our words and deeds. In this time of Lent, this time of renewal, how are we making ourselves more fully Christ Jesus'? Are we helping to reveal His presence in the world through our words and actions? What can we do to be better and more faithful followers of Jesus?