Will You Decide Now, or Wait Until It’s Too Late?
On October 8th, 1871, the evangelist D.L. Moody preached to a large crowd and asked them a single question: what will you do with Jesus who is called the Christ? He closed that sermon by giving the crowd a week to think it over. That night, the Chicago fire broke out, and many who heard him that evening never got the chance to decide. Moody spent the rest of his life wishing he had said one thing differently: decide now. That story sat with me all week as I studied John chapter 8, because Jesus asks every one of us the very same question, and he doesn’t give us a week to think about it.
Jesus stands in the temple and declares, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” That’s our text this morning, John 8:12-20, and it’s a passage that forces a decision. As I told our church, “those that follow Jesus walk in light. Those who do not know Jesus, the Bible says that they are in darkness.” No medication, no drugs, no alcohol, nothing we use to numb or distract ourselves can change that. Only Christ can.
Follow the Light Who Leads to Life
Jesus says in verse 12, “I am the light of the world,” and that word I is emphatic. I and no one else. This is the second of seven “I am” statements running through John’s gospel, bread of life, light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way the truth and the life, the true vine. He is not merely a teacher or a good man. He is making a claim that only God can make.
Notice too that following him is present tense, ongoing. So I asked our congregation this morning, and I’ll ask you now: have you made a decision years ago to follow the Lord, but are you continuing to follow him today? “Following him means more than just admiring him or even agreeing with what he says. Following him means surrender, trusting and submitting.” Is Christ actually directing your calendar, your children, your cash, your conduct this morning? When the Pharisees challenged his testimony in verses 13-18, Jesus didn’t flinch, because his authority never depended on their approval. It was given to him by the Father. And even when they mocked him asking “where is your father,” Jesus answered plainly, “if you knew me, you would know my father also.” Their blindness couldn’t change who he was, and neither can ours.
God’s Timing Cannot Be Rushed
One detail in verse 20 struck me this week: no one arrested Jesus “because his hour had not yet come.” John repeats that phrase throughout his gospel until finally, in John 13, Jesus says “my hour has come.” Nobody could force the Father’s timing. Galatians 4:4 tells us that in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, right on time, not a moment early or late. Jesus’ delay in going to the cross was not failure. He was right on time. When you get frustrated with how slow or how fast your own life is moving, remember that God is never surprised. He knows every hair on your head.
Rejecting the Light Leads to Death and Sin
Jesus doesn’t stop at offering life, he warns what happens when people reject him. “I told you that you would die in your sins for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Every person hearing this will either die in their sins or believe on the one who died for their sins. There’s no third option.
We see people reject the light in different ways in verses 22-27. Some respond with sarcasm instead of humility, like the Jews who mocked, “will he kill himself?” Some get so consumed with this world that eternity never crosses their mind, “you are of this world, I am not of this world.” Some have plenty of knowledge about Jesus but never actually believe, and I remind you, even the devils have knowledge. And some simply let pride get in the way, asking “who are you to tell me anything?” I told our church plainly: “there’s no substitute other than believing in Jesus. Psychology will not save you. Your religion will not save you. Baptism will not save you. Your doing good will not save you. Only by believing in Jesus.”
Look to the Cross to See Who Jesus Is
Jesus points forward to his own death in verse 28: “when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He.” The cross was not an accident and it was not defeat, it was the very place where his identity would be revealed. When he says “I am He,” the Jews understood exactly what he meant, he was claiming to be God himself. And in verse 29 he adds that he always does what pleases the Father, a claim to a lifetime of sinlessness that only the Son of God could make.
Discussion Questions
- Jesus says following him means “surrender, trusting and submitting,” not just admiration or agreement. Where in your life right now is that distinction most tested?
- Which of the four responses to Jesus in verses 22-27, sarcasm, worldliness, unbelief, or pride, do you see most often in your own heart when truth confronts you?
- D.L. Moody wished he had said “decide now” instead of giving people a week. Is there a decision about Christ you’ve been putting off?
Heads may be bowed as you read this, but the question is the same one Jesus asked that temple crowd and the one Moody asked that Chicago crowd: what will you do with Jesus who is called the Christ? If you’re walking with him this morning, I pray you’d surrender a little more today, not next week, not when you’re in the mood, but now. And if you don’t know him yet, please don’t wait for a better moment, reach out to me, my wife, or anyone here at Community Baptist. We would count it an honor to walk through that with you.
