by Ptr. Art Calaguas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shalom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the high intensity episode with the Lord\u2019s declaration that he is the bread of life; the controversies and the consequent falling away of some of his disciples, the Gospel of John in chapter 7 now moves into the discussions our Lord had with the people during the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles\/Booths) at the Temple in Jerusalem. Chapter 8 seems to be a continuation of these highly-charged discussions with the \u1f38\u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03b9 and the crowd. This time though, the Pharisees, the chief priests, officers and other Jewish authorities among the \u1f38\u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03b9 are prominently featured. Chapter 9 tells the story of the man born blind healed by our Lord on a Sabbath making use of spittle, the ground and the pool of Siloam. This is the context of the next occurrence of the words \u1f18<\/em>\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5<\/em>\u1f30<\/em>\u03bc\u03b9<\/em>,<\/em> \u201cI AM\u201d as spoken by our Lord Jesus in John\u2019s Gospel coupled with another metaphor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is found in John 8:12. And it is the first of several claims to deity found in this chapter. It should be recognized that the Gospel\u2019s chapter 8 contains no less than 5 occurrences of our Lord\u2019s \u1f18<\/em>\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5<\/em>\u1f30<\/em>\u03bc\u03b9<\/em>,<\/em> \u201cI AM\u201d declarations; exceeding any other chapter and equal to the previous ones encountered in John 4:26; 6:20; 6:35, 48 and 51. The literary style of John features the frequent use of number symbolisms; but other Scriptures also have these as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before proceeding, it should also be mentioned that the earliest manuscripts (mss) of the Gospel of John do not have the text of John 7:53-8:11 which is the pericope of the woman (allegedly) caught in adultery. There are appropriate notices in our modern Bibles about this. My copy of the Nestle-Aland Greek-English New Testament <\/em>(11th<\/sup> corrected edition; Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2008) says some mss place this passage where we traditionally find it now; some have it after John 7:36; or even after John 21:25. The Greek Minuscule Family 13(\u019213<\/sup>) also known as The Ferrar Group codex containing the 4 Gospels places this pericope adulterae<\/em>(i.e., John 7:53-8.11) after Luke 21:38. The same Greek-English New Testament <\/em>regards this minuscule family as part of the \u201cconsistently cited witnesses of the first order\u201d or of the highest order of reliability. If interested, one can check out https:\/\/bible.org\/article\/abbreviations-and-introduction-principal-manuscript-evidence-greek-new-testament-found-net<\/a> to begin to see the variety of the \u201cPrincipal Manuscript Evidence for the Greek New Testament.\u201d Also, for those interested to see how these Greek mss (papyrus, uncials, minuscule, etc.) actually look like, a visit to https:\/\/www.csntm.org<\/a>, the website of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM), is encouraged. Their Digital Manuscript Collection is a real treat for all students of the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evidently, Biblical scholars believe the pericope is authentic although they differ on where its location was originally. If this pericope was not in its traditional site, then it would meanthat chapter 8 of John\u2019s Gospelactually begins with verse 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To continue then with John 8:12, the nominative predicate metaphor this time deals with \u201clight;\u201d actually \u201clight of the world.\u201d Our Lord says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9<\/mark>\u03c4\u1f78\u03c6\u1ff6\u03c2\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7<\/p>\n\n\n\n (I AM<\/mark> the light of the world;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is the full Greek verse and my translation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u03a0\u03ac\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u1f56\u03bd\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2\u1f10\u03bb\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd\u1f41\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7\u1f18\u03b3\u03ce\u03b5\u1f30\u03bc\u03b9<\/mark>\u03c4\u1f78\u03c6\u1ff6\u03c2\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7\u1f41\u1f00\u03ba\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03b8\u1ff6\u03bd\u1f10\u03bc\u03bf\u1f76\u03bf\u1f50\u03bc\u1f74\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03ae\u03c3\u1fc3\u1f10\u03bd\u03c4\u1fc7\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03af\u1fb3, \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u2019 \u1f15\u03be\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u1f78\u03c6\u1ff6\u03c2\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2\u03b6\u03c9\u1fc6\u03c2.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Then again Jesus spoke to them, saying, \u201c<\/em>I AM<\/mark> the light of the world;the one following me might not ever walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.\u201d<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Light has the fundamental characteristic of enabling us to see everything around us. It is by light that we have the means to see all the beauty of God\u2019s creation and others as well. Human beings naturally move about and do their productive stuff in the light while darkness terrifies as we cannot see what lies beyond. Without light, photosynthesis will not happen; plants will die. Without plants, animals which feed on them will die, and so on in the food chain; including all human beings. Thus, light is something needed for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this verse, our Lord combined the power of the meaning of \u201cI AM\u201d as it directly recalls the \u201cI AM\u201d of Exodus 3:14 we had already seen before, with the first spoken wordsof God in Genesis. Recall Genesis 1:3, and the words said by God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05b9\u05bc\u05a5\u05d0\u05de\u05b6\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u0596\u05d9\u05dd \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b9\u0591\u05d5\u05e8<\/mark> \u05d5\u05b7\u05bd\u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d0\u05b9\u05bd\u05d5\u05e8<\/mark>\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n (And God said, \u201cLet light<\/mark> be\u201d and light<\/mark> was.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The usual translations render this as \u201c\u2018Let there be light,\u2019 and there was light.\u201d However, as I learned in my Biblical Hebrew classes at the Asian Theological Seminary (ATS) several years ago, this translation, while adequate, does not fully communicate the weight of the Hebrew verbs used in the context. The words (in simple grammar) convey quite forcefully yet elegantly, that God commanded something that was not in existence to be in existence. The 2 verbs God spoke were one and the same: \u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u201chaya\u201d (meaning to be, to become, to come to pass; the same verb used in Exodus 3:14). God simply spoke for light to be, and it became. God spoke light to existence. So when our Lord said this, he was again alluding to the LORD\u2019s identity, the \u201cI AM\u201d of Exodus 3:14 and ascribing to himself the almighty creative power and authority of God who ushered in light in the world as narrated in Genesis 1:3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, when the Lord Jesus declared that \u201c<\/em>I AM the light of the world; the one following me might not ever walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.\u201d<\/em> he was probably reminding the \u1f38\u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bf\u03b9 and those hearing him of Exodus 13:21 and the experience of the Hebrews moving away from Egypt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u05d5\u05b7\u05bd\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05a1\u05d4 \u05d4\u05b9\u05dc\u05b5\u05da\u05b0\u05a9 \u05dc\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u05a8\u05dd \u05d9\u05b9\u05d5\u05de\u05b8\u059c\u05dd \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05bc\u05a4\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3 \u05e2\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05df\u0599 \u05dc\u05b7\u05e0\u05b0\u05d7\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u05a3\u05dd \u05d4\u05b7\u05d3\u05b6\u05bc\u0594\u05e8\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b7\u059b\u05d9\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e2\u05b7\u05de\u05bc\u05a5\u05d5\u05bc\u05d3 \u05d0\u05b5\u0596\u05e9\u05c1 \u05dc\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9\u05e8<\/mark> \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u0591\u05dd \u05dc\u05b8\u05dc\u05b6\u0596\u05db\u05b6\u05ea \u05d9\u05b9\u05d5\u05de\u05b8\u05a5\u05dd \u05d5\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05bd\u05d9\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05c3 <\/p>\n\n\n\n (The LORD was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and night, in a pillar of fire to be a light<\/mark> to them, to go by day and night.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is quite clear that for any observant Jew or anyone of his countrymen conscious of their heritage and history listening to the Lord Jesus there in the Temple treasury that he was making unmistakable claims to deity and identifying himself with the God of their fathers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now there are 73 occurrences of the Greek noun\u03c6\u1ff6\u03c2, \u201cphos\u201d (meaning light),and its inflections in the New Testament (NT). All the 4 Gospels (38x; 23x in John alone), Acts, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, James, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation contain this word. It seems to be a favorite word\/metaphor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, there are 122 occurrences of the Hebrew word \u05d0\u05b9\u0596\u05d5\u05e8, \u201cor\u201d (meaning light) in the Old Testament (OT) which is equivalent to the Greek word \u03c6\u1ff6\u03c2, \u201cphos\u201d both in the Septuagint (LXX) and in the NT. One can find this word in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 2 Kings, Nehemiah, Job (32x), Psalms (20x), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah (26x), Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and Zechariah. It is obviously also a favorite word in the OT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the occurrences are so numerous, we can only take a look at a representative sample of them in the contexts they were used and compare them with John 8:12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will continue next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God bless us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. After the high intensity episode with the Lord\u2019s declaration that he is the bread of life; the controversies and the consequent falling away of some of his disciples, the Gospel of John in chapter 7 now moves into the discussions our Lord had with the people during the Feast of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[6,7,16,18,17,9,8,5],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ptr-art-calaguas","tag-church-of-the-risen-lord","tag-crl","tag-i-am","tag-jesus","tag-john","tag-spiritual-refreshment-of-the-day","tag-upcemi","tag-upcrl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}