The Saturday after Exaudi Sunday
Posted on June 7, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. John 8:12-19 (NKJV)
8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
Devotion
As Jesus declares Himself to be the Light of the World, He is claiming in no uncertain terms that He is the fulfiller of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecies. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Is. 9:2). And again in Isaiah 60: “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you” (v. 1).
The Pharisees, whom Jesus was addressing, would of course have no part of this. They claimed that, according to Jewish law, you cannot make a case based on your own testimony alone. Jesus responds by claiming He is not alone; the Father Himself bears witness to Him. But they cannot know the Father because they do not believe the testimony of the Divine Word, nor do they recognize that the Father reveals Himself in the person of His beloved Son. “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” If you want to get to know someone, you listen to his words. If you want to know someone even better, you encounter him in person. May we always be attentive to Jesus’ words, that He may richly dwell within us.
Collect: Almighty, everlasting God, make us to have always a devout will toward Thee, and to serve Thy Majesty with a pure heart; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
