44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. 46 I am come a light into the world, that whatsoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receive not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. John 12:44-50 KJV
Jesus, the Son of God, always directs us to God, the Father, and not to see Him (Jesus) as just an ordinary man. So, we believe in Jesus, the Light of the world, and thus we believe in the illumination of the Father’s presence, and in the illumination of the Word (Jesus). Because Jesus is the Light of the world , we do not have our being in darkness with no joy or hope. But in His Light we have all the joy and hope on earth attributed to us by our belief in Him.
As Jesus came “to earth to save the world” (v. 47), He came to uphold us from destruction due to our sins, i.e., to forgive us by His death on the cross, and to sustain our lives. So Jesus did not come to earth “to judge the world” (V. 47) but to save the world. However, we will all be held accountable on “the last day” (v. 48) if we reject Him as Savior and reject His word in unbelief.
Through the Father’s grace give to Jesus (“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” Matthew 3:17 KJV) Jesus does not take the credit like an ordinary man for what He did during His time on earth. Jesus operates from the authority of Almighty God, the Father, i.e., Jesus’ authority comes from the Father.
Jesus speaks what the Father says to Him which includes the commandments attributed to everlasting life. We too as believers hear the commandments of God through our personal relationship with Him, and through our reading of the Word to receive this everlasting life promised to us.
Praise be to God.
Brenda A. McGee has attended New York Theological Seminary in New York, NY, and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA as a Master of Divinity student.