In this sermon, our guest speaker Aaron G. looks at the exchange between Jesus and the Jews in John 8:12-59. Aaron explains how the passage emphasizes one main truth: who Jesus is guarantees that those of the world will be repulsed by his witness. Aaron also clarifies, though, that man’s fundamental rejection of Jesus is what leads to the cross of salvation rescue. Aaron breaks down the passage as follows:
Jesus bears true witness to:
1. His own testimony (vv. 12-20)
2. His identity and future (vv. 21-30)
3. His paternity (vv. 31-47)
4. His deity (vv. 48-59)
Full Transcript:
Good morning. It’s an enormous privilege to be here today and to sit with you underneath God’s Word. Today our scripture passage is fairly long, and so I strongly encourage you that you follow along in your Bibles, and we’ll be moving fairly quickly. Just a few days ago, my wife Amy and I, we actually drove to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to see one of our favorite bands play in concert. On our way back, we got caught in a storm. Now, normally that’s not an issue, except my father-in-law, he’s an incredibly gifted engineer, which means that the cars in his household literally cannot die, because he can fix anything. Which means that we drive an older car, which, again, not a problem. I wouldn’t trade their frugality for anything. I truly admire that. But it means that the windshield wipers, the windshield, maybe the anti-reflection technology, is not as good as newer models. So we’re driving home in the pouring rain, at night, and we’re trying to see through this blur of water. And as cars are approaching us, their headlights light our window, and it’s just this bright, blinding glare. It was difficult to see that night. But the next morning, we actually drove somewhere else, and this time there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining, it was easy to see, and I looked at Amy and I said, I love driving in the light. I can’t believe how much I can actually see.
In our world, the connection between light and sight is obvious. When you’re able to see the world as it actually is, you see things rightly. Another way to say it is that you see things truly. But if you take away the light, what happens? Well, it becomes dark. You cannot see rightly, you cannot see what is true.
In the Gospel of John, light and truth, they’re tightly connected. When you’re able to see, they’re tightly connected. Light is often associated with revelation from God. He reveals truth to us so that we can see the world as it actually is. Who is the God who is there? Who are we? How can we know God? How are we saved? God has ultimately revealed all these answers and more, not merely through a message, but a messenger, meaning light and truth is a person. And so we can ask the question, well, what happens when light and truth collide with the world? Will she find him delightful and embrace him? Or will she find him repugnant and reject him? The world’s response to truth will reveal much about her.
And her response is exactly what we will be looking at in our passage today. Throughout our passage, we will see that Jesus bears true witness to four things. We see Him bear witness to His own testimony, His identity and future, His paternity, and His deity. And as the discourse in our passage unfolds, not only do we see these things become clear about Jesus, but we see them also become clear about the Jews who he’s talking to. We will see that as truth becomes brighter, so does the opposition. The reason is because truth and falsehood, light and darkness, they’re diametrically opposed to one another. He who ultimately stands behind truth is not he who stands behind falsehood. The result is that humanity divides around truth.
In the end, the main point of today’s passage teaches us one sobering truth. Who Jesus is guarantees that those of this world are repulsed by the truth of His witness. I repeat, who Jesus is guarantees that those of this world are repulsed by the truth of His witness.
Let’s begin. Number one, verses 12 through 20 – Jesus bears witness to the truth of His own testimony, but the Jews are incapable of belief. Now it’s worthwhile to talk about a couple things regarding the background of our passage. First, the background of our passage in the Old Testament. In the mind of a first century Jew, light was already a prominent metaphor. The Old Testament, it’s filled with allusions to light. For example, the Israelites would regularly sing Psalm 27, right? The Lord is my light and my salvation. Or as we read in Psalms and Proverbs, God’s word and His law is a light to guide the path of those who love and cherish instruction. Or even in Isaiah 49, the servant of the Lord will be a light to the nations. In the minds of Jesus’ contemporaries, light was a significant theme already, and that was bound up with God.
Second, the background of our passage in Judaism. If you look back to chapter seven, verse two, we read that the passage, our passage today takes place during the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths. Now, this was a seven day feast where people would build these makeshift tents, and they would live in them in order to remember the time of pilgrimage as they were traveling to the Promised Land. The festival drew thousands upon thousands of people to Jerusalem. At the end of the first day of the feast, the priests and the Levites, they would enter this courtyard, and in the courtyard there were long poles, and on the top of these poles were golden candelabras, they’re candle holders. And so the priests would light each golden candelabra, and the resulting light would radiate a glow throughout the city. According to one Jewish source in the Mishnah, we read, the light from the candelabra was so bright that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated from the light. And under the glow of such radiant light emitting throughout Jerusalem, Jesus declares, verse 12,
I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.
You see, Jesus left no room for ambiguity here. He was very specific. He said, whoever follows Me will have the light of life. In the context of such powerful tradition and rituals in the Feast of Booze or Tabernacles, Jesus’ words were jarring. The statement is far more than a pleasant remark from a wise teacher, but instead it’s a radical claim about His identity, which causes a heated exchange, which we’ll read about.
And the force of Jesus’ claim, it actually intensifies as the reader comes to know and understand the particular way that John uses world throughout his gospel. You see, in general, the world, it’s our little blue planet. It’s called Earth, right? It’s home to the animals and the birds and the sea creatures. But as we look at how John uses the word world all throughout his gospel, we clearly see the definition he has in mind. In John’s gospel, there is not a single use of the word world that has a positive overtone. The vast majority are negative. The world in John’s usage is the created order which is in rebellion against God. Simply, the world’s a bad place. For example, John 1:10, Jesus was in the world and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. Or John 7:7, Jesus tells his brothers, the world hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You see, true Christians, in John 15, true Christians are no longer a part of the world, but they’ve been chosen out of this world, according to John. This world is characterized by darkness.
John implies that Jesus is the light of this world. The point of verse 12 is that Jesus Himself is the light. He alone is the only way out of darkness. He alone is the Light that gives life. But the Pharisees, they challenge Jesus by using his own words against Him. You see, in earlier, in John chapter five, Jesus does, in fact, say, if I alone bear witness about Myself, My testimony is not true. So the Pharisees confront Jesus and they say, aha, you’re bearing witness about yourself. You can’t do that. You yourself said so. And in addition, the Pharisees certainly had in mind the book of Deuteronomy where it says that multiple people or multiple witnesses are required to establish truth for certain cases.
But the Pharisees completely misunderstood Jesus’ point in chapter five. He was not saying that if He talks about Himself without certain witnesses or supporting witnesses, He’s a liar. He was not saying that. His point was that He does not speak outside of what His Father has given Him to speak. Jesus speaks His Father’s words, nothing more, nothing less. In other words, Jesus’ claims about Himself can only be true if they are coming from God Himself. And so He says in verse 14,
Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going;
In effect, He reminds us what He said in chapter five, I came from My Father for He sent Me and I will return to My Father. But you Pharisees cannot understand because you do not know my origin. He says,
but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
Verse 15, Jesus says,
You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
Now Jesus is not saying here that He doesn’t judge at all. In fact, the very next verse confirms that Jesus does judge and the entire New Testament confirms that He exercises judgment and He is the judge. But Jesus is telling the Pharisees, look, you’re judging on a merely human plane by merely human standards. This kind of judgment is superficial, right? It’s the shallow inspection that gets weighed against your own prejudices to determine if a person is in or out of your special club. It’s the kind of judgment that discredits an entire person, right? It discredits the whole person just because they voted for the other candidate, not your candidate. Or it’s the kind of judgment that doesn’t take time to listen and love people, let alone understand someone just because they wear a mask or they don’t wear a mask, or they chose to get vaccinated or they didn’t get vaccinated. It’s the adult version of teenage girls who reject the one who doesn’t own the latest fashion. And that kind of judgment is evil. Which is why in verse 15 Jesus says, I judge no one in that kind of judgment. Jesus does judge, but it’s a fundamentally different kind of judgment. Verse 16,
But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
We can have confidence that Jesus’ judgments will be perfectly just, right, and good. Why? Because His exercise of judgment is always in perfect alignment with God, His Father. And in case there’s any doubt as to whether or not Jesus actually meets the standards of judgment in God’s word in the book of Deuteronomy, where it says you need two witnesses to establish truth, He says in verse 17,
Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
In other words, Jesus says, I am qualified to talk about Myself because I don’t speak alone. There is a second who bears witness about Me, and He is My Father who sent Me. Verse 19, The Pharisees then respond, Well, you say your Father is your second witness, where is he? Go ahead, bring him forth, call forth your second witness. Jesus answers,
“You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
The Pharisees’ question in verse 19, where is your Father, reveals that they completely misunderstand Jesus. Worse, they don’t even know who He is. So Jesus speaks directly to the true problem here. Jesus says that knowing Him is the test for knowing God Himself. Or negatively put, if you do not know Jesus, you do not know God. As Jesus’ prosecutors question Jesus about His second witness, they actually put themselves in the seat of judgment, and they are found guilty. The crime? They are in darkness. They’re unable to see rightly. God is a stranger. The light of the world and He who sent Him are not allies, but foes. And this is a picture of the condition that plagues all of humanity. In other words, the world is utterly incapable of belief unless God Himself intervenes.
That concludes our first point, that Jesus bears witness to the truth of His own testimony, but the Jews are incapable of belief. Number two, verses 21 through 30. We see Jesus bears witness to His identity and future. Jesus is from above, but the Jews are from below. Both will return to where they’re from. Jesus begins by predicting His future death in verse 21. He says, I am going away. And he says that after He dies, they will continue to search for Him and will die in their sin. In other words, the Jews will actually continue looking for a future Messiah, unable to see that they already rejected the only Messiah that there is. So their seeking will be in vain, right? It’s empty. Unbelief is a sin that will cause their death. Jesus mentions that both of them are going to face death, but the two are utterly different places. He says, where I am going, you cannot come. Verse 22. Confused by Jesus’ comments, the Jews ask,
“Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
And can you see the irony here? In one sense, the Jews are profoundly right about Jesus’ death. Jesus will deliberately choose death, but not by means of suicide, but by means of His perfect obedience to the Father, even to the point of shedding blood. Jesus does not even bother to answer their question, but instead He shines light again on their fundamental issue, their problem. He says to them in verse 23,
“You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.”
The Jews’ fundamental problem is not their understanding, it’s their identity. Jesus and the Jews come from two completely antithetical realms. The Jews belong to this created order that’s in rebellion against its Creator. That’s the reason why they’re blind. It’s why they fail to understand Jesus’ words. It’s why they don’t have genuine fellowship with God. They’re trapped in their fallen identity. And that is an enormous problem, because God’s word repeatedly tells us that every single person in the history of the world is born with this identity. And there’s only one way out of this fatal problem. Jesus tells us in verse 24,
“I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Now, it’s worth pausing to point out that if you’re reading from an English translation, you will not be able to see something that helps us understand the thrust behind our passage. Most translations will say something like, unless you believe that I am he, or unless you believe that I am who I claim to be. But what it literally says is, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. The I am here stands alone in this verse. Nothing comes after it. The other I am statements are followed by a predicate. For example, I am the bread of life. I am the good shepherd. I am the way and the truth and the life. But here in verse 24, the second half of the formula is missing. Again, He literally says, unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. The same is true in verse 28, when He says,
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am”
But that way of talking, it’s a bit confusing, right? It’s a bit obscure. Naturally, the question remains, I am who? Which is exactly the question the Jews ask in verse 25. Who are you, Jesus? But you see, Jesus’ ambiguity here is not accidental. He knows exactly what He is saying. Jesus is using this I am expression in an absolute sense, meaning Jesus is using this expression in the same way that God does when He discloses Himself to people in the Old Testament. In Isaiah chapters 40 through 55, God repeatedly reveals Himself using the same I am expression in the Septuagint. We don’t have time to review all the examples, but let me just offer a couple. In Isaiah 41 verse 4, God says,
I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Or in Isaiah 43:13, yes and from ancient of days, I am.
Now I imagine that some of you have probably seen the movie “The Sixth Sense”. It’s a thriller that came out in the late 90s, and it’s famous for its epic twist at the very end that leaves the viewers with their jaws dropped. But when you rewatch the film, you’re actually able to see so many clues that point to the movie’s big ending. And our passage functions in a similar way. In John 8 verses 24 and 28, and what we’ll see at the end, we only know that Jesus is using this I am expression in an absolute way because we know the ending of John 8. But at the end of our chapter, Jesus is no longer ambiguous. It’s indisputably clear that Jesus uses this expression to claim deity.
And when we reread our passage and pass over verses 24 and 28, the reader knows that there’s just so much more theological weight behind His use I am, even though at this point in the narrative, it remains unclear, which is exactly why in verse 25, the Jews ask the question, who are you? And so how does Jesus respond? He responds by pointing out that they are culpable for their ignorance and lack of understanding. In other words, they should have already known about who Jesus is. Verse 25, Jesus tells them, I’ve been telling you who I am since the very beginning of My ministry. The confusion of the Jews is not because Jesus is trying to hide His identity, nor is it a matter of lacking information, nor is it because Jesus’ message is unclear. Jesus is not the problem here. They are the problem.
Now, scripture teaches that if we’re to know truth, God must reveal it to us. That’s true. Scripture also teaches that there are certain things that will remain a mystery, like the Trinity. That’s also true. But it’s also true that God in His infinite wisdom withheld certain things about reality. So, for example, what date is Jesus coming back? Or what are the angels exactly up to on earth? Or what did Jesus write with His finger on the ground in John 8:6? For questions like those, it’s worth remembering Deuteronomy 29:29, which says that the secret things belong to the Lord our God.
But we must never allow those things to excuse us from the many truths that have clearly been revealed and we should understand, but we don’t. Wrong theology is not a morally neutral issue. Wrong belief is evil. Not understanding what is true is morally evil. Often we don’t believe the truth because we don’t want to believe the truth. In verse 25, Jesus’ listeners should have known the truth about Jesus, but they didn’t. And that is 100% their fault. They are morally responsible for their lack of understanding. And the same is true for me, and the same is true for you. Jesus says, verse 26,
“I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
Jesus actually has a lot to say in judgment over those from below and those of this world. As we read in John 7:7, Jesus testifies against the world that its works are evil. But even though he speaks in judgment over His listeners, he doesn’t do so by Himself. It’s not like Jesus is blowing up in a rage and He’s speaking words of harsh judgment that He’s later going to regret. No, far from that. Again, we see that whatever He tells the world is the words of His Father who sent Him. And He is true. John interrupts Jesus’ answer to the question, who are you, with a narrative aside in verse 27. He says,
They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
John says that so blind are the Jews that are talking to Jesus that they’re not even able to understand the topic of conversation. That would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad. So then, is there any hope for those who are blind? Will they ever be able to see who Jesus truly is? Verses 28 and 29, Jesus says to them,
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
At what point is Jesus’ true identity most revealed? When is it clearest? The answer is at the cross. Eric Raymond says, Stand in the shadow of the cross to learn of God, for here the Son of God was sent forth to amplify and supremely demonstrate all of the divine perfections. Do you want to know who Jesus is? Do you want to know more about Him? Look at the cross. There you will see the truth of His identity. There you will see His perfect obedience to the Father, His love, His mercy, His justice, His glory, and so much more. And just like the Jews in our passage, the day is coming when every single person will bow the knee and know and confess that Jesus is the crucified and resurrected Lord of the universe. In verse 30, we continue reading,
As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Jesus’ words were captivating enough that many, John says, believed in him. This is wonderful news, right? We can celebrate. Or is it? Observant readers of John might be skeptical. For in John 2:23, we read that many already believed in his name at another festival, but their faith turned out to be fake. It turned out to be untrustworthy. Or after the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6, we read that many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Jesus. The faith of those disciples proved to be false. But what about our faith in this passage? For now, that ends our second point. We’ll get to it later. Jesus bears witness to his identity and future. Jesus is from above, but the Jews are from below. Both will return to where they’re from.
Number three, verses 31 through 47 – Jesus bears witness to His own paternity. God is His Father, but the Jews are children of the devil. Jesus begins by confronting the faith of those who had just believed in Him. He does this by telling them what is at the heart of genuine faith. Jesus says, verse 31,
If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
This is one of the tests that separates genuine faith from spurious faith. But what does it mean to abide in Jesus’ word? One scholar rightly explains, true faith involves both fully accepting and persisting in the words of Jesus. It means that you submit to the whole counsel of God’s word. It means that you submit to the fullness of God’s word from cover to cover. In verse 32, it says we can know the truth as we submit to the fullness of God’s word, and only then can the truth of the gospel set us free. And it sets us free from the threat of sin and death.
You see, too many professing Christians treat God’s word as if it’s something to pick and choose from. Many will come across a passage that conflicts with their own ideas, and so they reject it or they choose to ignore it. Many use their consciences and their convictions as a filter for truth. That’s a big problem. Because sin is far more pervasive, it is far more penetrating than all of us believe. Our convictions can be sinful. Our consciences can be sinful. Our thoughts, our cultures, our desires, our hopes, our political stance, our affections, our emotions, our goals, all those things can be subjected to sin. So if one of those things becomes your filter for truth, you risk standing against the truth. And what our hope is is that we use God’s word and God as a filter for truth.
For example, in the last five or ten years, can you give specific examples of your life bending around God’s word? Or when you read passages that you dislike or are hard for you to understand, is your first assumption that you are wrong? When God’s word competes against your own ideas or desires, which one wins? Here’s an application point that I want everyone to do today. Pick a friend, pick a cousin, a family member, a spouse, a brother, a sister, a parent, and ask a simple question. Can you see any part of my life that is not submitting to God’s word? Or in other words, in what ways is my life not abiding in Jesus’ words? And then just listen. Don’t make excuses, don’t talk back, just listen. And if you find yourself struggling with some of these things, or you get defensive and you start making excuses and you blame shift, that could be a big red flag. It could mean that you care more about your image of abiding in God rather than actually abiding in God’s word. If we truly want to abide in God’s word, is it not a gracious gift that we have brothers and sisters who are able to graciously point out the ways that we’re not abiding in God’s word? Proverbs says it’s the fool that hates correction. Don’t be a fool. D.A. Carson writes, “A genuine believer remains in Jesus’ word. Such a person obeys it, seeks to understand it better, and finds it more precious, more controlling, precisely when other forces oppose it.” As long as you remain the judge and arbiter of truth, you will never know the truth, and the truth will not set you free.
So how did the Jews reply? Verse 33. The believing Jews reply,
“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Now if you know Israel’s history, you might be scratching your head here a little bit. You will know that there’s hardly a major superpower, political power that the Jews were not subjected to, right? We have Egypt, we have Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Syria, Rome. So they cannot possibly be saying that they’ve never been under any foreign power. Instead, what’s much more likely is what they’re saying is something like this. They say, We are the descendants of Abraham. We’re a part of God’s chosen people. We’re doing completely fine. We don’t need any liberation. We’re already free, right? We have all we need. We’re good. We have the law, the prophets, the kings, the great temple. We’re sons of the kingdom. We’re good. We don’t need no help. How dare you say that you will be set free? And we see that the gospel is offensive to the proud and the self-sufficient. The Jews believe that they are superior to other nations because they physically descended from Abraham. They believe that they’ve never been beneath any nation because they were the chosen people. Their national pride leads them to think that they’re spiritually healthy and have no need of a Messiah or a physician. And oh, how history repeats itself. So Jesus answers them in verse 34,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Here is the fundamental problem for the Jews and for us. It’s easy to believe that we’re just not that sinful. We might struggle a little here and a little there, but we’re not that bad. I mean, look at Afghanistan for crying out loud. People are killing each other. We’re not that bad. What’s a little grumbling? What’s a little complaining? But the word of God persistently teaches us that when we sin, we’re rebelling against our creator King. For example, when we grumble and when we complain, we’re basically telling God, God, you’re a failure. You’re failing to meet my needs. You’re failing to provide for me. God, You clearly can’t see right. If You did, You would see I certainly shouldn’t be in this circumstance. You’re failing to give me what is best for me. I deserve better. When we grumble, we rebel against the throne. In effect, you’re de-godding God.
And in doing so, you’re choosing to be subjected to another master, another king, the master of sin. This, Jesus says, is the ultimate bondage. The proud are insulted because the gospel doesn’t say we need just a little bit of improvement. The gospel says that we’re utterly trapped in the tyranny of sin and death, that we’re imprisoned in darkness. But the self-sufficient say, eh, I’m good. I don’t need help. Verse 35, sinner slaves have no place in the household of God, right? Why would they? They willingly rebel against God’s house.
But unlike everyone else in the history of the world, Jesus has secured his place as the perfect obedient son of God. And verse 36, it’s the unique son of God who has been given the divine mission to set the captive free. And the son is not a failure. Verse 37,
“I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.”
In verse 37, Jesus does not deny the fact that they’re physical descendants of Abraham. But genuine faith has never been a matter of your physical lineage. It’s never been a matter of your nation or your family or being in proximity to God’s people. Jesus says that far more important is right belief and right behavior. So the very fact that the Jews are seeking to kill Jesus proves that they are not part of the true heirs of Abraham. Both Jesus’ words here and the Jews’ actions reveal who their true father is. And the same is true for me. The same is true for you.
Unfortunately, too many times do we see people put up this facade at church, only to go home and act completely different behind closed doors. Like, who do you think we’re fooling? Do we actually believe that God doesn’t see what happens behind closed doors? You might fool the church, but you don’t fool God. God sees everything. Everything. If we ask your roommate, what would they say about your behavior? If we asked your coworkers, what would they say about your behavior? If you asked your wife, what would they say about your behavior? What about your parents or children? Yes, we’re saved by grace through faith. Amen. But that’s not Jesus’ point here. Jesus is teaching here that your behavior reveals who your true father is.
Now, the Jews are insistent that Abraham is their father. They actually think that morally and ethically, they measure up to be the real descendants of Abraham. Jesus says if that were true, they would do what Abraham did. You see, when God spoke to Abraham, Abraham believed Him and obeyed His word. And here we have the very same words of God, Jesus speaking the words of the Father to the Jews, but they find it so distasteful in verse 40. They find it so distasteful that they seek to kill Him. Unlike Abraham, the Jews here can’t even recognize God’s voice. All this means, verse 41, is that they cannot possibly have the same father. Verse 41,
“You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
Now, it’s possible that they understood Jesus very literally here. If Jesus was rejecting Abraham as their literal father, then they must be physical descendants of the Gentiles. But it’s also possible that they were alluding to Jesus’ irregular birth. In effect, they’re saying, we weren’t the ones born of sexual immorality, with the innuendo that Jesus was. Regardless of how we’re to understand verse 41, it’s clear that the Jews were not happy about Jesus rejecting their claim to be the children of Abraham. So they come up with another idea. Again, an idea that Jesus certainly cannot argue with this time. God is their Father. For in the Old Testament, God explicitly, God himself says that Israel is His firstborn son, and He is Israel’s Father. Jesus can’t deny with that. He can’t argue with that. But Jesus now claims something radical. He says that He Himself is now the defining marker of belonging to God’s true family. Verse 42,
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
Jesus came from God. It’s impossible to trust God if you reject the One He sent. To embrace God is to embrace Jesus and His word. To reject Jesus and His word is to reject God Himself. The unbelief and conduct of the Jews reveal that they’re children of another father. But the identity of their father has yet to be made clear. But in these next verses, Jesus now makes explicitly clear who their true father is. Verse 44,
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
How the Jews respond to Jesus can be characterized by two things, murder and holding on to lies. One theologian writes, “lying here speaks not so much to individual acts of deception, but rather to a posture that opposes the truth and sets up a false view of the world. Its entire perspective, it’s a way of life and thought that engulfs the lives of those to whom Jesus speaks and itself proceeds from the devil himself.” The reader cannot help but think back to Genesis, right? In Genesis 2 and 3 in the Garden of Eden, God declares, if you eat of this tree, you will surely die. And then just a few verses later, the serpent denies, you will not surely die. Obviously, one of them is a liar. And by abiding in the devil’s word, death was brought to all creation. The devil is the liar. Note verse 45, Jesus says,
But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
This is a shocking verse. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say something like, even though I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me. Or when I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me. But he says, because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me. The Jews, they’re so immersed in a world of lies that they are incapable of belief. They’re incapable of believing what is true, precisely because it is true. They reject Jesus because He speaks the truth from God. Jesus continues, verse 46,
Which one of you convicts me of sin?
In effect, He says, look at my life. Can you find any fault in Me? Can you see any sin I’ve made? If you can’t, then shouldn’t you trust Me? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe Me? I’ll tell you the reason why, verse 47,
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
And that is our third point. Jesus bears witness to His own paternity. God is His Father, but the Jews are children of the devil.
Number four, verses 48 through 59 – Jesus bears witness to His own deity, but the Jews fully reject Him. In this last section, those who profess to believe in Jesus turn into a raging mob seeking to murder Him. The faith proves to be false. But if Jesus knew this was going to happen, then why didn’t He walk away right after scripture says many believed in Him? Shouldn’t He have prayed the sinner’s prayer and celebrated? Instead, Jesus continues to push back, knowing very well that the very words that He’s going to speak is going to spark a murderous mob. What was Jesus up to?
You see, Jesus follows in the pattern of all of God’s faithful messengers. He’s never concerned about increasing His followers if their faith is going to remain a sham. Instead, Jesus consistently speaks in a way that challenges and unmasks the faith of those who are not genuine. Jesus will not allow people to be deceived into thinking that they’re true Christians, when in reality, they’re not.
And this is an aspect of ministry that I think the North American church is failing at large. Our churches have many professing Christians who will hear from Jesus, I never knew you, depart from Me. And yet we, we have made them feel safe because we’re too busy to be in people’s lives. We’re too afraid to speak the truth and offend people. Or maybe worse, we’re too proud to think that we should be hanging out with people who sin, as if Jesus didn’t hang out with people who had deplorable sin. Now, this doesn’t give us a license to speak however we want, as long as it’s true. No. Scripture clearly commands that all should be said and done in love, with respect, with dignity, talking to an image-bearer right in front of you. But the most loving thing that Jesus does, and we should too, is to help those kinds of people see where they truly stand and the direction that they’re heading. Verse 48, now that the Jews’ arguments have failed, they resort to insults and name-calling. They accuse Jesus of being out of his mind. They say in verse 48,
“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
Jesus denies their claim in verse 49,
I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
Jesus in effect says, Don’t be mistaken. I’m not trying to seek after My own glory. My father will ensure that I am glorified. Again, Jesus promises in verse 51,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon!”
You’re talking like a madman, in other words. You’re possessed. Abraham died. Moses died. David died. Isaiah died. All the prophets died. If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died and the prophets died? In effect, they say, Look at the greatness of revelation that God mediated through these prophets. For crying out loud, Moses spoke to God face to face, and God gave him the law, and we have the law. That’s great revelation. They’re great. But they died. They all died. We all die. Who do you think you are to say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never die? The Jews were convinced that they would never see anyone greater than Abraham or the prophets. Why? Because Abraham’s greatness meant they were great. If someone greater did come, they would lose their superiority or they would be threatened. And the lies they held just could not allow them to believe otherwise. They were holding on to their prejudices so tightly that even if God spoke to them face to face, they would still not let go. They remain the arbiters of truth. They remain the judge. And that is one of the defining markers of children of the devil who disguise themselves as professing Christians. They hold on to certain beliefs that are non-negotiable, no matter what. They accept part of God’s word because it fits with what they want to believe is true while neglecting other parts or failing to consider other parts of God’s word.
How does Jesus answer who he is making himself to be? In verse 54,
If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.
Jesus says, I don’t make myself to be anyone. I know that any attempts at self-glorification is in vain.
It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
Jesus cannot deny what is true. He cannot deny who He is. If He did, He would be a liar. He is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. He is the fulfillment of Abraham’s hopes and longing for the Messiah to finally arrive. He is the one through whom all the earth will be blessed. He is the true Light of the world.
Verse 57, The Jews say, That’s ridiculous. Abraham lived 2,000 years ago. You’re not yet 50 years old and yet have you seen Abraham? Just like Jesus made the Jews’ identity explicitly clear, he now makes His own identity explicitly clear. Verse 58, He says,
Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
And if there was any doubt for what He meant by I am in the past, this one is unquestionable. Jesus claims that He is the self-existing deity. He’s saying that before Abraham was born 2,000 years ago, Jesus is already existing. I am, Jesus says. Before the creation of the world, I am. From infinity’s past to infinity’s future, I am. Verse 59 must be one of the saddest verses in the Bible,
So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Stoning was prescribed for blasphemy. Their response shows that they clearly understood Jesus claiming to be God, but the people fully rejected Him. To paraphrase Augustine’s words, it’s a sad thing that Jesus here must flee from the stones. But the real tragedy, the real tragedy is with those from whose heart of stone God flees. Jesus is the Light of the world, but the world rejects the light. And so the Light of the world hides and darkness returns. This is John 3:19 lived out in real life,
the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
Now how exactly Jesus got away is not clear here, but that’s not the point. The main point of our passage today is that Jesus is the self-existing God, and that guarantees that those of this world, the ones that are in rebellion against God, cannot stand what He has to say. Who Jesus is guarantees that those of this world are repulsed by the truth of His witness.
Now, I could end my sermon here, but thanks be to God, John 8 is not the end of the story. But it is an important part of the story that must be understood and must be accepted. Who Jesus is guarantees that those of this world are repulsed by the truth of His witness. The Bible clearly teaches that everyone, including me, is born belonging to this world, which is guaranteed to reject Jesus and His words. We’re all born as people from below, as people of this world. We’re all born as children of the devil who cannot bear Jesus’ words, who cannot stand in truth, who do not know God. Sin and death enslave us, and all this strikes at the very core of our being. It’s insulting. It’s offensive. But it’s true. It’s the gospel. But if this is true, it means that we’re in grave danger. We need divine initiative. Unless God Himself rescues us from our state, we’re guaranteed to reject Him.
But we serve a glorious God. God did provide the means for our rescue. And how does He do so? He does it precisely through Jesus’ rejection. Jesus reveals His divine identity, which is the very thing that ignites the hatred that leads to the scandal of the cross, and the cross is what guarantees our salvation for those who trust in Him and His words. The cross is where He bore the wrath of God for our rejection and our rebellion. The cross is where He gave His perfect righteousness to us. Without the cross, there is no resurrection from the dead, which proves that everything Jesus said is true. He is the great and all-powerful I Am. I Am is able to rescue even the very people guaranteed to reject Him. I Am can soften the hardest of hearts. If you trust and believe His words, He will set you free, and you will never see death. By His rejection, we are accepted. By His wounds, we are healed. Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.
Let’s pray. Amazing grace that saved a wretch like us. Lord, Your salvation, Your inheritance is undeserved. But Lord, thank You that You have chosen to rescue us. You have chosen to reveal Yourself to us, through your Son. And as we look to the cross, we’re able to see who You truly are in ways that are supreme. Father, we thank You so much for that gift. God, help us to see that we were once undeserved, that we were a part of this world, but You chose us out of the world. Lord, may that destroy every ounce of pride, every ounce of superiority, and give us a humility that our country desperately needs right now. God, we need the humility that the gospel should produce. God, help us to share this message boldly, with passion. It’s the best news we can ever hear. Thank You for who You are and that You have revealed Yourself to us today. We thank you that we get to know this great I Am. And we pray all these things in the powerful name Jesus, Amen.