Believe that He is He
Notes
Transcript
I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “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; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 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.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said 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.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
My purpose this morning is to have us examine ourselves and see if we truly believe that Jesus is who he says he is and whether or not our lives reflect the faith that we claim to have
Intro
A) Light of the world proclamation - John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
B) Pharisees shift their tactics yet again…
1) Tried to arrest him - John 7:30
2) Tried to trap him with the woman in adultery John 8:1-11
3)And then after he declared himself to be the LIGHT OF THE WORLD….
they tried to discount his testimony on a misused legal technicality… John 8:13-18
C) In this mornings passage we will see that they Now they try another tactic and began to make fun of Jesus and mock him through their insulting questions.
3 questions:
1. Where is your father? verses 18-19
John 8:18–19 (ESV)
I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?”
at minimum… this is a rejection of Jesus’s claim that his father is his witness.
But they are likely referring to the peculiar details of Jesus’ birth.
In their eyes he was born by an unmarried woman who claimed that Jesus’ earthly father (Joseph) was not even his real father!
I hope you can already see the hatred of these Jewish leaders.
THEY HAVE NO DESIRE FOR THE TRUTH.
Since they could not prove Jesus was lying or false.. they begin to attack his upbringing and his character.
As we will see later… they didn’t know he was talking about God his Father.
These pharisees… seeing they did not perceive and hearing they did not understand…
I pray that is none of us this morning.
Jesus’ Response: (Notice he doesn’t spend anytime proving his birth, defending his mother, or pleading for them to believe his testimony…)
John 8:19–20 (ESV)
They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “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; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Jesus’ response is simple yet powerful. He knew the hearts of every individual around him that day.
He also knows the hearts of every individual in this room this morning.
DO YOU KNOW THE FATHER? DO YOU KNOW JESUS? DO YOU BELIEVE HIS TESTIMONY IS TRUE? DO YOU TRUST HIM?
John adds in verse 20 that he spoke in the treasury. John adds this for a reason!
It’s important.. in the temple’s treasury, coins were contributed by the people to honor God and support the poor…
Jesus words were also delivered here to honor his father and support the “spiritually poor”.
He is standing in the treasury proclaiming that HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! WHOEVER FOLLOWS HIM WILL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE!
What a gift this was to the treasury!
2. Will he Kill himself? verses 21-22
John 8:21–22 (ESV)
So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
Before we get to the question asked here…
Jesus claims to be the light..
And now he explains that this light is going away..
Many will seek light.. but will die in their sin.
WHY? Because they are in darkness. Of course they are seeking light!
But they don’t believe Jesus is.
ILLUSTRATION (STORM SHELTER.. HOUSE IN AUGUSTA, GA)
PURE DARKNESS. Couldn’t see my hand in front of my face.
This is the darkness all of us once lived in.. and some of you in here are still walking in this darkness.
JESUS IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM TELLING THEM HE IS THE LIGHT!
YET, they do no believe. And because of this they will die in their sins…
So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
This is the epitome of Blindness and Self-righteousness. (Explain)
Just told by Jesus they would die in their sins…
Yet they think he must be going to commit suicide (Explain)
Because in their eyes.. they were going to heaven.. so he must be headed to hell.
Jesus’ Response: verse 23-24
He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Jesus clearly separates himself…
He is from above, they are not.
They are of this world.. he is not.
“For unless you believe that I am (he) you will die in your sins.”
The “HE” in “I am he” is added. In the original, Jesus basically said unless you believe that “I am”, you will die in your sins.
See… THe pharisees wanted to follow God and felt they deserved heaven..yet they wanted to prove Jesus to be a heretical lunatic
Others believed he was a prophet
Some believed he was a good moral teacher
The Problem is… Jesus is claiming to be the GREAT I AM. HE is claiming to be one with God the Father.
UNLESS YOU BELIEVE THAT HE IS HE, You will die in your sins.
The pharisees still don’t quite understand what Jesus is saying here… so once again they mock him with another question.
3. Who are you? verse 25
John 8:25a (ESV)
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Once again their blindness and self-righteous hatred… “Who are you”… a rabbi from Nazareth? Illegitimate child? We are the leaders of Jerusalem.. Who are You?
Response: John 8:25-29
John 8:25–29 (ESV)
Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 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.” They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said 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.”
There is so much to unpack here… But I will focus on just two of the things Jesus said…
1. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning…”
Jesus is FED UP
They aren’t even listening to anything he says!
HE has given them signs! HE has proven himself over and over again!
He has been telling them who he is from the beginning!
Not just the beginning of this conversation (which he had)
Not just the beginning of his ministry (which he had)
BUT ALSO THE VERY BEGINNING!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
If you want to know who Jesus is… you can start at the Beginning…
2. verse 28…“When you have lifted up the son of man, then you will know that I am He.”
Jesus’ death and resurrection (being lifted up) will reveal his deity!
NOTICE THE WORDS JESUS SAYS…
He does not say “once you have lifted up the son of man, then you will BELIEVE…
HE SAYS “THEN YOU WILL KNOW”
We have to understand that that there is coming a day.. NOT just for the pharisees but for ALL OF US… EVERYONE YOU KNOW…
There is coming a day that EVERYONE will know that JESUS is the son of God!
for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This does not mean everyone will believe… The age of Grace will come to an end.. for those who have already died in their sins… ITS TO LATE…
But if you are sitting in this room this morning.. ITs not to late
If your family member, child, parent or friend or coworker is still alive and breathing.. its not to late!
BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS HE. Proclaim to the world that Jesus is the light they are searching for… and he is the ONLY WAY
Time is running out.
There is coming a day when you will stand face to face with the GOD of the Universe… and your knee will bow… let it be willingly by believing in his Son Jesus.
Application
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
We cannot forget JOHNS Purpose for writing his Gospel… He isnt just recording the events of Jesus’ life… Every word, every story, every detail he writes in His gospel if for this purpose!
The most important thing i can ask you all this morning is how would you answer these same three questions Jesus was asked?
1) Who is your father, Jesus?
Can you answer… God the Father, the Great I am, the maker of heaven and earth?
2) Will he kill himself?
Can you answer… No he didn’t kill himself, but he did lay his life down on the cross for my sins. And he rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the father even now…
3) Who are you, Jesus?
Can you answer boldly like peter? You are the Christ, the son of the Living God, the savior of the world.
Conclusion
I want to conclude this morning by looking at the last verse in this mornings passage…
As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Can you believe it?
Jesus is in a discourse with pharisees telling them they are going to die in their sins… Claiming to be the great i am! And as he was saying these things… MANY believed in Him.
So the word of God is going out like seed… some of it falling on deaf ears… but some of it falling on ears that are open and receptive…. All through the power, mercy, and grace of God…
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
GODS Word is powerful this morning… Do you believe?
I don’t mean just a … yea i believe… no i mean do you really believe… because when I read God’s word.. When someone truly believes that Jesus is God, Jesus is the King of Kings.. they start looking different, they start acting different, they start speaking in a new way, they start treating others around them differently…
DOES YOUR LIFE REFLECT A BELIEF THAT JESUS IS GOD! THE JOY OF OUR SALVATION! KING OF KINGS and LORD of LORDS
I believe that if you answer is yes that you won’t just believe in Jesus but you will FOLLOW HIM.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
His sheep hear his voice (the Word), and i know them, and they FOLLOW ME…
I love telling stories about my grandfather who passed away a few years ago… We call him PAPA.
Before christ…
Conversion…
After Christ…
LET US EXAMINE OURSELVES THIS MORNING… DO WE BELIEVE.. AND does this belief drive us to follow Jesus?
Prayer or Run to the father if there is time…
