John 8:12-59
Notes
Transcript
Handout
If you remember back a couple weeks, Jesus has been in a heated confrontation with the Pharisees. The tone of Jesus’ ministry is intensifying. Jesus only has about six months of ministry left on earth before He is crucified. It has been the festival of booths, a time when people would go to Jerusalem to remember the time of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness. Jesus has been using this Exodus symbolism to proclaim who He is and it has been making the Pharisees angry. What has Jesus declared about Himself?
He is the I AM
Yahweh is the name the Lord gives to Moses through the burning bush. By the time Jesus was on earth the name of Yahweh was reserved for only holy settings. It wasn’t to be used casually or flippantly, and was often replaced with the name Adonai out of reverence. To claim to be Yahweh was the highest form of blasphemy.
He is the Bread of Life
Just as God provided Manna to the Israelites to sustain life as they wandered in the wilderness, the Lord has sent the bread of heaven to bring life to those dead in their sin.
He is the giver of living water
Moses hit a rock with his staff and water flowed out for Israel to drink. In the same way Jesus transforms our stone hearts and produces fountains of living water that flow out of us.
He is the promised prophet
Jesus claims to be sent of the Father and to only speak what the Father commands Him to. This is a reference and a fulfillment of the promise Moses makes in Deuteronomy 18:18.
‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
Verse by verse Jesus us revealing who He is to Israel. He is the Messiah. The one these people have spent generation after generation waiting for. Here is God in human flesh, come to take away the sins of the world.
I AM the Light of the World
I AM the Light of the World
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. “You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. “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. “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.” So they were saying to Him, “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; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
Jesus gives us a second I AM statement here in chapter 8. He says that He is the light of the world, those who follow Him will not walk in darkness, but instead will have the Light of life.
Jesus takes us back once again to Israel’s time in the wilderness. While the people wandered in the wilderness it was the presence of God that guided their way from place to place. God’s presence would be as a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.
Jesus stands here 1500 years later, the presence of God now in human flesh, guiding His people once again into the promised land. Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness, the pillar of fire in the dead of night, that guides His people in the way they should go.
Who is this light for?
The pillar of fire that guided Israel was for Israel, but here Jesus says He is a light for the whole world. All who follow Him will not walk in darkness but will walk in the light.
We are going to see a comparison between light and the truth here in these next couple paragraphs. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of lying, of bearing false testimony. If this is true Jesus would be guilty of breaking the ten commandments.
The thing about light is that there is nothing hidden in the light. Everything is exposed and revealed. Jesus is the light of the world. He is shining a light on the darkness of sin and exposing it, and that’s a good thing. In our sin we want to be free to do every kind of evil without consequence. That is the lie of being in the darkness. Satan can make something look appetizing in the dark but when Jesus shines a light on it we find it to be a dead and rotten promise. When Jesus shines a light on our hearts it does the same thing. He exposes the our evil thoughts and actions. For those have been saved from sin Jesus operates like a skilled surgeon or a dentist, Jesus shines a light on our sin so He can begin the painful work of cutting those things out of our lives. For those of us still dead in sin when Jesus shines His light it is a call to repentance. It shows our desperate need for a savior. The light is evil to those dead in sin because the darkness is their home.
I really like Dracula movies. I think their creepy and cool. Dracula is an un-dead, nocturnal creature. He cannot walk in the light because the darkness is his home. In Bram Stokers Dracula, Van Helsing and his living allies use this to their advantage to stop Dracula from taking over London. Like Dracula, the Spiritually dead live in darkness and find their home there, but for those who are in Christ, the light is where we find life. It is where we find protection and security.
The light is where truth lives because a lie in the light is exposed for what it is. The Pharisees try to claim Jesus is lying about His testimony, but Jesus’ testimony is true. What makes Jesus’ testimony true? How do we know Jesus is who He says He is?
Jesus is speaking about Himself. This isn’t third person knowledge. Jesus is telling the people of who He is. If I told you I was from St. Louis, that I grew up at 2122 San Simeon Dr. in Arnold MO, that I went to Seckman High School and played 4 years of volleyball would you believe me? Probably. What if it wasn’t just my word for it? What if I found someone you trusted more than anybody else and asked them where I am from and they say the exact same thing I did, would you believe me then?
This is what Jesus does. He says that He is the Light of the World sent from heaven. He knows where He is from because He was there. When the Pharisees claim that Jesus is lying He grabs a trustworthy witness that they know and respect. He gets God the Father. Not only is Jesus testifying that He is God, God the Father also testifies that Jesus is God. Every time Jesus fulfills a prophecy God is declaring Jesus to be true. God has been declaring Jesus to be the Messiah since Adam and Eve first fell to sin in the Garden of Eden. For thousands of years God was declaring it to be so and now here stands the proof of God’s foreknowledge.
Jesus doesn’t stop there.
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
Under the Jewish law the testimony of two witnesses is found to be true. Jesus’ inclusion of the Father’s testimony legitimizes His claim to deity. Jesus testifies to the truth as does the Father.
The Pharisees try to refute Jesus’ claim saying, “Where is your Father?”. The problem the Pharisees have here is they honestly believe they know God more than Jesus. There is a severe spiritual arrogance that the Pharisees operate under. They see themselves as hyperspiritual, as the ultimate authority on God and the Old Testament. Jesus comes in and challenges every belief they have. They think themselves spiritual but Jesus says they judge according to the flesh. They aren’t as enlightened as they would like to have people believe. They are sinners. Walking in darkness hating the light pretending to be lights themselves. When Jesus exposes their hearts they hiss in fear and attack everything Jesus says to maintain their delusion. They ask Where is your Father to mock Jesus. At this point in Jesus’ ministry Joseph has probably passed away. On top of that there were probably some that believed Mary got pregnant outside of her marriage. Meaning that Jesus doesn’t have a father and if He did He probably doesn’t even know who His real dad is. Jesus doesn’t flinch at their mocking. Jesus father is God and they would know that if they really knew who God was. At this the Pharisees wanted to kill Him, but 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.
Jesus give the Pharisees the outcome of their current worldview. As self-righteous people they believe their good works have earned them a place in heaven. Jesus warns them that they cannot follow Him without first believing in Him. The sin in the pharisees hearts cannot be undone by good works. That is a human solution to a spiritual problem. Only Jesus can transform our hearts and He does so through faith in Him.
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Trusting in Jesus is the only way we can be forgiven our sins.
Jesus references a story from the book of Numbers, another story from when Israel was wandering in the wilderness. He first referenced this story in His conversation with Nicodemus back in John 3, but He does so again here. Jesus says the Son of Man will be lifted up, that is when they will see and know He is God.
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
In John 3, Jesus says just as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so will the Son of Man be lifted up. All who look to Jesus will be healed of their sin and be made new. This is our hope for salvation. Our hope isn’t dependent on what we have done or what we will do. Our hope is in Jesus who payed the penalty of our sin for us. He did the work. We believe by faith and receive that free gift of grace.
The Truth will set you free
The Truth will set you free
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “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. 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.”
Jesus tells us that following Him is what sets us free. Walking and abiding in the light. Turning away from our darkness and trusting Him. Truth sets us free.
Again this idea of lineage or who a person’s father is comes back into play. They questioned who Jesus’ Father was, Jesus says they don’t know God the father because of their sin. Now they say Abraham is their father. Again their trust is not in Jesus but in earthly things. 1st their trust was in their works now it is in their ancestry. They were children of Abraham, children of the covenant, but not really. Though they claimed to be sons of Abraham they served a different father. They were slaves to sin. You without Jesus, you are a slave to sin. If God is not your Father. If you are dead in your sin and a slave, who is your father?
You are of Your father the devil
You are of Your father the devil
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.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 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. 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. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
Jesus says if you are a slave to sin, if you hate the light and love darkness, if you reject the truth you are a child of the devil. If God were our father, if even Abraham were our father, we would love Jesus and choose to do what is right, but we are dead in our sin, and citizens of darkness without Jesus.
How do you know if you are a child of the devil?
Do you love your sin? Are you content in it?
Do you hate truth?
Do you believe the words of Jesus? Have they changed your life?
Jesus says satan is a murderer who hated the truth, who opposed what is good. When he lies he speaks from his own character, there is no truth in him.
Look at your character, are you hateful? Are you a liar? Do you love the secrecy of darkness? These things are evidence of a life without the Holy Spirit. This is a life that is enslaved to sin.
The question for today is, who is your father?
Before Abraham was, I AM
Before Abraham was, I AM
The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “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. 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! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. 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.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
The Pharisees say the most hateful things they can think of. They have implied that Jesus was born from sexual immorality, they say Jesus has a demon, and they say He is a Samaritan. To them these were the three most hateful things they could say to Jesus. The Pharisees want to dishonor Jesus but God desires to honor Jesus.
How does the Father honor Jesus?
The Father honors Jesus through His life, death, and resurrection.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 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.
Through Jesus God has made the way for all who were dead and enslaved in their sin to find life and freedom in Jesus’ name. That is why Jesus has the name that is above every other name. It is in the name of Jesus that we have life and salvation.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is our hope for life. Abraham did not taste death because He believed in God’s promise. When His eyes closed for the last time they were opened in eternity never to be closed again. Abraham is with God right now in heaven because he believed. This is why Jesus came to the earth. To keep the promises made throughout the generations. God testifies to who Jesus is. He is our savior. The Light of the World. Abraham is a witness in heaven watching as Jesus stepped off His throne to be born in human flesh, and he rejoiced that he would see the days of Jesus.
The Pharisees don’t understand. How could Jesus know Abraham when Jesus isn’t even 50 years old. Jesus knew Abraham because He was the one who created him.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Jesus is God. He is Yahweh. He existed before all things and is creator of all things. He has always been and He always will be.
The Pharisees picked up stones to kill Jesus. This was there response to the good news of the gospel. How will you respond? What will you do with Jesus? Who is your father?
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
