Confusion, Ignorance, and Self-Righteousness John 8:21-30

Context

John 8:14-20

Jesus is speaking in the temple during the feast of tabernacles to all the Jews who are there to celebrate the holiday.

Light of the world = the pillar of fire. He is claiming to be the Messiah.

Pharisees try to disprove his claim via the law. Jesus proves his claim true through his and his Father’s testimony.

“where is your father?” Jesus turns this comment back around at them as proof they do not know the Father.

Jesus is going “away”

John 8:21 “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.””

They will seek

They will die in sin

They cannot go where he goes

A. The natural life of man

All people go through life seeking something. They are seeking for meaning, purpose, longer life, joy, novelty, love, etc. Everyone is seeking something.

All people die in their sin. It is a universal fact that everyone dies, and everyone who has sinned will die with their sin attached at that hip. That does not leave someone. It is a part of you, and is the only thing you take with you after you die. Your money, your house, your possessions - all are left to others.

Even your memory/legacy is left to be interpreted and told by others. Your actions define you after you are dead, but you can’t explain them. There is no justifying or excusing what you have done. It is all laid bare, and we all die in our sin.

Jesus is referencing heaven, and is clearly stating that those who die cannot go there with him. This is the plight of man. We seek what lies beyond this life, but we cannot attain it. We look for paradise, but we are the very thing that corrupts paradise. And Jesus tells us that where he goes, we cannot.

Dilemma: All people are searching, none are finding, and Jesus is where we want to be, but we cannot get there. Such is the experience of the natural man.

B. The Suicide Misunderstanding

John 8:21-22 “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’?””

The Jews think Jesus is referring to suicide.

Josephus states those who kill themselves should not be honored with a public funeral.

Genesis 9:5 “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.”

The Rabbis of the day interpreted this to mean that everyone had to answer for the life they took. If I took a man’s life, I paid for it with my own. But if I took my own life, how could I pay for it since I already died? I pay by spending eternity in the deepest pit of hell. This line of thinking led them to believe that those who committed suicide were damned for eternity.

Transition: I want to stop and talk about this briefly, because while this is not a passage on suicide, I think this kind of thinking regarding suicide is not different from the thoughts of suicide we have today.

Question: Do professing Christians go to hell if they commit suicide?

How many of you have heard of the unpardonable sin?

We know it is not murder or adultery since David was guilty of both and yet forgiven and we assume in heaven with the Lord if we believe Hebrews 11

We know it is not idol worship and everything entailed with that (sexual sin, human sacrifice, cannibalism) because the Israelites routinely do so and turn back to God, and he forgives them and remains there God and they his people.

I would argue it is not even suicide. Samson kills himself by pushing out the pillars in the temple and killing the philistines along with himself. Yet he his recorded in the hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11.

1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

Mark 3:20–30

English Standard Version Chapter 3

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

How do you commit the unpardonable sin? The answer is by witnessing a miracle or some kind of great work done by Jesus and rather than attributing it to Jesus attributing it to Satan. To do so is to say that God and his power is demonic. That is unpardonable. Now, how many of us have witnessed a miracle of Christ? Therefore how many of us can commit the unpardonable sin? The answer is zero.

So, getting back to our story, do the Jews have proper theology when they think that those who commit suicide are immediately sent to hell? NO!

I want to encourage you. If you are feeling guilty about your sin, wondering if God can forgive you, or wondering if you are too far gone. You’re not. And if you know someone who professed Christ and took their own life, then be at peace knowing that if they had faith in the gospel then they are in heaven with God.

And if any of you are contemplating suicide, I would ask that you look for help. There are people who care for you far more than you realize. There are people who will drop everything to help you through your troubles...

C. Self-Righteousness Revealed

John 8:21–22 “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’?””

The Jews completely blow by the “you will die in your sins” bit and go straight to “is Jesus going to kill himself and go to hell?

Their self-righteousness is evident by ignoring the first part of the statement and focusing on the second.

I went on vacation and we had a good time, we saw a cool museum, we saw the president, and we had a good steak and then we had some dessert. OH! do you have any left over? Can I have some?

The Jews are like a little kid asking the question they care about because they are completely self-absorbed.

They are not concerned for their own soul because they are good people who don’t have to worry about that sort of thing. They are Jews! They are God’s chosen people! They aren’t like the gentiles and Romans who do all these bad things. They are good people who do their best to keep the law. They are self-righteous - trusting in their own goodness to save them.

We need to not be like the Jews. We need to look in the mirror and honestly assess where we stand before God. I do not say this to make you doubt your salvation, but to make you acknowledge reality.

If you are not trusting in Christ, then what are you trusting in? How good are you really? How good are you compared to others? What standard are you using, and how do you know it is the right standard? Is it just what is comfortable to you and what you know you can obtain? Or is it honest and fair? Don’t think higher of yourself than you ought to, because if you do then you will have blind spots like the pharisees did.

Jesus Elaborates

John 8:21–24 “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.””

The people are concerned about the suicide factor of Jesus statement, so he explains it to them.

A. We are different from Jesus

They cannot go where Jesus is going because they are not from where he is from. We are from below or this world, and Jesus is from above i.e. not this world. It is not that he is about to kill himself, but that his home or origin is different from everyone else’s home.

There is a fundamental difference between us and Jesus. Jesus is divine and from heaven, and we are not. This means that we suffer the effects of below. We die, and we die in our sin. It is this sin that prevents us from going to where Jesus is going.

We can be different from others

Jesus implies that there is a way not to die in their sins. There is a way to find the home of Jesus and go where he is going.

It is to believe that “Jesus is he.” What does that mean?

Jesus is claiming the same name for himself as God did with Moses at the burning bush. He is saying I AM. Jesus is claiming to be God. It is a big step to believe such a claim, but according to Jesus - a claim that will save people from their sin.

If you want to live a life that is different and ends differently from everyone else, you must believe that Jesus is God. Not a good person, not a great man, but the Son of God who is deity.

The Jews are Lost Again

John 8:25–26 “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.””

A. Jesus is a Sent Messenger

The Jews ask the same question over and over again. Who are you? Jesus is fed up and says, I am exactly what I have been saying since the start of my ministry.

The Gospel does not change. The word of God does not change. God does not change. What you read and hear me speak of is as sure as anything can be. You can count on it like you can count on gravity. This is never going to change

Jesus is fed up, and says that he has a lot he could say, and a lot that he could judge, but he does not proceed to unload on them.

Rather, he tells them he is sent, and that he declares what he has heard.

A messenger is judged based upon three things: The message, the one sending, and the actual person relaying the message.

If your younger sibling says “mom told me to tell you to do this” you are tempted not to take that very seriously. If your younger sibling said “the President called and told me he wanted you to do such and such” then you’d laugh in their face and ignore them.

But if someone pulls up to your house in a black SUV with tinted windows, and they leave the car with a black suit and a secret service badge and then ask you to come with them, that means a lot more than if your younger sibling says the President needs you.

Jesus is saying that he is a messenger. He has been sent by someone, and is faithfully sharing what he has heard from the one sending the message.

B. The Jews Still Don’t Get it.

John 8:27 “They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.”

The Jews miss the most important part of the message! They don’t know who is giving the message! How do you know if it is worth obeying or not if you don’t know who is sending the message?

It’s like receiving a text message with no name attached. What are you supposed to do with this information until you know who it is from?

C. The Message is from the Father

The Father is whom Jesus speaks of, and the Jews do not realize it. Jesus has told them who he is, he is constantly talking about his Father, he was talking about his Father just a few minutes ago when the Pharisees asked him who his Father was, and the Jews are still like deer in the headlights.

We need to not make the same mistake as the Jews. Jesus did not come to this earth of his own accord, but was sent by God - the same God as in the Old Testament. People frequently say that the God of the Old Testament is unloving and judgmental. But he is the one who sent Jesus! And yes, Jesus is God, and Jesus is loving and compassionate, but there is coming a day when Jesus will not be so loving and compassionate. People today say that Jesus is loving and kind, but people in the future during judgment will say that Christ was full of wrath and anger. It is the same God that we serve as the men in the OT served as the Jews served. Do not forget who Jesus was sent by.

Jesus Offers Proof of His Claim.

John 8:28–29 “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.””

A. Jesus will be lifted up

This is how they will know: Jesus will be lifted up. What does that mean?

Jesus is saying that when he is crucified (lifted up on a cross) and subsequently resurrected that then they will know who he is. Then they will know nothing he did or is doing was done for his own sake or by his own authority, but by the authority and will of the Father.

This makes perfect sense. Jesus does not gain anything by dying on a cross. If he were looking out for his own interests, then he would not have died! His death is proof that he has submitted himself to someone else. He is dying for someone else at the command of someone else. It is proof that what he has done he does in obedience to the Father.

B. Jesus will not be abandoned

But his death does not mean that he is abandoned by God. God is still with Jesus, and he does not abandon him.

Why? Because Jesus always does what pleases God. Those who obey God are never abandoned by God, but those who do not obey God have no reason to think that God is with them. Jesus obeyed the voice of his Father, and God the Father remained faithful to raise Jesus from the dead and ascend him into heaven. God will be faithful to us if we obey him and follow him closely. But abandon God, and we will find not that God has left us, but that we have drifted far from him.

So What?

A. The Truth is There to be had

Don’t play games - trying to trick God or reason around him.

Don’t ignore what is being said to you. Honestly engage with it. Don’t be overly confident in yourself

Don’t miss what is being said.

B. Jesus is the Way

Jesus is God

His death and resurrection are proof of his obedience to the Father

If Jesus obeyed the Father, then he must be the only wat to the Father.