John 8:39-47

Introduction/Review

Context: In the temple during the feast of booths speaking to Jews who want him dead.

Jesus made the point that those who abide in him are free from sin. The Jews are enslaved to sin because they are trusting not in the word of God but in their heritage. And yet Jesus says despite being physically descended from Abraham, The Jews are spiritually descended from the devil.

Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Psalm 14:3 “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

We made the application that there are only two sides - those who find freedom in Christ through faith and repentance from sin, and those who remain enslaved in sin - serving the devil as they were born.

And while both sides struggle with sin, the side that has found freedom has the desire and ability to fight sin and be free of it while the other side has the desire to continue in sin - seeking new ways to sin and more opportunities to sin.

Passage:

John 8:39–47 “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…”

The Jews Reflect Their True Father

Context: John 8:37–38 “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.””

A. The character of Abraham

John 8:39–41 “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.”

The Jews continue to trust in their heritage to make them right before God. They are self-righteous - trusting in themselves rather than in God. How do we know they are self-righteous? Because of their behavior. They don’t behave as Abraham behaved.

How did Abraham behave?

Romans 4:20 “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,”

Abraham was a man of faith. He...

Left his homeland

Believed God’s promise of many descendants

Nearly sacrificed Isaac

B. The Character of the Jews

This greatly contrasts with the Jews.

Abraham expresses faith in God while these Jews want to kill him. These could not be more opposite reactions. There is no wondering who is the Father of these Jews: it is clearly the devil! Jesus predicted this exact thing however:

John 3:19 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

Jesus’ words from earlier are proven true. He speaks facts and logic, and the Jews want him dead. Abraham had faith when God spoke to him. The Jews have only murder in their heart.

This is proof that the Jews are not descendants of Abraham - a man of faith - but of the devil - the enemy of God who seeks to overthrow him and kill him.

Once again, I ask you how hearing these messages make you feel? Do you have faith that what Jesus is saying is true, or does hearing the words of Jesus anger you? Know your reaction and use this as a measure of which side you are on.

The Jews poke Jesus Again

John 8:41–42 “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.”

A. The Jews take a shot at Jesus

“We were not born of sexual immorality” is the Jews way of insinuating that Jesus came from an illegitimate background. This is another jab directed at Jesus.

Alright, fine, Abraham is not our father, surely Jesus you can’t say that God is not our Father?

The Jews continue to demonstrate arrogance and self-righteousness by thinking that they are better than all other peoples because they serve the one true God. They must be good people. They must belong to God.

Don’t miss what the Jews are saying. They are boasting, but not in God. They are boasting that they were the people picked by God as if that somehow makes them superior to everyone else around them.

B. We should Boast in Christ

2 Corinthians 10:17 ““Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

If the Jews knew God, they would have been boasting not in their descendancy, but in the goodness and graciousness of God to reveal himself to them. They would have been thankful and humble rather than arrogant. God did not choose the Jews because they were better people just like God did not choose Abraham because he was a better person. We just learned that he worshipped the moon! How is that guy better than everyone else around him?

Jesus responds that those who love God love him.

There are a lot of people who say they are of God. But when you tell them that Jesus is the only way to heaven, they don’t like hearing that, and they will accuse you of being unloving, intolerant, and all sorts of nasty terms. It is because they do not love Jesus.

Why? Because Jesus is sent by God. He did not come because he felt like it, or because he wanted to do God a solid. Jesus came at the desire of the Father. This is a really interesting dynamic - that Jesus submits himself to the Father. He was sent by God. He is the ambassador of God.

This gives us a peek into how the Trinity works.

The Source of Unbelief

John 8:43–47 “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.””

A. The Reason for Unbelief

John 8:43-44 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.

Jesus asks a rhetorical question

They do not understand for one reason: They cannot bear to hear his word.

Why can’t they bear to hear his word? Because they are of the devil, and they desire the same thing as the devil.

So what is the devil’s desire? To kill and deceive.

Whom has he killed and whom has he deceived?

Murder is likely a reference to Adam and Eve in the garden. They were spiritually killed through the deceit of Satan. Everyone since has been born dead in their trespasses and sin

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”

This is Satan’s goal: It is to make sure that those who are spiritually dead stay dead, and to deceive those who are dead and confuse those who have been born again.

Battle lines on the board

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

The Bible is clear that the devil is real and dangerous.

B. The Language of Evil

John 8:45–47 “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.””

If Satan is the Father of lies, then that is his default setting. “His native language is to lie.”

If you are not in Christ, then you are of the devil, and if your native language is to lie, then the foreign language is the truth. You speak lies and deception as your father does, but when you hear truth you cannot make sense of it or comprehend it because it isn’t your natural language. That is why those who are unsaved cannot come to Christ without the work of the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever shared the gospel with someone, and they just don’t get it? The argument you make is perfectly logical, but they can’t seem to follow or understand? It is because you are speaking two different languages. Until the Holy Spirit opens their mind to understand the language of truth, they can never comprehend it because it is not in their nature to do so.

That is a sad reality, but it is a relief to me to know that other people mock, laugh, and ignore me when I preach the gospel not because I am doing what is wrong, but because they are incapable of doing what is right.

This is the heart of every man that has been born. There is no person of whom this was not true of at some point in their lives.

Jesus then asks who can convict him of sin? It is not anyone present

Why does he ask them that?

If they can prove him to be guilty of some kind of sin, then Jesus teaching is completely undermined. The Jews think that he is guilty of sin. They think he is blaspheming, but they cannot prove that he is lying.

If you cannot prove someone to be wrong, then that probably means that they are right. The pharisees are likely still listening, and if they cannot interject with even one single piece of evidence to question Jesus (remember that they hate Jesus and want him dead) then it is likely because he is innocent of all sin.

Jesus brings home his argument with simple logic.

Those listening know they can’t pin anything on him, and if he is not lying (or at least can’t be proven to be lying) then he must be telling the truth. And if he is telling the truth, why are they rejecting what he says? Why do they want to kill him?

Jesus continues: Those who hear God’s word are of God. They accept what he says, they abide in his word, and they live according to the truth.

Those who do not hear God’s word do not hear it because they are not of God. They are incapable of accepting the truth concerning God’s word.

Realize that this is why the World rejects God. The devil is the current ruler of this world, and he was the first to reject God. It is no wonder that the world follows in his steps. So do not be surprised when gross, flagrant, despicable sin happens. It is horrifying, and it is worth being sad about, but it should not be surprising. Those who don’t know God are children of the devil, and they cannot know God because they only know the devil.

Application

Do you hear the Words of God?

Do you hear Jesus speak and believe that he speaks the truth, or do you hear him speak and wish he would stop?

Isaiah 55:6 ““Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”

Just because you don’t hear God’s word or understand it now does not mean you never can.