John 8:12-59 - The Truth of Following Jesus

Then, through a series of proofs and rebuttals, they go back and forth, each side strengthening their argument and weakening their opponent’s argument.

They do this until one side emerges as the winner, not because his opinion was proven to be the truth, but because he argued better than his opponent.

What we have in our passage today is sort of like a debate that’s one-sided.

In John 8:12-59, Jesus makes three statements about those who follow him, and some of the Jews try to poke holes in his statements like a debate, as if they are just Jesus’ opinion.

But Jesus proves that his statements are impenetrable because they are absolute truth, not just his opinion.

We are going to walk through each step of this debate in John 8:12-59 as Jesus asserts and proves three ways that he changes the lives of those who follow him, and the Jews deny all three.

Followers of Jesus live in the truth, live in freedom, and live forever.

So, let’s read the first section, verses 12-30, and see the first way that Jesus changes the lives of those who follow him.

John 8:12–16 ESV

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.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness 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 judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

John 8:17–20 ESV

In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 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.

John 8:21–25 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’?” 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.

John 8:26–30 ESV

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.

So, the first way that Jesus changes the lives of those who follow him is that…

Followers of Jesus Live in the Truth (12-30)

In this first section we see how Jesus asserts this reality, and proves the source of truth, and the Jews stubbornly deny it.

So, we see right at the beginning in verse 12 how…

Jesus asserts this reality of truth in him (12)

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.””

Jesus was teaching at the temple probably on the last day of the feast of booths as a continuation of his talk with the religious leaders at the end of chapter 7.

Jesus’ statement here is so similar to the one he made in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””

Whoever believes in me… whoever follows me…

This is a genuine offer of the gospel!

In 7:38 he used the metaphor of water, and here in 8:12 he uses the metaphor of light.

Both metaphors are depictions of the gospel.

And both of them are claims to fulfill different prophecies about the coming Christ.

When Jesus says that he is the light of the world, he is claiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6 which we read earlier in the service.

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Jesus is the servant in Isaiah, that light for the nations.

He’s the light of the world bringing salvation to the ends of the earth!

But when Jesus says that his followers will walk in the light, he’s using it as a metaphor to depict the truth.

When you have light, you can see what’s truly there.

But when there’s no light, you can’t see what’s truly there and your imagination can run wild.

That’s why so many kids are afraid of the dark.

Jesus is the embodiment of the truth of God’s love for us.

And when we follow Jesus, we walk in him, having believed the truth rather than believing the lies of the devil.

And as we’re going to see at the end of our passage, that truth ultimately grants us life.

That’s why he calls it the light… of life.

So, Jesus asserts this claim that he is the truth of God’s love and all who follow him walk in that truth.

And Jesus and the Jews will go on to debate this back and forth.

In verses 13-20 we see that…

Jesus proves he is the source of truth (13-20)

The Jews’ basic argument is that just because someone says something, that doesn’t make it automatically true.

Their argument is a good one in any other circumstance.

Any truth claim like what Jesus just said ought to be confirmed by someone with authority to verify the claim.

But who could verify something like that?

Who could verify that Jesus is the light of the world?

Only God could verify that… and he does.

But their argument also had a false assumption.

They assumed that for something to be true, it needed to be verified.

Like, if a tree falls in the woods, someone has to be there to hear it for the sound to actually exist.

So, Jesus addresses that false assumption and goes on to show how he does have authority to make this claim.

The truth does not depend on having witnesses.

The truth is the truth whether it’s verified or not.

The sound of that tree falling really exists even if it’s not heard by anyone.

That’s called objective reality, or absolute truth.

Jesus argues that he has the authority to make this truth claim because he’s the expert and the Jews are not, and he has another witness to verify his claim.

He is the expert on where he came from and where he is returning… heaven.

The Jews have no clue what Jesus is talking about.

They want to judge him as a liar, but they’re judging God’s spiritual truth claim based on their very limited knowledge in a completely different field.

This is like a kindergartener grading a college math exam with an ABC book!

But when Jesus says, “I judge no one,” he is reserving the condemning judgment for their unbelief until his second coming.

Because his first coming was to save, not to judge.

And just to prove that he is telling the truth, he brings forth a witness to verify his claim according to the stipulations of the Law.

And God the Father is that witness.

This is the same thing he said in chapter 5.

The Father bears witness to the truth of what Jesus has said.

So, there are two witnesses to the truth that Jesus is the light of the world from Isaiah 49:6, and that all who follow him will live in the truth.

And both of these witnesses have the expertise and authority to verify the absolute objective truth of that claim.

Well, this confuses the Jews a bit because this “Father” Jesus has brought forward as a witness is nowhere to be seen.

Now, you would think that this would be a perfect opportunity for Jesus to explain that his Father is God, and to show them from Scripture how he really is the Christ…

But he just points out their ignorance of the truth.

They don’t know him, and they don’t know the Father.

So, they’re stuck in their unbelief, trapped in darkness, and refusing to come to Jesus who really is the light of the world.

Then the author, John, gives us the location and circumstances of this debate.

They are in the temple treasury, a semi-public place that would be perfect for the Jews to arrest Jesus.

But again, it was not time for Jesus to be arrested according to God’s timetable.

That will come later, but not now.

So, Jesus proves that he is the source of truth because he is God who made objective reality.

But next, in verses 21-30, we will see…

The Jews’ denial of truth in Jesus (21-30)

Jesus condemns these Jews just like he did back in chapter 7.

He is going away, back to heaven, they will seek him, but they will die in their sins to be condemned to hell forever because they refuse to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

And again, like in chapter 7, they have no idea what he is talking about.

But this time, instead of thinking he is going into the dispersion among the Greeks, they think he means to kill himself.

So, he explains exactly why they don’t get it and what he is talking about.

They don’t get it because there’s a significant difference between them.

They are of this world, but Jesus is not.

They are thinking in a naturalistic way, but Jesus is speaking about supernatural things, spiritual things.

So, Jesus very pointedly explains his previous condemnation.

They will die in their sins and not follow Jesus to heaven because they refuse to believe in him.

Then the Jews show just how blind and darkened their understanding really is.

Jesus has clearly claimed to be the Christ, the Son of God on many occasions, and he clearly claimed that here as the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6.

And these Jews ask Jesus, “Who are you?”

Who are you!? Are you kidding me?

These Jews must be completely blind to not see who Jesus is, or at least who he’s claiming to be!

That’s sort of Jesus’ response, too.

He’s been telling them who he is from the beginning.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who speaks, judges, and proclaims the truth that God the Father has given him.

And still the Jews don’t get it… they still don’t understand.

Then Jesus tells them that one day they will understand.

They will know that he is the Christ, the Son of God, who has God’s authority, God’s words, God’s presence, and God’s will because he is God.

At this point he doesn’t come out and say that he is God, but he will later in the passage.

But he says that they will know all of this once they kill him.

Jesus says, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man…”

Once they kill him, then they will know that Jesus is the Christ.

They’re going to think they are killing Jesus the heretic, but once they kill him, they will realize that they actually killed Jesus, the true Son of God.

This seems pretty bleak, but we can be encouraged that this debate so far has actually resulted in many people believing in Jesus.

They’ve heard Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world from Isaiah 49:6, and his claim that all who follow him will live in the truth rather than living in the ignorance and lies of the world.

Then they saw the darkness of those who debated Jesus in naturalistic ignorance and influenced by the lies of the world to reject Jesus.

And seeing the difference between the light of Jesus and the darkness of the Jews, they believed in Jesus.

So, we saw how Jesus argued that his followers live in the truth of God’s love because he is that truth.

Now let’s see the second way that Jesus changes the lives of those who follow him in verses 31-50.

John 8:31–38 ESV

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.”

John 8:39–43 ESV

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.

John 8:44–50 ESV

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.” 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.

The second way that Jesus changes the lives of those who follow him is that…

Followers of Jesus Live in Freedom (31-50)

Just like the first point, in this second one Jesus asserts this reality, and he proves the source of freedom, and the Jews stubbornly deny this freedom.

So, in verses 31-32…

Jesus asserts this reality of freedom in him (31-32)

Freedom is the result of the truth we just looked at.

Living in the truth of God’s love in Jesus leads to freedom.

But the obvious question is, “freedom from what?”

Being set free implies a previous bondage, so what are people in bondage to that requires being set free?

Just like the previous, Jesus will explain this through debate with the Jews.

And next, in verses 33-38, we see that…

Jesus proves he is the source of freedom (33-38)

The Jews are confused… again… about what Jesus means by freedom.

They insist that they’re not enslaved because they’re offspring of Abraham.

Now, they aren’t talking about the history of Abraham’s descendants.

It’s super obvious from the historical accounts in the Old Testament and other historical evidence that Abraham’s descendants have definitely been enslaved.

I can think of three off the top of my head… the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians.

So, they cannot mean that the offspring of Abraham as a whole have never been enslaved to anyone.

They’re referring to the current political climate.

Although they are under Roman rule, they are not considered slaves because they are “offspring of Abraham.”

Israel was considered a vassal state, not an enslaved people group.

So, Jesus explains exactly what he means and where freedom comes from.

He’s not talking about physical slavery and freedom; he’s talking about sin.

Every single person is in bondage to sin.

Everyone sins, and sin is addictive.

But what is sin?

Sin, at its heart, is self-love at the expense of God, or others, or God’s creation.

Anything you can think of that is loving yourself and either God, or others, or God’s creation suffers because of it… is sin.

And sin is addictive because it’s satisfying in the moment, but that satisfaction doesn’t last, so we seek more and more like a drug.

We are enslaved to loving ourselves at the expense of others, especially God.

But Jesus explains that there is a way out of this bondage.

Continuing with the slave metaphor, he says that the slave does not remain in the house forever.

There’s always the opportunity for the slave to be freed if the one who has authority to do so wants to.

And the son, the one who remains forever, is the one who has that authority.

So, if the one who has the authority sets you free from your bondage, then you really are free…

Even if you keep coming back to your old habits.

Then Jesus addresses their statement about being offspring of Abraham.

He shifts the metaphor a bit in verses 39-50 from slavery to ancestry to explain…

The Jews’ denial of freedom in Jesus (39-50)

The Jews double down that Abraham is their father, but Jesus says, “False!”

Jesus’ argument is that children emulate their parents.

If Abraham were their father, then they would believe God like Abraham did in Genesis 15.

But they don’t believe God proven by the fact that they’re seeking to kill Jesus, God’s Son.

And seeking to kill Jesus is emulating their true father who Jesus will reveal at the end of this section.

So, the Jews shift their argument from claiming freedom through Abraham to claiming freedom through God as their father.

They think they’re one-upping Jesus.

If Jesus has a problem with them claiming Abraham as their father, then they will just go straight to God as their father.

But Jesus reveals that this is an even more ludicrous claim.

If they were to emulate God as their father, then they would love Jesus because God loves Jesus and sent him to save the world.

But they don’t love Jesus.

They don’t believe he’s the Christ, the Son of God,

They actually want Jesus to be killed.

That’s not very loving.

Then Jesus tells them that they really are enslaved, bound to emulate their true father… the devil.

Their desire to kill Jesus and their refusal to believe the truth of who he is comes from the two most prominent aspects of Satan’s character.

Satan is a murderer and a deceiver.

That’s what he did in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3, and that’s what he continues to do.

He murders through deception.

He deceives us into thinking that God doesn’t love us, and that we need to love ourselves because God won’t.

And because we believe that lie, we sin and our spiritual life is snuffed out… all of us spiritually murdered back in the garden and murdered every day since then.

We all find ourselves in bondage to sin because of the fall, but Jesus has come to free us from that bondage.

He frees us so that we’re no longer bound to love ourselves, we’re free to love God, love one another, and love God’s creation like we were created to do.

It’s so satisfying to do what we were created to do.

And the satisfaction that comes from loving outside of ourselves lasts for eternity.

Well, the Jews didn’t really like being called liars and murderers, so they fire an insult at Jesus that does nothing but discredit their argument.

They’re arguing that Jesus is a liar and a blasphemer, but they’ve lost all momentum, so they resort to calling Jesus names.

They call Jesus a demon-possessed Samaritan.

We’ve seen in chapter 7 what it means in that culture to be called demon-possessed, and we’ve also seen in chapter 4 the disdain the Jews had for the Samaritans.

So, this insult is pretty straight-forward.

They’re calling Jesus a filthy traitor who is out of his mind.

And Jesus doesn’t really address their insult other than to very simply say that it isn’t true, and that their insult actually proves his point.

They don’t honor God, but Jesus does, and God honors him.

So, we saw how followers of Jesus live in the truth of God’s love for us in Christ.

And we just saw how that truth will set us free from sin to love as we were created to do.

Now let’s look at the third way Jesus changes the lives of those who follow him in verses 51-59.

John 8:51–54 ESV

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.’

John 8:55–59 ESV

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 third way that Jesus changes the lives of those who follow him is that…

Followers of Jesus Live Forever (51-59)

Once again, Jesus asserts this reality, and then goes on to prove the source of eternal life, and the Jews deny eternal life in him.

So, in verse 51…

Jesus asserts this reality of eternal life in him (51)

Keeping Jesus’ word is another way of talking about believing Jesus’ claim to be the Christ or following him.

So, if you believe in Jesus, if you follow him, then you will never die.

Now this is an amazing claim.

There are only two sure things in life… that’s right, death and taxes.

And Jesus just said that death is not a sure thing, in fact, it is surely not going to touch those who follow him.

He didn’t say anything here about taxes, though… sorry.

But how would you like to avoid death?

Well, just follow Jesus and you will live forever.

But how can this be?

Just like the previous two points, Jesus will explain this through his ongoing debate with the Jews.

And next, in verses 52-56, we see that…

Jesus proves he is the source of eternal life (52-56)

The Jews understand what an amazing claim Jesus is making here, and it’s way more than they can deal with.

They point out some obvious difficulties… massive hurdles to believing that Jesus can grant eternal life to his followers.

They bring up Abraham and the prophets.

Abraham is their go-to authority figure since God’s promise to Israel first came to him.

And they also bring up the prophets because God did some really amazing miracles through the prophets.

And neither the ultimate Jewish human authority of Abraham, nor the ultimate miracle-workers, the prophets, could grant eternal life.

And neither of them lived forever… they all died.

So, in their minds, Jesus is claiming greater authority than Abraham, and greater power than the prophets.

And that’s exactly what Jesus is claiming, but they don’t want to believe it.

Jesus argues that he does have greater authority than Abraham.

Again, he says that he is not glorifying himself, but the Father glorifies him.

It’s very easy to assume that Jesus is just claiming this authority out of nowhere.

But Jesus intimately knows the Father unlike these Jews who have a blinded and twisted understanding.

So, he highlights the difference between the Jews lying and his own truthfulness because of the amazing claim he is about to make.

Jesus claims that he is greater than Abraham and that his own eternal life is the basis for offering eternal life to his followers.

Abraham honors Jesus as greater than him by rejoicing to see his day.

And Abraham saw Jesus’ day implying that Jesus was alive for Abraham to see him and be glad.

Jesus’ own eternal life is the source of his followers’ eternal life.

This is amazing and wonderful news, but in verses 57-59 we see…

The Jews’ denial of eternal life (57-59)

They refuse to believe that Jesus was alive when Abraham was alive.

Jesus is not even 50 years old, but Abraham lived almost 2000 years before this.

So, clearly, it’s impossible for Jesus, a mere man, to have been alive then.

But he was alive then, and he has been alive for all of eternity as he states in verse 58

I’ll read it again because it’s so good.

John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.””

Jesus claims to be the one who spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:14, “I Am.”

The one who spoke to Moses is God.

And Jesus claims that he has had this identity even before Abraham existed who was alive a few hundred years before Moses.

God is eternal since he already existed when he created time and everything as recorded in Genesis 1.

So, with this simple statement, Jesus makes the clearest claim to be God in all of the Bible.

Jesus is God.

That’s how he’s greater than Abraham and the prophets.

That’s how he’s existed for all of eternity.

That’s how he can grant eternal life to his followers.

That’s how he has authority to set his followers free from sin.

That’s how he is the light of the world bringing salvation to the ends of the earth.

Jesus… is… God.

Well, the Jews knew exactly what he was claiming, and in their book, that deserved immediate execution.

They were confused about a lot of what Jesus said up to this point, but here, it’s crystal clear.

So, they picked up rocks to kill him, but he slipped away.

Jesus has the authority and the power to grant his followers eternal life because he is almighty God who has lived forever, and who conquered death when he rose from the grave.

I feel like it is important to note that Jesus is not talking about extending the life we have right now into eternity.

Just like Jesus died and rose again, so all of his followers will also be raised to eternal life after this life passes away.

Think about it… if our weaknesses and failures and struggle against sin were to continue forever, that would not be much of a blessing.

But we look forward to being transformed through the first death to our glorious eternal life with Christ where our weaknesses, failures, and the very presence of sin will be gone forever.

Conclusion

So, we’ve seen a sort of progression of how Jesus changes the lives of his followers.

Followers of Jesus live in the truth of God’s love because Jesus came as a light to the nations to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

Jesus is the truth we live in.

And living in that truth sets his followers free from our bondage to sin, free to love God and others more than ourselves like we were created to do.

Jesus is the Son who sets us free from sin.

And living in the truth and being set free from sin results in followers of Jesus living forever just as Jesus Christ has lived forever.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God who gives us his eternal life.

And all of this is possible because of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection three days later.

This is the truth of the gospel, the truth that God loves loves you so much that he gave his Son, Jesus, to take your sin and receive the just punishment for it in your place.

When Jesus died, he set all of his followers free from bondage to sin.

And then he rose from the dead three days later securing eternal life for all of his followers as well.

Now, if you are not one of Jesus’ followers yet, then I’m sorry to say that you are, right now, in darkness, bondage, and death just like the Jews who denied all of these things in our passage.

But you don’t have to stay there.

All you have to do is three things… believe, submit, and repent.

Believe in Jesus, believe that he is the Christ, God’s promised deliverer, believe that he is God’s Son, God himself, and believe that he died on the cross for your sins.

And submit to him as ruler of your life because he is God, the ruler and creator of everything, even your life.

And repent of your sin, turn away from loving yourself at God’s expense, and turn to loving him because he loved you first and sent his Son to rescue you from sin and death.

If you will believe, submit, and repent, then you will no longer live in darkness, but you will live in the truth of God’s love for you…

And you will no longer live in bondage to sin, but you will be free to love God and others as you were created to do…

And you will live forever with Jesus where there will be no more weakness, failure, or sin after you are transformed through the first death or transformed when Jesus comes back.

You can have all of this if you will only believe in Jesus, submit to him as the ruler and savior of your life, and turn away from your sin.

And if you are already a follower of Jesus, then be encouraged that you have been abundantly blessed with the truth of God’s love, freedom from sin, and eternal life in Christ.

Pray

Father, thank you for giving us your Son.

Thank you for showing us the truth of your love that you would send your Son to save us from sin and death.

I pray that you would stir the hearts of those here who don’t yet believe.

I pray that you would save them.

I pray that you would demolish their unbelief and bring them joyfully into your family as adopted sons and daughters to be free from sin and live forever with you.

I pray that those of us who already believe would be encouraged in these amazing blessings, and that we would be compelled to share this good news with everyone.

It’s too small a thing that you would only save Israel, or that you would only save us here in Eureka.

You’re the God of the whole world, and you have sent your Son as a light to the whole world to bring salvation to the whole world.

And we get to be a part of that!

Father, give us boldness as we confront the arguments and antagonism of those we share the gospel with.

We know that we cannot save anyone with clever arguments.

You alone have the power to save, and you do it through us as we simply proclaim the truth of your love in Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf.

So, we ask that you would use us.

Use us to proclaim this truth to all of Eureka, all of Humboldt county, all of the world, so that we can rejoice to see people follow Jesus in the truth, in freedom from sin, and in eternal life.

We thank you, and we praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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