Jesus the Eternal One
Chasing Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsAs the teachers of the law seek to discredit Jesus, they accuse him of being demon-possessed and a Samaritan, a people who distorted the law. As Jesus continues His teaching, He points them to the ignorance of their argument. Jesus cannot be demon-possessed or a Samaritan because He is God. Jesus is not a great teacher or a prophet, He is God in human flesh. This distinctive allows us to place our full trust in Him. He was and is and is to come.
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Jesus’ Motivations
Jesus’ Motivations
The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
John 8:48-
The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
When all other attacks on Jesus have been met with people believing in Jesus as a result of His response, the Jews turn to attacking Jesus’ motivation. Jesus had done the miraculous so that the crowds questioned if He is not the Messiah, what more would the Messiah do when He came? Jesus had taught the truth of the Scriptures as one who spoke from His own authority, a sign of the Messiah. He had put on display how He was the fulfillment of the promise that Israel had awaited so very long for.
Refusing to bend to their view of Him as Messiah, the Jews attack Jesus’ motivation, why He has come. Their explanation is that He must be either a Samaritan or demon-possessed. Samaritans and the demon-possessed had one thing in common, in the eyes of the Jews, they were not of God. The Samaritan was a traitor to the people of Israel. They had intermarried with those who had held the nation as captives. They were a people blinded in their sin and desperate to build validity to their claim as God’s people. As a result, the Samaritans developed stories and tradition not given by God as to where to worship Him and how He was to be worshipped. To call Jesus a Samaritan was to say that the motivation for His claims were self motivated, given only for personal glory and validity.
To call Jesus demon-possessed was to once again question His motivation. Demons are self-motivated. Their singular aim is self-glorification. Lucifer was jealous for His own glory. Those that followed have sought to be like God as well. Their aim is to steal, kill, and destroy that they may be exalted. Satan as he tempted Jesus told Jesus that he would make him ruler if He would only worship Him. The ain of the demons is self-glorification.
Jesus stands against the accusations of the Jews with one simple piece of evidence, all that He does is not of His glory but rather the Father. Jesus can not be both self-motivated and give all the glory to the Father.
Jesus’ Actions
Jesus’ Actions
John 8:52-
At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
Jesus came to point us to the Father. Every breath, action, deed, parable and moment of prayer was dedicated to the central aim of making the Father known to His people and to pave the way for a restored, perfect relationship between God and man. Is Jesus greater than Abraham? Absolutely, Abraham’s works were not his own, but Christ was the mover during the time of Abraham and is still the mover in his day.
Everything that Abraham is given credit for was God’s doing. Abraham was the Father of Israel, a title God gave him. Abraham was the Father of the covenant, a covenant that God is the only One who could fulfill. Abraham is the one to whom righteousness was credited, but that righteousness was given by God.
Jesus though could hold claim to the actions that He has done. The miracles were the work of His hands. His teachings came from His authority, but even in this, He points the glory to the Father. Even Abraham longed for the day that God’s promises would be fulfilled in Christ. That day is now.
Jesus’ Fulfillment
Jesus’ Fulfillment
“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Jesus concludes with the statement that gives validity to all that He has said. “Before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus points to His oneness with the Father. If Jesus is one with the Father, then what He says holds greater weight, hope and promise. Jesus truly can give springs of living water to each of us, because if He and the father are One, then He has holds the power of life and death. Jesus can be the light of the world only if He and the Father are one because as John writes in His epistle, God is light. Jesus can restore our relationship with the Father because He has restored our relationship with Himself.
We can place our faith in Jesus because He is God. He is more than a man, He is God in human flesh. He is God with us. He is the God who is bound to fulfill that which He has promised.