Those Who Die in Their Sin (8:21-30)

Aaron Sturgill

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John 8:21–30

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In 1978, Arnold Shapiro directed a documentary titled “Scared Straight.” The documentary unfolds the drama of a group of juvenile delinquents and their three-hour session with convicts of Rahway State Prison. “A group of inmates berate, scream at, and terrify the young offenders in an attempt to scare them straight” in order to keep these teens from a life in prison.

Message 40 | | September 1, 2019

In somewhat similar fashion, in , Jesus outlines for these hardened Jews what their life will be like if they choose to not believe in him.

Hopelessly Seeking (8:21, 28)

First evidence of hopelessly seeking (8:21). “I am going away and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.”

What did he mean? They wouldn’t seek for Jesus per say; they would be glad he was gone. But they would continue to seek for the Messiah not realizing that they had just killed Him.[1]

And this seeking provides no hope. Jesus acknowledges the fact that they will all fail to find him and will instead die in their sin. Not only will they fail to find the Messiah, this failure will result in eternal loss and damnation.

Not many years would pass, and Rome would come and destroy them. In those moments, and many others like it, they would cry out for the Messiah. In those moments, their voices would fall on deaf ears. Their Messiah had come, and they had rejected him.

A Second Evidence of Hopelessly Seeking (8:28). “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.”

Three times in this gospel, John writes of Jesus being “lifted up.” In chapter 3, John reminds us of how “Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (). The second usage is here in chapter 8, and the third time John uses this phrase, Jesus speaks to his disciples about how when he is “lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (). John then informs the reader that Jesus “said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” ().

Clearly, each of the three context references Christ’s death as he is lifted-up on the cross. With this being the case, verse 28 may offer some confusion. Jesus says, “when you have lifted up the son of man then you will know that I am he” (). Logic and historical evidence would indicate that the Jews, more specifically these religious leaders, did not know that Jesus was the Messiah immediately following Christ being lifted-up in his death.

Therefore, the reader should avoid thinking with a strict chronology. Christ was lifted-up in his death. He was then lifted-up in his exaltation to the right hand of the Father. He will then reign as the lifted-up Messiah. The lifted-up Messiah will be recognized as Jesus, whom they killed. At this point, there is no hope. He will have already been rejected and they will have already died in their sin.[2]

Kruse. When they have ‘lifted him up’, and when they see the exalted one coming with the clouds of heaven, they will realize who he is, and that he said and did nothing on his own, and that all he said was what the Father taught him, but then it will be too late.[3]

Implications for today. Implicit in both verses is the truth that we have been given a limited window of opportunity in which to accept Christ. Once that window closes, whether through death or the hardening of one’s heart, there is no hope. The closing of that window, leaves us hopelessly seeking.[4]

Cynically Hostile (8:22)

“Will he kill himself?” ().

What did they mean? Jesus made a similar statement in . In that instance the Jews, likely sarcastically, responded by saying, “He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?” The response in chapter 8 is even more biting. This question is not genuine concern over Jesus’ emotional state. They simply make jabs at him with cynicism and cruelty.

Suicide was considered a horrific act, not unlike today. Josephus wrote, “while the souls of those whose hands have acted madly against themselves, are received by the darkest place in Hades . . . Accordingly our laws determine, that the bodies of such as kill themselves should be exposed till the sun be set, without burial.”[5]

In similar form to their opinion of Jesus being a demon, the Jews thought Jesus was a mad man and would end up dying and going to hell. Ironically, He does not commit suicide but does voluntarily lay down his life, and they would take it. He, instead of going to hell, is gloriously lifted to heaven; and they, instead of going to heaven, die in their sins and go to hell.

Implications for today? We should expect no less today. Genuine concern over the lost state of others will likely be received with cynicism and cruelty.

Worldly Shortsighted (8:23)

"You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world” ().

What did he mean? In a little bit of a twist, Jesus counteracts their implication that He would be in hell by stating that He is truly from above (heaven) and that their motivation or focus was earthly (potentially hell bound). Jesus does, later in this passage, tell them that their father is the devil.

The Jews couldn’t shift their focus and attention from the realities, perceptions, and longings for the things of the world to heavenly truths. Their inability resulted in earthly frustration and eternal damnation.

Likeness to Ecclesiastes. Similarly, Solomon outlines his attention to the things of the world. Solomon searched for everything “under the sun” hoping that he would find satisfaction in life. It was not until he got his mind off the earthly and looked heavenward that he found where true satisfaction rested.

Implications for today? Paul exhorts us with the same principle. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (). John writes in his first epistle,

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever ().

The corruption of our nature is most vividly seen in our seeming inability to remove our determined focus on the earthly things, our ignorant and destructive focus on the creature and created things instead of the creator.

Everybody's talking about heaven like they just can't wait to go Saying how it's gonna be so good, so beautiful Lying next to you, in this bed with you, I ain't convinced 'Cause, I don't know how, I don't know how heaven, heaven Could be better than this[6]

Of course, we desire to avoid future misery, yet we still hold fast to our worldly possessions and things. In so doing we jeopardize our infinite joy and heavenly treasures for trifles of worldly joy.

Thomas Reade, 1827. Blessed Jesus! thou who art the kind Physician of souls, heal this fatal distemper of my fallen nature — an earthly mind. Spiritualize my affections — elevate my views — enlarge my heart. Fill my soul with thine own self. Let me not grovel here below, fond of the perishing vanities of time. Wean my heart from the fugitive enjoyments of sense, and fix my affections upon thyself, the eternal unchanging source of good. O! satisfy me with thy mercy and that soon. Hasten to help me, for thou art my God.[7]

Overwhelmingly Condemned (8:24)

“I told you that you would die in your sins” ().

Take note of the change from singular “sin” in verse 21 to the plural “sins” in verse 24. While many respected commentators draw an interesting and potentially significant inference from this change[8], Lenski likely writes most accurately, “Note the thrice repeated phrase: die “in your sin” or “sins” (spreading out the collective singular in the plural).”[9]

The position of being “in your sins” is a position of condemnation. Remaining in our sins requires suffering the punishment and condemnation for our sins.

The Jews refused to believe. As a result, they would die in their sins. They would remain unforgiven. They would not be redeemed. They would not receive the righteousness of God. They would not be transformed into a new creation. They would remain separated from their Creator. Lost. Hopeless. Condemned. Eternally in hell.

What a tragic position to consider. And yet, everyday people all around us remain in a similarly darkened state of being in their sins. Our proper response is both gratitude for our position in Christ and boldness in declaring the gospel to those who remain in their sins.

Willfully Ignorant (8:25)

“Who are you?” (). Their statement could mean a couple of things potentially.

1) Who are you again? This might be what they meant, and if this was the intent it was probably sarcastic. They knew who Jesus was proclaiming himself to be, and obviously they doubted His claim. “You’re just some carpenter from Nazareth – who are you – you’re not the Messiah.”

2) Who are you to tell us that we are going to die in our sins? This second option follows the context better. Jesus just condemned them to eternal damnation for not believing in Him. They naturally respond in anger and demand, more than request, “who are you to tell us that we are in our sins? How dare you!”

They find themselves beyond the point of being fed up with Jesus. They are done genuinely inquiring into his teachings. They are done feigning any sort of decency. Their minds are made up and nothing is going to change them. As far as they are concerned, Jesus has blasphemed too many times to count. Their only responses to him consist of outrage and mocking.

He didn’t fit their expectations – whatever those expectations may have been. They wanted something other than him. And in their ignorance and rejection, they reject their Messiah and their only hope for salvation.

Conclusion: A Stark Contrast (8:29)

The natural desire for any one of us would be to avoid the plight of dying in our sins. Good news! John offers a solution within the passage. John clearly indicates that being left in your sins equates to being separate from God. Therefore, Jesus’ statement “he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone” () verbalizes the hope we all feel. We don’t want to be eternally separate from God. We want him to be with us. We don’t want to be left alone in our sins. This is a glorious position that Christ describes.

Yet, this position has a caveat. God has not left Christ alone because Christ “always do[es] the things that are pleasing to him” (). This position is conditioned on Christ’s perfect obedience to the will of the Father.

And with just one condition we find ourselves back in our sins because we will never perfectly obey the will of the Father. Unless, somehow we can find ourselves situated “in Christ!”

In believing we are placed “in Christ.” (1) Timothy informs us that we were given “grace in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (). (2) Paul writes in of how nothing can separate us from the love of God for those who are in Christ Jesus. (3) Again, Paul writes in that “we have redemption through [Christ’s] blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” (4) In Christ we become the righteousness of God (). And finally, (5) we have become a new creation in Christ ().

[1] Kruse, John, 204. “His opponents would not be looking for Jesus himself—glad perhaps that he had departed the scene—but they would be looking for the Messiah, and they would not find him, because Jesus was their Messiah. They would die in their sin while looking for another.”

Carson. “What is meant, rather, is that they will go on looking for the Messiah (which is why Jesus says you will look for me). If they do, they cannot possibly find him; they are chasing an ephemeral wisp, for they have rejected the only Messiah there is.”

[2] The word for “lifted up” is in the aorist tense, while the word for “know” is in the future middle. I’ve wondered if in this change of tense there is some significance.

N. Clayton Croy, A Primer of Biblical Greek (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), 66. “future middle forms will be encountered most often as deponent futures, in which case they are only middle in form and will be translated with active meanings.”

[3] Kruse, John, 207.

[4] Barclay, The Gospel of John, Volume 2, 2:19. “Implicit in this argument is the truth that life and time are limited. It is within an allotted span that we must make our decision for Christ. The time we have to make that decision is limited—and none of us knows what that limit is. There is therefore every reason for making it now.”

[5] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 656. (Wars of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 8)

[7] “On the Deceitfulness of the Heart” Thomas Shaw B. Reade, Christian Retirement: Spiritual Exercises of the Heart (Kirkby Lonsdale: Arthur Foster Printer, 1827), 33–37.

[8] Quite a few respected commentators argue that this change from singular to plural indicates a slight change in emphasis. The singular “sin” references the sin of unbelief, while the plural “sins” references the inevitable depraved lifestyle of sin that follows unbelief. While I am intrigued by this thought, I 12find no evidence for this in the context or grammar.

Bruce, The Gospel of John, 191–92“The ‘sin’ (singular) is preeminently their failure to believe in him, their refusal to come to the light while it is available . . . The plural ‘sins’ is used in verse 24, as against the singular ‘sin’ in verse 21; if the singular expresses the root sin of unbelief, the plural expresses those particular attitudes, words and actions which make up its fruit.”

Borchert, , 25A:299“The use of the singular ‘sin’ here probably is a condemnation on their unwillingness to believe, but the repetition in the plural (‘sins’) at 8:24 means that Jesus rendered his verdict on their evil actions as well.”

Carson, The Gospel According to John, 342“The plural sins contrasts with the singular in v. 21, and refers to the diverse and ugly forms of corruption that mushroom from the one sin of unbelief.”

[9] Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, 613.

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