The Lordship of God

Main Scripture Text: John 8:39-59

English Standard Version Chapter 8

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39 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, 40 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. 41 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.” 42 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. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 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. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 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.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 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.’ 55 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. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Lordship and Authority

The Lordship of God is a central teaching in Scripture. If you want to know who God is…and that should be our utmost desire as Christians....then we need to look at Him as LORD.

LORD is a central motif of scripture.

God is Love—We would all agree that this is a central, important truth in Scripture. Even the Old Testament it’s an important attribute of God. It’s used over 170 times ....God’s loving kindness, God’s unfailing love...

God is Merciful--God Forgives—God is described as our Heavenly Father. God’s grace. All of this is true and critical in our understanding of God.

How many times would you think that Scripture uses the idea of Lord?

God is LORD 7,484 times!!! When an idea is repeated so many times in scripture, we need to perk up and take notice. What is God trying to tell us here?

Jesus Is the Messiah King

Jesus was the long awaited for Messiah. The coming King. He was the fulfillment of every prophecy in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Holy scripture, and He came to bring the Kingdom of God.

Jesus Brings His Kingdom

In ancient times a King would send forth, to his Kingdom, decrees. He would bring them news pertaining to the kingdom. The messenger of the King would show up at the town and declare his decree.

Blessed are the feet that bring Good News.

We sometimes misunderstand the context of what was called The Good News or Gospel of Jesus Christ. But Jesus was clear. John the Baptist was clear. The Apostles were clear. “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”

What? Repent? I thought this was supposed to be good news?

But Jesus draws the line in the sand in this passage. It was a given that the Gentiles, the non-Jews, the Romans, the Greeks, the Barbarians, the heathen....were lost. They didn’t have the law and prophets. They weren’t the people of God. But these are the Children of Abraham. These are the chosen ones. Or were they?

Jesus drops a truth bomb here. In fact, he drops multiple nuclear truth bombs. These weren’t the children of God. These were the children of the Devil. And before you and I get any weird notions, if this was true of them....His Jewish brethren.....it is even more true for us as Gentiles. This crowd that Jesus is talking with is all of us! This is fallen humanity. This crowd is you and me.

The crowd starts this out by accusing Jesus of sin. Of being demon possessed. Of being a child of infidelity. So you were born to Mary and Joseph? When was that wedding again? What is your birthday. Why all of the secrecy? Wasn’t your parents wedding a shotgun wedding?

You see you and I are created in the image of God. We are God’s image bearers. We have value. We have dignity. We have worth. This is why we love our neighbors…our enemies....the unborn in the womb. This is why we visit the guy on death row and love on him. How you treat your fellow image bearers is reflective, is indicative, on how you feel about God. What you do to your fellow man is, in a sense, what you do to God. They bear his image. When you murder your fellow man, or abuse, mistreat them....it reflects on your relationship with God.

You see, this crowd, looks upon this man Jesus, and scorn him. They spew their hate upon him. It reflects where they stand with God Himself. And that comes even more into focus in how the story ends.

They are appealing to their relationship with Abraham. Not God. We are the chosen ones! We are the children of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob....Moses is our Prophet....

Jesus drops the bomb of all bombs. Not only does he tell them who their true father is but he reveals to them who they are actually speaking to.

Before Abraham was, I AM!!!!!

Cue the explosion sound effect. Cue the mic drop. Every ear that heard those words uttered knew what was being said. It was shocking. It was scandalous....it was outright blasphemy. This man standing before them was claiming to be God. Yahweh! I AM the voice that came from the burning bush that talked with Moses! I AM the living water. I AM the manna that came down from heaven. I AM the way, the truth, and the life. I AM that I AM.

The Kingdom of God has come. The Good News is standing before you. Yahweh is here.

What did those in the crowd do? It reads here in our passage that they picked up stones to stone him. To kill him. To murder him. They God of the universe is standing in front of them and they want to kill him. How evil is that?

Jesus said, that He didn’t come to bring peace....but a sword. He came to bring division.

You see, when we talk about the messenger of the King, bringing the Good News of the Kingdom to the town, the city, the little village. It’s not to give them a better option. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a message of a conquering King. The King has conquered you and your town…your city....your village. It’s not to message unicorns and kitty cats.

“Hey, why don’t you give me a chance? What do you have to lose? If you so desire....no! That’s not the message. It’s a decree! It’s a commandment. Repent and believe!!!

When your rival conquering King comes to your town and declares his decree. You’ve got one of two choices. Submit and receive the new kingdom, or resist and be judged. When the Lord declares someone, we have one of two choices. And this is what Jesus makes clear. This is what the Apostles preached. Repent! Believe! Receive Christ as your Lord.....or perish.

Two things can be true at once about God. God is a God of love.....AND God is holy and has to judge sin. In Scripture there is no conflict between His love and His holiness.

You and I are also multifaceted. We can feel love, we can be compassionate, we can show mercy....AND we can be angry at sin and sinners. You pick up the paper and read that a man kills a child. Righteous anger! We want justice! We want the man caught, convicted, and receive his due penalty. Yet, we can also, as Christians, go and visit him in his holding cell and love him. Call him to repentance and genuinly rejoice if he does.

God gets to define love for us. And he did just that in the Person of Christ. Repent and believe!