The Gospel According to John: 8:21-30

Series Introduction:

The theme verse for our series is John 20:31

John 20:31 – “…these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

The “these” John is referring to are the seven recorded SIGNS/miracles and the seven recoded “I Am” STATEMENTS of Jesus. John focused on those 14 key SIGNS and STATEMENTS in order to show us that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the World because He’s God’s only begotten Son. God had John write these things so that we would believe and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ so that by the grace of God we would be FREED from the penalty of our sin and given life to the FULL here on earth and life FOREVER in heaven.

Recap: John 1 - 8:11

John 1 - We are introduced to Jesus as the Word made flesh and told His purpose for coming to earth. We are also given John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” and Jesus calls His first disciples.

John 2 - Here we have the first recorded sign (the water turned into wine) and Jesus demonstrating His authority in the turning over the tables at the temple during Passover.

John 3 - The amazing discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus and John the Baptist’s second testimony about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John 4 - Jesus and the woman at the well, living water, Samaritans come to Jesus and then the chapter ends with the second sign/miracle, Jesus healing the nobleman’s son.

John 5 - The third sign/miracle, Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath Day

John 6 - We have the fourth recorded sign/miracle, the feeding of the five thousand. Then we have the first “I Am” statement, “I am the Bread that came down from Heaven” and the chapter ends with people starting to divide over Jesus.

John 7 - We see specifically how people are dividing over Jesus, some were divided because of unbelief, others because of uneasiness about the danger of following Jesus and others because of uncertainty about the claims of Jesus.

John 8:1-20 - The woman caught in adultery and Jesus making the famous statement, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone” and the 2nd “I AM” statement, “I am the Light of the world.”

Picking up there:

John 8:21–30 (NASB)

21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 “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.” 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.

Jesus is who the Father says He is.

(v. 23-25) “23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?”

John 8:18 (NASB)

18 “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

We are exactly who God says we are!

Genesis 1:27 (NASB)

27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

1 Peter 2:9 (NASB)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Jesus said what the Father said to say.

(v. 26) “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”

(v. 28) “...I speak these things as the Father taught Me...”

John 12:49 (NASB)

49 “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

We should only say what God wants us to say as well.

Jeremiah 26:2 (NIV)

“…Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word.”

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Matthew 10:20 (ESV)

For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Jesus did what the Father wanted Him to do.

(v. 28) “...I do nothing on My own initiative...”

(v. 29) “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.”

John 6:38 (ESV)

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Luke 22:42 (ESV)

“…not my will, but yours, be done.”

Philippians 2:8 (NASB)

8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We should only do what God wants us to do too!

Matthew 7:21 (ESV)

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

James 1:22 (ESV)

...be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Psalm 40:8 (NASB)

8 I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”

In closing:

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Jesus is exactly who the Father said He was. Jesus responded accordingly. You are who God says you are. How do you need to respond to that truth today?

Jesus said and did what the Father wanted Him to say and do. How about you? Are you following the example of Jesus? Are you seeking to honor God in all you say and do? What are you going to do?

Let’s pray.

Memory Verse of the Week:

John 14:26 NASB

26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Discussion Questions: (John 8:21-30)

What did Jesus mean when He said, “you will die in your sin”? (v. 21, 24)

Why do you suppose they Jews thought Jesus might have been saying He was going to kill Himself? (v. 22)

In what ways was Jesus not of “this world”? (v. 23) In what ways are we sometimes “of” this world?

Why is the answer to this question the most important question in the world? (v. 25)

In what ways was Jesus speaking to them? (v. 26) In what ways does Jesus speak to us today?

Why did they misunderstand Jesus? How do we sometimes misunderstand what Jesus says today? (v. 27)

What did Jesus man by “lift up the Son of Man”? (v. 28) How does that show who Jesus is?

How do the Gospels show that Jesus was not “alone”? (v. 29) How is that also true for believers today?

What was it that caused the people to believe? (v. 30)

What else does this passage tell us about God?

What else does the text teach us about ourselves?

Did anything else in these verses stick out to you?

How do you believe God is leading you to respond to His word?