John | Chapter 8 – Scripture Supply

John 8:1-11

“Written in blood upon dirt”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 1-6a Neither pardon nor prosecution

III. Vs. 6b-11 The dust of death

Intro.

There has been a debate as to whether or not this story should be where it is or even included in the Bible at all as this section is not found bound up with the rest of the old manuscripts but rather found by its self. A simple look at the context of the story would cause it to fit right here. The controversy over this section of scripture being placed where it is has to do with manuscripts and the oldest ones not including it here. The problem with that view is that the oldest manuscripts were not in use as much as the others primarily because they weren’t as well received. The fact is the reason for leaving it out has more to do with that way it seems to portray Jesus as being week towards sexually immoral behavior but nothing could be further from the text.

In John 1:14 we are told that Jesus is full of grace and truth and here we have an illustration of what it looks like to be full of grace and truth. Friends grace is never at the expense of truth and truth is never devoid of grace. Grace is never ignorant or blinded by truth it clearly knows the facts but freely operates because what truth has demanded grace has supplied. Jesus said that He didn’t come to condemn the world but to save it. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). So here was one that He was going to die for, one that He came to save.

Vs. 1-6a Neither pardon nor prosecution

Vs. 1-2 The last verse in chapter 7 should have probably been the first verse of this chapter as Jesus had spent the night out in the cathedral of His creation, in the temple of His Fathers presence and the next day, no doubt better refreshed than those that went to their own houses, He came to the temple to teach. There are several things that aid in our understanding of this story as we take a look at Jesus the balance of grace and truth. The first of which can be found in the contrast between verse 53 and 8:1 read together with out division it reads, “Everyone went to his house but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” While the world went to their houses Jesus went to the mount of Olives as our Lord had no place to lay His head, Matt. 8:20 (apparently even His disciples had places to stay). Our Lord was always about the interests of others be it His Father or man kind, never has there been anyone as selfless as He, as this story shall further illustrate.

Vs. 3-5 The population was normally around 300,000 in Jerusalem but on the appointed feasts the population would swell to 2-3 million. He not only taught but He did so in the temple and according to verse 20 in the area of the court of the women where the temple treasury was at knowing that the Scribes and Pharisees would be near the money. In that day the teacher would find a pillar in the temple and sit down as people would gather to listen to the scriptures expounded, when in the midst of the quite of our Lord’s classroom came the ruckus of the religious leaders dragging in a ½ naked woman who no doubt was doing all she could to hide her nakedness and shame. Oh mark the contrast as Jesus came that day to expose the mysteries of the kingdom of God and religion came to expose the failures of a woman. Jesus has no time for those who efforts are into confessing others sins before Him but are into covering their own. Proverbs 25:2 says “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter”; hey saints it is not our job to go around publicly exposing each others sin notice how Jesus wrote down something in brokenness and compassion instead of throwing the guilty out in public. It is satan that is the accuser of the brethren and it is Jesus that will speak the truth in love. These religious leaders were willing to sacrifice this woman for their cause while Jesus was willing to sacrifice Himself for her sin, nothing my friends can clarify the difference between religion and what Jesus offers that this.

Several things stand out in the action of the Scribes and the Pharisees that indicate that their main interest was in trapping Jesus not justice.

First the fact that we see that they brought the women before Jesus openly while He was teaching in the court of the women. This was an illegal act as they were suppose to bring such charges to court not the court of public opinion.
Second, we are told the very words these religious leaders used when they tossed her down during Jesus’ Bible study, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.” They made her case an open and shut one as they said she was guilty because they had caught her in the very act. The problem with their judgment is where was the man who she was caught in the act with? Being that this was done in the court of the women perhaps they thought it left Jesus between a rock and a hard place (the law and the court of women).

One other point of interest to me is that the religious leaders tell Jesus what the sentencing in this case is, stoning, and under the regulations of the law it tells us that the woman was a betrothed virgin (that is to say she was legally married but had not consummated the relationship). Had they said that she was guilty and was to be strangled then it would have meant that she was married and the union consummated. The fact that the male is not brought to be stoned as well suggests that he may have been a relative of a religious leader. Both Lev. 20 and Deut. 22 declared adultery to be a capital offense but there were safeguards to protect the accused:

There could be no doubt about the details
There had to be a number of eye witnesses who caught the person in the act of immorality
Their stories had to be in complete agreement

The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that the crime of adultery was punished only once in every seven years or so, in other words it wasn’t often that the person guilty of it could be charged. The religious leaders thought they had Jesus on this one as He had the reputation of being a friend to sinners and yet He himself said that He had come to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17) and His words of verse 7 do so.

Vs. 6a We are told in Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. The man was not dragged before the crowd in shame, he didn’t stand up and take the responsibility, most of mankind never does, do they? The commandment doesn’t say that just the woman should be put to do but that both of them are equally guilty. Now notice that Jesus nether pardons her nor prosecutes her instead He came against self-righteous judgment as he bent down and said nothing but appeared to be writing upon the dirt. I am personally thankful that my Lord writes upon the dirt as what is written against me needs not to be permanent.

Vs. 6b-11 The dust of death

Vs. 6b-7 Instead of either agreeing with their judgment Jesus judges the judges. Notice that they continued to press Him into making a judgment based upon verse 9 it would suggest because they were guilty of the same at least in their hearts. Hey folks freedom from getting caught does not mean that a person can escape the guilt of what we have done wrong there is only one way to escape that and it at the feet of Jesus. “Let him who is sinless” is what Jesus said and it is the only time He ever used this word in the Bible. Jesus says, “Yes she is to be stoned let me appoint the executioners the one who has not fallen in the same area”. Someone has well said, “If the inner thoughts of a man were written on his forehead, he would never take his hat off!”

This is the only mentioning of Jesus the “Word of God” writing anything down and yet more has been written of Him them any other figure in human history. The word “stooped” down only appears two other places in the N.T. and it describes an act of humility and as it relates to this incident suggests Jesus compassion and heartache over her sin. As to what He wrote much has been speculated:

The names and sins of those who condemned her
The ten commandments as they were written by the finger of God and as such the same finger that wrote “Your shall not commit adultery” was writing here
Some suggest that He wrote Jeremiah 17:13 in the dirt “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters.”
Perhaps Jesus wrote the same four words He had in Daniel’s day “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN”, “You are weighed in the balance and found wanting”. (Daniel 5:25-29).

Two scriptures shed some light upon Jesus writing in the dirt:

Genesis 2:7 where we are told that “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” That is to say that in man kinds creation God knew what we were made of as Psalm 103:14 reminds us “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
In Ex. 31:18 we are told that it was the finger of God that wrote “You shall not commit adultery”. So on stone tablets the law was written but at this moment Jesus revealed that one greater than the law etched in stone was here as Paul wrote in Col. 2:14 that Jesus has “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

So in defense of this woman the Rock stood up against the rocks of religion that were about to be throne in an attitude of self righteousness as they were at least guilty of the same sin in their hearts. Seeing that this is the only mention of Jesus’ writing and it occurs when those are trying to trap Him in the debate between the requirements of the law and grace notice that:

He wrote with His finger on the hand that would shortly be pierced for this and every other sin.
That what was written was on dust to remind us that this is all we are and it is where we shall return, sinners sin and there is none righteous no not one.
Jesus’ writing in the dirt revealed what He thought of dirt on this gal, simply put that it needn’t be permanent; He didn’t etch it on a stone tablet.

In Deut. 17:7 we are told that “The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.” So Jesus says to the religious leaders “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first”. In the Greek this can be rendered “He who is without the same kind of sin” Jesus wasn’t asking them to be sinless as He would have been the only one that could judge only that they weren’t guilty of committing that sin in their own heart as she had done in her body.

Vs. 8-9 This is the 2^nd time Jesus wrote on the ground and those that came as judge were judged by their own conscience but not broken of their pride enough to receive Jesus as Lord. The older they were the more they had to reflect upon and the greater their own failure and realization of their own sin. Isn’t that amazing how our sin always looks worse on someone else? Finally all that remained was Jesus and the woman now standing before her only true judge. Jesus asked, “Where are they that are without the same struggle as you?” “Could no man execute your judgment that wasn’t himself guilty of the same?” And she stood before the one man who could take up the stone but instead of putting her to death for her sin He rather choose to put Himself to death for her sin. There are those who chose to say that Jesus is week on sin but they fail to realize what Paul declared in 2 Cor. 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” How week is Jesus towards sin if He died to set us free from it’s hold? Oh my friend forgiveness if free but not cheep as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Vs. 10-11 Notice that Jesus didn’t call this woman by her failure, “Sinner, floozy” no He calls here be the same title He gave His mother “woman”. And she responded by calling Him Lord, not teacher as the religious leaders had. According to the law it took two to stand up and condemn a person of adultery and having just dismissed those who were her accusers Jesus relinquished His ability to condemn her under the law. Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll let you off the hook this time but if you ever blow it again your history!” “Go, free to sin no more”, He said, “You are forgiven and liberated from the penalty as well as the power of sin in your life.” Go and sin no more as a life style, is what Jesus told her and her tears would come years latter as she would watch her children play, celebrate a wedding anniversary, this day would come back to her and what He gave her that day.

Hey friends there must always be conviction before there can be conversion, notice in her response she makes no excuse, offers no denial as she only answers “No one, Lord” and it appears recognizes His right to be so over her life. Jesus had said to Nicodemus in John 3:17 “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” But forgiveness is never an excuse to continue to sin but rather a gateway to change. In the 5^th chapter Jesus said a similar thing when He told the man by the pool of Bethesda, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” Jesus could have never said “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”, had she not repented and had called Him Lord. Ah but He never tells anyone to do something that he does not first enable them to do. Hey folks, that is what forgiveness, is always designed to do set us free when Jesus forgave this woman He set her free to be a different kind of person than she ever was before and that is still what He wants to do for us.

In Genesis 3:19 when God pronounced His judgment upon man kinds sin He said, “you will return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The mere writing upon the dust of the ground should have served as a reminder of the curse of death not just the woman’s but those who through her in His midst as well. In the glorious 22^nd Psalm which speaks of Jesus sacrifice we hear His words for all of humanity in verse 5 “You have brought Me to the dust of death” then in the 29^th verse of that same Psalm “All those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive.” “I shall go down to the “dust of death” not just for the sins of this woman but for the sins of those who dragged her before me this day”, said Jesus. And in that moment the tears of her failure were mingled with the blood of His sacrifice and she was cleansed set free from the penalty of sin and the power of it that brought her to Him in the first place. I have heard Him countless times say these same words to me, haven’t you? “Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” No man, LORD is always my response! And if that be your response then you will hear His second stanza “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”. Have you been tossed at the feet of Jesus this day because of your sin and failure? Are you in the dust of death, then let His blood wash you with the hope that you need not stay that way.

John 8:12-30

“SON rise”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 12-20 Light of life

III. Vs. 21-30 Who are You?

Intro.

I’m always in awe of how our Lord entered into the very symbols that surround Israel’s history and on this day he do so again as there were two giant Menorahs right by where He was teaching. So as the sun was rising and these 12 branched six foot candle sticks let the entrance to the holy place Jesus said, “I am the light of the world”. Oh mark that my friend He didn’t claim to be merely the light unto the Jews or the light for His time but for the world. Jesus proclaimed, “Anybody, anywhere, anytime if they will but follow me they will no longer walk in darkness but have the light of life”. This not some campaign slogan it has bore truth from the time He first spoke those words. So as the day dawned upon the night and the night gave up its domain, Jesus declared that He was the Light of the world and darkness no longer had a hold upon the sole of those who could now see because of His glory.

Vs. 12-20 Light of life

Vs. 12-20 Notice the words “Jesus spoke again to them”. There is always a tendency in our fallen nature to attack those who attack us. When the religious folks tossed the guilty ½ naked women at His feet in order to trap Him He turned it into an opportunity to set her free, amazing! Ah but in this chapter Jesus attempts to set free those who had attempted to trap Him, WOW! Our Lord, friends, is always interested in setting folks free even those whose whole existence was bent on imprisoning Him. I must confess that this would have been the last thing to cross my mind at that moment. Jesus had come to seek and save that which was lost and the religious leaders were just as lost as that young woman they had just tossed at her feet so they qualified.

John uses the word “Cosmos” for the word “World” 77 times in this gospel compared to only 17 times in the other gospel accounts and in so doing he pictures Jesus as the global savior not just the local Jewish savior. Back in chapter 6:35 we had the first of seven “I Am” statements of Jesus where He declared that He was the “Bread of life”, now we are given the 2^nd of these in verse 12 as Jesus declares “I Am the Light of the world”. In the 2^nd verse we are told that when Jesus arrived in the temple it was early in the morning so perhaps as He utters these words the sun was rising on His cue. To the Jew’s the physical sun was a picture of God as just as there was only one sun for our universe and it is the only source of light and life so too with God and here Jesus is claiming to be that God by declaring Himself to be the center and source of life. You may recall back in 1:4 John had declared that in Jesus was life and the life was the light of men. In the temple right next to Jesus when He said these words were the two six foot golden lamp stands that were placed there to remind the nation that at one time the glory of the Lord filled the temple. In Ex. 40:34 during the nation’s wonderings through the wilderness God lit up their nights with His glory and here Jesus says that it was Him. That is what John had said concerning Jesus in 1:14 when he declared “we beheld His glory”. To trust Jesus reaps the immediate benefits of “light” and “life” and as such we will no longer continue to walk in darkness. Then in John 3:19-21 to Nicodemus Jesus said, “this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” So at this moment Jesus the glory of the Lord the shekinah glory that dispels all darkness came back to the temple and Jesus said, “You don’t need the candles or the sun as the SON is here.” In Exodus 13:21 we are told that “the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.”

Hey folks that is what Jesus wants to give you “covering from the things that will scorch us and light for the things that can stumble us.” His glory will provide just that for us as He protects us and guides us through the maze of life. For thousands of years the nation had been bumping into things and stumbling around and finally the “Light of the World” had come and all they could say is, “Could ya turn that thing down we can’t bask in the glow of our own self importance”. Have you ever watched a little child who isn’t use to being the center of their universe? They start making noise and continue to turn up the volume until finally they will miss behave in order to get the attention they want. That is what the religious leaders were doing trying to discredit Jesus so that they could get people’s attention back on them. Consider the words of Jesus said about Himself so far:

When Jesus was in Samaria by Jacob’s well He declared that He was “Living water”
When in Capernaum after feeding over 10,000 He declared He was the “Bread of Life”
Now here in front of the golden lamp stands as the sun was rising He proclaimed that He was the “Light of the World”.

Think of these three things a moment as Jesus gives us a clue for us to live by. You see when He is “Water, Bread and Light” to us then we will be able to “live life in the world” and when He isn’t that then we will neither know Him nor know the Father.

In verse 13 they accuse Jesus of bearing witness of Him self but what choice did He have when those who are blind are unable to see the Light? Light always bear witness of its self doesn’t it? Six times in six verses the word “witness” appears and Jesus refutes their witness of Him as unreliable because they judge according to the flesh (verse 15). Hey folks pay attention as these religious leaders sought to know the Word of God but in so doing they missed completely the God of the Word who at that very moment was speaking to them. The picture of light also had reference to Psalm 119:105 where the psalmist said “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” of special interest as John has already identified Jesus as the Word of God and now He proclaims to all that He is the Light of the world. Jesus has just described Himself as the “light of the world” and they can’t see this. Now if a person can’t see light that would make them….BLIND! A seeing person doesn’t need proof of the light the fact that they see light is the proof. In the normal way of looking at things what a person testified of themselves would not be enough to establish the truth of what they said as there would be the need to collaborate the truth but what Jesus said about Himself was visible accept for those that were blind. Jesus says that He is qualified to testify of Himself for three reasons:

Vs. 14 “I know where I came from and where I am going”: “I’m eternal I’ve always been and always will be”, Jesus says. Nothing can change what I say I am no other variable concerning me exists.
Vs. 15 “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one”: “They judged by the standards of the flesh and Jesus weighed the thoughts and intents of the heart”.
Vs. 16-18 “And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.”: There are two who bear witness My Father and I whom I with at this moment. You simply can’t separate the testimony of Jesus from the testimony of the Father.

It seems that in verse 19 was aimed at the virgin birth as they will again say this in verse 41 “We are not born of fornication…” thus hinting that had heard of the miraculous conception but chose rather to say that it was an immoral one. But instead of getting angry at them He just said you don’t know Me or My Father because if you weren’t blind you would know both of us. So the Pharisees asked three questions that they really didn’t want the answers too:

Vs. 19 Where is Your Father?
Vs. 22 Will He kill Himself, because He says, Where I go you cannot come?
Vs. 25 Who are You?

The first question was in response to Jesus are clear pronunciation of His deity as they shot back “Where is Your Father” to which Jesus replied “If you had known Me, You would have known My Father also”. What blinded these Pharisees? Ignorance and pride! They are still the same two things that keep people in darkness today aren’t they. So in verse 14-19 Jesus address their ignorance and in verse 21-30 He address their pride. Remember that Jesus was saying this right in front of the temple treasure and during the feast the golden treasure chests were illuminated by the 6 foot golden lamp stands all of which was in the court of the women so they didn’t want to cause a commotion as it might interrupt the flow of cash so that might have led to their decision to lay hands on Him.

Vs. 21-30 Who are You?

Vs. 21-22 All three of the Pharisees replies to Jesus were quite sarcastic as they had no real intent in seeking the truth. Pride possessed their hearts and lives as they didn’t see themselves in need of someone dying on their behave, “If you die for us you will just be committing suicide as we are good people who have no need for a savior” (verse 22), they thought. Jesus tells them that they are at a fork in the road and if they don’t receive Him they will plunge into the wrong side of eternity. Friends those who have no interest in following Jesus on earth will never be able to follow Him to heaven! I realize that rubs folks the wrong way but its Jesus’ words and His warning. Not content with slandering Jesus birth they now say that He was speaking of suicide which in Jewish theology sent a person to the lowest parts of Hades, thus dammed. Jesus words are not an attack but rather a warning that they are born apart from God and prove as much by a life style and are already dammed as such He has come to lead them out of their darkness. Again John 3:18 sheds light on this as Jesus told Nicodemus “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Vs. 23-24 Jesus immediately corrects their thinking by telling them that they are from the earth that is to say born in sin and are sinners by choice as well and as such qualify as folks in need of a savior (verses 23-24). The word “HE” in verse 24 is italicized which means that it was added by the translators in an attempt to make a complete sentence but what it really says is, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” That makes it very clear doesn’t it? Jesus removes the option of Him being just another good guy, great teacher, prophet or what ever else the world wants to stamp on Him. He declares that He is God and if we don’t believe that He is then we will die in our sins.

In Gen. 22 Isaac asks Abraham where is the Lamb for the sacrifice to which Abraham replies in verse 8 “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” In the Hebrew this reads “God will see the lamb for Himself” or as others interpret this “God will Himself be the Lamb” that is what Jesus has just told the religious leaders. People have a hang up on that don’t they, “Are you so narrow minded that you think that Jesus is the only way?” What would happen if you went to claim the 10 million dollar lottery price and when you got there they asked do you have the winning number? “Well no but I do happen to have a receipt fro Supper One”. Sorry sir but you have to have the winning ticket. Well here is the right number I wrote it down on a 3×5 card won’t that do? Its awful narrow minded of you not to let me collect the money even though I don’t have your ticket.

Vs. 25-26 “Who are you” they asked and Jesus continued what I’ve been telling you and all I’ve had to say comes from God the Father. They then respond with another sarcastic question, “Who are You?” Jesus replied by saying, “Your only hope!” Oh amazing to me that our Lord would still offer these mockers salvation even though they were seeing Him as a joke. I can just imagine the look in His eyes that said, “I want you, I want to save you from an eternity devoid of all that is beautiful and full of joy. I want you to be at peace, where you will never suffer heartache or regret again”. With great love and compassion Jesus tells these self righteous Pharisees, “You are going to die but it needn’t be permanent as I am willing to die for you.” Friends do you know that He still makes the same offer to all, regardless of what you have done and how many times you have mocked Him?

Vs. 27-30 John adds his own sad commentary as too their response that no doubt reflected back 70 years through the cross not six months away saying, “They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father”. But that is not the end of Jesus words as He says, “When you lift up the Son of man, then you will know that I am.” (The word HE is not in the Greek). The word “lifted up” had two implications His death on the cross as well as His resurrection and ascension. As such Jesus glory is placed intertwined with His suffering something that we humans constantly struggle with don’t we? The old line is true as you can often tell how a person lived by how they died. Not only was He sent by the Father the Father was always with Him. The ignorance of the situation will be removed then all that stands in the way will be pride. How good we be if Jesus needed to die in order to save us? So in one sentence Jesus removes the two obstacles of ignorance and pride that stood in the way for Him to save those who mocked Him. But as John records many believed in Him and I’m not certain that they all believed when He said the wards as they did 6 months latter when He fulfilled them. At the cross of Christ we have a greatest vista over all He said and did! Paul wrote of this vista in Romans 8:32 when he said, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Nothing Jesus ever said or did wasn’t pleasing to the Father and it ought to be our desire as well to do those things that please the Father.

“Life after death?” Many people have pondered that question and Jesus answers it for us in this section. There will be life after death the question is where will we be spending it? I know a lot of people today who grade on a curve instead of the cross and they can look at a person like me and say that they got a better score on the goodness standard then I did and based upon this they don’t think they need a savior. I asked a person a few weeks back if they knew of the love that Jesus had for them and their response was to tell me that they were quite spiritual. One day as Philip. 2:10 says, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” so the only question that remains is what you will be doing when your knee is bowed at the name of Jesus.

John 8:31-47

“Free from me”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 31-36 House of sin and house of the Son

III. Vs. 37-47 Who’s your daddy

Intro.

It is important and go back to what had transpired already. It was the day after the feast of the Tabernacles and Jesus had come early that morning into the temple when the religious leaders came dragging a half naked woman caught in the very act of adultery and He set her free from the penalty and power of sin while indicting the religious leaders. Then He spoke to them telling them He was the light of the world and would do the same for them as He had done for her if they would only be willing. They weren’t but others were and now He has come to address those who responded by belief.

People often add to a meaning of a word and still call it by the same name adding to the confusion of the definition. Take the word “freedom” for instance the true meaning of the word means to be free from that which restrains and implies a condition by which we are now unhindered. Now over the years people added to that meaning to include license which means to be able to do what ever you want whenever you want. The trouble with that is that often what a person has license to do becomes that which robs him of the freedom he sought, take Jesus parable of the prodigal son who became enslaved by his understanding of freedom. Someone has well said that the true definition of freedom as it relates to us is “being able to be all that you were meant to be”.

Vs. 31-36 House of sin and house of the Son

Vs. 31-32 These verses are important as they serve to reveal the heart of Jesus which was not to merely win a debate but to save a soul and transform a life. Friends anything short of that becomes just an endless debate and produces nothing lasting. Look carefully at what Jesus saying here: “If you make your permanent home in His word not only are you one of His followers, you know the truth and are constantly being made FREE.” The author of Hebrews sheds some light on this when in Hebrews 12:1 he says “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”. Jesus gives us three steps to be free from anything that keeps us from being all we are meant to be. Why did He say these words? To make certain that they moved beyond an emotional response of admiration to one that was abiding. Webster’s dictionary defines abiding as:

To endure without yielding
To accept without objection
To remain stable
To continue in a place

Mere emotional admiration alone won’t produce that. The results of abiding Jesus declared to these followers was “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free”, that is to say that they would be in a continual state of freedom.

Vs. 30-31 Believe: Now there is a slight difference between the many that believed in verse 30 and those who believed Him in verse 31. In the Greek those in verse 30 “believed IN Him” which to say they were into Jesus and those in verse 31 just “believed Him” that is they intellectually agreed but were not yet INTO Him. It is to this second group that Jesus utters His words in verses 31-32. What Jesus is saying is that following Him begins with being into Him, believing in Him not just intellectually agreeing with His words. Over and over again people have rejected Jesus without ever taking His free offer to investigate Him, so take Him up on His offer and investigate Him, not just what others say about Him but what He said about Himself.
Vs. 31 Abide: The test of truth is not whether or not you enjoy it or it makes you feel good, no the test is whether or not it is true. Once we have found that the Word is true than we need to simple continue in it and in so doing you will continue to follow Him which will continue to set you free. There are those that join an organization, conform to the outward standards but never join inwardly, “Oh I’m a member of ______ but I don’t go all that often.” Hey friends I’m not a member of Christianity I’m a follower of Jesus and as such I can’t quit His into me and I’m into Him! It is this “abiding” that marks the difference between the two.
Vs. 32 Know: Notice the progression believing to abiding to knowing which seems a bit backward doesn’t it? So as we abide we will know the truth that belief did by faith and abiding did by consistency. Jesus is giving these who intellectually understood but had not yet committed the way by which to move beyond where they were. There is a growth process that Jesus is giving us here.

Vs. 32 The outcome of this is that He will “Make you free” the out come of belief, abiding and knowing is freedom, “being able to be all that you were meant to be”. You will be delivered from those things in your life that entangle us and ensnare us, or if you will we will be free from the self centered life. So now if you are having an inability to move on beyond yourself some event that hold you back you have the three step process to be set free.

Friends it’s no accident that the word “disciplined” comes from the root word “disciple” as Jesus admonishes those who responded to His words in verse 30 to continue to be “disciplined” in His word. The world is interested in how little it can do to maintain but if we are truly following Jesus we will be the exact opposite wanting to be gluttons of His word never being satisfied. Hey did you notice that Jesus said that they were to abide in HIS WORD? Now if I were to say such a thing with these promises it would be the height of arrogance but no so when Jesus says as doing so allows us to shed those things that weigh us down and ensnare us. So to be a follower of the “Word made flesh” we must make our home in His word! Jesus isn’t just speaking of an academic pursuit here, no He is speaking of living in His word and applying its truths to our lives.

Vs. 33-34 Jesus tells them what knowing the truth sets them free from, SIN. They were equating their freedom only on the bases of ancestral association and Jesus was telling them that it was based upon relational association, “Were Abe’s kid’s we aren’t in bondage” they said and Jesus says, “If you were Abe’s kids, you wouldn’t make sin your habit”. The religious leaders who were there serve as a case in point as they were still stuck in their self-sufficiency and thought they were just fine the way they were. “Hey buddy I’m free already no body tells me how and who I can worship”, they said. For four hundred years they had been enslaved to the Egyptians, then according to the book of Judges they were held captive by seven different nations. Then there were the years the Assyrians invaded the land and took the people captive, not to mention the Babylonians who carted them off for 70 years, and at the very moment they spoke to Jesus they were under the yoke of the Romans. It was not a question of freedom verses captivity with regards to Israel rather it was a question of who enslaved them NOW.

Jesus cuts through all of that when He tells them that if they practice sin they are a slave to it. The word “commits” speaks of a habitual action and as such a person enslaved to the very thing that they sought freedom in. They said, “We are free” but Jesus says no you’re a slave. Folks we are either “free from” or “free too” but never both at the same time. They thought that free too meant they were free from but Jesus says “If you practice sin then it’s your master”. That why He tells them “If the Son has made you free then you are free in deed”. You will never fully realize how enslaved you are to something until you try to leave it or quit. Try to stop smoking or over eating and you will find out just how that little cigarette has become your master. I heard a fellow one time telling his buddy who was trying to quit smoking how is it was when he said, “Hey it’s easy to quit smoking I’ve done it 100’s of times”.

You see they were revisionists concerning their national history but they were equally ignorant of the fact they were under the most tyrannical ruler man has ever come in contact with. This ruler is so oppressive that he has divided families, destroyed marriages, slain innocent lives and there isn’t a person whom this creature has not held in captivity. Who is this person? Well Jesus tells us it is the one we saw in the mirror this very morning. You see the person who continually gives into sin will quickly become its servant but sin is really tricky isn’t he? Sin doesn’t come in the form of things we hate, (I’m addicted to Brussel sprouts) things that aren’t fun and pleasurable, no sin comes in the form of things that we are drawn too already and he gets us to say, “Just this once, what’s the harm?” Moses faced this, the author of Hebrews said, while He was a prince in Egypt as Moses “choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25). Did you notice how the author puts that “the passing pleasures of sin”? He didn’t say, “the endless torment of a ruined life”. No sin is fun, it’s pleasurable that is its bait, its lure to our flesh and once we have said, “just this once” a few more times then we should of then we become a slave to that which we said we were free to enjoy. Paul said this to the compromised Corinthian church, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” (1 Cor. 6:12)

Vs. 35-36 Politically they were a slave to Roman but the worst kind of slavery is when we are a slave to our own passions and vices because we are now unable to be set free apart from One stronger than even our flesh, Jesus. He presented Himself as the only One who had never come under the bondage of sin and as such abiding in the Fathers house forever. In Hebrews 4:15 we are told concerning Jesus that “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Every appeal to the flesh that we face, every weakness and distress yet without sin! I rather think that qualifies Him to speak to us with regards to abiding don’t you? Now wonder He can say in verse 36 “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

As true as this is personally there is an even greater truth Jesus speaks of here. At first it is comfortable to hangout in the household of sin; you come over indulge your flesh it’s a great party, so you keep coming back until one day those in the house throw you out in the street. There is that old 1976 song by the Eagles called “Hotel California” where the singer says, “you can check out any time you’d like but you can never leave”, that is the difference between the “House of sin and the House of the Son” the house of sin will let you check out but won’t let you leave and in the house of the Son you will never want to check out but you can always leave.

Vs. 37-47 Who’s your daddy

Vs. 37-41a Notice that Jesus uses two different words to describe the relationship that these religious Jews had with Abraham. In verse 37 He uses the word “descendants” and in verse 39 He uses the word “children”. Jesus says, “I know you are Abe’s offspring but you aren’t his kid’s”. Paul wrote of this to the Galatians in 3:6-7 saying “just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” What proved that they didn’t have Abraham as their father is that we are told in Romans 4:3 and Gen. 15:6 “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” and Jesus said that His word had no place in them. Jesus’ point is that spiritual character determines ancestry not ancestry determining spiritual character. Jesus argument is simple your characteristics prove parentage and in a spiritual sense this is true as well their character was revealing that their father was the adversary not the person in whom Abraham believed and it was accounted as righteousness. Their proclamation should have been visibly seen by being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Further more spiritual character determines our destiny it is for this reason Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again”. They were Jews religiously and racially but they weren’t Jews relationally as Paul wrote to the Romans in 4:13 “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” I’m afraid at times there are those in the Church the same way they are Christians “religiously” that is to say that practice the religion called Christianity all be it by wrote. Then there are those who are Christian’s racially as their parents went to church and their parents before them but that is not the same as being a Christian relationally as I’m in active fellowship with Jesus Him as the hymn goes “I walk with Him and talk with Him.” At Jesus words these religious folks who are religiously illegitimate accuse Jesus of being born physically illegitimate. Jesus tells them that there were there three telling signs that they were children of the adversary:

Vs. 40 Sought to kill the truth
Vs. 42 Refused to love Jesus
Vs. 43 Unwillingness to hear and understand

The only crime Jesus was guilty of was hearing from the Father. The failure to love Jesus is the proof that a person does not know God according to Jesus claim here.

Vs. 41b-42 In their anger they attempt to malign His earthly parentage saying that He was illegitimate which wasn’t true as God was His Father but they were spiritually illegitimate.

Vs. 43-47 Jesus concludes by asking these religious leaders three questions:

Vs. 43-45 Why do you not understand My speech: There must have been a pause with no response has Jesus goes on to say, you can’t hear and reason you can’t hear is because you choose to rather listen to a liar (verse 44-45). You can always tell which child belongs to which parent simply by who they listen too can’t you? Go into the nursery and watch as the little ones respond to the voice of their parents. That’s what Jesus is telling them you can tell who your daddy is because you don’t listen to the Father in heaven but you do listen to the father of lies. The only thing satan is the originator of is the lie and murder every thing else he can only twist for his own means. That being true the deceiver is so affected by his deception that it has worked upon himself. Someone has well said, “The worst kind of lie is the one we believe ourselves to be true”.
Vs. 46a Which of you convicts me of sin: This is one of the most amazing challenges ever uttered isn’t it. Now if I said these words to you it wouldn’t take you very long to raise your hand but no one could come up with anything against Jesus. And again I think He waited for an answer and no one spoke up. “Find any in consistencies, in shading of truth in my life fellows, any of those do as I say not as I do’s?” And there wasn’t a one of them that said anything 33 years of life and there wasn’t one person who could stand up and say anything. At His trial not 6 months away they will have to make up false acquisitions in order to convict Him. I don’t think I’d be able to say these words after 33 minutes let alone 33 years.
Vs. 46b And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me: Their failure to come up with one inconsistency in 33 years led to His final question to them. “If there isn’t one inconsistency in my life over 33 years, what’s keeping you from trusting in Me?” Let me just pose that same question to anyone here this morning who has not given their hearts to Him.

Their in ability to answer led to His final statement in verse 47, “You don’t respond because you don’t hear and you don’t hear because you are not of God”. And again they were quite until what we will see next week in verse 48 when they say He has a demon. There are a lot of people who would be tweaked by Jesus’ words here in verse 42 as they say, “Hey I love God, I read my bible and go to church I just don’t love Jesus” but Jesus Himself says that you can’t separate love for God from love for the Son.

John 8:48-59

“Name above all names”

I. Intro.

II. Vs. 48-51 Good Samaritan

III. Vs. 52-59 Before Abraham

Intro.

The eighth chapter has been described as a lightening flash on a dark night, brief but extremely full of impact. Three times in this chapter He has used the same words about himself as was used in the story of the voice in the burning bush who told Moses that He was the “I Am” (ego emi). In the 12^th verse Jesus declared Himself to be the light of the world, He offered freedom from sin and declared Himself to be sinless and He follows that up in this section of making yet another clear declaration of He being God. There are only two things that a person can do with such a chapter and they both involve bending:

You will fall down to worship Him
You will bend down to pick up stones to chuck at Him.

Thousands of years have passed and nothing has changed as these are still the same two reactions people have concerning Jesus aren’t they?

A. W. Towzer once drew a comparison between the way Christians treat Jesus and the way the British treat their monarchy saying: “The kings and queens of Britain are called the rulers of the nation. But they do not rule, they only reign. They do not have any power; they are mere figureheads before whom people bow and address as “Your Majesty.” But they do not allow these monarchs to have any practical power in their lives. I am afraid this is the way we often think of Jesus and treat him in our lives. But he does not appear in that form in Scripture. He is to be our Master, Lord of all our life, our business life, our sexual life, our recreational life, and our family life all of it is to come under his Lordship. When we acknowledge him King of our life, he is not to be a mere figurehead, but is One who has the right to rule, the right to control all of our affairs.”

Vs. 48-51 Good Samaritan

Vs. 48-50 In the 47^th verse Jesus told the religious leaders that the reason they didn’t believe Him was that they didn’t know God pretty amazing when one considers that they were dedicated to that very pursuit. After Jesus’ logic the only recourse for the religious leaders is name calling. Do you remember the grade school reply, “I know you are but what am I”? That’s what the religious leaders did here as they couldn’t challenge the validity of Jesus’ words so they attacked His reputation. By calling Jesus a Samaritan they were charging Him with being a religious traitor to the Jewish faith and further more they said you’re demented. Had Jesus said He was not a Samaritan He would have given merit to the racist rant of the religious leaders so He simply didn’t reply back to it all but it is interesting in the parable of the “Good Samaritan” Jesus pictured Himself as a Samaritan one hated by the Jews but a source of blessing to one in need. Jesus didn’t defend Himself in their hate speech He used gentle words to dismiss it by saying “I do not have a demon”.

Satan my friends is very crafty isn’t he? As he is behind these words of hate and He is using these religious leaders to get them to say things that would cause Jesus to act outside of His nature and character but Jesus won’t be governed by His emotions and feelings. Again we have a clear vision of Jesus’ heart towards the religious leaders as He again warns them not to remain in a state of unbelief. How did Jesus handle such a attack? He defended only His relationship with the Father and didn’t bother with what man thought of Him. Jesus doesn’t resort to name calling or angry responses instead He continues to reach out to them in love. Peter spoke of this heart of Jesus when he said in 1 Peter 2:23 “When He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously”. What a great example Jesus is to us as He gives us three keys of handling a personal attack:

I honor My Father: That ought to be our primary concern to make sure that what ever we do or say even when others come after us honors our Father. Jesus can take care of the person who is attacking us our responsibility is to make sure that we don’t dishonor our Lord.
I do not seek My own glory: It is not our responsibility to defend our reputations friends. Ron has said it this way, “I’ve heard far worse from far better”. The truth is there is not anything in me worth defending I have no glory, I am nothing more than a container of His glory as Paul described it this way in 2 Cor. 4:7 “We have this treasure(the glory of God) in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
There is One who seeks and judges: Finally it will be the Lord that defends and corrects all injustice not me and therefore I’m only interested in what He has to say about me not what someone else thinks about me, because to tell the truth I’m a far greater dirt bag then they think I am. So the next time someone is saying all sorts of things about you just respond to them and say, “Oh my that person is way to kind I’m far worse then what they are saying, why if it wasn’t for My Lord I’d be in hell for eternity!”

When ever anyone refuses Jesus own testimony about Himself they dishonor Him, anytime somebody refuses to acknowledge His revelation of Himself they are engaged in slander of our Lord. Jesus answered their slander by asking them who most resembled God the Father He or them? Hey folks that is always a great way to find out if you are in the flesh or in the Spirit simply look at your actions and attitudes and see if they are a reflection of the Lord or a reflection of satan who Jesus said lies and hates continually.

Vs. 51 Next Jesus turns the conversation away from the personal attack to their personal need when He says, “Most assuredly” or pay attention. What follows that is not “pay attention I’m going to fry you.” Instead, “Pay attention, I’m going to tell you how you can live forever!” In verse 21 Jesus warned them that they would die in their sins and here He tells them that if they “keeps His word” they will never die giving them the opportunity to be set free from sin. Who can conquer death? No leader has ever been able to do so, and yet Jesus promised those that keep His word will have victory over death. But what is death? Well it is the “permanent cessation of life” and Jesus told them that it need not be permanent condition. People who trust in His word Jesus said, are beyond the permanent destructive influence of death they will instead be in an eternal state of life. Jesus wasn’t speaking of physical death but spiritual death in verse 52 but the religious leaders couldn’t understand the things of God. This body is warring out, falling apart and losing its ability to regenerate but one day this body of corruption will put on incorruption that is what Jesus is speaking about. So the promise here is that we will never be separated from God if we keep His word, abide with Him we will continue to do so even when we are not longer trapped in our leather tents. We will be as 2 Corinthians 5:8 says “absent from this body is to be present then with the Lord”.

Notice that Jesus says they will not “SEE” death, instead what they will see is Jesus awaiting us. In John 14:2 Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” That is what we will “SEE” upon our death and those who don’t keep His word will see nothing but “outer darkness” upon their death. Paul spoke to Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:7 saying, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” That is what death will be for believers it will be like a great victory celebration after a long hard fought contest. Someone has well said that when we get to heaven it won’t be a “Wow” as much as it will be a “Whew”. You see the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be “absent from the body and at home with the Lord”. Now I ask you when you get home after a hard days work you say, “Whew, I’m home, not Wow I’m home!” don’t you?

Vs. 52-59 Before Abraham

Vs. 52-55 They were blown away by His comment about never dieing saying, “There have been a lot of great folks that have died, who do you think you are?” That’s interesting to me as in our society we think that the “Good die young” Billy Joel even wrote a song with those very words in it “only the good die young” but the Jews had a very different thought and it was that “only the good live long” and it’s the bad that die young. Jesus’ response in verse 54 was simple, “Why don’t you ask God who I am, you say you know Him why not ask Him?” Imagine hearing these words of Jesus as He stood there in the flesh and said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” That was 2500 years ago, so either Jesus is crazy or He is God. “Who do you make your self out to be”, they asked and Jesus replied, “I’m not making myself out to be anything, it’s My Father who you say you know that glorifies me.” Jesus then speaks to them a word of revelation as He proclaims that He is eternal as Abraham rejoiced to see His day and saw it and was glad. The religious leaders didn’t misquote Jesus they misunderstood Him, the problem was not in what they heard by the way in which they heard, a hard heart. Folks that is an important distinction to make as we think that most misunderstandings lie in poor communication but oft times the hindrance is not the way something is said as much as the ears that and hearts that hear it.

Vs. 56-57 When did Jesus see Abraham? Some see this in the story told us in Gen. 14 when Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils to a king named Melchizedek “King of Righteousness” whose kingdom was Salem or peace and in Hebrews 7:3 we are told he had no father or mother and no beginning or end. Let me see now He was the King of Righteousness from the Kingdom of peace has no earthly linage and appears to be eternal, yep sounds like Jesus. Abraham was called the friend of God the father of the faithful and they could not imagine one greater than Abraham. God had told Abraham, “In your seed all the nation shall be blessed” and Abraham believed he saw the day.

Now we know that Jesus was in His early thirties yet the reply of these religious Jews was that He was not yet 50. Some believe that this was do to the stress of carrying the sin of the world upon His shoulders.

Vs. 58-59 This is the third time Jesus uses the phrase “I Am” which is a direct reference to His deity. In the Greek it is “ego emi” which is the same way it is translated in Jesus’ day to describe the Voice from the burning bush and clearly this is how the religious Jewish leaders interpreted His words as well. In the past tense “Before Abraham was” and then in the present tense “I Am”. They had asked “Who do you make yourself out to be” and His simple reply was, “I don’t make Myself out to be anyone but I am God!” The 59^th verse reveals two ways that He was God:

First in the reaction of the religious Jews taking up stones to kill Him they clearly understood that He was proclaiming that He was God.
Second that He walked right through the crowd unharmed as it was not His time to die showing that He controlled His own destiny and no angry mob could change that.

Jesus has said, “I am the bread of life” then He said, “I am the light of the world” so Jesus has proclaimed essential characteristics of the Godhead by saying that He is the “sustenance of life” He is that which alone can sustain life all one needs to do to live is continue to partake of Him. Then He declared that He is the source of all that is bright the One that enables all to walk with out stumbling, Whose very presences warms us as it comforts our fears. Now He declares something very specific to the Jews that “Before Abraham was born, I am” the significance of that statement goes beyond His declaration of being God as He uses the reference of Abraham. You see Abraham was the father of the faith, the founder of the covenant and Jesus proclaims before the founder Abraham I am God. Oh how these Jews had come to worship their religion how they loved their patriarchs none more than Abraham and Jesus said, “Hey, he was just an entrance way to Me.” My how we Christians can get into the same attitude can’t we? To some the building becomes the god, to others the denomination becomes the god, to others a specific doctrine becomes the god, and others make the leader the god. Pay attention friends before all that we hold onto as objects of our worship there is Jesus, He is the One essential necessity to our faith. In Matthew 21:42 Jesus said, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” As they quarried the stone for the temple the most important stone was the foundational stone which all other were to be built upon when it arrived at the building sight it was laid aside as more stones were brought for years the chief corner stone laid there rejected by the architects finally one of the workers noticed the perfectly cut stone cast aside and placed it where it belonged and the building went together as it was designed. Saint’s this is far too easy to do as we are tempted to worship the structure called Christianity in stead of the person of Christ. Jesus had started the day with a declaration of being the light of the world and ended the day with one that proclaiming Himself to be the source of worship.

Jesus made this declaration about His deity which was clearly understood by the reaction of the religious leaders as they picked stones to kill Him. On the very day in which Jesus cried out that the shekinah glory of God reappeared in the temple after a thousand year absence the religious leaders pick up stones to extinguish the “Light of the World” and the glory of God departed from the temple and as we shall see He goes to a blind man from birth and restores his sight. Mark that my friend you may be able to chase the “Light of the glory of God” from your life but He will find some other heart to shine hope upon. “Before Abraham came into existence, I existed.” That is what Jesus said to them. In all probability these were most likely the very stones they had gathered to chuck at the woman they dragged in front of Him to be judged and Jesus was willing to take her judgment upon Himself. Earlier in the same day they had cast an immoral girl at His feet and picked up stones to kill her and one by one those stones hit the ground. Now hours latter they pick up those same stones to kill an immortal Lord. I am reminded of Jesus words in Luke 19:40 “that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Oh what a song of worship these stones would sing that day!