Lent V: Judica - March 22, 2026

Praise to you and peace from God, our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

In our holy gospel for today, from John chapter 8, we see a confrontation between

John 8 · chapter mention

Jesus and his enemies, a conversation that goes back and forth.

And within this debate, there are seven questions, three from Jesus and four from the Pharisees.

This morning, we will answer all seven questions.

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees,

and he 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.

In other words, Jesus is saying, if you believed in God, you would love me because I am God in the flesh.

God the Father sent Jesus to be our Savior.

God the Father is one who sent, and Jesus is the sent one.

And so to acknowledge the Son is to acknowledge the Father.

And here is the first question. Jesus asked the Pharisees, why do you not understand what I say?

Why? How would you answer this question?

Why do the disciples not believe in Jesus, that he came from the Father?

Why do they not believe that he is God in human flesh.

Jesus gives the answer. He said to them, You do not understand what I say because

you cannot bear to hear my word.

In other words, they cannot bear to hear the truth. They have no faith.

Their hearts are hardened. And in their anger, they even seek to kill him.

And Jesus goes even further and identifies them as of the devil.

Dearly beloved, you have been given faith in Christ by means of the Holy Spirit.

You believe that God the Father sent his only begotten Son to be your Savior.

You believe that Jesus died for you on the cross and he rose again.

You reflect the light of Christ in your words and actions, and yet beware the

devil. He lies, and he seeks to take your faith in Christ away.

Be on guard, and by God's grace, hold fast to God's word and remain faithful.

The second question also comes from Jesus. He asked the Pharisees,

which one of you convicts me of sin?

Now, the Pharisees tried to find fault in Jesus, but they could find none.

They looked for ways to trap him in his sin, but they failed.

Later, when Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas asked Jesus,

tell us whether you are the Christ, the son of the living God.

And Jesus answered, responded by saying, I am.

Caiaphas then accused Jesus of blasphemy, claiming that he is God.

When they sent him to Pilate, Pilate found no guilt in Jesus, nothing to convict him.

No one could convict Jesus of sin because he is true God and man.

He is both divine and human. He is the spotless Lamb of God.

He never lied. He never spoke falsely. His words are the very words of God.

But what about you? Can anyone convict you of sin?

Yeah, let's say that we break the law of the land, and we appear before the

judge, and the judge looks at the evidence and declares us guilty.

But furthermore, even more, the Ten Commandments expose our sin.

The law acts like a mirror. They show us where we have sinned.

It accuses us because we all have a sinful nature. We sin in what we think, say, and do.

Yet, Jesus paid for our sins by his blood upon the cross.

He died in our place and on our behalf. We gave him our sin,

and he gave us his righteousness.

And his resurrection proves that the payment on Good Friday was sufficient.

His resurrection proves that there is the forgiveness of sins.

In Christ you are declared not guilty you are justified by God's grace through faith in Christ.

The third question also comes from Jesus. He asked the Pharisees,

If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

The answer is clear. They do not believe in Jesus because they do not receive

the word of God. They refuse to accept his word as truth.

They are not of God.

Dearly beloved, you are of God.

You are baptized, children of God.

Your ears are open to hear the word of God.

And you believe it. Even though you cannot fully explain it,

you hear the word of God and you keep it.

You believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is your one and only Savior.

The fourth question is asked by the Pharisees.

They asked Jesus, Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

No, they're not right. They're wrong.

Jesus is not a Samaritan, half

Jew and half Gentile. He does not possess a demon. This is ridiculous.

Jesus is a son of God in human flesh, and he's come to defeat the devil.

That means the cross and the open tomb.

Now, the Pharisees tried to insult Jesus by calling him a Samaritan.

They tried to discredit his authority by claiming that he is demon-possessed.

And this shows us that Jesus was a threat to their traditions and power.

And this also explains why they sought to kill him.

Dearly beloved, do not insult people. Do not tell lies about them.

Do not gossip in order to make yourself look good.

Instead, love your enemies.

Pray for them. Speak well of people and put the best construction on them.

Let others see Christ in you.

The fifth question is also asked by the Pharisees.

But before we get to the question, first of all, Jesus said that whoever keeps

my word will never see death.

And Jesus meant that they would not see eternal death.

They would die a physical death, but they would not endure everlasting damnation.

So the Pharisees, here's the question. The Pharisees ask Jesus,

are you greater than our father Abraham who died?

The answer is yes, he is. Jesus is greater than Abraham.

Jesus is the eternal son of God, and he existed before Abraham.

So Abraham believed in God's promise, and he was saved through faith in the coming Messiah.

Though Abraham died physically, Abraham is alive in heaven with our Lord.

And so dearly beloved, keep God's word.

Guard it from false doctrine and teaching.

Hold on to it as your source of truth.

Hear it read. Listen to it being preached. Meditate on it at home or in a Bible study.

God's word is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path.

It leads you to Jesus, your one and only Savior.

Though you will one day die a physical death, by God's grace,

you will not face eternal death.

You will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but you will receive eternal life.

Jesus opened heaven for you and all who believe. in heaven. You will see Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob, along with Moses and David.

You will see all those who have gone on ahead of you in the faith.

Press on for the goal of heaven.

The sixth question is also asked by the Pharisees.

They asked Jesus, who do you make yourself out to be?

Now they asked this question because they do not believe that Jesus is superior

over Abraham and the prophets, all of them whom died.

They were also challenging Jesus' identity as God. Who is Jesus?

He is the eternal Son, the second person of the Trinity.

The Old Testament prophesied of his coming in the flesh.

And in the fullness of time, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

He was born of the Virgin Mary.

He is both God and man. He is divine and human.

He fulfilled the law perfectly in our place. He suffered and died upon the cross

for our sins. He was the perfect sacrifice for your sin and the sin of the whole world.

Three days later, he rose from the dead. And in his resurrection,

he defeated our enemies of death and the devil.

Salvation is found in Jesus alone. He is the only way to heaven. His word is true.

And he is our only source of life. Life on earth and eternal life in heaven.

Dearly beloved, believe in your

hearts and confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

Do not be ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for your salvation.

It saved you from death and the devil. The gospel is your source of forgiveness.

Life and salvation, by God's grace, remain in the faith.

Final question is asked by the Pharisees.

But before we get to the question, first of all, Jesus said to them,

your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

Now, how did Abraham see Jesus? He saw Jesus with the eyes of faith.

He believed in the promise of the coming savior

we call abraham our father

because we believe we both

believe in christ as our savior now this upset the pharisees so here's their

question you are not yet 50 years old and have you seen abraham now they asked

this question sarcastically challenging jesus claim that he physically,

they thought physically saw Abraham.

The Pharisees believed that Jesus was simply a young man under 50 years old.

Therefore, they concluded that it was impossible for Jesus to have known Abraham,

who died roughly 2,000 years ago.

In their mind, how could that take place? How could that be?

And Jesus responded saying, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

And that phrase, I am, has identified Jesus as Yahweh, the preexistent Son of

God who spoke to Moses there in the burning bush on Mount Sinai.

And he said to Moses, I am who I am.

The Pharisees understood this to be Jesus' claim of thinking he's God,

so they accused him of blasphemy.

Again, claiming, thinking that he thinks he's God. So they picked up stones

to kill him. But Jesus performed a miracle.

He hid himself and left the temple. They were not able to harm him.

Jesus did not want to die that day by stoning. Rather, he wanted to die by means

of crucifixion in order to shed blood as a payment for our sin.

There was opposition to Jesus back then. There was opposition to Jesus today.

There was unbelief back then, and there's unbelief today.

Unbelief says no thank you to the gospel. It rejects God's word and resists

the Holy Spirit. we pray that the Holy Spirit may bring people from unbelief

to faith in Christ by means of the gospel.

Who is Jesus? Many people today see Jesus only as an example to follow,

a moral teacher, a guy who had a lot of good things to say, but his death to

them was of no importance.

Some view Jesus merely as a coach or therapist. They don't want a Jesus who

is offensive to the world They don't want a Jesus who died by means of crucifixion.

Are you? You are a poor, miserable sinner, yet you are a baptized child of God,

redeemed with the blood of Christ.

You are clothed with a robe of Christ's righteousness.

In Christ, your sins are forgiven, and you see Jesus with the eyes of faith,

and you touch and taste his gifts here at the altar.

This gospel fills you with joy and peace that the world can never give.

Thanks be to God. Amen.