Paternity Test

Amen.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Kiddos, you are excused to your King's Kids class,

! and as they are going,

would you please open up your Bibles to John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

I'm going to be preaching on verses 39 through 59 this morning.

And as you're turning there, I want you to imagine,

imagine an incredibly wealthy man.

He's a billionaire.

And he's as promiscuous as he is wealthy.

Sleeps around.

And he finds himself to be the regular recipient of letters from law firms.

He's a woman.

Representing women whom he has slept with.

And these women are filing some kind of paternity suit.

And they wanted to get money, financial support,

for the children they claim that he has conceived.

So this wealthy man gets his own law firm.

And there are so many paternity suits

that the law firm has to get their own paternity rights specialist

to handle the load.

Do you know what this paternity rights specialist is going to do?

As these claims come in,

this paternity rights specialist is going to have

these moms and their children do what's called a paternity test.

Where they'll take a DNA sample of the child

and a DNA sample of the parent father.

And they will see if there's a DNA match.

Because if there's a match,

that child is set for the rest of their life.

Because they have legal standing.

But if that DNA doesn't match,

well, that child's got another father.

This morning we return

to a dialogue between Jesus

and some Jews in Jerusalem.

This is all taking place in a conversation in the temple.

And these Jews have claimed to be believers in Jesus.

But Jesus has shown them to be impostors.

Just pseudo-believers.

And in chapter 8, verse 37,

or excuse me, 38,

Jesus essentially says,

hey, there are two ways to live.

Either you are a slave to sin,

or you are a child of God.

And if you are a slave to sin,

you have another father

other than the God of the Bible.

And what we're going to see this morning

is if God of the Bible is not your father,

then your father is none other than the devil.

So in this morning,

here's how we're going to approach this dialogue

between Jesus and these Jews.

Think of it as a spiritual paternity test.

And if you were to take this spiritual paternity test,

whose father is yours?

God or the devil?

This dialogue consists of three exchanges,

and I'm going to read through each one at a time.

So let's first take a look at exchange one

between Jesus and these pseudo-believers.

And it's in verses 39 through 47.

Hear the word of God.

They answered him.

These Jews answered him.

Abraham is our father.

Jesus said to them,

if you were Abraham's children,

you would be doing the works Abraham did.

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.

You are doing the works your father did.

They said to him,

we were not born of sexual immorality.

We're not illegitimate children.

We're not bastards.

We have one father,

even God.

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.

Why do you not understand what I say?

It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

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 he 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.

But because I tell the truth,

do you not believe me?

You do not believe me.

Which one of you convicts me of sin?

I tell the truth.

Why do you not believe me?

Whoever is of God,

hears the words of God.

The reason why you do not hear them

is that you are not of God.

So here,

in verses 39 through 47,

this first exchange between Jesus and these Jews,

these Jews make two paternity claims.

They claim that Abraham is their father,

and then claim that God is their father.

And what Jesus does,

is he denies them both,

like a big fat stamp,

denied.

Let's look at verse 39,

with the first claim.

The first claim,

they say,

is Abraham is our father.

Remember,

in verse 38,

Jesus has just said,

I speak of what I have seen with my father,

and you do what you have heard from your father.

And then the Jews stomp their foot.

They're like this,

Abraham is our father.

How dare you suggest otherwise?

Jesus has already acknowledged

that they are,

in fact,

physical descendants of Abraham,

verse 37,

but they're not true spiritual children of Abraham.

We see why,

in verses 39 through 41,

there's this if-then argument.

In verse 39,

Jesus responds to their claim,

and he says,

if you were Abraham's children,

then,

you would be doing the works Abraham did.

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.

If you were truly Abraham's children,

then you would be doing what Abraham did.

And what is that?

By faith,

acting in obedience to God.

We see that in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

one through three,

where God shows up to Abraham,

and he says,

leave the land that you were raised in,

and go to the land that I will show you.

And Abraham does just that.

And so what's going on here is,

Jesus is saying,

sorry guys,

you are not Abraham's children,

not spiritually,

because you're not obeying God by faith.

The second claim comes in verse 41.

They say,

we were not born of sexual immorality.

We have one father,

even God.

It's like,

okay,

you can deny us Abraham,

but we're going to play the God card.

We are Israel.

God is our father.

In Exodus chapter 4,

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

in verses 22 through 23,

God sends Moses to Pharaoh,

and he says,

through Moses,

Israel is my firstborn son.

Let him go.

So this is what they're thinking,

these Jews,

that God is our father.

I mean,

we're Exodus 4,

children of God.

And when they say,

we're not born of sexual immorality,

they're saying,

we're not illegitimate children.

We're purebreds.

We have the bloodline.

And what we see happening here

is that their identity

is wrapped up in their genetics,

their lineage,

their bloodline.

And so they're like,

yeah,

we're descendant of him.

He is our father.

Now,

one commentator this past week

made a very interesting comment

that not only is this,

these Jews claiming

their paternity right

to God the Father,

but it could very well be

a little bit of a zing on Jesus.

Because they know

that Jesus,

his own paternity

is in question.

Oh,

but Jesus,

yeah,

we know that Mary

was pregnant

before she got married

to Joseph.

We're not

bastards.

Jesus denies them.

And he again uses

an if-then argument.

Look at verse 42.

If God were your father,

then you would love me.

For I came from God

and I am here.

I came not of my own accord,

but he sent me.

Why do you not understand

what I say?

And so the if-then argument

goes like this.

If God were truly your father,

then you would love me.

You would totally accept me.

You would enter into

a relationship with me.

You would see me

for who I am.

You would take my words

to be true,

and you would be welcomed

into the family.

But they don't.

Jesus' point is that

they're not God's children

because they don't believe

in Jesus.

They're not born of God.

And then in verse 44,

Jesus lowers the boom.

You are of your father,

the devil,

and your will is to do

your father's desires.

Now, this is not the way

to make friends, is it?

Here's what Jesus goes on to say.

You can imagine them like,

what?

And then look what Jesus says

about the devil,

about the devil's desires.

He was a murderer

from the beginning.

He 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 a father of lies.

Here's what he's saying.

Your father is a murderer

and a liar.

And you know what he's saying

about them?

Like father, like son?

You're murderers too,

and you're liars as well.

Just right at him.

In the temple.

Your father was a liar

and you are liars.

My truth is not abiding in you

and you're murderers.

You're seeking to kill me.

And so what Jesus does is

he denies their claim

that they are God's children.

Maybe you've come into the room

claiming that God is your father.

Have you denied Jesus?

Because if you've denied Jesus,

God is not your father.

You've got another father.

In verses 45 through 47,

Jesus peppers them

with some more questions.

But because I tell the truth,

you do not believe me,

which of you,

which one of you

convicts me of sin?

If I tell the truth,

why do you not believe me?

These are rhetorical questions.

He's making the point

that you don't understand

because you're not born of God.

But what I want to point you to

is in verse 46,

which one of you

convicts me of sin?

Do you know what Jesus

is saying here?

Which one of you

has any grounds

to accuse me

of any sin

for my entire life?

What this is happening,

what he's saying

is that I am without sin.

You can't put any claim on me.

Any charge will not stick.

And the only way

that Jesus can be sinless

for the 33 years he lived

is because he's God in the flesh.

So this first exchange,

we have these claims,

paternity claims,

the Jews saying,

Abraham is our father

and God is our father

and Jesus denies them both.

And in the midst of that,

we learn that Jesus

is without sin.

Did you notice

that Jesus is judging them?

He knows their hearts

and he knows ours as well.

This all takes place

in the temple.

Exchange number two

in verses 48 through 56.

Let me read it.

The Jews answered him,

Are we not right

in saying that you are a Samaritan

and have a demon?

Jesus answered,

I do not have a demon,

but I honor my father

and you dishonor me.

Yet I do not seek

my own glory.

There is one who seeks it

and he is the judge.

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

if anyone keeps my word,

he will never see death.

Then 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.

Are you greater

than our father Abraham

who died

and the prophets died?

Who do you make yourself

out to be?

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,

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.

Your father,

Abraham rejoiced

that he would see my day.

He saw it

and was glad.

In the second exchange,

the Jews make two more claims.

They claim that Jesus has a demon twice,

and Jesus is going to deny them twice.

Let's look at the first claim

in verse 48.

Are we not right in saying

you are a Samaritan,

have a demon?

So when these Jews

called Jesus a Samaritan,

it is not a nice thing to say.

Samaritans were seen by Jews

as religious half-breeds,

kind of the scum of the earth.

Samaritans questioned

Jewish kind of heritage,

lineage,

whether they were to the true people of God.

And so these Jews are saying,

why are you questioning

our legitimacy,

Samaritan?

What's even more striking

is like,

is it not true that you have a demon?

What are you, nuts?

Yes.

That would be the only way

that they can understand

why Jesus would make such a claim.

The only reason

why you would think

that we're not

God's sons and daughters

is if you had a demon.

And what you need to understand there

is they are actually blaspheming.

They're attributing to Jesus

God in the flesh

demonic activity.

In verse 49,

Jesus denies them outright.

I do not have a demon.

And then he says,

I honor my father

and you dishonor me.

So Jesus was sent

by his father to earth.

He knows where he's from.

He knows where he's going.

He knows why he came.

And he's seeking to honor his father

by obeying him,

by doing what he was sent to do.

But the Jews,

by not believing Jesus,

dishonor Jesus.

And they show that

God is not their father.

And in fact,

in verse 50,

we read,

they will be judged for it.

And the judgment

of dishonoring Jesus

is eternal death.

It's being cast out

into outer darkness

for an eternity

of weeping

and gnashing of teeth.

It's talking about

hell.

In verse 51,

we read,

this,

truly, truly,

I say to you,

if anyone keeps my word,

he will never see death.

death.

What Jesus is doing here

is like,

you know what?

There is something

you can do

so as not

to taste death,

not to be judged.

If only you would

keep these words

that I'm telling you.

If anyone keeps my word,

he will never

see death.

These Jews,

by not believing

in Jesus is,

they are dishonoring him

by rejecting

his words of truth

and are attributing

to him

demonic activity.

What's striking

about this is

here they are

accusing him

of these things

and yet Jesus

continues to offer

out lifelines

to them.

Opportunities

to believe.

Opportunities

to live.

Claim two,

they say,

now we know

that you have

a demon.

Is that not clear,

verse 52?

They're like saying,

now that you've said that,

you've just made

our case.

You definitely

are demon-possessed.

And what they're

actually doing

is persisting

in their blasphemy.

What they are

convinced of

is that Jesus,

by saying,

that whoever

keeps his word

will never taste

death,

what they're

convinced of

is that he

is making himself

out to be

greater than

Abraham and

the prophets.

And they think

that's absolutely

ridiculous.

Their point is,

hey,

even Abraham

and the prophets

died.

They seem to be

misunderstanding

what Jesus is

saying when

he says,

never taste

death.

Jesus is speaking

about eternal

life,

that once you

believe,

it comes,

you are given

eternal life,

and then after

you physically

die,

you continue

to live.

These Jews

seem to be

thinking,

he's talking

literally that

you will never

die again,

physically die.

And then the

point is,

Abraham and the

prophets died.

Are your words

able to do

something that

their words

couldn't?

Are you greater

than Abraham?

Are you greater

than the prophets?

Who do you

make yourself

out to be?

You've definitely

got a demon.

They're unable

to believe

who Jesus

truly is.

Who do you

think you are,

Jesus?

And in verses

54 through 56,

Jesus responds,

he denies them

with another

if-then

argument.

Look at

verse 54,

if I glorify

myself,

then my glory

is nothing.

It's my father

who glorifies

me,

of whom you

say,

he is our

God.

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.

Jesus'

response is,

hey,

I'm not here

to promote

myself.

My father

is going

to glorify

me.

He's going

to do

that.

I am

just

obeying

him.

I'm here

to speak

the truth.

I'm here

to be glorified

at the

right time

because he

sent me.

I know

where I

come from.

I know

where I'm

going.

I know

why I'm

here.

And even

though you

call my

father

your God,

you do

not know

him.

God.

And what

he's talking

about is

not an

intellectual

knowledge.

He's not

talking about

do you

know the

omnis of

God or

not.

The

knowledge

is a

knowing

as in

being in

a relationship

with.

A saving,

life-giving

relationship

with.

Jesus is

like, I

know you

know of

God, but

you don't

know my

father.

You're not

in a

relationship

with him.

You're not

his children.

Jesus does

know him.

Jesus is

in a

relationship

with his

father.

God the

father,

God the

son.

And he

demonstrates

this by

keeping his

word, by

doing what

God the

father has

told him,

sent him

to do.

He's not

a liar.

Not like

them.

He's a

legitimate

son.

In fact,

what they

share in

common,

God the

father and

God the

son, is

God-ness.

In 56,

Jesus circles

back to

Abraham in

verse, what

they asked in

verse 53.

Remember this,

are you

greater than

our father

Abraham who

died?

And look at

verse 56.

Your father

Abraham rejoiced

that he would

see my day.

He saw it and

was glad.

Does anybody

else in the

room think

that this is

a rather

kind of strange

way of

speaking?

Let me read

it again.

Your father

Abraham rejoiced

that he would

see my day.

He saw it and

was glad.

Do you know

how Jesus is

speaking of

Abraham?

Like he

knows him.

Like they've

talked about

this.

Like they've

interacted over

this.

Like Jesus

was somehow

with Abraham

when God

promised Abraham

that he would

bless all the

nations of the

earth through

one of his

offspring.

And from that

point on,

Abraham started

to anticipate

with gladness

how God

would fulfill

that promise.

promise.

And God

fulfilled that

promise by

sending Jesus.

Paul in

Galatians makes

the argument

that Jesus

is through

whom God

would bless

all the

nations with

salvation.

Abraham was

looking forward

to my day.

That is a

remarkable

statement.

Abraham was

looking,

rejoiced that

he would

see my

day.

Jesus wasn't

looking forward

to Abraham's

day.

Abraham was

looking forward

to Jesus'

day.

The day

when the

offspring of

Abraham,

the Messiah,

the Son of

God,

Son of Man,

totally God,

totally man,

would come

and usher

into our

world

salvation,

eternal life.

That's

my day.

It's a

huge claim.

Abraham

looked forward

to my

day,

and he

saw it,

and was

glad.

Jesus

knows

Abraham.

He's not

demon-possessed.

God

bless

God.

He's the

offspring of

Abraham,

through whom

God would

bless all

the nations

of the

earth,

through the

death and

resurrection

of this

offspring,

Jesus.

This is all

taking place at

the temple.

people.

And so

Jesus denies

these claims

of demon

possession.

He's in

fact,

the Son of

God.

In

exchange

three,

in verses

57 through

59,

we now

have a

claim of

Jesus that's

denied by

the Jews.

This,

verse 58,

is the

climactic

moment of

this whole

dialogue in

chapter 8.

So the

Jews said

to him,

you're not

yet 50

years old,

and have

you seen

Abraham?

Abraham lived

2,000 years

earlier to

Jesus.

Jesus said

to them,

truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

before Abraham

was,

I am.

So they

picked up

stones to

throw him,

but Jesus

hid himself

and went

out of

the temple.

In

verse 57,

we see

how the

words of

Jesus,

in terms of

how he was

talking about

Abraham,

how they

struck his

audience,

these Jews.

You're not

yet 50

years old,

and have

you seen

Abraham?

They heard

him right,

but they

couldn't

believe it.

The word

of Christ

was not

dwelling

in them.

They're

asking a

question,

but

there's no

question to

what they're

asking.

There's no

way,

there's no

way you

know Abraham

like that.

There's no

way you

knew this

man who

lived 2,000

years before.

There's no

way that he

was looking

forward to

your day.

No

way.

They are

denying

his claim

that he

knows

Abraham

personally.

And so,

in verse

58,

Jesus

drops

another

truly,

truly.

The truth,

the truth.

Not a

lie,

not a

lie.

Let me

set the

record

straight,

listen

carefully to

what I'm

about to

say.

And in

one sentence,

he answers

three of

their questions.

He's going

to answer,

are you

greater than

our father

Abraham and

the prophets?

He's going

to answer,

who do you

make yourself

out to be?

And he's

going to

answer,

you're not

even 50

years old,

and have

you seen

Abraham?

This one

sentence

answers all

of them.

Truly,

truly,

I say to

you,

before Abraham

was,

I am.

Before

Abraham

was,

I am.

I existed

before

Abraham.

We saw

something similar

back in

John 1,

John 1:30

verse 30,

with JTB,

John the

Baptist.

He said,

he who

comes after

me,

speaking of

Jesus,

he who

comes after

me,

ranks

before me

because he

was before

me.

And what

John the

Baptist was

saying there

is that the

second person

of the

Trinity,

the Son

of God,

Jesus had

existed before

him.

Though physically

born after

him,

he had a

greater rank

than he was

greater than

John the

Baptist.

The second

person of

the Trinity

has eternally

existed.

And so when

he says,

before Abraham

was,

I am,

what he's

saying is,

I'm greater

than Abraham.

I existed

before Abraham.

And so he's

answering the

question,

yes,

I am

greater than

Abraham.

I was

before him.

But the

wording is

weird.

This isn't

good grammar,

Jesus.

Before Abraham

was,

I am.

Shouldn't

he be

saying,

before Abraham

was,

I was?

What's up

with that?

Jesus very

intentionally

doesn't say,

I was.

He's purposely

saying,

before Abraham

was,

I am.

God

goes to

the question,

who do you

make yourself

out to be?

Remember,

this is

happening at

the temple.

Who do you

make yourself

out to be?

And the

one that

Jesus is

making himself

out to be

is the

great I

am.

Of Exodus

3,

burning

bush,

Moses,

who do I

tell Israel

is sending

me?

And God

says,

tell them

I am

is sending

you.

The

ever

existent

one.

The

present

present.

The

eternal

present.

I am.

Self-sufficient.

God

of all.

The

Greek word

is

ego

amy.

Before

Abraham

was,

ego

amy.

And that

little phrase

shows up

in Isaiah

41.4,

43.10,

48.12.

I am.

There is

no other.

There is

no other

savior.

Jesus is

grabbing onto

that and

broadcasting it.

He's making

a paternity

claim.

He's saying,

the same

godness in

me is the

same godness

of my

father.

father.

Who do you

make yourself

out to be?

I am.

So yes,

he has

seen

Abraham

who lived

2,000

years

earlier.

And he

also saw

him the

moment

before he

was conceived

in Mary

when Abraham

saw his

death

as he's

claiming

to be

God.

There's

no question

to what

Jesus is

claiming

about

himself.

He's

claiming

to be

God

in the

flesh.

The Jews

hear this

audacious

claim.

In verse

59,

they pick

up stones

to stone

him

because they

think that

he's

blaspheming,

which is

really rich.

rich.

It's

doubly

ironic

because

Jesus is

not

blaspheming.

He is

God.

And they

just accused

him of

being demon

possessed.

Now that's

rich.

rich.

And what

I don't

want you

to miss

is the

last little

phrase

in verse

59.

Jesus

hid

himself

and God

is now

leaving the

building.

He leaves

the temple.

He came

to his

own and

his own

did not

receive him.

He has

given them

countless

opportunities

to believe

and now

he's

leaving the

building.

Just like

the glory

of the

Lord

departed

the temple

in Ezekiel.

So we've

seen three

exchanges.

Jesus

denies

the Jews

claim of

paternity

to Abraham

and God

the Father.

Jesus

denies

their double

claim that

he is

demon

possessed

and that

Jesus

is denied

when he

claims to

be God.

What's

the point?

Very

simple.

Three

words.

Jesus

is God.

Jesus

is God.

And

what that

means is

it's either

true or

false.

If it's

false

don't waste

your time

with Jesus.

If it's

true

it puts

him in

a category

all by

himself.

And if

it's

true

that

makes

what

Jesus

has

done

it's

called

effectual

powerful.

He lived

a sinless

life.

None

of us

in the

room

can

live

a

sinless

life.

My

guess

is

a few

of us

have

sinned

once

or

twice

already

today.

Jesus

because

he's

God

in the

flesh

is

sinless.

He

did

what

none

of

us

could

do.

And

not

only

is

he

sinless

sinless

Jesus

the

incarnate

God

died

in the

place

for

sinners.

He

bore

all of

God's

wrath

for all

of our

sin

and then

when we

believe

God

in his

mercy

and his

grace

not only

forgives us

those sins

he gives

us

the

righteousness

of

Christ

and

by

right

he

brings

us

into

his

family

you

see

not

only

is

this

claim

true

not

only

is

it

effectual

it

is

transformative

you

were

delivered

from

one

family

when

the

devil

was

your

daddy

into

another

family

and

now

you

have

a

heavenly

father

and

it's

all

through

this

one

who

claimed

to

be

God

if

he

wasn't

God

none

of

it

could

happen

so

let

me

ask

you

a

question

of

spiritual

paternity

who

is

your

father

is

your

life

marked

more

and

more

by

trusting

in

God's

word

by

keeping

Christ's

word

by

by

his

word

abiding

in

you

are

you

living

in

the

truth

are

you

walking

in

the

light

are

you

loving

Jesus

more

and

loving

others

more

if

you

are

that's

an

indicator

that you've

been brought

into the

family

that you put

your faith

in Christ

and he's

brought

about

this

transformation

and he's

bringing

about

more

and more

transformation

but if

you are

murderous

if you

hate

people

if you

go after

people

if you're

regularly

lying

you're

spinning

the

truth

even

denying

that

Jesus

is

God

you

are

in

darkness

and what

that shows

is that

your daddy

is the

devil

there are

just two

ways to

live

you're

either

a slave

to sin

and your

daddy's

the devil

or you

are a

child

of God

and the

blood

of Jesus

has set

you free

to live

as a

child

and live

for God

now if

you're

in the

room

and you're

kind of

like

well

how

can

God

truly

become

my

father

if

I'm

a

sinner

under

his

wrath

how

do

I

how

do

I

get

into

the

family

it's

by

believing

in

his

son

trusting

in

Jesus

and

this

morning

you're

given

an

opportunity

to

believe

in

Jesus

don't

let

this

opportunity

leave

the

building

without

trusting

Christ

did

you

know

none

of

us

in

this

room

is

promised

tomorrow

none

of

us

in

this

room

is

promised

tomorrow

so

trust

Christ

today

if

you're

not a

Christian

in

the

room

you

can't

bank

on

tomorrow

but

you

can

bank

on

the

salvation

that

God

provides

through

Jesus

forgiveness

eternal

life

being

welcomed

into

the

family

of

God

because

Jesus

is

God

there's

one

last

encouragement

I want

to give

to you

for those

of us

who

who

have been

brought

into the

family

of faith

by the

blood

of

Jesus

because

he's

God

in the

flesh

I can't

get over

this

little

sentence

before

Abraham

was

I am

can't

get over

it

thinking

about

it

all

week

before

John

was

I

am

before

Mary

was

I

am

before

Isaiah

was

Ezra

was

Jeremiah

was

Amos

Jonah

was

I

am

before

Solomon

was

before

David

was

I

am

before

Ruth

was

before

Deborah

was

before

Samson

was

I

am

before

Joshua

was

before

Moses

was

before

Jacob