John 8:31-59 - Jared Skitt

So before we start, I just want to take a minute.

We're going to pray. We're going to ask the Lord

to be guiding and directing us this morning,

because if you're just here to hear me talk,

no bueno. But we get to ask the Lord to be at

work in our hearts, to convict us through the

power of the Holy Spirit, and to draw out in

His Word what He has. So let's open in prayer.

Heavenly Father, good and gracious God, You are

so good. We praise you. We thank you for this

morning. We thank you for each and every person

that's here. Lord, as we get to open your word,

as we get to just dive deep together into who

you are, Lord, I pray that that would just continue

to change us. Lord, be at work in our hearts

through the power of the Holy Spirit. Draw us

to yourself. Lord, for those who are here this

morning who are struggling, who are tired, who

are joyless, I just pray that you would bring

joy. And Lord, for those who are here this morning

who have that joy and just the excitement of

walking in you, I just pray that you would continue

to strengthen and bolster. And Lord, help us

all to be radiant reflections of Jesus. As we

open your word, Lord, bless this time. We pray

this in Jesus' name. Amen. I mentioned we're

going through the book of John. If you don't

have a Bible with you, there on the back table

are these little blue books. The book of John.

Take one. It's yours. There's a whole section

next to it for notes. You can actually write

in your Bible. You can circle. You can underline.

And there's a little section for notes in there.

So take that. We want you to have that. That

is for you. But we're going to be working through

verse by verse in John chapter 8. But as we get

John 8 · chapter mention

ready to do that, when I was younger, I took

a trip to the Outer Banks with my family. And

I had just purchased a Jeep Wrangler. And it

was a six -speed manual. And I was working my

first full -time job. And I was so excited about

this. And we went to the Outer Banks in North

Carolina. And there was a section where I could

drive my Jeep out onto the sand. And I just thought

that was the coolest thing ever. Put the top

down. We're driving out. you know, put it in

first. I start driving out, and all of a sudden,

and I'm just digging myself right down into the

sand, and I'm thinking, man, that was a little

anticlimactic. I'm thinking, oh yeah, I'm a cool,

cool 19 -year -old coming down here, full -time

job, get to do this, and then, yeah, no, nothing.

So I just buried myself right in the sand. I

thought, well, I can get out of this. It's a

Jeep. Four -wheel drive. So I put it, you know,

make sure I'm in four. Still nothing. I just

keep digging myself deeper into the sand. So

I thought, okay, well, four -wheel low. So I

put it in four -wheel low. Put in first. Still

just keep digging myself deeper in the sand.

And I just kept thinking, oh, I've got this.

I don't need any help. One more try, and I'm

going to get out. But every time I hit the gas,

I only just kept burning myself deeper. See guys,

sometimes the hardest person to rescue is the

person who refuses to admit that they're stuck.

And that's where the passage begins this morning.

So two weeks ago, we heard Jesus make some really

staggering statements in the first part of John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8. In John 8 verse 12, Jesus said, I

John 8:12

am the light of the world. Anyone who follows

me will never walk in the darkness, but will

have the light of life. And then Jesus said that

he had come from above, while the people who

were listening to him were from below. And he

warned them that they could not save themselves.

In John 8 verse 24, he said, therefore I told

John 8:24

you that you will die in your sins. For you do

not believe that I am he, you will die in your

sins. Then Jesus pointed ahead to the cross.

So John 8, 28, he says this. So Jesus said to

them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you

will know that I am he, and that I do nothing

on my own, but just as the Father taught me,

I say these things. When Jesus told them who

he is, then... He came, where he came from, what

will happen if they refuse to believe him. The

section ends with something that sounds like

a really great conclusion. And it was in verse

30 where it says, and as he was saying these

things, many believed in him, right? So that

conclusion two weeks ago, many believed in him.

Jesus preached, people believed, everybody can

go home, yay team Jesus, all right. Except Jesus

doesn't end the conversation there. So when we

look at verse 31, which is where we're picking

up in our text this morning, it says, Then Jesus

said to the Jews who had believed him, If you

continue in my word, you are really my disciples.

John presents Jesus speaking directly to the

people who had believed in him. But Jesus immediately

begins pressing in on their belief. He's not

saying that continuing in his word earns salvation.

But he is saying that, hey, continuing, or if

you have the ESV, it says abiding in his word

reveals the reality of their faith. So it's one

thing to believe Jesus when you like what he

says. It's another thing to remain with Jesus

when his word confronts the story that you have

always believed about yourself. See, this passage

begins with people who had believed in Jesus,

and it ends with people picking up stones to

kill him. So it starts with, oh yeah, this is

great. And then it ends with, we got to kill

this guy. And there's something that's going

on. So what happened between verses 31 through

59? The short version is Jesus told them the

truth about themselves. He told them that they're

not as free as they thought. He confronts the

very idea of their independence. He challenged

the identity that they had built on their relationship

with Abraham as their father, exposing that lineage

couldn't secure their standing before God. And

then in words that were both unmistakable and

almost incomprehensible, in their weight. He

doesn't merely claim to be the God that Abraham

worshiped. He declared that he is the eternal

I am, the one that Abraham knew, speaking in

a way that left no neutral ground for response.

So each time Jesus speaks as we walk through

this passage, I want you to look at how the people

respond. See, we're going to see that Jesus offers

freedom. and the people deny their slavery. Jesus

is going to tell them the truth, and they're

just going to say, well, actually, you know,

this is our identity. We're going to defend this.

Jesus offers life, and they say, hey, we're not

dead. Do you have a demon? Like, what are you,

dude? And they're willing to believe in Jesus

until Jesus starts to contradict them. And still

he starts to poke at their own image and identity

of themselves. And so that brings us to a central

question that we're going to be faced with as

we walk through this text this morning. And that

question is, what happens to our faith when Jesus

confronts the story that we tell about ourselves?

So that question is, what happens to our faith

when Jesus confronts the story we tell about

ourselves? See, Jesus is about to offer freedom,

and then they just start denying that they're

in slavery. So Jesus begins by describing genuine

discipleship, where he says in verse 31, if you

continue in my word, you really are my disciples.

You will know the truth, and the truth will set

you free. That one that the truth will set you

free. You will know the truth and the truth will

set you free. It's quoted all the time in our

culture. You might see it on the side of like

the hippie vans. You might hear people that are

saying this. And it's used to celebrate education

and self -discovery. Speaking your truth because

that's going to set you free. But our culture

wants the promise of verse 32. without the command

of verse 31. If you continue in my word, you

really are my disciples. You will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free. And they want

this promise without facing the slavery that

we're going to see in verse 34, or the Savior

that we're going to see in verse 36. See, Jesus

doesn't say, discover your truth, and the truth

will set you free. He says, continue in my word.

To continue means to remain or abide. I mentioned

ESV says abide. When we were working through

1 John, we talked about that a lot. But if you

weren't here, it means resting in and making

our soul focus on. See, a disciple makes his

home in Jesus' word even when it confronts him,

even when it starts to rip away the facade that

we choose to build for ourselves. See, guys,

truth is not something we create. Truth is found

in Jesus. It is not subjective. It is objective.

Truth is found in Jesus. Jumping ahead into the

book of John, we're going to get there soon.

But John 14 and verse 6, Jesus says this. John

14, 6. See? Truth does have a face and a name,

and that's Jesus Christ. And we know him by continuing

in his word. That's why verse 32 says the truth

sets us free, because Jesus is the truth. And

then verse 36 is going to say the Son sets us

free. See, the truth sets us free because Jesus

is truth. So Jesus sets us free. But instead

of asking Jesus to explain this freedom that

he offers, the people who believed here all of

a sudden switched to start defending themselves.

So verse 33 of chapter 8 says, We are descendants

of Abraham, they answered him. We have never

been enslaved to anyone. How can you say you

will become free? Jesus says, I can set you free.

They respond, who says we're slaves? What are

you talking about? Jesus offers them freedom

and they take offense at the suggestion that

they need it. Their statement is kind of historically

astounding, right? Because they're saying, we're

not slaves. We've never been slaves. Okay. We

remember some of our Bible history. They were

slaves in Egypt. They get out of Egypt. They

go and finally... in the time of the judges,

they get into the land of the promised land.

They were under the control of the Philistines,

the Moabites, and more. And then later, okay,

yeah, now we're not slaves. We have our own kingdom.

All of a sudden, in comes Assyria, Babylon. They're

under the rule of then the Syrian Seleucids.

Now, when they're writing this, they're under

occupation from Rome. And they say, ah, who says

we're slaves? We're not. We're descendants of

Abraham. We have never been enslaved to anyone.

See, as they speak these words to Jesus, Israel's

history is filled with foreign masters. So whether

they're trying to do some revisionist history,

which I don't think is exactly what they're doing,

or they're making a claim about their covenant

standing in the covenant that God made with Abraham,

where he said, you and your descendants and offspring

will belong to God as his people and receive

blessing. Their point is clear. They're saying,

we're Abraham's descendants. We're already God's

people. We're not the ones that need to be rescued.

I like the way that Joby Martin paraphrases the

mentality that these people have. They say, by

birth and behavior, God owes us salvation. We

are heirs of the promise given to Abraham. See,

their birth places them in Abraham's family.

Their religious behavior distinguishes them from

obvious sinners. The promise they believe then,

they're saying, obligates God to receive them.

No, we're descendants of Abraham. We're not enslaved.

God needs to do his part because we're his chosen

people here. That's what they're saying back

to Jesus. They don't see themselves as slaves

in need of rescue. They see themselves as heirs

who deserve the kingdom. They want a savior without

admitting that they need saving. They want liberation

without confession. They want freedom without

admitting bondage. So Jesus then responds in

verse 34 by naming the real master. Jesus responded,

is a slave of sin, right? So they think there's

no slavery to address. Jesus says, no, actually,

the problem is sin. And despite being descendants

of Abraham, you are slaves to sin. See, sin's

not something we occasionally do. It's not something

that every once in a while... we're a part of.

Guys, apart from Jesus Christ, sin is the master

that we obey. So we like to imagine ourselves

as independent. We tell ourselves, I can stop

whenever I want. So it's easy for us to sit and

look here and say, oh yeah, these people like

saying they're not slaves. How could they do?

Obviously, right? And then we sit here and we

say, well, you know, actually I'm not really

in like, it's a minor sin. It's something I struggle

with occasionally, but by the grace of God, it's

cool. Guys, apart from Jesus, when we continue

in sin, it becomes a master. We like to imagine

ourselves as independent. Then we do it again.

And sometimes that means we return to the same

bitterness. We go for the next juicy piece of

gossip. We lust after what is not ours. We consume

pornography. We dress or conduct ourselves in

a way that draws the eyes of others towards ourself

for our own pleasure and our own gratification.

We fall into the same pride, the approval seeking,

the need for control. We fall into the habitual

patterns of hiding and blaming and shame. See

guys, our culture defines freedom as autonomy.

No one tells me what to do. I define truth for

myself. I follow my own desires. This is even

more so in Alaska. We really like to be free.

We like to be independent. But when our focus

is on autonomy, when our focus in this freedom

is on our own selves and our own desires, that's

not what freedom is. See, Jesus doesn't offer

us autonomy. If our desires are ruled by sin,

doing whatever we want, having autonomy is actually

still slavery because we're slaves to sin. But

Jesus offers liberation, which is freedom from

sin's rule and freedom to live under the gracious

rule of the Son. And Jesus continues into verse

35, a slave does not remain in the household

forever, but a son... does remain forever. See,

a slave has no permanent standing in the house.

He has no authority to establish his place there.

But the son of the father belongs in the house

forever. The son possesses the standing and the

authority to act. And then in verse 36, Jesus

says, so if the son sets you free, you really

will be free. See, a slave isn't the one that

can promote himself into sonship. A prisoner

cannot pardon himself. A sinner cannot break

the mastery of sin through greater effort. Only

the son can set the slaves free and say, hey,

you get to come to the Father, and now you get

to be a part of this family. So, you cannot be

then set free from a slavery you refuse to admit.

These people were saying, no, no, no, we're descendants

of Abraham, we're good. We've never been slaves

to anyone. And we often respond to Jesus exactly

like these people did. Some of us respond more

from the self -righteous religious crowd. No,

no, I'm good. I grew up in church. I was baptized.

My family's always believed. I know the Bible.

I serve. I'm not as bad as other people. Like,

I know I need God's grace, but there's some pieces

I can bring to this and do well, and God will

accept me. Others respond like those who already

know we're broken and far from God, and we say,

God, no. Pastor, I've made a mess of my life.

I know I've sinned too much. I don't belong in

church. God probably wouldn't want me. See, Jesus

isn't asking for our religious resume. He's not.

intimidated by your moral failures. He's asking

whether his word has authority over you and if

you have freedom in him. So what part of your

life, what part of your identity are you protecting

from him? See, for the Christians struggling

against sin, continuing in Jesus's word doesn't

mean sinless perfection. It means that when we

sin, We do not abandon Jesus or redefine what

he said or what he actually meant. We confess,

we repent, we trust, and we return because our

former master no longer owns us. Sin may still

speak, but it no longer has the final claim over

those whom the son has set free. So the people

deny their slavery by pointing to Abraham. Jesus

responds then by examining whether they actually

resemble the father. that they're claiming. So

Jesus tells them the truth, and they start defending

their identity. My dad died in a car accident

when I was nine months old, and so I never really

got to know him growing up, but I look exactly

like him. I've seen pictures, and family has

said, like, you act just like him too. And I

was at a store, When I still lived back in Pennsylvania

in the area that I grew up. And I was walking

down an aisle. My dad's name was Jerry. And I

turned the aisle and somebody goes, Jerry? And

I looked and I was like, no, Jared. But this

person saw me and thought I was my dad. And they

looked and they saw who I resembled. And they

thought that I was Jerry. My mom remarried when

I was two and a half. And I get to love having

my dad. He loves Jesus. And he's not stepdad,

he's dad. And growing up then, I got to have

a little brother. And it was crazy, right? Because

I looked exactly like my dad. My little brother,

he'd hate that I'd say this, but just like dad.

It was so funny. They were little one time and

they're both walking down the street and they're

walking exactly the same way. It was like mini

me. It was hilarious. See, sometimes you can

look at a parent and a child, a father and a

son. You can think, there's no question whose

kid that is. See, children bear the resemblance

of their father. So Jesus is saying, okay, you

have Abraham as a father. Do you resemble him?

Verse 37, Jesus says, I know you are descendants

of Abraham, but you're trying to kill me because

my word has no place among you. Notice the contrast.

See, Jesus is speaking the truth and they're

trying to kill the one speaking it. The problem

is not that they've never heard his word. They're

standing in front of the word made flesh. The

problem was that his word had no place among

them. There's no room for it because they're

too busy protecting the story they already believed

about themselves. They're too busy saying, no,

no, no, we're descendants of Abraham. We're good.

We got this. So verse 38, Jesus continues. He

says, I speak what I have seen in the presence

of the Father. So then you do what you have heard

from your Father. And then in verse 39, they

answer back, our Father is Abraham. They replied,

if you were Abraham's children, Jesus told them,

you would do what Abraham does. They keep going

back to Abraham. Then in verse 39 and 40, when

they say, our father is Abraham, they replied,

and if you were Abraham's children, Jesus told

them, you would do what Abraham did. But now

you are trying to kill me, a man who has told

you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham

did not do this. Biologically, they came from

Abraham. Spiritually, they looked nothing like

him. Abraham received God's revelation by faith.

They, the people here who had believed, are actually

trying to kill the one who was sent from God.

See, they have Abraham on their lips, but they

have murder in their hearts. And Jesus knows

this. And he's confronting this. See, a family

tree, it can tell you where you came from, but

it can't tell you who you belong to. So when

their claim to Abraham fails, they raise another

claim. Verse 41, Jesus finishes by saying, look,

you're doing what your father does. The people's

response? We weren't born of sexual immorality,

they said. We have one father, God. So they might

be directly insinuating about Jesus' own birth.

There's some scholars that think this was basically

like, well, you want to talk about fathers? Jesus,

yo mama. And then they go into it, right? Some

scholars believe it's that. At the very least,

maybe it is, maybe it's not, but at the very

least, they are insisting that they are not illegitimate

children. They belong to God. God is their father.

They move from Abraham as our father right to

God as our father. Checkmate, Jesus. Try and

refute the perfect Sunday school answer. Well,

he does. They claim relationship with God while

rejecting the one that God sent. And Jesus is

not going to allow this contradiction. So verse

42, Jesus said to them, if God were your father,

you would love me because I came from God and

I am here. For I didn't come on my own, but he

sent me. They say, God is our father. Jesus says,

then why don't you love his son? The question

is not ultimately, what do you feel about God?

The question is, What do you do with Jesus? You

can feel reverent towards God. You can believe

in a higher power. You can admire Christian values,

speak religious language. But Jesus says our

relationship with the Father is revealed by our

response to the Son. You cannot love God while

rejecting Jesus. You cannot honor the Father.

while refusing the one that he sent. So Jesus

then continues in verse 43. Why don't you understand

what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word.

Once again, everything comes back to their response

to Jesus's word. He offers freedom, they argue.

He tells them truth, they refuse to listen. He

tells them where they came from, they reject

him. The problem's not merely a lack of information.

This resistance is spiritual. And then Jesus

speaks some of the strongest words in the Gospel

of John in verse 44. You are of your father,

the devil, and you want to carry out your father's

desires. He was a murderer from the beginning

and does not stand in the truth because there

is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks

from his own nature because he is a liar and

the father of lies. You are of your father, the

devil. See, Jesus is not making an ethnic condemnation.

Jesus is Jewish. His disciples are Jewish. But

Jesus is saying, yeah, I recognize that you are

descendants of Abraham, but I'm going to expose

who you really look to as your father. I'm going

to expose your spiritual allegiance. The devil

is a murderer and a liar. They are rejecting

the truth and want to murder the one speaking

it. And Jesus says, guys, the family resemblance,

it's unmistakable. They say God's our father,

but they reject God's son. They say Abraham is

their father, but they do the opposite of Abraham.

Their spiritual father is revealed by the desires

that they follow and the truth that they refuse.

And then in verse 45. Yet because I tell the

truth, you do not believe me. Guys, that's a

staggering statement. Jesus does not say, even

though I tell you the truth, you do not believe

me. He says, because I tell the truth, you do

not believe me. See, the truth is actually the

reason they reject him. His words are exposing

something that they are determined to defend.

And then Jesus asks this. In verse 46 and 47.

Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am

telling the truth, why don't you believe me?

The one who is from God listens to God's words.

This is why you don't listen. Because you are

not from God. Jesus speaks the truth. Their refusal

to hear reveals who they belong to. See, guys,

it's possible to know God's vocabulary while

resisting God's Son. The clearest evidence of

a spiritual life is not merely that we've heard

Jesus' word. It's what happens when his word

confronts us. When Jesus disagrees with you,

what happens next? Do I submit or do I immediately

begin looking for a way around what he said?

That tends to be like, yeah, for me. Okay, Jesus,

but like, you know, how do I, that makes me uncomfortable.

How do I navigate around this? Do you receive

his word or do you edit Jesus until he agrees

with the life that you already wanted? See, saving

faith doesn't ever mean that we don't struggle

with Jesus' words. It means his word has a home

in us and we listen, we wrestle, we repent, and

we return to him. See, this passage confronts

this false idea of borrowed faith. You cannot

inherit salvation from faithful parents. You

cannot borrow it from a faithful spouse. You

cannot live on your church's confession of faith.

The people said, look, we're Abraham's descendants.

Jesus says, guys, God does not have grandchildren.

He has sons and daughters. The question is not

merely whether your family belongs to Jesus.

The question is whether you belong to Jesus.

God has sons and daughters, not grandkids, that

are born into salvation. See, they can't answer

the truth Jesus is speaking, so now they're going

to change their tactics up a little bit, and

they're going to attack the person speaking.

But in their anger, they're actually going to

ask one of the most important questions in the

passage. Verse 48 of John chapter 8. The Jews

John 8 · chapter mention

responded to him, aren't we right in saying that

you're a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus has

just exposed their spiritual condition. They

kind of have to confront and recognize this.

And their response, it's not repentance. Their

response is insult. When they can't refute what

Jesus says, they now attack the person of Jesus.

They say, well, you know, aren't we right in

saying you're a Samaritan? You are less than

a person. You are less than a real Jew. We don't

want anything to, and you have a demon. These

words you're saying, these are ridiculous. Jesus

responds, verse 49 and 50. I do not have a demon,

Jesus answered. On the contrary, I honor my Father

and you dishonor me. I do not seek my own glory.

There is one who seeks it and judges. They dishonor

Jesus. Jesus continues by honoring the Father.

They attack his identity. Jesus entrusts his

identity and his glory to the Father. Then even

after they insult him, look at Jesus' response.

Verse 51. Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my

word, he will never see death. Jesus says, keep

my word and you will never see death. Even after

insults, Jesus offers them life. Their response?

Verse 52. Then the Jews said, now we know you

have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets.

You say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never

taste death. Notice the slight difference here.

right? Jesus says they will never see death,

and when they're going back and repeating this,

they say they will never taste death. We're not

going to press too far into that difference,

but the word that Jesus uses carries the idea

of beholding something steadily and becoming

acquainted with its reality. See, Jesus is not

promising that believers will never physically

die. Unless Christ returns first, the believer

is going to taste death. But the believer will

never stare death face to face as his final destiny

or his victorious master. See, death remains

an enemy, but because of Jesus, it's a defeated

enemy. See, the Christian may taste death, but

does not have to be terrorized by it. They hear

Jesus' promise only in physical terms. They say,

Abraham died. The prophets died. Everybody dies.

They think physical death is going to disprove

Jesus' promise. But Jesus is promising eternal

life that physical death cannot destroy. So now,

in verse 53, they say, Are you greater than our

father Abraham who died and the prophets died?

Who do you claim to be? They intend the question

as an accusation. But their accusation places

the central question in front of us. Who is Jesus?

And they're meaning this like, Jesus, are you

greater than Abraham? And Jesus responds in verse

54. If I glorify myself, Jesus answered, my glory

is nothing. My Father, about whom you say, he

is our God, he is the one who glorifies me. You

do not know him, but I know him. If I were to

say I don't know him, I would be a liar like

you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Again,

notice this contrast. They claim he is our God.

Jesus says, no, actually, you never knew him.

Jesus knows the Father and keeps the Father's

word, and they claim the Father while rejecting

the Son standing in front of them. And then verse

56, Jesus says this, Your father Abraham rejoiced

to see my day. He saw it and was glad. They're

hiding behind Abraham while rejecting the one

that Abraham longed to see. Abraham's faith looked

forward to the fulfillment of God's promise.

Is that fulfillment? And so the people respond

this way in verse 57. The Jews replied, you aren't

50 years old yet and you've seen Abraham? See,

they're still thinking only in these human categories.

Maybe they just picked an arbitrary number or

maybe they picked 50 because for those who were

serving as Levites in... The ministry, once they

hit the age of 50, they were supposed to retire.

So maybe they're saying, Jesus, you're not even

retirement age and you claim to have seen Abraham?

Yeah, whatever. But then Jesus answers with the

climax of this entire confrontation. In verse

58, Jesus said to them, truly I tell you, before

Abraham was, I am. Jesus doesn't say before Abraham

was, I was. He says before Abraham came into

existence, I am. Abraham had a beginning. Jesus

simply is because he is God. To hear the full

weight of that claim, we need to hear the Old

Testament context behind this. Because Jesus

is referencing something that these people would

have known well. Jesus is actually saying, I

am. He says, Yahweh, I am God. In Exodus chapter

Exodus 3:14

3 verse 14, back when God was getting ready to

send Moses to go and to bring the people out

of slavery, the slavery they conveniently forgot

about earlier, God replies to Moses. And in verse

Exodus chapter 3, verse 14. God replied to Moses,

Exodus 3:14

I am who I am. This is what you are to say to

the Israelites. I am has sent you. See, at the

burning bush, God revealed himself as the great

I am. He is not created. He is not dependent

on anything outside of himself. He simply and

eternally is. And Jesus here then in saying,

I am, is not merely claiming to have existed

before Abraham. He's speaking the language of

God's own identity, Yahweh. That language doesn't

stop in Exodus. In Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse

Deuteronomy 32:39

39, God's word says, see now that I alone am

he. There is no God but me. I bring death and

I give life. I wound and I heal. No one can rescue

anyone from my power. In the Greek Old Testament,

when it's translated, the I alone am he contains

the exact same words that are used in John's

gospel for I am. Ego imai. I am. When we look

at the context there in Deuteronomy, the Lord

says that he alone has authority over life and

death. No one can rescue outside of his power.

Jesus has claimed that he can set slaves free,

that anyone who keeps his word will never see

death. Jesus is claiming the authority that belongs

to God alone because he is God alone. And then

in Isaiah 43, verses 10 through 11, it says,

Isaiah 43:10–11

you are my witnesses. This is the Lord's declaration.

And my servant whom I have chosen so that you

know and believe me and understand that I am

he. No God was formed before me and there will

be none after me. I, I am the Lord. Besides me,

there is no savior. That language, it's already

been running through John chapter 8. In verse

John 8 · chapter mention

8, 24, if you do not believe that I am he, you

will die in your sins. John 8, verse 28, when

John 8:28

you lift up the son of man, then you will know.

that I am he. In John 8, 58 then, he says, before

Abraham was, I am. In Isaiah, the Lord says,

know and believe that I am. In John, Jesus says,

you must believe that I am or you will die in

your sins. You will be slave to your sins. Jesus

isn't claiming to be older than Abraham. He's

not claiming to be the father. He says, I am

the eternal son who is placed in divine identity

with Yahweh. The I am who spoke from the burning

bush, the one who alone gives life and defeats

death, the only savior whom people must know

and believe is standing right in front of them.

See, he's not just merely greater than Abraham.

Jesus is the eternal son that God gave and the

God that Abraham trusted. So Jesus reveals who

he is. And now in verse 59, we see their response.

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but

Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple.

It's their final response. Jesus offers freedom.

They deny slavery. Jesus tells them truth. They

refuse to listen. Jesus offers them life. They

start calling them names and say, oh, you have

a demon. Jesus reveals himself as the eternal

I am, and they reach for stones to kill him because

they think it's blasphemy. They're missing this

guy they were starting to believe. They're missing

the entire point of who he is. They claim to

honor Abraham while attempting to stone the God

of Abraham. See, Jesus won't allow us to call

him helpful while refusing to call him Lord.

They were believing what he was said, but many

were not ready to call him Lord. See, we can't

just reduce Jesus to a good moral teacher, a

spiritual accessory, someone who helps you achieve

the life that you've already planned. He is the

eternal son. He doesn't simply offer advice.

He claims authority over all things. He does

not merely improve people. He raises the dead

and frees slaves. His identity demands a response.

So, realistically, most of us are never going

to pick up literal stones. But we often try to

silence Jesus in a more, you know, respectable

ways. We ignore what he says. We explain away

whatever he confronts us with. We obey only the

parts that we agree with. We create a version

of Jesus who will affirm us and leave us alone.

But the Jesus who never contradicts you is actually

just really a reflection of you. And trust me,

you ain't Jesus, and I'm not either. The real

Jesus is the eternal I am. He confronts us because

he loves us. And he alone has the authority to

free us. When I buried that Jeep in the sand,

I couldn't get out. I just kept digging myself

deeper. But admitting that I was stuck wasn't

enough. Some of you are wondering, are we ever

going to find out what happened to you? There

was an older gentleman riding by, and he stopped

his vehicle. And he said, son, you know you should

just air down your tires. It'll make this a lot

easier. But I had got myself stuck so deep that

even airing down my tires couldn't get me out

of the hole I was stuck in. I was high -centered.

All my effort, I had sunk myself so deep into

the sand that not even airing down the tires

was going to work this time. So this guy tossed

me to the end of a tow strap. And he pulled me

out of the hole I was trapped in. I needed power

outside of myself to be free. Jesus doesn't expose

our slavery to simply humiliate us. He exposes

it because he loves us enough to free us. And

he is that one who says, reach for my hand. I

am here to pull you out. Instead, the people

in this passage, they reach for stones. But Jesus

isn't going to die according to their timetable.

It says Jesus hid himself and was hidden. There's

a lot of different thought. Was it magical? Did

he disappear? I don't know. I don't really think

it matters. But it wasn't his time. See, the

eternal son was going to come and lay down his

life willingly. The one who had every right to

condemn sinners will be condemned in the place

of sinners. Jesus had already told them in verse

28, when you lift up the son of man, then you

will know that I alone am he. See, the great

I am will be lifted up on a cross. The son who

remains forever will enter death and taste death

in our place so that we can become sons and daughters.

The one who said the believer would never see

death will taste it in our place. He will bear

the penalty of our sin. He will break the power

of sin, rise victorious over death. And that

is how the Son sets sinners free. So the question

isn't just, do you believe in Jesus? The people

in this passage, they said they believed. The

question is, what happens when Jesus' word, truth,

confronts us? They reach for stones. We reach

for other ways to defend ourselves. Some of us

reach for religion, our family history, church

attendance, good work, biblical knowledge. Others

reach for autonomy. This is my life. I define

myself. No one gets to tell me what to do. And

even those who follow Jesus can reach back for

autonomy when his word confronts something we

don't want to surrender. Religion says, I don't

need to be rescued because I'm good enough. Autonomy

says, I don't need to be rescued because I've

got this. Jesus says both leave us enslaved.

But the Jesus who tells the truth about our slavery

is the same Jesus who went to the cross to set

us free from that as our master. So stop defending

yourself. Admit that you can't free yourself.

Receive his word, remain in his word, and trust

the Son. See, the one you may want to silence

is the only one that can save you. Only the eternal

Son can set sinners free from sin and death.

And hear his promise in verse 36. So if the Son

sets you free, you really will be. free. God

is good. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father,

it is just amazing to know that you have given

us the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, who came,

who died on the cross for our sins, who has set

us free from sin and from death. And Lord, I

just pray that you would draw us continually

to right relationship with you, Lord. If there

are any here this morning who don't know you

as Lord and as Savior, who have not faced that

truth and are still desiring their own truth,

Lord, I just pray that you would be at work in

their hearts, draw them to you. Lord, for those

who are here this morning who are saying, no,

there's this thing I just don't want to give

up, this thing that I can't confront. Lord, I

pray that you would convict through the power

of the Holy Spirit. Draw us to yourself. Help

us to know that. whom you have set free, will

be free indeed. What a wonderful promise. What

a wonderful free gift. It's not because of anything

that we have done, but only because of who you

are. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.