Jesus is God (John 8:42-59)

We're gonna be in John chapter 8, we're gonna be reading verses 42 through 59.

John 8 · chapter mention

So if you are able, would you please stand for the reading of God's word?

Starting in 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.

Why don't you understand what I say?

Because you cannot listen to my word.

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.

Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

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.

The Jews responded to him, Aren't we right in saying that you're a Samaritan and have a demon?

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.

Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

Then the Jews said, Now we know you have a demon.

Abraham died, and so did the prophets.

You say, if any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

And the prophets died, who do you claim to be?

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.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

The Jews replied, You aren't fifty years old, and you've seen Abraham.

Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.

So they picked up stones to throw at him.

But Jesus was hidden and went out from the temple.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for this chapter, this chapter eight of John, and that we get to finish it here today.

Or we thank you for all that you've shown us in this.

That Jesus is God, that He is one with you and the Holy Spirit.

And I pray, God, that we would just have a greater view of who Jesus is through this passage here today, that we would realize that he is bigger and greater than anything that we can even imagine.

Lord, so would you do your work?

Would you soften our hearts here this morning to receive your word?

And would you do heart work in us?

Lord, would you change us and mold us and make us more and more like Jesus here this morning, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

So if you remember, last week we saw these religious leaders continuing to dialogue and accuse Jesus with these questions and ask him who he is.

And Jesus continues to try and help them to see who he is.

That he and the Father are one.

That he came from the Father.

That his word is the word of the Father, and that believing in him is believing in the Father as well.

And we're going to see this dialogue continue today as we finish chapter 8.

And specifically, we're going to be looking at how Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, you know, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

And how in his absolute power and knowledge that he desires us.

And he desires that same oneness with us that he shares with his Father.

And how I think we should really take comfort in that.

That Jesus desires that from each one of us.

Now, there was really no good place to break up the sections in this chapter.

So we're actually picking up here this morning in the middle of a conversation where these religious leaders that want to kill Jesus, and this is a big crowd.

It's not just these religious leaders, there's a lot of people, but there's this specific group of religious leaders that want to kill Jesus.

They tell Jesus that Abraham is their father, really their national father, so to speak.

So Jesus points out that Abraham may be their relative, he may be their bloodline.

But when God spoke to Abraham, Abraham believed and he had faith in what God told him.

On the contrary, they're hearing God's word from Jesus' mouth and they want to kill God.

So a big difference there between their attitude of God's word and Abraham's attitude towards God's word.

So Jesus tells them that their father is the devil, if you remember last week.

You know, that's scary, isn't it?

For that to be said to you.

They respond that only God is their father.

So Jesus continues to tell them that he and the Father are one.

And we pick up in verse 42.

Look at it with me.

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.

That automatically makes me think of John 3.16.

For God so loved the world that he sent his only son.

You know, Jesus and God are a package deal.

I think that's the biggest thing we could probably glean from this chapter.

That you can't love God and hate Jesus as these religious leaders are doing.

You can't accept God and not accept Jesus, or vice versa for that matter.

And that's really what the Jewish faith has been doing since Jesus.

They say that they're accepting God but rejecting Jesus, just like these religious leaders that we're looking at in chapter 8.

And when Jesus says here that I came from God, it doesn't mean like for you and me, like, yeah, we came from home this morning and now we're here.

It means he came forth from God.

Again, speaking of their oneness, speaking of Jesus being the second person of the Trinity.

They were just saying, our Father is God, and Jesus says, uh, no, that's where I came from.

And he goes on in verse 43.

Look at it with me.

Why don't you understand what I say about this oneness?

Because you cannot listen to my word.

So we need to remember, keeping this all in context, that last week in verse 37 of this chapter, Jesus said, My word has no place among you.

It has no entrance.

It cannot penetrate their heart because their hearts are so hard.

So they can't understand what Jesus is saying.

I think Jesus could just continue talking and talking and talking, and it's not going to matter because it has no place, his word has no place among them.

You know, this crowd, as we talked about again last week, a lot of referring to last week, but they're hearing and they're seeing the exact same thing from Jesus.

And some people are being saved and some people are trying to kill him.

You know, the heart is so critical when it comes to receiving the word of God, isn't it?

You know, you've heard me pray so many times at the beginning of service, you know, before I start teaching, that God would soften our hearts to hear his word.

That it would penetrate, his word would penetrate and find fertile soil in our lives to germinate and to grow.

You know, I want to encourage you to pray that for yourself.

Every time you open God's word, ask God to soften your heart, to prepare the soil for his word, that his word, the seeds of his word, would find fertile soil where they can sprout and they can take deep root.

But there are those in this crowd that who have hard hearts and can't understand what he's saying.

So Jesus tells them once again who their father really is.

Look at it with me in verse 44.

You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires.

Remember, the religious leaders in this crowd, they're not used to being talked to this way, are they?

You know, and I just imagine when Jesus says this, that the air is taken out of the whole crowd.

They just kind of go, did he really just say that to the religious leaders?

And then Jesus doubles down.

Look at verse, uh the the second part of verse 44, talking about their spiritual father, the devil.

He says, He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

You know, Jesus already established that he himself is the truth in this chapter, and that the truth would set them free from slavery to sin.

Now he contrasts that with the devil and says, there is no truth in him.

You know, if there was a spectrum between truth and lies, Jesus would be on the furthest part over here, and the devil would be on the furthest part over here.

They're as far apart as truth and lies can be.

And Jesus goes as far as to say that the devil is a murderer from the beginning.

The definition for murderer in the Greek is manslayer.

And I kind of like that because it kind of gives a little bit more description of what Jesus is talking about here.

You know, whether this is referring to original sin, him being a manslayer, or the physical and spiritual, uh, where the physical and spiritual death of mankind began, or if he's referring to Cain killing Abel, or most likely both of those things, he is a manslayer by nature.

You know, scripture tells us that he comes to kill, steal, and destroy, and that he is a liar.

Again, opposite spectrums.

God is a creator, he is a destroyer, and he wants to destroy everything that God has created, which includes us.

So he is a manslayer.

Jesus continues on in verse 44.

He says, When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

Yet, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

You see, they are accusing Jesus of all kinds of falsehoods.

And those are all lies.

And it lines right up with who their father really is, doesn't it?

And explains why Jesus' words cannot penetrate their hearts in the first place.

Because truth is incompatible with them, and it's incompatible with their father.

Jesus goes on, verse 46, he says, Who among you can convict me of sin?

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

You know, now Jesus turns the focus back to his nature, doesn't he?

And basically asks them, if I am a sinner, and I'm a blasphemer, and I'm a liar, and I'm demon-possessed, all those things that they're accusing him of, he says, shouldn't you at least be able to convict me of one sin if I'm all of those things?

You know, because truth and righteousness, they really go hand in hand.

And if they are seeing perfect righteousness right before their eyes in Jesus, why don't they believe the truth that's coming forth from him?

From this righteous man that's sitting right before them.

You know, that's really what Jesus is getting at here in verse 46.

He goes on, verse 47.

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

This is why you don't listen, because you are not from God.

Verse 48.

The Jews responded to him, Aren't we right in saying that you're a Samaritan and have a demon?

So once again, they're quick to accuse Jesus of having a demon.

This is not the first time that they've done this.

You know, they've seen the supernatural that Jesus does.

They see the miracles that he does and the signs that he does, but they still don't think that he's from God.

So the next logical conclusion, if he's not God, then he must be demon-possessed.

And it seems like, you know, these are two of the greatest insults that they could come up with at this time.

You're a Samaritan and you have a demon.

You know, Samaritans were looked down upon as half-breed dogs.

That's what they looked at him as.

You know, the Samaritans are the ones that came up against Nehemiah and tried to halt the rebuilding of the temple.

They only followed the first five books of the Bible, but they mixed it with idolatry.

They claimed that they had the rightful place where the temple and the place of worship should be, Mount Gerizim.

And the Jews just hated them for all those reasons and a bunch more on top of that.

You know, it kind of reminds me, have you ever seen an 80s drama movie before?

Who's always the bad guy?

It's always the Russians, right?

In those 80s movies, it's always the Russians.

You know, I think if the Jews were making movies in this time, the bad guys would always be the Samaritans.

Just like those 80s movies.

But basically, the Jewish leaders are so wound up, they're so agitated, so enraged, that they just resort to name-calling to Jesus.

Well, you know, well, then you're a Samaritan and you're a demon.

Your feet stink.

You know, it's like we're going to like this junior high mentality almost.

But Jesus calmly responds, look at verse 49.

He says, I do not have a demon.

Jesus answered.

On the contrary, I honor my father, and you dishonor me.

Question for you.

Who is actually being influenced by the demonic realm?

Whose father is actually the devil?

It's the religious leaders that are trying to kill him, right?

But they are now accusing him of what they are being influenced by.

You know, but Jesus gives this measured response.

You know, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2, 23, he says, when he was referring to Jesus, when he was insulted, he did not insult in return.

When he suffered, he did not threaten, but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

And that's hard to do, isn't it?

When all of these wrong accusations and these lies are being thrown at him.

He says he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

Now, with that in mind, look at verse 50.

I do not seek my own glory.

There is one, referring to God, who seeks it and judges.

You see, what the religious leaders thought was of no concern to Jesus.

All that mattered was what God thought.

And what did God think of Jesus?

He sought his glory.

He sought to glorify him.

You know, Jesus seeks to glorify God, God seeks to glorify Jesus, and the one that seeks to glorify Jesus just also happens to be the judge as well.

And we should have that same attitude, shouldn't we, of only caring what God thinks of us, not caring what man thinks of us, not caring what religious leaders think of us, but only caring what God thinks of us.

Because in the end it's the only opinion that matters.

Look at verse 51 with me.

Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

You see, Jesus speaks the word of God, and as we've been talking about through this whole chapter, he is the word of God.

And he said in verse 31, he said, that if you continue in my word, you really are my disciples.

And that same concept is reiterated here as well.

But now Jesus adds that his true disciples will never see death.

And we need to understand this, what he's saying right here, well, in order to understand what the religious leaders are going to try and do with his words in the verse to follow.

So we're going to take a look at what this word death in the Greek infers.

It means dying and going to hell, basically.

The definition is the death of the body, the separation, whether natural or violent, of the soul, and the body by which the life on earth is ended.

Now look at 1b here at the very end.

It says, with the implied idea of future misery in hell.

So this doesn't mean that his disciples will never physically die.

It's that they will never see a death that leads to hell.

If you keep his words, if you are his true disciple.

So why do we put such a large focus here at this church on studying God's word?

Because we want to keep Jesus' words.

Because that's what true disciples do.

Not just believing that he is God, but obeying him as well, keeping his word.

You know, what Jesus is saying is something that only God can say, isn't it?

Which is what is part of infuriating these Jewish leaders even more.

But as they often do, they are still thinking physically when Jesus is speaking spiritually.

But either way, he's elevating himself above Abraham.

Which he's God.

He can do that.

He should be able to do that.

But they are now convinced that Jesus is demon-possessed.

Look at 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 that they don't exactly quote Jesus, do they?

Jesus says, never see death.

We've talked about that meaning a death leading to hell.

They say never taste death.

Who's their father?

The devil, right?

So they do what the devil does.

You know, when Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted scripture to Jesus to tempt him, but he twisted it and he used it out of context to bring that temptation.

So these guys are doing exactly what their father does.

They're turning the word see to the word taste.

They're twisting what Jesus said to them.

You know, all four of the Gospels talk about taste in regards to death.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have a similar sentence before Jesus' transfiguration, you know, when they see Jesus in glory, that says something along the lines of Luke 9, 27.

It says, Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.

We see similar sentences in Matthew 16 and Mark 9.

So there is apparently an understanding in the language of this day that tasting death refers to physically dying here on earth.

It's the physical act of death.

So Jesus says, see death, referring to eternal damnation.

And they say taste death, twisting Jesus' words and completely changing the Meaning of what he's saying.

And they continue on with that thought in verse 53.

Look at that with me.

Are you greater than our father Abraham who died?

And the prophets died.

Who do you claim to be?

You know, Abraham and the prophets were heroes to these religious leaders.

So we're seeing how they feel when Jesus places himself above their greatest religious heroes.

So now they are convinced that he is demon-possessed.

So 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.

Anybody can glorify themselves, can't they?

Jesus has the right to testify and glorify himself because he is God.

But he answers, it's not who I claim to be.

It's who God testifies that I am.

And the one that God glorifies.

You know, he said in verse 18, the Father who sent me bears witness of me.

So even if they don't believe Jesus' testimony, they should believe God's testimony.

I mean, they're claiming that that's their father, right?

And the proof should be in who God is glorifying, who God is working through.

But they see this act of God glorifying Jesus as demonic.

So they are just on the opposite end of truth.

Now, regarding God glorifying Jesus, look at verse 55.

You do not know him.

You do not know God, but I know him, Jesus said.

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.

You know, think about it this way.

If you're mistaking the work of God as demonic activity, you don't know God.

And if your father is the devil, you don't know God.

And these religious leaders that want to kill them, they're doing both right here.

You know, I just picture their faces turning red with rage at this point.

You know, they're used to respect, they're used to praise, they're being, they're used to being lifted up by these crowds.

And Jesus is doing the opposite, and he's doing it in front of all these people.

Jesus goes on in verse 56.

He says, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

He saw it and was glad.

How on earth could Abraham see Jesus' day and be glad?

You know, Abraham lived and died about 2,000 years before Jesus.

So how on earth could he see Jesus' day?

You know, I think this really speaks of Abraham's faith, that it was so strong that he looked forward to the day of his Savior as if it had already happened.

And I think we can glean this from Hebrews chapter 11, verses 12 and 13.

Hebrews 11:12

And this is speaking of Abraham.

It says, Therefore, from one man, in fact, from one as good as dead, Abraham was old, came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore.

These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

Their faith and their anticipation of their Savior, their Messiah, was so real, two thousand years before Jesus, that they greeted what was promised as if it had already happened.

And they rejoiced as to see the day.

But the Jews hearing our story today, they're still taking him literally.

Look at verse 57.

The Jews replied, You aren't 50 years old yet, and you've seen Abraham.

So the gap between when Abraham was on earth and when Jesus was on earth is about the same as when Jesus was on earth and us here today.

Think about that.

That's a big gap.

When we think back, that's a long way to go, 2,000 years back, right?

So these guys are saying, you aren't 50 years old yet.

That happens to be the age that priests kind of stepped back from their day-to-day activity and became more of like advisors in that time.

And they're looking at this and they're saying, you're not even 50.

And you're saying that you've greeted Abraham, that you knew him, that you were around at that time.

You know, that would be like me telling you, like, I was at the crucifixion.

I saw it all.

So I was an eyewitness.

If you have any questions, just let me know after service and I'll fill you in on whatever you want.

You guys are like, Yeah, I bet you were.

That's how they're seeing Jesus at this point.

Like, okay, Jesus, you you knew Abraham.

But that's where they are.

So look at verse 58.

Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.

These religious leaders have no question about what Jesus is claiming right here.

You know, we know that because they're reaching down and picking up stones at this moment.

But what he is saying here, um, let's take a look at it.

You know, when Moses asked God in Exodus chapter 3, 14, who shall I tell the Israelites has sent me?

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

God tells Moses, I am who I am.

This is what you are to say to the Israelites, I am, has sent me to you.

And Jesus right here says, I am.

And, you know, as we talked about when we introed the Gospel of John, we don't really have the right English tenses to fully describe what Jesus is saying here.

It's kind of like he's saying, before Abraham existed, I exist.

Which still doesn't quite get the tenses right in English.

But Jesus is saying, I exist.

Not from one point to another, not right now at the time of this story, but I exist always, from eternity past to eternity future.

I exist.

So way before Abraham and outside of time, I exist.

That's all that these religious leaders needed to hear.

That was the blasphemy that they had been looking for, claiming to be God.

So look at verse 59.

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden.

Some translations say hid himself and went out of the temple.

Now, as we've seen a few times already, God was not going to allow these religious leaders to advance the timeline of Jesus' death or dictate how Jesus was going to die.

Now, at this point, Jesus was going to die in about six months through crucifixion.

Not right now through stoning.

So Jesus is protected, and you know, if they have instant replay in heaven, I really want to see how this all went down.

People have all kinds of theories on this, but I really just want to see how God protected him in this way.

So, that is the end of chapter 8.

So let's look at what we can glean both from this passage today and I think from this chapter as a whole.

You know, here's what I see: the eternal God that has always existed, that has spoken creation into existence, wants to be one with you as he is one with the Father.

Let that sink in.

As God the Father and Jesus are one, Jesus desires that same oneness with us.

The omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God desires us.

You know, if you don't follow Jesus, this is what he desires.

That relationship with him.

And if you do follow Jesus, which I think is most of you in here today, this should give us the greatest comfort and the greatest hope that everything's going to be okay.

No matter what.

In this world, you will have trouble, Jesus told us.

But be encouraged that Jesus has overcome the world.

You know, I'd like you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 16, so handful of chapters forward in the Gospel of John.

John 16 · chapter mention

John chapter 16, verse 33, because I want you to turn there because I want you to see this verse in your own Bible with your own eyes.

John 16:33

I want you to bookmark it or highlight it or underline it so that you can come back to this often, as often as you need.

John chapter 16, verses 33.

John 16:33

We'll see Jesus say this when we get to it here in a couple months, but John chapter 16, 33, Jesus says, I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.

John 16 · chapter mention

Jesus wants us to have peace.

And he goes on, you will have suffering in this world.

But what is he saying?

Be courageous.

I have conquered the world.

There is nothing too big for Jesus.

And he wants us to have peace.

Did you see that?

He wants us to have peace.

You know, I'm aware that many of you in this church are going through some very hard things right now.

More than is normal for a church body this size.

We're just in that season as a church right now.

There are so many rough things going on with so many of you.

But we need to be encouraged to have peace in Jesus and then be courageous in knowing he has conquered whatever we're going through.

There's no trial, there's no obstacle, there's no circumstance, there's no election in November.

That is too big for God.

Anybody else struggling with remaining at peace as we are two months now away from the election?

God's bigger.

He is so much bigger.

You know, is anybody else struggling with remaining at peace when we see what all that's going on in the Middle East right now?

God's bigger.

You know, when we look at the Middle East in regards to end times and events, there's never a moment where God is not in control.

It's not our job to worry.

It's not our job to lose, to lose peace about any of this stuff.

It's our job to pray.

It's our job to see God as big as he really is.

God wants us to be at peace and to be courageous because of who he is and what he has done.

Fear and worry come from a place of forgetting who Jesus is.

I'm going to say that again.

Fear and worry come from a place of forgetting who Jesus is.

Now, I want you to turn to Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

It's a handful of books to the right in your Bible.

It's right in between Philippians and Colossians.

Again, I want you to see this in your own Bible, to bookmark it, highlight, underline whatever you need to do to come back to it.

You know, these this verse tells us what to do when we are overwhelmed, when we start to worry and fear, and start to lose peace.

This is how to get our eyes back on Jesus.

You know, to help us remember how big God is.

It's Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 through 7.

Philippians 4:6–7

I still hear a few pages turning, so I'll wait just say it.

Philippians chapter 4, starting verse 6.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Don't worry about what?

Anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, there's peace again, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Again, God wants us to have peace.

In the deepest places of our life, he wants us to have peace.

We need to remember and fix our eyes upon that the strongest, the greatest, the most powerful being in the universe is in our corner.

He has already overcome everything that we will ever face.

Fear and worry come from a place of losing sight of who God is.

So the next time that you're overwhelmed with your current circumstance or what's going on in the world, remember who you worship.

Remember how big he is, and remember that Jesus has already told us that he has already conquered the world.

You please pray with me.

Lord, we thank you that you are bigger, that you are stronger, that you are greater, that you have already conquered everything that we're gonna face in this world.

Lord, it doesn't mean we're not gonna have trouble.

You told us we're gonna have trouble in this world.

But you've conquered the world.

Our eternity is already set if we are your true disciple.

So, Lord, help us to live our lives like that.

Knowing that our future is already set, that our eternity with you is already set.

And Lord, I pray that we would take such great comfort that we would feel peace in the deepest places of our heart, even when there's just chaos all the way around us, knowing that you are in control, knowing that you are sovereign, and knowing that you desire us to be your sons and your daughters.

And through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, that we can call you Father as well, that we can experience this oneness with Jesus.

Lord, help us take comfort and have such great peace that in the end we know that you have won and therefore we have won as well.

Lord, we love you so much.

We know that you don't want your kids running around in fear and worry.

So help us to know that at the deepest level and to come back to these verses as often as we need to, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know, the the biggest thing that Jesus conquered is sin and death.

He paid for it with his blood.

And if you've not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, now is the time.

Simply in your seat, you can confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is God and that God the Father raised him from the dead, and you will be saved.