John Chapter 8....Continued from Last week
The Woman Caught in Adultery is omitted from this study since it is not part of the original text. See note from Bible Gateway Text. [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.][g] so we exclude this from our study. |
8:12-20 Jesus the light of the world.
8:21-29 Jesus the One from the World above.
8:30-36 The freedom of Jesus and the slavery of the Jews.
8:37-40 The real Children of Abraham.
8:41-47 The children of God and the children of the devil.
8:48-58 The priority of Jesus over Abraham and the prophets.
OR:
II. The Word Manifested to the Jews and their rejection of Him, 1:19-12:50
D. The Later public Ministry. The Third Year.
2. Later Judean Ministry, 7:1-10:21, The Feast of the Tabernacles
a. Jesus the Light of the World, 8:12-20
b. Fatal Unbelief, 8:21-30
c. Truth Brings Freedom, 8: 31-36.
d. Abraham's Children, 8:37-40.
e. Satan's Children, 8: 41-47
f. Christ Defamed, 8: 48-59
John Chapter 8
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13 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." 3So the Pharisees said to him, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true." 14Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me." 19They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." 20These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. |
I. Verse 12___Jesus claiming to be the Light of the World is uniquely tied to His claim of being the "Living Water." For a review of the "living water" see lesson 7.
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The first ceremony mentioned on this occasion is the pouring out of water. One of the priests takes a golden pitcher to the pool of Siloam or Bethesda and after filling it with water returns by the gate on the south side of the Temple, which became known as the "water gate" from this very event. Silver trumpets sound to announce the priest's arrival. He advances directly to the top of the altar where two basins stand, one with wine for the ordinary drink offering and the other for the water that he brings. The priest pours the water into an empty basin and then mixes the wine and water together (blood and water) and pours out both as a libation. Nothing in the Mosaic law reflects this practice but Isa. 12:3 is used for authority. But what does all this mean? "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" (NIV). It is this event that Jesus probably refers to in the Gospel of John. "On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said.'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture says, streams of living water will flow from within him'" (John 7:37-38). See also the Mikvah (Living Water)
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II. Likewise___The Claim to be "the Light of the World" is tied to the Feast of Tabernacles
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And that brings us to the second Sukkot (Hebrew for booths, Tabernacles) symbol that Jesus used to point to Himself as the fulfillment of Scripture - Light. God had indeed promised that a great light would shine out of Galilee. Jesus reminded His critics of that powerful and prophetic claim, by using an image that would have been very fresh in the memories of all who heard. Light. At the end of the first day of the Feast, the Temple was gloriously illuminated. According to the Mishnah, gigantic candelabras stood within the court of the women. Each of the four golden candelabras is said to have been 50 cubits high. A cubit is somewhere between 18 and 22 inches, so we're talking about candelabras that were about 75 feet tall! Each candelabra had four branches, and at the top of every branch there was a large bowl. Four young men bearing 10 gallon pitchers of oil would climb ladders to fill the four golden bowls on each candelabra. And then the oil in those bowls was ignited. Picture sixteen beautiful blazes leaping toward the sky from these golden lamps. Remember that the Temple was on a hill above the rest of the city, so the glorious glow was a sight for the entire city to see. In addition to the light, Levitical musicians played their harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets to make joyful music to the Lord. The light was to remind the people of how God's Shekinah glory had once filled His Temple. But in the person of Jesus, God's glory was once again present in that Temple. And He used that celebration to announce that very fact. He was teaching in the court of women just after the Feast, perhaps standing right next to those magnificent candelabras when He declared to all who were gathered there: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Many
refused to have their own darkness exposed by that light. But
there were those who were drawn to the light, whose hearts burned
with the truth of Jesus. And that light is still shining today.
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III. There are also the OT prophecies which depict the Messiah as the Light of the World (cf. Isa. 9:2; 42:6; 49:6; 60:3; Mal. 4:2; Lk. 2:32). No doubt the Pharisees were well aware of the OT prophecies and they understood Jesus claiming to be the Messiah. The concept of "light" verses "darkness" is typical of the process of antithesis as we find it in Isa. 1:18. The Bible was written in contrasting opposites. The understanding that Jesus is the Light and if we follow Him we are in the Light (1st John 1:7), should explain our position when we are in the darkness.
IV. Verse 13__Their accusations "Your claims are only from yourself and cannot be true".
V. Verse 14___His answer in verse 14 is that His testimony ought to be accepted for in reality He is not alone (v.16). In other words, "as they have not seen and known these things they were not qualified to judge. An ambassador from a foreign court knows the will and purposes of the One who sent him. All the Pharisees had the right to demand is Jesus' credentials.
VI. Verses 15-16___The Pharisees judged Jesus "after the flesh." They were looking for a worldly Messiah and that was how they judged Jesus. His meekness, His poverty and even His ideas did not measure up to their expectations. "I judge no-one in verse 15 at first seems to be a contradiction with 9:39 "For Judgment came I into this world." But there is no contradiction if context is applied. In verse 15 Jesus made the statement that the Pharisees were judging Him based on His appearance (His cloths, and looks in general). Jesus' answer to that is I am not like you, I judge no one on appearance.
VII. Verses 17-18__The law to which He refers to is in Deut. 17:6. He says, "Your law" because the law of Moses was given to the Jews and those scholars ought to have interpreted it correctly. They should have accepted the double testimony of the "Father and the Son."
VIII. Verses 19-21__"The question, "where is your Father" I think is a sarcastic remark. They knew that YHWY was invisible. Since they obviously didn't know the Father, they could not know the Son. And once again, we are remind that Jesus was not arrested "because it was not His time."
Unbelief can Be Fatal
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21So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come." 22So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?" 23He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins." 25So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him." 27They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." 30As he was saying these things, many believed in him. |
I. Verse 21___If I am correct, this is the 3rd year of the ministry of Jesus. He has been pleading with this nation and these people from the beginning. But they have rejected Him. Especially here at the “Feast of Tabernacles” (John 7:27; 30, 32, 35-36; 8:13, 19). Now the Lord looks forward to His exodus from the world and His return to the Father. There will come a time when the Jews will cry out and that happened in 70 A.D. Those who rejected Jesus “will die in their sins” and suffer the wrath of God for eternity (Jn. 3:36). When Christ returns, we find in II Thess. 1:7-9 tells us that all disobedient will be sent away to everlasting punishment.
Verse 22___ Yes, another sarcastic reply from the Jews (“Will He kill Himself, so he says, "Whither I go you cannot come?”)
Verses 23-24__ In these verses Jesus explains the warning and the reason for their misunderstanding. They cannot follow Him to heaven because they were “unregenerate.” They were at “enmity with God.” Jesus is plainly telling them they are thinking earth bound. They were from below, (the earth) and Jesus was from above (Heaven). Unless they change their way of thinking and living from earth bound to heaven bound they will die in their sins.
The overall context here is that the Jews were mocking Jesus. The deepest darkest regions of Gehenna claimed all of those who committed suicide. Trusting in their religious heritage as Jews, they were confident they were not going where this Nazarene was going. Father Abraham will sit at Hell's gates and will not permit any son of Abraham to fall into the pits.
Verse 25___Scornful...”Just who are you” the Jews are mocking Jesus here. What gives Him the right to assume the role He has assumed?”
Verse 26___Jesus reiterates here, nothing has changed. Since the beginning of His ministry, Jesus has told them the truth about Himself. Jesus once again says that He has much to judge (based on His experiences with the Jews) and Jesus is speaking the words of the Father who sent Him.
Verse 27___Once again, they did not understand about the Father.
Verse 28___ Jesus looks forward to His crucifixion. Not merely the day of His crucifixion but His resurrection. The appearances and manifestation of His ascension on the day of Pentecost is also included. Some scholars reject the idea that Jesus may be referring to the crucifixion as the motivating power behind the conversion of three thousand on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:36), but to the contrary is my belief. Even the Roman centurion was touched in the very depths of his soul as he witnessed the crucifixion of the Nazarene (Matt. 27:54). Jesus in fact is saying here that after they crucify Him, His resurrection will prove to them that He was God and that will be the driving force on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.
Verse 29___This is how we can have God with us. We need to follow the example of Jesus and do the things that are pleasing to God.
Verse 30___”Many believed on Him” and in verse 31 Jesus will address that very same crowd, the Believers.
The Truth Will Set You Free
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31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 33They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?"34Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. |
I. Verse 31___We find the requirements for genuine discipleship. To “abide in His word” is to make the “Word” one's dwelling place.
Verse 32__ It is this “abiding in the Word" that allows one to know the truth. A point well made that it is a requirement of Jesus to study His Word. Not just a shallow overview but an abiding or dwelling in and on the Word. It is this consistent abiding in the Words of Christ that gives us freedom. Only when we “Abide in the Word” can we become free from:
a. habits and enslavements of the ways of the flesh.
b. spiritual lies (false teachings) which evil men use to enslave the minds of others.
c. Mostly importantly, freedom from sin and all the consequences of sin. No fear of death, penalty, and sentence of sin which is eternal death.
1. Freedom and victory over death only come from the truth of God.
2. One is really free when doing what one wishes to do if it is also what one ought to do. That is true freedom. When we find joy in the Words of God.
III. Verse 33___ They misunderstand. Here is what they are saying I think. “If the truth you speak is only for slaves then do not bother us with this truth since we are “Abraham's seed.” Meaning we are free. They did not realize that they were slaves to the most binding master of all, “sin.”
IV. Verse 34___It is this point that Jesus makes in His answer to the Jews. The bondage to sin is on every man who has not been “freed from sin.”
V. Verse 35___Men in bondage to sin cannot be sons of God; they are slaves to the devil. A slave may remain within the house but he is not a permanent member of the household and has no rights. The slave can be driven off or sold. These Jews were not children of God but slaves of sin. They were unregenerate! Only the Son (Jesus) is the rightful heir and will remain in the house forever. You can only be free then through the Son.
Off-spring of Abraham?
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37I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."39They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40but 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. |
Verse 37___We are reminded again that these people are Abraham's descendants. Jesus here concedes their linage to Abraham but He reveals a spirit of “hate” and “evil” in their hearts.
Verse 38__ Jesus says that He speaks for the Father. Jesus makes a difference here between what He “saw” and what they “heard.” Jesus then had a direct conversation with the Father and they had only “heard of” what the Father had said.
Verse 39__A rhetorical statement. Here is the claim that “Abraham was their father” their behavior said something entirely different. While claiming to be the children of Abraham, they were “plotting to kill” the Son of God. Abraham was not a man of murder!
Verse 40__You are seeking to kill me because I told you of my conversation with God. This is just the opposite of what Abraham did.
Satan's Children 8:41-47
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41You are doing the works your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God." 42Jesus 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. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 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 has nothing to do with 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. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." |
Verse 41___Jesus in His former statements has declared that they were not “children of Abraham,” and now more so than ever Jesus indicates that they are not of Abraham. Jesus admitted their physical relationship (v.37) but denied their spiritual relationship (v.39). Now their pride had been wounded. The Jews may have had two meanings in mind when they replied that they were not born from fornicators. (1) They were not members of a pagan nation who worshiped idols (i.e. the book of Hosea). (2) or they may have meant this reply in a physical sense implying that Jesus was born of an adulterous union for the Jews had circulated the story very early on that Mary had been unfaithful to Joseph and had a lover who was a Roman solider, named Panthera.
Verse 42___A very basic truth is stated here. The spiritual parentage of any man is known by his manifest relationship to Christ. You can know this relationship by the fruit it bears.
Verses 43-47___The cross examination. Jesus points out a problem that we still have today. People refuse to hear the Word of God not because of some intellectual disagreement or doctrinal difference. These people are in rebellion. They are rejecting the Word of God because they just don't want to hear it. Their willingness to reject the Word of God is due to “The Devil,” and their submission to the devil. These people are “sons of Hell.” The __offspring of Satan. Yes, Satan seduced the entire human race with Adam and Eve and the death penalty came upon us all. Because you are under the influence of Satan (v. 45) you will not believe what I say. And now one of the most dramatic statements in the New Testament (v. 46): “Who among you can convict me of sin?” Only the Son of God would make that statement. Jesus was sinless and now He lays down the challenge to the Jews to point out His sin? (v.47). The verdict is in. These people are not from God because they do not hear the Words of God.
Christ Maligned 8: 48-59
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Before Abraham Was, I Am 48The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" 49Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." 52The 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.' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?" 54Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' 55But 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. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." 57So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"58Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." 59So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. |
Verse 48___An effort at an insult as far as the Jews are concerned. When you can't win an argument, make a personal attack. Now they accuse Jesus of “being a Samaritan and having a demon.” Please review chapter four for our discussion on the Samaritans. Jesus did not answer the first charge of being a “Samaritan” but He did respond to the demon charge.
Verse 49___No, I do not have a demon and you are an embarrassment to God!
Verse 50__Continues the thought of 49. Jesus is only doing the will of God and God will judge.
Verse 51__Hearing (meaning to “adhere") the Words of Jesus is the only way to find eternal life.
Verse 52-53__Now they are really mad. They know that Abraham died and so did the prophets. But here is this Jesus claiming to give eternal life. The logical conclusion must be that Jesus is greater than Abraham.
Verse 54___The reply! I am only glorifying God. This very same God you claim.
Verse 55___I guess all of this means that you guys are a bunch of liars. I have seen God and you have not but you are asking me to say that I have not seen God.... I can't lie! I have kept His Word.
Verse 56___Since you mentioned Abraham, I must tell you that Abraham rejoiced when He saw my day (Hebrews 11:26-27) and so did the prophets (1st Peter 1:10-12).
Verse 57___ How is this possible when you are not even 50 years old?
Verse 58___ Jesus claims that He was older than Abraham.
Verse 59___Now they stone Jesus and He went out of the Temple.
by Lane Rogers