Blindness Washed Away (John 9:6-7)

“Having said these things, He spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then He anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.” (John 9:6–7, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

We know that God has the power to do absolutely anything, and that Scripture records many things that were said and done without what we would see as physical touch or handling. God spoke and it was so. In John chapter 2 in Cana the water was turned into wine. Jesus told the men to fill six stone jars with water and then to draw some water out of one of them. Between filling them to the brim and bringing the filled cup to the master of the feast the water had become top quality wine. In John chapter 4 He told the official that his son would be healed, and as the man returned back home he indeed did find out that his son was healed. In John chapter 5 he told the man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years to take up his bed and walk, and the man did so fully healed. While Jesus may not have provided physical touch He spoke, things happened, and people were amazed with many even coming to believe.

Here in John chapter 9 we find that Jesus provided that physical touch. Scripture does not tell us why Jesus chose in this instance to physically touch the man. It may be, as I strongly suspect, that it was because it was Sabbath and Jesus was again demonstrating to the Jews that He was Lord of the Sabbath as we read He said of Himself in passages such as Matthew 12:8, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:8, ESV) This will become evident in just a few verses when He will again be accused of being a sinner because He did not keep the Sabbath in the way the Pharisees had prescribed.

As I thought about His touch on this man I was mindful of Jesus’ great compassion being personally demonstrated. He spit on the ground and mixed the dirt with His saliva to make a paste which He put with His own hands on the man’s eyes. Our Lord touched the man in a way that no one ever had or ever could. Then He told the man to go and be washed, which the man did, and when he did this he came back seeing.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (John 19:10). He came to give sight to the blind and to judge those whose haughty sight keeps them blind (John 9:39). As the Son of God He became man to open man’s eyes that men might see, believe, and receive spiritual life. All of mankind is born spiritually blind, and apart from Christ all men remain that way. There is no hope of gaining sight without the salvation found in Him. He is the one who is light and life for all who believe.

I guess that God could have devised salvation in any number of ways, but He chose to do it in this way. And as Jesus could have easily healed the man born blind just by His will and even speaking it as so, He chose to touch his eyes and call him to be washed. Then having had his eyes washed the man was given the sight that he had never known before. Thinking on this touch I was reminded of my condition before I really understood the love of God for me and the salvation which He so freely gave to me in His Son. Before, I knew something was missing, but I did not know what it was. I was searching for answers, but I could not find them. Then through a sermon on a Sunday while visiting a church God’s Spirit spoke to my heart and my eyes were opened to see that our God is truly amazing. I wanted to know Him more. That day the light bulb went on for me. My eyes were opened and I knew that God was real and that His Son really did pay for my sins. I went before Him and thanked Him for this incredible gift and asked for the salvation which He promised and which His Son freely gave. At that moment I was made spiritually alive and my sins were fully forgiven (past, present, and future) and they were washed away along with the spiritual blindness which I had known. “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, ESV)

Having been washed of my sins I was given spiritual sight, a sight which I had not had before because I was born spiritually blind. Just as the man would say later in this chapter, all he knew was that he was born blind but now he sees, so it is with us who are saved. This new sight makes all of the difference. It is not as a result of anything we did or do, but 100% a result of what God has done for us. It is the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins and makes us right. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18, ESV)

Now, as one saved by the Light of the world, I have become a vessel of the Light. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6–7, ESV) I am not the light, but the Light dwells in me and I trust in Him. His Word has become a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

Just as the man moved forward from that moment when he was given sight for the first time, so are we to live in the light of the life which we are given in Christ. The apostle Paul wrote about the work that Christ does to shine light in believers’ lives and to then how we are to live as children of Light. “Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of Light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”” (Ephesians 5:7–14, ESV)

Working in the Light (John 9:4-5)

“We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4–5, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

Jesus was inclusive in the purpose of the Father. Just as He was sent by the Father to accomplish His purposes in the Son which primarily meant the redemption of man, so did Jesus’ disciples to whom He was speaking have purpose as well. This was not a general statement of purpose for all of mankind, but was one made directly to His disciples. These disciples were with Jesus in His ministry and each of them had a role even in their lack of full understanding. God is the One who set their course and who directed their steps. But from their perspective they were disciples of Christ and submissive to His leadership in their lives, but Jesus was about doing the will of the Father resulting in His leading of the disciples being fully in concert with the objectives of God.

As I thought about this relationship between the Son and the Father in accomplishing the will of God I thought about a passage in 1 Corinthians 12, where the fullness of the Trinity is shown in the lives of believers and the church doing this same thing. Even there when Jesus is no longer physically present we find that He is active as the head of His church and the Lord of all believers. We read, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4–7, ESV)

Here we see that just as Jesus had come to do the will of the Father, the ascended Jesus continues to direct us in ministry. It may not be in a visibly present sense as it was with His disciples, but we have the assurance of God’s Word that this is what He continues to do. Verse 5 tells us that we each serve in varieties of ways but that all of our service is under the lordship of the One Christ. There is no other head given to this role. From beginning to end Jesus has been the One in the Trinity to bring about that which the Father intends. Scripture tells us that everything that was created was created by Him.

“For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:16–18, ESV)

We also read in 1 Corinthians that the Holy Spirit is intimately involved. Knowing the needs of each believer in relation to his or her service, the Spirit supernaturally enables (gifts) every believer. Working in complete harmony with each other, the Son and the Spirit enable believers to accomplish the Father’s intended outcomes (effects). This is done by our God who works these things in all believers.

Jesus also said that these works were to be done “while it is day.” There was a season to this work. There was a window when the Light of the world would be physically present in the world, and that window would not be open very much longer. When Jesus ascended back to the Father He would not return again until He came to take His church. John’s gospel began with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1–5, ESV) As Jesus was preparing to give sight to a man blind from birth He was also going to speak about His coming to give life through opening the eyes of men to see the light which was Him.  God incarnate who is Light became man and as the God-man He was the Light of the world which was lost in the darkness of sin. With these words Jesus laid claim to the source of spiritual light.

While we know that His time as man was limited in duration we also know from Scripture that His existence is and always has been eternal. With His returning to the Father He no longer has a direct physical presence here, but we also know that His light did not cease or become dim. Rather, He continues to illumine hearts so that people might believe and provide light for them to live accordingly. 

Victim or Victor? (John 9:1-3)

“As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:1–3, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

I know I am not alone in hearing, thinking, and even verbalizing phrases such as, “What did I (or someone else we know) do to deserve this?”  Or, possibly feeling that nothing warrenting a particular response occurring, we’ve said “That’s not fair.” There is this tendency to think that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad ones. “You get what you deserve.” But this presupposition is regularly challenged when “bad” people get away with stuff and “good” people suffer. The reality of life is that there is no clear line which can be drawn pointing to any of these things being universally true. There is something in this kind of preferential logic that breaks down in reality.

Maybe the answer is found in a breakdown in control as suggested by Rabbi Harold Kushner in his bestselling book, “When bad Things Happen to Good People.” Assuming that people are good, some try to resolve the issue of negative circumstances occurring in people’s lives by saying that there are things outside of God’s control. Either God is disinterested, unable, or unwilling to step in and make a difference or alter the outcomes. Bad things happen to good people because God can’t or won’t stop it (for whatever reason). This is a common belief, but it is also one that is wrong in a number of key areas.

It is wrong in that it infers that God is limited. The Bible clearly shouts about our boundless God who is fully able to do all that He intends and will bring all of these things to completion. He is without limit in His strength, knowledge, wisdom, love, presence, and so much more. He is infinite in all that He is. This means that He is without limit and without beginning and end. He can never become exhausted, distracted, or depleted. He always has been and always will be fully and infinitely God. This is true of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God is not disinterested. The Bible declares His love for man from beginning to end. He created man, and when man rebelled He did not abandon Him. He sent His Only Son to become man and suffer for man’s sake so that man’s sins might be forgiven and his relationship restored with God. No, God is not disinterested. He is intensely interested. Passages such as Psalm 139 speak of how He encloses us before and behind, how He knows our every thought and every word on our tongue before they are ever formed. He knows all of the days of our lives in their most intimate detail before there was ever one day of lives. God is very much interested and involved.

The issue of bad things happening to people is not a failure or weakness of God. But rather, it is a result of man’s rebellion. Man was created without sin, in a full and eternal relationship with God, and was placed in a creation that was very good. Man was given one thing not to do, and he did that thing. He ate from the tree and sinned. As a result of that sin he became spiritually darkened and separated from God. He was put out of the garden. His work became arduous with weeds and pain becoming a part of the new normal course of life. The world was subsequently changed because of man’s great sin. All of creation was affected by man’s sin. No longer was man “good,” but man was judged guilty of sin and deserving of separation. But God did not leave man this way. He continued to make Himself known to man leading to this right time when He even provided His promised Redeemer.

The reality is that we live in a world affected by the sin of man and these effects happen regardless of whether people know God or not. When a person trusts Jesus for salvation God does not immediately remove him or her from all of this, but He keeps us here and He sustains us as He does His work in and through us including even leading others to Himself.

So, back to the disciples’ question, “Who sinned?” Jesus said that the man’s blindness was not as a result of specific sin. He responded to them saying, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus did not deny any sin at all in the man’s or his parents’ lives, but He said that his blindness was not a result of specific sin. Rather, Jesus pointed to a greater cause which was that through what Jesus was about to do that the works of God might be clearly shown in him. Specifically for this man, we will go on to read that Jesus gave him physical sight for the first time in his life. As a result many would again marvel at His works. But as we also will continue to read, there were those who continued in antagonistic disbelief.

There are many things in our lives that we simply don’t know why they happen or don’t happen. Some things just don’t make a lot of sense from our side of things. But our side of things is very limited. We don’t have eternity and full knowledge as our framework. What many people have is what they see and what they have seen from experience, and if this is all they have then there really is no great reason for hope. But for those of us who know God and who have placed our trust in Him, being saved by faith in His Son, we have the confidence of knowing that God is good and He is firmly in control. We don’t have to have all of the answers, what we have is proven faith. We have a faith that is not empty well-wishing, but firmly placed in our unlimited and faithful God.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:44–45, ESV) In the last blog I quoted John 16:33 which Jesus spoke to His disciples on the night He was betrayed. I’m going to back up a verse and re-quote the verse adding verse 32 reflecting the soon response of the disciples upon His arrest and pending crucifixion. “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me. I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32–33, ESV) We live in a world where evil is prevalent and man apart from God is a slave to sin. Even as believers who have been set free from this slavery we still struggle in various ways, we experience the good and the bad, the rain and the drought. We are subject to the same economies, diseases, and things that non-believers are, and we live among all of these other people who affect us in many, many ways. There is no immunity from this. The answer is not found in avoiding them, but in leaning on our faithful God to bring us through them.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, NASB95)

Looking at the whole picture we might ask, “Who did something wrong, the Christ or the Father, that He should be hung on a cross?” The answer is neither. Jesus went to the cross so that the works of the Father might be displayed in Him. As we live, trusting Him, He continues to prove Himself in us.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” … “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35, 37, ESV) 

“Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:52-59)

“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.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” (John 8:52–59, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

Jesus finally leaves the temple after several days speaking before the people, resulting in some coming to believe and others forcibly challenging of Him. The chief priests and Pharisees had sent the guards to arrest Him and they came back with nothing but amazement for the way He spoke. It was after their return that I suspect they went to Jesus themselves to finish the task, though the passage does not say so. Whether it was them or some others like them who were antagonistic toward Christ, Jesus responds to them in much the same way that He had responded before and will later. He had just told them that their father was the devil and that they did not know God. This did not sit well with them. In the verses prior to this they responded claiming that it was Jesus who had the demon and who was one of those Samaritans whose teachings were way off base such that they and He did not know what they were talking about. To this Jesus told them that anyone who keeps His word would not see death. It is this statement that gave them fuel for their next rebuttal. Jesus, having said that those who believe would not see death, had to be wrong. There is no way He could be right about this point. They thought they had Him. They found their fault. They responded, “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?”

Looking at death as merely physical they immediately pointed to the fact that Abraham and the prophets died. If these great men of God died, who did Jesus think He was? This was the challenge. Did He really think He was greater than all of these? If He had life such as this where was the source of it? It had to be demonic because God did not spare Abraham and the prophets from death, so why would He spare this singular man? Their clincher was asking Him just who He thought He was? I know this is a phrase I’ve heard when someone was challenged for their seeming authority. With kids it has been something like, “Who says so? You’re not my boss.” With adults it seems sometimes to have a few extra non-repeatable words attached. Asking this question is not one put forth with any form of a reasonable response expected. I imagine then as it is now, this question was more of an emphatic statement that the individual to whom it is said has no authority on that which he speaks. These Jews did not accept Jesus’ authority and they made it quite clear.

I know at this point I would be strongly tempted to wipe my hands and walk away, but Jesus was not yet ready to leave. He continued His appeal and I think it largely for those in the crowd who believed or who might have been on the fence. He said, “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.”

Jesus repeated that it was not all about Him seeking and finding His own glory. He was not on a see how awesome I am tour. He acknowledged that He was being glorified, but that it was not something that He was self-seeking. In glorifying the Father the Father glorified Him. The One glorifying Jesus was the very same One that the Jews had been claiming as their God yet at the same time they have denied Jesus as the One sent and glorified by God. There was a huge disconnect and Jesus again pointed it out. He said (again) that their reason for not knowing Him was that they really did not know God, but that He truly did. He said very plainly, “I know Him.” In fact, if He were to say anything to the contrary then He would be a liar, and not just a liar but a liar like them. But He did (does) know God and He was telling them exactly as it was. They did not know Him and their saying that they did was a lie. Jesus is the One who kept the word of the Father. Closing on what opened their response, Jesus said that even Abraham rejoiced knowing that He would see Jesus’ day come. Sure Abraham died physically, but because of his faith he lives eternally and he is a witness to the coming of the Christ. He did see it and he was glad, and I imagine that his gladness was overflowing. Jesus said that they would have life if they believed God and had accepted the Son sent by the Father. Abraham believed and Jesus said that Abraham saw His coming truly come to pass.

Still not accepting His heavenly origin the Jews responded by pointing to Jesus’ earthly age saying that He was not yet fifty years old and yet He claimed to see Abraham. Again this statement is formed in the way of one of those emphatic questions designed to point to how foolish the one to whom it is directed really appears. Everyone knew that Abraham as the father of the Jews lived hundreds and hundreds of years ago. No person alive could have possibly seen him, and yet Jesus claimed that He did. Again, they thought they caught Him in one of those verbal traps for which there was no reasonable way out. But Jesus was not phased. He knew the truth. He knew His origin as God from before the beginning, and He knew that He indeed had been with Abraham and Abraham had seen His coming. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” This was the end of the discussion. He made His claim again on eternity with the simple words, “Before Abraham was, I am.” In time they knew Abraham was born and died. They knew the years of his life. Jesus acknowledged Abraham’s place in the line of time.. But in the same sentence He took Himself out of time with the words, “I am.”

This really pushed a button with them. With the simple words “I am” the Jews were moved from discussion to stoning. What was it about those words that brought about such a drastic response? These Jews had argued with Jesus about Abraham being their father. They had claimed that they knew the words of Moses from which we even learn about Abraham. And it was Moses who was introduced to these same words in Exodus chapter 3 when seeing the burning bush Moses went up on the mountain. It was there that God called him to go in order to be used to set His people free from bondage in Egypt. When Moses asked God who it was that he should tell the people sent Him, God gave Him an answer. It was in this answer that Jews knew as the name of God who was eternally existent, without beginning or end. We read in Exodus 3,

“Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:13–15, ESV)

Jesus claimed for Himself the title they had reserved for God claiming Himself to be one with God. It was upon hearing this that they bent over to pick up rocks in order to stone Him, and it was in response to this that we read that Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. John chapter 7 began with Jesus coming to the week-long celebration of the Feast of Booths in such a way that He would not be seen or recognized. While there He began to speak in such a way that people became amazed with His words and wondered who He might be. As He continued teaching it became very obvious that the one teaching was the very same one that the leadership was seeking to kill. When the leadership became aware of Him they sent to have Him arrested, but even the guards could not lift a hand against Him because it was not His time. Jesus continued to speak and people came to believe, but in the midst of some believing the aggressive efforts to bring Him down continued. Jesus continued still to speak and to point to just how far the Jews had strayed from the truth such that they did not truly know Him or His truth. In this Jesus pointed over and over again to Himself as the One sent by God so that God might be glorified in Him and that men might be saved.

Jesus knew why He had come. He knew His time, and He knew that in glorifying the Father the Father would complete everything He intended in the Son and in that the Son would also be glorified. As I think about the intensity of these times which I can only imagine, I am reminded of how powerful God is and how far His protection extends toward those who are His. When I was a young believer most of what I heard about persecution of believers came from reading books like “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” and hearing missionary stories. It was not something that was widely spoken of and, while it was happening, it was not something that was as open and blatant as it is today even in many developed countries. In our age of news from around the world as it is happening we also live in an age of growing antagonism towards Christians where they are being slaughtered abroad and slandered at home. Yet, in the midst of all of this news, we also hear of the amazing accounts of those who freely give of themselves for their faith. This is not something done out of foolishness but out of having a firm confidence in our God who sent His Son and kept Him until the exact right time in order to fulfill His purposes and believing that He will do the same with them. As believers in Christ these persecuted ones know the great hope which they have that extends beyond to life in their bodies into eternity. It is heartbreaking to see this kind of hatred directed at other men, but it is also a constant reminder of just how desperate evil really is. The devil has been defeated but continues to fight the battle until that time when God puts a final end to his battles. Man continues to rebel against God, but even in this men come to know God. Only He knows exactly who and when people will respond. In the meantime we continue to plead for them to believe that He is.

The last thing we have recorded Jesus saying before His great High Priestly prayer is, “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” (John 16:33, ESV) 

Slandered He Stood (John 8:48-51)

“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.”” (John 8:48–51, ESV)

In the midst of this confrontation with these certain Jews we don’t want to lose sight of the fact that there were also those who believed and remained in the crowd as witnesses to what was going on. There were also those wo were questioning and did not know what to make of Jesus. And of course there were the chief priests and Pharisees who sought to have Jesus arrested. It can be very easy to paint an entire group of people with a broad brush because of a vocal and forceful contingent no matter its size. This is not what Jesus was doing. Rather, He was responding directly to the challenges of those whose hard hearts and judgmental attitudes brought about the confrontation. He even pointed to how these very characteristics were proofs of the fact that they really did not know God or seek after Him with their whole hearts. These are the people that Jesus told were of their father the devil and who did not know God.

In response they said, “Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” What they did was try to turn the table on Jesus. They could find no error in His teaching or flaw in His personal life so they tried to attack Him by painting Him with a brush that the rest of the Jews would find distasteful. Generally speaking the Jews had no (or very limited) dealings with the Samaritans. The Samaritans knew God and claimed Abraham as their father, but they rejected much of the oral tradition of the rabbis. As such there was a great deal of tension between them and very little trust. If they could lump Jesus in with this group then they would call into question all that He had said and done. Above that, if in the process they could also assert that it was Him who had the demon then they could also write off the things He had done to the demon as well. They may not have put all of this thought into their response. It may have just been a knee jerk, “No I’m not, you are” kind of response.

In either case Jesus did not let their trying to impugn Him give Him cause to stop speaking. Jesus heard their words and He responded in much the same way that He had responded numerous times before. “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.” First He did not let their statement about Him having a demon go unaddressed. He simply denied it and moved on, saying just what He had said before. Nothing that He said or did was done to bring glory to Himself. He came to honor the Father, and that was exactly what He was doing in everything.  But rather than respecting His faithfulness to the Father they dishonored Him. He said that He did not come to seek His own glory but that there is One who seeks and judges. On earth it might seem to continue as a “He said, they said” kind of thing, but in eternity there is a Judge who will rightly handle every person, including these harsh and dishonoring Jews.

In verse 51 Jesus again capped a point with the words “Truly, truly.” Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” Some had heard His words and believed. Others may have listened to His words and did not know what to believe. These to who Jesus responded rejected His words and were going to be judged accordingly lest they change. But the first group, the ones who heard and believed, these are the ones that will never see death. When that day comes they will truly know the life that they had been given.

We live in a country that is looking less and less Christian; where antagonism toward Christians is increasing and where Christians are being impugned for the values they hold. There are those who are seeking to silence them just as we continue to see much more dramatically elsewhere in the world. And while they may not be seeking to put Christians to death here as they are elsewhere, there are those who are seeking to remove them from every public arena and place of power or authority. There really is nothing different, and short of these people recognizing their antagonism toward God and believing in His Son sent to give them life, they like the ones to whom Jesus spoke will stand judged for dishonoring those who honor God. In the face of this we can look to the example of Jesus who while responding to their misrepresentations, really kept His words on task and His heart in line.

“For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:20–25, ESV)

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me [Paul] His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” (2 Timothy 1:8–12, ESV) 

Who’s Your Daddy? (John 8:44-47)

“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 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, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If 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.” (John 8:44–47, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

The post was getting a bit long yesterday, and I decided to make a break where there isn’t one in Scripture. Where we take up today is in the midst of Jesus’ response to the antagonistic Jews. He had just told them that while they may be of Abraham’s seed they were not Abraham’s children, but were children of another father. The Jews interrupted Him stating that Jesus had it all wrong, but Jesus persisted in making His point leading to the words we are looking at today, which was telling them exactly who their father was.

Jesus said, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” After telling them that neither Abraham nor God was their father because they did not embrace that which Abraham embraced nor accept the One sent by God in order to fulfill His promise to Abraham. They were rejecting the One that Abraham had his hope in, and as such they demonstrated just how distant they were from Abraham and God. Their lives were driven by someone else and that someone is the devil. They were not about doing God’s will but were rather willing pawns in the devil’s schemes. The devil was all about usurping God. This is the reason that the great angel was cast down from heaven because he said “I will, I will, I will, I will, I will.” We read in Isaiah,

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star [Lucifer in King James], son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12–15, ESV)

Lucifer is one of the names by which the devil is known to us. This name does not appear in the Bible but is rather a reflection of the Latin word meaning “light bearing,” which was a translation of the title used here in Isaiah “Day Star.” The devil was once highly placed and because of his pride he was cast down from heaven with a number of other angels. This pride that marked him is similar to the pride for which Jesus’ spoke against the scribes and Pharisees. Their lives of building themselves up was totally consistent with the one who was all about putting himself in the place of God. Not being able to take action against God, his efforts here turned to taking action against His Son and attempting to thwart God’s plan. Jesus called these Jews for the intentions of their hearts and the one from whom they got their marching orders.

The apostle Paul wrote about this spiritual leading in Ephesians 6 when he spoke to the issue of spiritual warfare. We read, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10–13, ESV)

They may have been born of Jewish parents and be able to fully trace themselves as decedents of Abraham, but their hearts showed their true tie. Jesus went on here to describe the devil in one of the more well-known verses for Christians who hold to the reality of what Scripture teaches concerning Satan and his cohorts. He wrote, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and 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.” Jesus had just said earlier in this chapter, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32, ESV) This was the comment He made when the Jews interrupted, and now He brought His response back around to just how much in bondage they were to the devil and how much they needed real change.

On the one hand they could find true freedom in God through believing in the One who God had sent. On the other hand they could remain in their bondage to sin and continue to listen to the one who is all about deception, destruction, and death. God is the father of truth and the devil is the father of lies. If they had truly been about seeking after God with their whole hearts then God would have freely and willingly shown them His truth. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13, ESV) But for these Jews they wanted nothing to do with seeking God in this way, and as such they remained under the influence of the one who was more than happy to lead them in criticism, hatred, and destruction. We have read previously that Jesus continued to reason with them so that they might be saved, but from history we know that many of them remained in their condition of judgment leading to the second death and eternal separation from God. They would not be with God because they did not belong to Him, but will eternally be sentenced to share the lake of fire with the devil for who it was created.

Jesus was very clear in drawing these lines. There was no ambiguity, and yet they did not believe Him. He said, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If 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.” He laid it all out before them. He was telling them the truth and they did not believe Him. Not one of them could find any sin in Him no matter how much they may have attempted to catch Him in a trap of words or actions. He was sinless before them, and they couldn’t say anything in response. It all came down to them not believing Him because they did not have a heart for the word of God and they did not hear His words.

I enjoy reading about apologetics and listening to men who are being used by God to make logical arguments for Him and His truth (which is apologetics). Jesus reasoned with people and in the reasoning many believed. Throughout history man has continued to do the same, and because of that the Spirit of God has opened many, many eyes and softened hearts such that people continue to be saved. The apostle Paul wrote about the ministry given to him, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.” (2 Corinthians 5:11–12, ESV)

I know I’ve recently (and frequently) quoted this next passage of Scripture, but it is one that is at the heart of our continuing the work which Christ has given to us as His ambassadors. The apostle Peter wrote, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:13–15, ESV) Being continually mindful of the presence of rejection, we continue to speak knowing that some will hear, understand, and be saved.

Belonging to the Father (John 8:39-43)

“They 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 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. (John 8:39-43, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

Jesus had just acknowledged to the Jews critical of Him that they were indeed the offspring of Abraham (v. 37). He also told them that the things they did they did as slaves to sin being subject to their father. However, He did not call Abraham a sinner and say that Abraham and the one to whom they enslaved in sin were the same person. The Jews caught this point, and they adamantly responded claiming Abraham as their father. But Jesus did not miss a beat in closing the door He had opened in speaking of their parentage as opposed to their heritage. In essence He told them to prove it. If they were indeed children of Abraham then prove it by doing what Abraham did.

Abraham would have never sought to kill Jesus because his hope was in the promise of one like Jesus coming, but these Jews were committed to their effort to kill Jesus. Jesus told them that He had spoken the truth which He received from the Father, and it was because of the truth which He spoke that they rejected that they also rejected Him. Abraham made no effort to thwart God’s will. He may have tried to take things into his own hands, but he did nothing to try to stop what God had intended. Abraham would not have tried to kill God’s messenger. In fact, when messengers of God came to Abraham he listened and believed. Abraham’s belief was credited to him as righteousness.

“And He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:5–6, ESV)

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:8–12, ESV)

Jesus knew the heart of Abraham and He knew their hearts. He knew that their hearts were not the same. Abraham believed the word of God and the others wanted to kill the Word sent to them. What they were doing was the will of their father, but their father was not Abraham.  They did not respond well to this. They did not like what they perceived as being called illegitimate children. They knew their lineage, and Abraham was their father. They were not born of some other father.   In their response we don’t know if this was also a stab at Jesus and the question that may have been around concerning his own presumed father (Joseph). We don’t know if they knew the story of His birth and that He was conceived prior to the marriage of His mother (Mary) and Joseph. If they did this comment could have easily been a “Look who’s talking” kind of response. But it would have also shown how much they did not know about Him being the God-man conceived by the Holy Spirit.

They persisted in claiming Abraham as their father, and through God’s promise to Abraham they claimed God as well. Jesus told them that this could not possibly be so. If they were from the Father then they would not reject the One sent by the Father. Instead they would embrace Him in love. They would recognize the Father’s word and they would accept the One sent to fulfill that word. They would know the One sent in the power of the Spirit to proclaim fulfill exactly what God had intended. They would have had a receptive spirit to the work of the Father in their midst. He told them that He was right in front of them, and they would not accept Him thus proving how alienated they were from God.

He continued to speak to them about their rejection, saying, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word.” They did not accept Jesus because of the message He proclaimed. They did not want to hear it and in response they rejected the messenger. There is this a I’ve heard over the years used by those who have been sent to give an unpopular message. It goes like this, “Don’t shoot the messenger!” Well, Jesus was sent to be the testimony of the Father before a people who did not want to hear the message and as such they vehemently rejected the messenger. Jesus was not a merely human messenger as John the Baptist or even Elijah might have been. He is, was, and always has been God—the Son, part of the inseparable Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit. As fully God He became fully man without giving up His being God in order to fulfill the will of God expressed by the Father and fulfilled in the Son full of the Spirit.  God is God and there is no other. Seeing Jesus was seeing the Father. This is what Jesus had proclaimed as truth, and these Jews showed their rejection of the Father through their rejection of His Son. They were not of the Father and they would not accept the words of the Son. His words fell on deaf ears and hard hearts.

Even today we continue to encounter those whose god is not God and whose ways are not His ways. They reject Him and they do not comprehend His words. In doing this they reject those who publicly stand with Him and seek to proclaim His truth. When it comes down to it there are only two types of people, those who are adopted children of God by faith and those who are in darkness, lost in their sins. Jesus will speak more of this in the next verses, but for today there are a couple of thoughts I have on how to move forward with this information and example. The first is to make sure that I guard my heart and continue to hide God’s word in it so that I might know those things of God as opposed to those that are not. And as I look outside the church to those who are lost, I am to continue to pray that the Spirit might soften hearts and open eyes so that they might understand and believe. Along with that I am reminded of my role to be continually ready to give an answer for the hope that I have and to live in such a way that my life is a proof of God’s handiwork.

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:13–17, ESV) 

Freed to Live (John 8:31-38)

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”” (John 8:31–38, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

The great news of verse 30 is that many believed in Him. In the midst of being challenged by the Jews, some of whom wanted Him put to death and were seeking every opportunity to discredit Him, these believers’ eyes were opened and their hearts were changed. It is these believers who were given the life that Jesus promised, and now Jesus was telling them what to do next. ““If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” His words to them as we read in Psalm 119 were that if there were truly His disciples then they would hide His word in them and live according to it. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word.” (Psalm 119:9, ESV) It is the truth that would direct them and give them true freedom from their enslavement to sin. We don’t know what else He said or what He might have gone on to say because John says that it was after saying this that He was interrupted by those who “answered Him.”

The words from Verse 30 which ended the last post along with verse 31 point to those who believed in Jesus. Verse 30 said that “many believed in Him,” and verse 31 tells us that Jesus then began to speak directly to those who had believed. The assumption might be that somehow He separated them and spoke only to them, but the context indicates otherwise. Based upon the context, it appears that there were those listening in on His conversation which was directed to the believers. It seems that as Jesus spoke to the believers that the unbelieving Jews were still in the audience, and as He spoke they interrupted Him with another argument to which Jesus responds.

This interruption was a bit confusing, especially as I read it through the verses that follow. On the surface it seemed like the believers turned on Him with their questioning, and some commentators indicate that this is what might have truly happened. They indicate that they weren’t true believers in the first place, and when called upon to change they showed their true colors. While I may not have had a clear answer, I sensed that this understanding didn’t seem right for a couple of reasons. So, I continued to consider the passage and read from other commentators on the passage. As I did this I settled in my mind and heart that we are reading here of two different groups  The first and foremost reason for this conclusion is that Jesus knew the hearts of men, and He clearly knew which people believed in Him and which ones did not. He would not be fooled, even temporarily. This is not a mistake that He would have made. Secondly, John wrote this passage later in time and the passage of time would have given Him a clearer perspective from which to write about their belief, and possibly even to refer to them as false believers or something else.

There is only one answer that settled for me how this passage would be consistent with the entirety of Scripture, and that is that the “they” of verse 33 refers to the unbelieving Jews. First of all, “they” is an added word pointing to the fact that the word “answered” refers to a party responding to something that was said or done. For this to happen someone had to respond, and “they” is likely as good a word for the translators to use as any. The only question then would be, “Who are the “they”?” When we look to the greater context of chapter 8, the majority of Jesus’ words were directed in response to those who were unbelieving and challenging Him. It would fit that “they” would continue to challenge Him and He would respond in kind. Being consistent seems to dictate that as Jesus began to speak to the believers He was challenged by the unbelievers and then proceeded to deal with their arguments.

Jesus having said that “the truth will set you free,” the antagonists in the crowd responded by stating that as descendants of Abraham they had never been enslaved to anyone, and as such they had no need to be set free. This, of course, was a false claim as Israel had been taken captive numerous times and was even then living under the thumb of Rome. They were not a free people, and this lack of freedom according to Scripture was a direct result of their rebellion against God and their enslavement to sin. Jesus knew exactly what He was talking about, and He knew exactly where He was going in His response. He said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” He redirected their assertion about being descendants of Abraham toward focusing on their imperfect lives. God had made many promises concerning Abraham and his descendants, but the persistent rebellion of the Jews led to many destructive consequences in the fulfillment of those yet to be fully fulfilled promises. God did not abandon them though they regularly turned their backs of Him, and at the heart of that rebellion was their being enslaved to sin.

Jesus went on to say, “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.” There is a huge difference between a son and a slave. The slave is not a part of the family and is not entitled to all of the benefits of the family. A slave to sin is already judged guilty and will one day suffer the consequences of their sin resulting in eternal separation from God. While they may have lived as descendants of Abraham, when the end comes their allegiance to sin will result in them being separated from the God of Abraham. But those who believe are adopted into God’s eternal family and with that comes an eternal home in the presence of our eternal God with eternal blessings. They might have prided themselves in their Judaism and ancestry, but these are worthless apart from belief.

Next He said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” This is true freedom and it will not fail. Jesus drew a clear distinction between the believers in the crowd who have been eternally set free and those who remain enslaved. “I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” He acknowledged that they were indeed descendants of Abraham, but He also confronted them with how little they really knew of God’s promises made even to Abraham. Jesus had been faithful in speaking the words of the Father, and these unbelievers had continued to hold onto the lies which had shaped their lives. Jesus spoke of their father who they saw as Abraham, but in the next passage Jesus will tell them who their father really is. One thing we are certain of is that their Father was not God nor was it even Abraham to whom they claimed their allegiance. There was a huge gap between the words of their lips and the attitude of their hearts. These individuals to whom Jesus responded while speaking to the believers were slaves to sin and there was nothing on their own that they could do to break free from their slavery.

“For if we have been united with Him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:5–11, ESV) 

Convinced They Believed (John 8:21-30)

“So 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.” So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.” So they said to Him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I 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.” They did not understand that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So 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. And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He was saying these things, many believed in Him.” (John 8:21–30, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

Among everything else we see in these interactions between Jesus and the crowds we see that He is persistent, that He truly continued to present to them their need to make a decision to believe. Speaking to them again he told them that He was going away and when that happens no matter how hard they seek Him they will not be able to find Him. It won’t be like when He fed the 5,000 after they had followed Him, or even the next day when they went back down to the sea and then found Him on the other side. This time they will not be able to find Him no matter how hard they look. There will be a day when He will no longer be with them and they will no longer see Him perform signs and wonders, heal their sick, fill their bellies, or anything else. He will not be there to reason with them and challenge them to make a decision for life. There will be a time that all of those who do not believe will die in their sin.

Evidently they missed the last words of His statement about their own death. Instead they focused on His leaving them in such a way that they could not find Him, and the only answer they had for this was Him taking His own life. Their reasoning was, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” Suicide was on their minds. They took His words as a warning that He was soon going to take some form of action to end His own life. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, He had come to lay down His life and then to take it up again. But what laid ahead for Jesus was far from a deranged or depressed person taking His own life. They were right in the sense that He expected to die and leave them, but what they were missing was the most important fact that in His death He would live, returning to the Father from whom He came. And the reason they would not find Him is not because His presence was inaccessible to anyone, but because it was ultimately accessible only to those who believe and receive eternal life.

Jesus went on to say, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.” Their origins were flesh and blood, all being born fully man. Jesus was, always has been, and always will be God who at a point in time took on the form of man to become fully man as well without being any less fully God. By their very nature the crowd’s place of origin is different. They were (as are we) of the world and He wasn’t. They were all guilty of sin and would die in those sins. The only thing that would change that was to believe that Jesus had been sent by God to give them life and to place their trust in Him. Notice that twice Jesus says here, “in your sins.” This was an already condition that they could not change. They were all lost in their sins in which they were born and also committed, and they were already judged guilty. Only belief would move remove that judgment and move them from death into life.

Things began to sink in a little. Their curiosity was perked, and they asked, “Who are you?” Of course Jesus took advantage of the opportunity to once again tell them who He was, who sent Him, and why He had come. He said, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I 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.” The passage gives us some information of the disconnect between Jesus’ words and the people’s understanding. We read, “They did not understand that He had been speaking to them about the Father.” There is no indication that the people had responded to His previous comment with a question, but probably more likely that Jesus knew their minds and He continued His words by addressing this understanding gap saying, “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. And He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

It was when He said these words that light bulbs went on in people’s minds. Jesus had told them at the time they “lifted Him up” that they would recognize Him. Jesus knew why He came and He even knew His manner of death such that He would be lifted up on a cross to be crucified. He told them at that time it would become obvious that He indeed was the Son of Man. In the Old Testament the term “son of man” was used to refer to man and his earthly origin. Daniel wrote about his night visions and referred to one like the son of men who was different. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13–14, ESV)

The Son of Man spoken of by Daniel was the Messiah who the Jews were waiting to appear. Jesus plainly told them that He was the One they had been awaiting. But He also told them that He was going to have to die before this vision could be fulfilled. This would not compute with many who had set their hopes of a present ruler over all nations and for all time. These two pieces of information did not equate with some of them. But Jesus told them that He indeed would be lifted up not on a throne before which they would bow, but on a cross in order to die for their sins. In doing this He was doing exactly as the Father had intended. Him going to the cross would not represent a failure of God to fulfill His plan and to dash their hope, but rather to fulfill His plan and bring them life. The Father was not going to abandon Him and leave Him to His own ends. He was continually present with Jesus and would be continually faithful through every step. The Father was absolutely pleased with Jesus’ obedience. This would be an important assurance when that day came and the people who had believed were tempted to turn away disappointed that they might have followed an impostor. Jesus was not an impostor. He was the real deal sent by the Father in whom the Father was well-pleased, and Jesus was going to please Him in all that He did.

Having spoken to the crowd and assuring them of His truly being sent by the Father in order to fulfill the will of the Father that through Him people might be saved, we read, “As He was saying these things, many believed in Him.” Jesus had answered their questions, filled in the blanks in their hearts and minds, and many of them had their eyes opened such that they believed. They had moved from being those who were chasing after the magic show to becoming disciples of the Christ. 

The Light of the World has Come (John 8:12-20)

(Due to time constraints I have not edited this post yet. I will come back to it later for any necessary corrections. But I trust that none of the errors change the meaning)

“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.” So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are bearing witness about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” Jesus 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. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet 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. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness about Me.” They 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.” These words he spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; but no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.” (John 8:12–20, ESV) (Caps added to pronouns in ESV referring to God the Father, Son, and Spirit)

Approaching this passage from the position that John 7:53-8:11 may have been inserted in the text at a later date and not discounting its veracity but possibly its location, John 8:12 picks up with possibly another teaching on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. After His last talk the guards returned to those who had sent them and we had the intense discussion that ended John chapter 7. Quite possibly Jesus came again to speak to these same people as indicated by the first word of verse 2. He began again by saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” As indicated in John 7 there were those in the crowd who recognized Jesus as being sent by God as either the Prophet or the Christ. The believed His words and probably needed to know what to do next. 

His words were simple. He told them that He was the light of the world. Around them was darkness and confusion. There was the burden of the law which they could not fulfill. There was the burden of living under a foreign oppression under which they had no power. There was a lost-ness for which they had no answer other than to know that one day God would hear their voice and send His once and for all deliverer. Those who knew the Scriptures knew that God was the originator of light. He created light according by the power of His word (Genesis 1:3-5.) He was the creator of the sun, moon, and stars placing them in the heavens to provide light by day and night (Genesis 1:15-18). In Exodus they read from Moses that God led by going before them in a pillar of fire by night in order to give them light (Exodus 13:21-22). They knew of the golden lampstand of the tabernacle hammered from pure gold (25:31-40). They may have known the words of Job in chapter 17 (and elsewhere) and his words about the light of God. They may have known the many words of the psalmists where we read things such as:

“For it is You who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.” (Psalm 18:28, ESV) 

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, ESV) 

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:9, ESV) 

“Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.” (Psalm 97:11, ESV) 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV) 

“If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” (Psalm 139:11–12, ESV) 

Then there are the words of the prophets. Isaiah wrote of the last days, “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.” (Isaiah 2:2–5, ESV) 

“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16, ESV) 

“He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”” (Isaiah 49:6, NASB95)

The verses of Scripture continue to proclaim God as the source of light, and as spoken through Isaiah they also proclaim the One coming as a light to the nations. God made a promise to His people and Isaiah is one of those used by God to speak its ultimate fulfillment with boldness. “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory. “Your sun will no longer set, nor will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be over.” (Isaiah 60:19–20, NASB95) 

Jesus stood before the crowd and boldly proclaimed to them that He was that light, and that anyone who followed Him would never walk in darkness. For those who believed this must have given them great hope and proven a great relief. For those who opposed Him the intensity of their disdain must have been ratcheted up immensely. Before them stood One who claimed to be the very fulfillment of all that God had promised. We see this in the Pharisees who challenged Him as one man against many. “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”

Earlier in John 5:31 when Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees after healing the lame man in His previous trip to Jerusalem, Jesus had said, “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.” (John 5:31, ESV) The Pharisees likely thought it was their great opportunity to use Jesus’ own words against Him, by pointing to Him as a singular voice on this matter. Being a single voice they asserted that He then would be a liar. What they missed or neglected to consider was that in this earlier confrontation Jesus also went on to demonstrate in various ways just how He was not that singular voice, but was rather the consistent fulfillment of many voices that had gone before and even accompanied Him.

He responded here to the Pharisees by saying, “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. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet 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. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness about Me.” He said a whole lot to them in this one response. He told them that just because He was speaking about Himself did not make Him a liar. He was telling them the truth. They did not know Him. They did not know where He came from, and their standard of judgment was woefully inadequate. He reaffirmed that He indeed was sent by the Father and then He went on to reassert that the Father Himself spoke of Him. In John chapter 5 Jesus cited the works which He did beyond that which any man could do as a proof. He cited the words of the prophets and the Scriptures. He cited the work of the Spirit in the hearts of those whose hearts truly wanted to seek after God, and He cited the words of Moses before them who all spoke for God of the truth of Jesus’ claims. The Father had spoken of Him and the Pharisees were determined to reject Him regardless of any proof that Jesus might give. They were insistent upon living in darkness under to overwhelming proof of the Light, and as such they were going to be judged accordingly.

Refusing to equate God the Father as the Father of Jesus, the Pharisees demanded to see Jesus’ father so that he could speak for himself. His response was, “You know neither Me nor my Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” He didn’t mince any words. They did not know God and they did not know the Son of God. They were so closely aligned that you could not know one without the other. You could not accept one and reject the other. This is simply how it was, and how it continues to be today. In another one of Jesus’ “I am” statements He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)

Our passage for today concludes, “These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; but no one arrested Him, because His hour had not yet come.” Since that time every single one of those Pharisee’s time has come. They have all died and unless any of them trusted in Christ prior to that date they remain judged awaiting that day when they are eternally sentenced for their refusing to believe. For those who believed and who also died, their eternity is totally different, having stepped from death into life. They truly have the light of life that never changes or fades.