John 09:01-41, “Blind Man Seeing, Seeing Men Blind”

Posted on June 29, 2014September 22, 2014 by J. Gary Ellison

Christ Healing the Blind Man (Photo credit: Lawrence OP)

Introduction

Have you had your eyes checked lately? How is your vision? I know a blind lady with perfect vision. And I know people with perfectly good vision who are totally blind. Today we will see a man who was born blind but who obtained perfect vision. And we will see men with perfect vision who could not see because they would not see.

Of the five main senses that God has given man—sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing—many of us would consider sight the most important. A lot of deaf people live fairly normal lives. They can drive vehicles, go where they want to go, read books, even watch television. But the sightless person faces many more challenges. Many are very creative and seem to overcome obstacles and shine in areas where many of us do not shine.

In John 9, we find the story of a man born blind who by the end of the story, had perfect vision. But those who claimed to have perfect vision, turned out to be totally blind. This is the story of two responses to Jesus: a blind man who sees Jesus for he is, and seeing men who would not see. And then there’s the question that keeps coming up in this story: Who sinned?

1.THE SETTING

1.1.The Question: Who Sinned?

The story begins when Jesus and his disciples come upon a man who had been blind from birth.

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth (John 9:1 ESV).

Jesus looks at the man, and the disciples, apparently taking their cue from this look, ask Jesus about the cause of the man’s blindness.

And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2 ESV).

The man was born blind. There had to be a cause. The disciples take for granted that someone has sinned. Their only question is, “Who sinned?”

Did this man sin? He is the one who is blind. He must have done something terrible to be born blind. But how could that be? Some of the Pharisees had the idea that it was possible to sin while still in the womb, before one was even born. Did this man somehow sin while he was still in his mother’s womb, something so bad that God would make him suffer with blindness from birth? That really didn’t sound right.

Perhaps it was his parents:

“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” (John 9:2 NLT)

The disciples assume that sin was the cause of this tragedy. In the Book of Job in the Old Testament, Job was the richest man of the east. He lost everything that he had: his wealth, his health, and even his family. All except for his wife who told him to curse God and die. Some friends came to comfort him, but they were so shocked at his appearance, that they could not speak for seven days. When they finally opened their mouths, all they could do is accuse Job of sinning. They said that God would never allow this to happen to a righteous man. But they were wrong. The first verse of Job tells us that Job “was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1 ESV). In the closing chapters, God himself rebukes Job’s miserable comforters for falsely accusing him.

Still the question persists. We are all too ready to point the finger, to assign blame. 1 Corinthians 11:30 tells us that sometimes sickness and even death is the result of sin. But not always. And not in this case.

“Rabbi,” the disciples ask, “who sinned?” The disciples are right to expect Jesus to know. In John 2:24-25, John tells us that Jesus knew all people; he himself knew what as in man. Jesus knew who was going to betray him (John 6:64). He knew all that was going to happen to him (John 18:4). And Peter will say to him, “Lord, you know everything” (John 21:17). The question was not the best, but the disciples were right to ask Jesus. Jesus knew why this man was born blind. Who else could explain that? Who else could explain why bad things happen? Who else could tell why a man was born blind? These are questions that only God himself could answer. On every page, John is showing us that Jesus is God the Son, God in the flesh, the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14).

1.2.The Answer

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:3-5 ESV).

“You are wrong on both counts,” Jesus said. One translation puts it this way:

Jesus replied, “Neither one—not he, not his parents. Nevertheless, this is an opportunity for God’s acts to be exhibited in him (John 9:3 MIT).

How do you see problems? Are you looking for the cause? Or are you looking for the solution? Jesus looks at this problem—a man’s blindness—and sees it as an opportunity to do something for God. The disciples are saying, “Who did this? Who is to blame? Who is at fault here?” Jesus says, “This is an opportunity to do something that will reveal the glory of God.” This is not some academic exercise. This is real life. There are people all around who need your help. We don’t need to be pointing the finger, assessing blame, trying to figure our who is at fault. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite passed on the other side when they saw a man who had been left half dead on the roadside. The Samaritan went to the man, bound up his wounds, and showed mercy on him. Jesus tells us to do likewise.

We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work (John 9:4 ESV).

God has give us work to do. “We must work the works,” Jesus said, and now is the time to do it.

1.3.The Solution

The Healing (vs. 6-7).In this chapter of 41 verses, only two describe the actual healing.The description is repeated in verses 11 and 15 before the friends of the blind man, and before the Pharisees, but nothing new is added.Jesus spat on the ground, made mud with his saliva, and smeared the man’s eyes with the mud.He then told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam.We are not told how the man got their, but he came back seeing.

The man was blind at birth. He had known nothing but darkness for his entire existence. Nothing but thick, impenetrable, blackness all around. Never had he even seen a flicker of light. But before the story ends, he would see more than a flicker of light. This man would see the Light of the World:

As long as I am in the world, (Jesus says,) I am the light of the world” (John 9:5 ESV).

It was in chapter 8:12, in the debate with the Jewish authorities that Jesus declared that he was the Light of the World. Now that Light will shine in the dark corners of this blind man’s soul, making everything clear and brighter than the noonday sun.

In two verses, John describes the healing:

Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud⁷and 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).

Jesus spat on the ground, made mud with his saliva, and smeared the man’s eyes with the mud. He then told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. Spit. Mud. And a pool named Siloam which means Sent.

The waters for this pool were probably sent from a spring. In John 4, Jesus said that he was the source of living water. Now in chapter 9:4, he says that he must work the works of him who sent him. Jesus is the one and only Son of God sent from the Father. You need to go to the one who was sent from God.

How did the blind man find the pool? We are not told. Perhaps with a walking stick. Perhaps he asked someone to take him there. However he got there, he obeyed. He went. He washed. And he came back seeing.

2.CONVERSATION 1: THE MAN AND HIS NEIGHBORS (9:8-12)

2.1.The Blind Man Sees!

Yes, he came back seeing. He came back to his place. He came back to his neighborhood where people had seen him sit and beg all his life. They knew the blind man, but this could not be him!

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”⁹Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man” (John 9:8-9 ESV).

This man’s appearance was greatly changed. He is no longer blind. His eyes are open. They are bright and shining. They are alive! “Is this the man?” “No, it can’t be!” “But it must be!” “Yes, I am the man! I am the man!” They could hardly believe their eyes that this was the same man.

So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” (John 9:10 ESV).

2.2.The First Step Toward Perfect Vision: “The Man Called Jesus”

Here we come to the man’s first step toward perfect vision. “How were you eyes opened?” they asked him.

His response: “The man called Jesus…” He does not know much about Jesus. He has heard of him. He has possibly heard of his teaching or of his miracles, but all he can say is,

“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”¹²They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know” (John 9:11-12 ESV).

The first steps of faith in Jesus begin simply.

Here we have a remarkable event. Everyone knows that this man was born blind. They know that he used to sit and beg for his living. Suddenly, all that has changed. The man can see! How did this happen? Spit, mud, a pool called Siloam, and—oh yes—a man called Jesus. What does this mean? How could this happen? There must be an explanation! Let’s ask the religious authorities! They will know what this means! Let’s take this man to the Pharisees.

3.CONVERSATION 2: INTERROGATION BY THE PHARISEES (9:13-17)

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind (John 9:13 ESV).

3.1.Not On the Sabbath!

It is only now that we learn that this healing took place on the Sabbath:

Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes (John 9:14 ESV).

There it is again: Jesus made mud. Five times in this chapter we read that Jesus made mud and anointed the blind man’s eyes with it. Now we learn that it was the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and anointed the man’s eyes.

This brought Jesus into conflict with the Pharisees on several accounts:

Since the man’s life was not in danger, they thought that Jesus should have waited until another day to heal (cf. Luke 13:14).
The Jewish authorities had a list of 39 activities that they had forbidden people to do on the Sabbath. One of the 39 activities forbidden in the Mishnah was kneading like when you knead bread dough.^[1] Jesus had kneaded the clay with his spittle to make mud.
Anointing the eyes on the Sabbath was also forbidden in the Talmud.^[2] But Jesus was not too concerned about the traditions of the elders.He was bound only by the Word of God not by man-made traditions that were added to the Word of God.

Why did Jesus use mud and spit? This was no accident. Jesus purposefully made mud on the Sabbath. He used mud to unleash a controversy on the Sabbath. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and he showed that the point of the Sabbath is rest and restoration of our bodies. The very first time the Sabbath is mentioned in the Bible is in Exodus 16, when God gives the Israelites the manna in the wilderness. It is not mentioned before. It is in the wilderness that God gave his people the Sabbath, telling them that they were not to gather manna on the Sabbath. The point of the Sabbath is that God’s manna—God’s provision of the Bread of Life, Christ Jesus our Lord—eternal life is not of works; it is the gift of God.

Jesus made mud on the Sabbath to bring about the controversy that we find in John 9.

So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them (John 9:15-16 ESV).

The religious authorities are divided. Some of them say that Jesus is a sinner, that he is not from God. But others wonder how he could open the eyes of a man born blind if he were a sinner. So these Pharisees, these religious authorities, these doctors of the law are now reduced to ask a poor blind beggar his opinion: “What do you have to say about him?It was your eyes he opened” (John 9:17 ESV).

3.2.The Second Step of Faith

He said, “He is a prophet” (John 9:17 ESV).

We see that the blind man has progressed in his understanding.When asked by his acquaintances how his eyes were opened, he could only say that it was done by “a man named Jesus” (v. 11).Now he calls him a prophet.Perhaps we find this insufficient, but this directly contradicts what some of the Jewish authorities were saying. They were saying that he was not from God. In declaring that Jesus was a prophet, the blind man was saying that Jesus was from God.

4.CONVERSATION 3 (9:18-23) – MAN AND HIS PARENTS

This miracle was so extraordinary, that the Pharisees were not yet convinced that it had happened. The formerly blind man has taken a second step in his faith while the Jewish authorities have taken another step in unbelief. Perhaps this was just a farce. So they interrogate the man’s parents:

¶ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight¹⁹and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”²⁰His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.²¹But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”²²(His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)²³Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him” (John 9:18-23 ESV).

But the parents would only confirm that this was their son and that he had been blind.To say any more risked excommunication from the synagogue and from Israel.

John Piper says, “The point is not mainly to be too hard on them, but to throw into stark relief how unfearing this beggar is.”

5.CONVERSATION 4 (9:24-34) – FULL BLOWN COURAGE AND BLASPHEMY

5.1.Name of the Game: Intimidation

Not satisfied with the responses of the parents, the Pharisees called for the blind man again. “Give glory to God,” they charge him. In Joshua 7:19 this formula is used to encourage Achan to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“We know this man is a sinner,” they said.The Pharisees no longer seem to be divided. There is a united front. At any rate, those who wondered how a sinner could give sight to the blind kept silent.Maybe they too were fearful of the consequences.

“We know that this man is a sinner,” declared the religious experts. “Join us in our blasphemy or we’ll excommunicate you out of Judaism.”^[3] This is huge. If you get disciplined by your church, you can either accept it or go find another church. But this is being marked and cut off from Israel.

Nonetheless, this line of intimidation will not work.Try as they will, they cannot get him to move “from a position he knows to be right.He does not know anything about Jesus and thus does not know whether or not he is a sinner.But he has one important certainty: I was blind from birth. I never saw the sun rise or set. I never saw the beautiful flowers that I could smell. I heard birds sing but could never admire them in flight. I heard my mother’s lovely voice, but was never able to look into her face. “I know one thing: I was blind, but now I see” (v. 25).

Nobody is going to shake a man out of a certainty like that. A man with an experience, it is said, is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. And, as it was Jesus who gave him his sight, nobody is going to make him takes sides against Jesus.”^[4]

5.2.Tell Us Again!

So they ask him again how Jesus opened his eyes.Perhaps through a second round of interrogation, they could uncover some contradictions and show that this was nothing more than a sham.With a twinkle in his eye he responded, “I told you once and you didn’t pay attention,” he said.

“…Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” (John 9:27 ESV).

This word “also” indicates that the blind man has begun to think of himself as a disciple of this Jesus.

Step 1: The man called Jesus.

Step 2: He is a prophet from God.

Step 3: I’m a disciple.

Unable to resist his logic, the Pharisees, as refined and sophisticated as they were, began to hurl insults at the man.

And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from” (John 9:28-29 ESV).

Here the religious authorities inadvertently admitted their ignorance: “We don’t even know where he comes from.”

They left themselves wide open.”Now that is remarkable.You don’t know…”The man had been blind all his life, but behind those blind eyes was a logical mind. The blind man marshals his argument:

“Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes (John 9:30 ESV)
You say he is a sinner, but “we know that God does not listen to sinners” (John 9:31 ESV).
if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him (John 9:31 ESV).
Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind (John 9:32 ESV).
If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:33 ESV).^[5]

Unable to resist his argument, the Pharisees insulted him and resorted to violence: “You were born steeped in sin, and now you are lecturing us?”Then they threw him out.This probably means that they excommunicated him, since it is emphasized in both verses 34 and 35.In any case, it was not a good sign.It meant trouble for the man.

6.CONVERSATION 5 (V. 35-38) – JESUS AND THE BEGGAR

This is amazing: Jesus sought him out. He was cast out; Jesus sought him out. To whom will he turn; he doesn’t need to turn. It is no accident that the next chapter is about the good shepherd who gathered his sheep.^[6]

Jesus came looking for the man.He heard that the blind man had been excommunicated, so he sought him out.As Chrysostom put it: “The Jews cast him out of the Temple; the Lord of the Temple found him.”^[7]

Now the blind man had never seen Jesus’ face, but he recognized his voice.”Never in all his life would he forget the voice that had told him to go and wash in Siloam!”^[8]

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9:35 ESV).

Jesus was obviously looking for people to “believe in the Son of Man.”And if Jesus wanted him to believe in the Son of Man, the formerly blind man was willing to believe in him.But who was he?This man was so fundamentally honest that he would neither cower to the Pharisees, nor would he profess faith in someone he did not know.”Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”Jesus said, “You have now seen him, for it is he who is speaking with you.”

The words of Jesus brought a new enlightenment.At that moment the man opened his eyes and saw something he had never seen before.He had begun by called Jesus “a man named Jesus.”Then he called him a prophet.Then he marshaled an argument proving that Jesus was from God.Finally he recognized that Jesus was the Son of Man, and bowed down and worshipped him.

This man worshipped Jesus. The word is προσκυνέω (proskuneo) and this is the tenth time that we find it in John’s Gospel. The first nine times are in John 4:20-24 where Jesus says that God is seeking true worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth.

In speaking of Jesus, the Word made flesh, John says in 1:18,

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known (John 1:18 ESV).

This man worships Jesus.

7.THE CONDEMNATION OF THOSE WHO SEE (vs. 39-41)

In verse 39 Jesus says, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”It is strange to hear Jesus speak of coming for judgment.In 3:17 we read, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

“It is not the purpose of the shining of the sun to cast shadows.But where the sun shines upon opaque objects, shadows are inevitable.It is not the purpose of the coming of the Son of God to bring condemnation.But when his offered salvation is rejected, condemnation is inevitable.”^[9]

The Pharisees, despite their advantages, regressed in their understanding.They started with the firm conviction that Jesus was not from God (v. 16).Then they questioned the reality of the miracle he had done (v. 18).They declared their certainty that Jesus was a sinner (v. 24), and made other statements revealing their spiritual ignorance (v. 29).Finally, they were shown to be both blind and sinful (v. 41).^[10]

In answer to the question, “Who sinned?” several possibilities were suggested.The man himself.The mans parents.Jesus was accused of sin.But the guilty ones in this story are those who insist that they see.”If you were blind,” Jesus said, “you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

There is a kind of blindness that is rooted in willful rebellion against God, a moral spiritual blindness, that does not remove guilt. There is a blindness that does not want to see the light, or confess that our works are works of darkness. This does not diminish our guilt; it is our guilt. It does not remove accountability.

The first glimmer of light in the soul is to say, “I’m blind.”^[11]

If we will acknowledge our blindness, Jesus will show us the light.But if we insist that we see, there is nothing that he can show us.

8.WE WERE ALL BORN BLIND!

This blind man is us. We were all born blind. It takes a work of God to open our eyes to see the truth.

Four questions:^[12]

Do you worship Jesus?
Do you find your worship of Jesus deepening or weakening in the face of threat and danger. It took a miracle for this man’s faith to get stronger and stronger as the opposition intensified.
Does your worship falter or flourish when your family is unbelieving?
Do you confess Jesus openly and defend him with your personal testimony? 95% of Christians are saved through seeing the truth of the gospel.

Three statements:

God has wise good, Christ-exalting purposes that happens to you.
Jesus is the path to the full, final, joyful experience of that good purpose.
Jesus sought out this nobody, this beggar, and He is seeking you right now. That is why you tuned in today and heard this story. He wants to make you a worshipper of Jesus.

Ask Jesus to open the eyes of your heart.

See also “Gospel of John”:

[1]Shabbath 7:2

[2]According to a later Jewish tradition (Babylonian Talmud Abodah Zarah 28b) there was an opinion that it was not permitted to anoint an eye on the Sabbath.The Jerusalem Talmud Shabbath 14d and 17f says that one may not put fasting spittle on the eyes on the Sabbath.See Brown, The Gospel According to John, 373.

[3]John Piper

[4]Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 359.

[5]Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 360.

[6]John Piper

[7]Barclay, The Gospel of John, 49.

[8]Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 364.

[9]Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 366.

[10]Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 357.

[11]John Piper

[12]These questions and statements are suggested by John Piper.

John 08:48-59, “Who Does Jesus Make Himself Out To Be?”

Posted on June 15, 2014September 22, 2014 by J. Gary Ellison

What do you think of Christ? Even when Jesus walked on this earth, just like today, there were many different opinions about him. The crowds had various opinions. The Jewish authorities took a different position concerning Christ. The disciples held their cherished beliefs and hopes about Jesus. In addition these divergent viewpoints, there was the Jesus’ own understanding of who he was, where he came from, who sent him, and the vital mission that he came to accomplish.

The Jewish authorities ask Jesus the vital question that is found in our text today: “Who do you make yourself out to be? Just who do you think you are?”

Stay tuned!

MUSIC: JOYFUL, JOYFUL SIGN-ON

Thank you for joining us for the Joyful News Broadcast, a ministry of Joy Bible Institute in Port Vila.

1.WHO IS JESUS?

In John 8:47-59, we find the conclusion of a dialogue between Jesus and the Jewish authorities concerning his claims. It was during the great feast of Tabernacles, one of the three most important feast of the Jews. There was a tremendous amount of discussion and speculation about Jesus. Some believed that he was the Christ, but the Jewish authorities wanted to kill him.

The Jewish authorities were looking for him, trying to find a way to arrest him, while the crowds were wondering if Jesus would show up at the feast.

And suddenly, there he was, teaching in the temple. The claims that he made were staggering:

He promised to give the Holy Spirit to those who would come to him (7:37-39).
He claimed to be the Light of the world (8:12).
He said that whoever knew him, also knew God the Father (8:19).
He told those who believed in him, that if they continued to obey his word, they would really be his disciples, and they would know the truth, and the truth would set them free (8:31-32).

These are amazing claims. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to his followers. He does not simply promise to lead people to the light; he is the Light of the world. He does not simply tell people about God; he says that to know him is to know God. And he promises freedom from sin to those who remain faithful to his teachings.

Who can make such staggering claims about himself? What kind of a man is he? This kind of talk provoked the Jewish authorities to ask the question:

John 8:53 NLT Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

Who did Jesus think he was?

MUSIC: BOB BENNETT – CARPENTER GONE BAD – 3:30 – 14 second lead-in

1.1.Public Opinion

On one occasion, Jesus asked his disciples about public opinion. It was not that Jesus did not know, or that he was concerned about opinion polls. He was leading up to a more important question. So he asked his disciples,

Matthew 16:13-14 NLT …”Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”¹⁴“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

That may sound impressive: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. People compared Jesus to one or another of the great prophets in the history of Israel. That sounds impressive to us. Men who were greatly used of God in the past. But is that all that Jesus was? Simply a great prophet?

Today, some people still think of Jesus as simply a great teacher or a great prophet. Islam considers Jesus to be a prophet, but the first Christians would understand that Jesus was so much more than than just a great prophet.

Jesus is talking with his disciples. These men would have the responsibility of carrying on his work after his departure into heaven. Public opinion was one thing, but it was much more important that his disciples get it right. It was essential that these men who were to carry the gospel—the good news about Jesus Christ—to the ends of the earth… it was imperative that they know who he was. You cannot share the good news of Jesus Christ if you do not know who Jesus Christ is.

So Jesus turned the question to his disciples. “Others say that I am John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Matthew 16:15-16 NLT Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus is not merely a prophet, not even a great prophet, Peter says. He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One that the prophets had prophesied would come. And more than that, he is the Son of the living God. Like Father, like Son. As Son of the living God, he had the same nature as the living God: eternal, all powerful, all knowing, all wise. The Apostle Paul says it like this in Philippians 2:6,

Philippians 2:6-7 NLT Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.⁷Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being…

Was Peter right in what he said about Jesus? When he said that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, did he get the answer right? Did Jesus accept what Peter said about him? This is what Jesus said in response,

Matthew 16:17 NLT Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

Peter’s understanding did not come from logic or observation, Jesus said. Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God, was the result of a revelation from Jesus’ own Father in heaven.

1.2.Diverse Opinions

Just as there were many inadequate opinions about Jesus when he walked the land of Israel, there are many defective opinions about Jesus Christ today. While many recognize that Jesus was more than an ordinary man, and many recognize that he existed before his virgin birth in Nazareth, their opinions about Jesus are nonetheless faulty.

Some say that Jesus was an angel. Some say an archangel. Some say that Jesus was the archangel Michael in the Old Testament. While that may sound good to us, it dishonors Jesus Christ who claimed to be equal with God in John 5:17. John tells us that “he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

Angels are not equal with God. Archangels are not equal with God. They are creatures. God is not a creature; he is the Creator. Creatures are not eternal; they have a beginning point in time. The Son of God had no beginning. He is eternal. As John tells us in the very first verse of this Gospel,

John 1:1 ESV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Others say that Jesus Christ was a god. They say that he is not Almighty God; he is just “a god.” He is “a god”—“a mighty god”—that God Almighty created, but he is not the Almighty God. So according to their teaching, there is the Almighty God and a mighty god. But that makes two gods. That teaching is not the monotheism of the Bible. That is polytheism, the belief in more than one god. That is not the teaching of the Bible. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that there is only one God:

Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

John 17:3 ESV And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Yet still others say that both Jesus and Satan were spirit children of God and that Jesus and Satan are brothers. Well, this is scandalous and is not at all the teaching of the Bible, the Word of God. You may find that false teaching in other books that people have added to the Bible, but you will never find that in God’s Word.

If you have never heard such teachings of men before, consider yourself blessed. But I mention these things because we live in the last days when there are many false teachers in the world and even here in Vanuatu.

2.IS JESUS DEMON-POSSESSED?

2.1.Round One

What kind of man would make the claims that Jesus made? In addition to the claims that we have already mentioned today,

Jesus said that he had the right to be honored as God is honored.
He said that he does the works of God.
He said that God had committed all judgment of men to him.
Jesus said that just like the Father, he gives life to whom he will.
He said that he was the Bread of Life, the very source of life.
In 8:45-47, Jesus implies that his words are the very words of God:

John 8:45-47 ESV But 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.”

What kind of man would make such claims? As we have stated before, in the words of C. S. Lewis, Jesus must be a liar, a lunatic, or he is Lord.

The Jewish authorities said that Jesus had a demon:

John 8:48 ESV The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

The New Living Translation puts it this way,

John 8:48 NLT The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

They called him a Samaritan. The Jews despised the Samaritans. They considered them to be half-breeds and people who had compromised the truth. Jesus does not respond to this slur, this insult. If anything, Jesus identifies with the downcast, those who are despised. He does not even respond to this part of the insult.

But the charge of being demon-possessed is far more serious. They are attributing the works of God to Satan.

John 8:49 ESV Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.

Jesus has made many absolute claims. He comes from the Father and bears witness to the truth. He does not seek his own glory. He seeks to honor his Father. But in dishonoring Jesus, they dishonor his Father who seeks to glorify his Son:

John 8:50 ESV Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.

The Son glorifies the Father, and the Father glorifies the Son.

2.2.Round Two

In verse 51, we start another round. Jesus has just stated that the Jewish authorities do not believe him because they are not of God but of their father the devil. In response to his absolute claims, they insult him as a Samaritan and accuse him of having a devil.

Jesus does not back down. He makes another outstanding claim:

John 8:51 ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

This is another one of his solemn declarations opened with the words, “Truly, truly” or in the Greek, “Amen, amen.” Jesus draws attention to the absolute truth of what he is declaring: “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

How can this be? How are we to take this seriously?

The Jewish authorities respond violently:

John 8:52 ESV 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.’

It is absolutely true because those who keep Jesus’ words have already passed from death to life:

John 5:24 ESV Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

On January 31, 2014, my father, at the age of 83, entered into the presence of God. At 18 years of age, he was gloriously saved and passed from death to life. In January, he simply passed through the veil into the presence of God. His communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit was not interrupted by death. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:38-39 that even death itself cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Again the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:23-24 NET I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,²⁴but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.

Mat 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

We read in Hebrews 12:23 that when we come together to worship, we come “to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”

The dead in Christ are not literally asleep. They are alive in the presence of God. Whoever keeps his word, Jesus said, “will never see death.”

Jesus has once again made an amazing declaration that the Jewish authorities are unable to accept: “If anyone keeps my word, he will never die.”

John 8:52-53 NLT The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

3.“WHO DO YOU MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE?”

There it is! That’s the question! Who does Jesus make himself out to be? Who does he pretend to be?

3.1.Greater than Abraham

The Jews ask Jesus, “Are you greater than our father Abraham?”

This question keeps coming up.

The Samaritan woman had asked Jesus a similar question: “Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well?” Jesus told her in effect that as a matter of fact he was greater he was greater than Jacob. Everyone who drank from Jacob’s well got thirsty again and eventually died, but whoever drinks from the water that Jesus gives never thirsts again. Instead the living water that Jesus gives becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14).
The Jews unfavorably compared Jesus to Moses who they said had given their fathers manna in the wilderness. Jesus implied that he was greater than Moses for all who ate the manna died, but whoever eats the Bread of Life that is Christ himself, will never die (John 6).
Once again, Jesus is compared with one of the luminaries of this history of Israel: “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”
Jesus offers something that neither Jacob, nor Moses, nor even Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, could offer. Jesus offers eternal life: “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
Yet Jesus is not glorifying himself:

John 8:54-55 ESV 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.’⁵⁵But you have not known him…

This is a terrible indictment. They claimed God, but they did not know him: “You say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him.”

We claim God, but do we know him? Jesus is not talking about simply believing in him. He is talking about knowing him: “You have not known him,” he says.

I know who Prime Minister Tony Abbott is, but I do not know him. I know who President Barack Obama is, and I know things about him, but I do not know him.

These Jewish people knew a lot about God and what he had done in the history of the nation, but they did not know God.

Again, “This is eternal life,” Jesus prayed, “that they may know you, the one true God, and your Son Jesus Christ whom you have sent into the world” (John 17:3).

You know some things about God. You claim that God is your God. But are you really any better off than these Jewish leaders who did not know God?

John 8:55 ESV 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.

Those who know God keep his word.

3.2.Seen by Abraham

John 8:56 ESV Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

Jesus never backs down. He makes one astonishing statement after another. Now he claims that Abraham was overjoyed as he looked forward to Christ’s coming. And he saw it and was glad!

How is that?

Abraham was a prophet (Genesis 20:7). And God had made promises to him concerning Christ (Galatians 3:16). By faith, Abraham saw the fulfillment of the promises (Hebrews 11:13).

No rabbi would object to Jesus’ claim that Abraham would see the messianic era. But Jesus does not say this. Instead, he says: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad”(italics added). The messianic era is now fulfilled in Christ.

The attitude of Abraham was totally different from that of the Jewish authorities. Abraham rejoiced at seeing Christ the Messiah. “Jesus identifies the ultimate fulfillment of all Abraham’s hopes and joys with his own person and work.” Jesus claims that Abraham had seen his day, that is, “the Day of the Lord.”

3.3.How Old Is Jesus?

John 8:57 ESV So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

Rather than accepting what Jesus said and meant, the Jews dismiss his claim. Abraham lived and died 2000 years before Christ. So how could Abraham have seen the coming of Jesus? They could have easily understood that Jesus was referring to himself as the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, but they reject his claim out of hand.

4.JESUS, THE GREAT “I AM”

So Jesus has one more stunning claim to make. Again he solemnly announces, “I tell you the truth…”

John 8:58 ESV … ”Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

“Before Abraham was, I am.” What did Jesus mean?

The Jews knew exactly what he meant. They responded with violence. They picked up stones to throw at him:

John 8:59 ESV So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Why did they do that? They recognized that Jesus was claiming to be God. “Who do you make yourself out to be?” they had asked (John 8:53). They got their answer and they did not like it.

Had Jesus “wanted to claim only that he existed before Abraham, it would have been simpler to say, ‘Before Abraham was, I was.’”

But Jesus does not say that. He clearly says, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

“I am” what? Just, “I AM.” “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

This is not the first time Jesus uses this phrase, “I AM” without a predicate.

John 8:24 ESV I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

John 8:28 ESV 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.

In both cases, the pronoun “he” is supplied by the translators. It is not in the Greek text. Finally in this stunning response, Jesus simply says, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”

New Testament scholars believe that Jesus is clearly identifying himself with Yahweh, the name of God.

When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush to send him to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, Moses asked God, “Whom shall I say sent me?”

God responded, “Tell them that I AM sent you.” “I AM that I AM.” “I am the one who is.” “I am the one whose existence depends on no one else.” “I AM.”

Time and again in Isaiah, God refers to himself as “I am…” While the English translations add the pronoun “he,” the Greek translation of the Old Testament says exactly what Jesus was saying, “Ego eimi.” “I AM.”

Isa 41:4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isa 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

Isa 43:13 Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”

Isa 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Isa 46:4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Isa 48:12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.

John 8:57-58 NLT The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”⁵⁸Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!”

This is what John is telling us on every page of this Gospel: Jesus is God in the flesh. The opening words of this Gospel tell us that Jesus is God:

John 1:1 NLT In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Again in verse 18 of chapter 1,

John 1:18 ESV No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

CONCLUSION

What is your response to this claim that Jesus was God? Do you, like the Jews, want to pick up stones? Do you react violently to the teaching of Christ about himself, the teaching that he was God in a human body? The Word who was God—that Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Many reject his claims. They water them down. They diminish his claims. They dishonor Christ and they dishonor God.

John 8:24 …unless you believe that I am, (Jesus said,) you will die in your sins.”

The only other appropriate response is to worship him. In the next chapter of John, John 9, Jesus heals a man born blind.

John 9:38 ESV He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

In John 20:28, Thomas will call Jesus “My Lord and my God.”

Where are you friend? This is no new teaching that I have shared with you today. This is the teaching of the New Testament and has been the teaching of all true churches: Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, Presbyterian, Nazarene, Pentecostal, and others. Jesus Christ is God.

John 20:30-31 ESV Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;³¹but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

See also “Gospel of John”:

John 08:31-47, “Children of God, or Sons of Satan?”

Posted on June 8, 2014September 22, 2014 by J. Gary Ellison

Genealogy window, Canterbury Cathedral (Photo credit: TheRevSteve)

Whose child are you?

We recognize that fathers are important. There are but two men on all of human history who had no father: the first Adam and the last Adam. The first man, Adam, who was formed by God from the dust of the ground, and Jesus of Nazareth, who is called the last Adam in 1 Corinthians, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Every other man in the history of humanity had an earthly father.

Whose child are you? The Bible puts great stress on genealogy. The opening chapters of the Book of Genesis trace the generations from Adam to Noah, from the Creation to the Flood. After the Flood, the genealogical record is picked up again from the three sons of Noah down through the Tower of Babel to the calling of Abraham in Genesis 12.

From there the line is traced from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Jacob’s 12 sons who would become the 12 tribes of Israel. From the Exodus from Egypt, to the establishment of the kingdom of Israel, to the exile in Babylon, to the return from exile, close genealogical records were kept. The records were kept because God had promised a Messiah through the line of Judah and the line of David, a King who would forever sit upon the throne of his father David.

Coming to the New Testament, Matthew and Luke pick up the genealogical line from Adam and from Abraham and show that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne, the One who had been promised by God.

Today, inheritance is often determined by genealogical records. The father passes his inheritance to his sons. Land is inherited from the father.

Character Traits

It is not only rights to reign or land or inheritance that is passed from father to son. Character and mannerisms and other traits are often passed from father to son. As the son of my father, I will sometimes do something or feel something, and say to myself, “Wow! That was just like Dad!”

I imagine that most of know who our father is. Many of us grew up in a home where the father was present and exercised a great deal of influence on the family and on the children. The presence of a father helps us to find our identity, to know who we are. We have a saying in English, “Like father, like son.” Or in French, “Tel père, tel fils.” We say that a child is a “chip off the old block.” When you chop wood, the chips of wood that fly are of the same nature as the block that you are chopping.

The earlier form of this phrase is ‘chip of the same block’. The block in question may have been stone or wood. It dates back to at least 1621, when it appears in that form in Bishop (of Lincoln) Robert Sanderson’s Sermons:

“Am not I a child of the same Adam … a chip of the same block, with him?”

The phrase “a chip of the old block” means that the son behaves in the same way as his father or resembles his father.”

The influence of fathers on sons is great. So when I ask, “Whose child are you?” I am asking about the influence on your life. I am asking about your identity, who you identify as having the most important influence on your character.

In John 8, three fathers are mentioned, and none of them without importance. In fact, of the three fathers that are mentioned, only one of them was a human father. Besides our human father, every one of us is the child of another father. Every one of us has another father whose character we reflect. So when we try to answer the question, “Whose child are you?” we need to look beyond mere human genealogy. Whose child are you?

John 8:31-47

Our text today is John 8:31-47. Jesus is debating with the Jewish authorities. He has claimed to be the Light of the World (8:12). He has told the Jews, “Unless you believe that I am (he) you will die in your sins” (8:24). Beginning in verse 31, we hear him speaking in the strongest of terms, confronting the Jewish authorities for their sin. This Jesus is not some weakling. He is not intimidated by these men who are determined to kill him. He does not back down one bit. He confronts them, and yet he does so in love, but make no mistake: this is not a friendly dialogue. This is a debate that is full of manly energy. Here is the text:

John 8:31-47 ESV So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed 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 practices sin is a slave to sin.³⁵The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.³⁷I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.³⁸I 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.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.⁴³Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.⁴⁴You 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.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.”

Children of Abraham

This passage speaks of three fathers. First there is Abraham. He is the man whom the Jews considered to be their father. The Jews took great pride in their descent from Abraham, and they are greatly offended that Jesus would imply that they were slaves.

Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in 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” (John 8:31-32 ESV).

But they were greatly offended.

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’?” (8:33).

Many privileges came with being the children of Abraham. This is how Paul expresses it in…

Romans 9:4-8 NLT They (the Jews) are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.⁵Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

There were great privileges as well as responsibilities for the children of Abraham. They had received the Word of God, the promises and the blessing of the covenant that God had made with them.

Romans 3:2 NLT Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.

They also had the responsibility to share God’s Word with the nations. While the nation as a whole was not faithful to the task of evangelizing the nations, the prophets continually addressed their works not only to Israel but also to the surrounding nations, kingdoms, and empires.

As great as the privileges were, Paul goes on to tell us in Romans 9,

⁶Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!⁷Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too.⁸This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.

Being the children of Abraham was not simply a matter of biology. Descent from Abraham was no guarantee that one was right with God or that one was a child of God or that he would have a share in the kingdom of God.

Romans 2:28-29 NLT For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision.²⁹No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Being a child of God means having a new heart. God had promised in Ezekiel

²⁵ I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules (Eze 36:25-27 ESV).

The proof of the gospel is a new heart.

In verse 37, Jesus recognizes that the Jews are the offspring of Abraham, but in verse 39 he says, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works Abraham did.” Jesus may be making a distinction between offspring and children. In fact, in the original Greek text, the word is σπέρμα (Joh 8:33, 37 BNT). They had claimed to be the sperm or the seed of Abraham (8:33), and Jesus says, “I know that you are the seed of Abraham (8:37), but if you were the true children of Abraham you would act like your father (8:39).

They are doing what Abraham would never do: “you are seeking to kill me because my word finds no place in you” (8:37). Again in verses 39 and 40,

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.”

“Like father, like son”? Well, they were not acting like the man whom they claimed as their father.

Human Ancestry is Nothing

The Jews put their confidence in their ancestry. They were the offspring of Abraham, and they believed that that was all that mattered.

Are we any different today? We look at our ancestry and think we are okay with God. This is a Christian nation, so we are okay with God. It doesn’t matter how we live or what we do or what we think, long God yumi stanup. Just like the Jews who trusted in their descent from Abraham many people put their trust in their Christian heritage.

Heritage is a great thing and can be a great blessing. We think of people who laid down their lives to bring us the gospel. God moved in these islands and many people came to know the Lord. Some of us have descended from a significant line of Christians. But that has no value if we have not been saved from our sins.

I can trace back several generations of preachers in my family: my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and my great-great-grandfather. But that has no value unless I am born again, unless I become a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Nicodemus was a very religious man, a chef of the Pharisees. He would pray and fast and tithe on everything, but Jesus told him that even he had to be born again. There must be a new birth, a birth into the family of God. Whose child are you?

Violence toward Christ

Jesus pushes this issue with the Jews. They claim to be the offspring of Abraham.

John 8:37-41 NLT Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.³⁸I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.“³⁹“Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.⁴⁰Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.⁴¹No, you are imitating your real father.”

Here Jesus is claiming once again that God is his own Father. It is good for us to remember what John told us in John 5:18, that every time Jesus says “my father,” he claiming that “God is his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

Jesus is saying, “I am like my Father, and you are like your father. You claim to be the children of Abraham, but you are not acting like Abraham. You are trying to kill me. You are following the advice of your real father. I am telling you the truth that I heard from my Father, but you not acting like Abraham. You are acting like your real father.”

Who is their real father?

They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

Is that true? Is God really their Father?

Fatherhood of God

Some speak of the fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. It is true that we are all brothers and sisters in the sense that we all descended from one man, Adam.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth… (Act 17:24-26 ESV)

God has made us all. He is the Creator of us all. But Jesus clearly makes a distinction that the Jews are not ready to receive. The Jews claim that Abraham is their father. Jesus says that they are not acting like Abraham. Instead, they are acting like their true father.

“We are not illegitimate children,” they reply.

The Jews may have been implying that Jesus was illegitimate. In verse 19, they ask, “Where is your father?” Now in verse 41, they say, “We were not born of sexual immorality.” They may have been implying something about Mary. We know from the biblical record that she was still a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. Joseph did not know her physically until she brought forth her firstborn son. But the Jews did not know all this. There had been questions about Mary and Joseph.

But they still don’t get it. Jesus says that they are not acting like Abraham; they are acting like their real father. Who is that?

“We have one Father—even God,” they say.

But no, Jesus categorically denies that: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came no of m own accord, but he sent me.”

“If God were your Father,” Jesus says, “you would love me.” Do they love him? No. They want to kill him.

Who wants to kill Jesus? Most people are not openly hostile to Jesus. He is said to be one of the world’s greatest teachers. Some will say that he was a prophet. And if you say these things to most people, there will be little or no objection.

So why did the Jewish authorities want to kill Jesus? They wanted to kill him because he claimed to be much more than a great teacher or a great prophet. He claimed to be equal with God:

This was why the Jews were seeking al the more to kill him… he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God (5:18).

Again in chapter 7:2, “He would not go about in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.”

Jesus asks in 7:19, “Why do you seek to kill me?” In 7:25, “Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?” The Jewish authorities tried to arrest him in 7:30 and 44, but they could not because his hour had not yet come and because no one could take his life from him.

MUSIC: MICHAEL W. SMITH: SECRET AMBITION – 3:41

The Jewish authorities were violent toward Christ. Is it not the same today? When we begin to lay out the claims of Christ, some people get upset. People don’t like what Jesus said about himself. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” Jesus said, “no man comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6). Jesus said that he was the only way to God. People don’t like that. They want to keep their options open. They want to believe that there are many ways to God and that God is obligated to accept them however they come, whether through Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism or some other way. They don’t want to believe that Jesus is the only true God who is at the Father’s side as John tells us in John 1:18. They don’t want to believe that seeing Jesus is seeing God as Jesus told Philip in 14:9. They don’t want to believe that Jesus is “Lord and God” as Thomas declared in John 20:28.

But Jesus told the Jewish authorities, “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.”

“I came from God.” No mere mortal could make such a statement. Jesus is pointing to his divine origin. Unlike us, he came from God.

“Why do you not understand what I say?” he asks. Then he answers his own question: “It is because you cannot bear to hear my word” (8:43).

Again, we see the importance of the word of Christ. In verse 31, Jesus has said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:37 ESV I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

John 8:43 ESV Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

Finally, Jesus tells them what they do not understand. They have claimed to be the children of Abraham, but twice Jesus told them that rather than acting like the children of Abraham, they were acting like their father.

They claimed that God was their father. Jesus said that if God were their Father, they would love the Father’s Son.

So they are neither the children of Abraham nor the children of God. Then whose children are they?

Jesus finally drops the bomb in verse 44: “You are of your father the devil.”

We must understand that Jesus is not insulting them. He is simply telling them that they are acting like their father. “Like father, like son.” “Tel père, tel fils.”

John 8:44 ESV 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.

Satan was a murderer from the beginning. It was Satan who inspired Cain to kill his brother Abel. Now the Jewish authorities want to kill Jesus. They are resisting the truth about Christ, the truth that He is God in the flesh. They are resisting because the truth has no place in them. They are resisting because they cannot bear to hear his word. They are resisting because they are acting like their father, the devil.

This is true, not only of the Jewish authorities; it is true of us. The Bible says of us in…

Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV And you were dead in the trespasses and sins²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience–³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

We were following the course of this world. We were going with the flow. We were living like everyone else. We were living like the world, just doing what culture and society expected of us.

But we were not only following the course of the world; we were following the prince of the power of the air: Satan. He is the spirit that is now working in those who are disobedient to the gospel. We were living according to the passions of our flesh, doing whatever our body and mind desired. We were by nature children of wrath.

That is exactly what Jesus is saying when he says, “You are of your father the devil.” “Like father, like son.”

Whose child are you?

Who is your father? Physical descent has no importance when it comes to spiritual things. My father’s faith will not get me into heaven. God has no grandsons. I do not become a child of God by virtue of the faith of my parents.

There is only one way into God’s family: receiving Christ as your Lord and Savior.

John 1:12-13, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again” by the Spirit of God.

So what is the solution?

We come back to the word of verses 31-32,

John 8:31-32 ESV 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.”

See also “Gospel of John”:

John 08:31-36, “Life’s Greatest Freedom!”

Posted on June 1, 2014September 22, 2014 by J. Gary Ellison

Jesus Will Set You Free (Photo credit: Kevin Shorter)

Freedom. Every year, around the world, many countries celebrate independence. In less than two months, here in Vanuatu we will celebrate 34 years of independence on July 30, 2014. When we think of independence, we think of freedom. Freedom is one of the great ideas associated with independence. Freedom. But what is freedom? Today I’d like to speak to you about Life’s Greatest Freedom…

Introduction

What is life’s greatest freedom? We live in a free country. We have many freedoms. We have

Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Freedom of expression
Freedom of worship
Freedom of religion
Freedom to live and to travel
Freedom to work
Freedom to marry and to raise a family
Freedom to vote

We can be grateful for these freedoms. We can be thankful for the heritage that we have that enables us to enjoy these freedoms. It is a great thing to take responsibility. It is wonderful for a people to be able to govern themselves, choose their own leaders, provide for their own children, and live in a way that glorifies the Maker of Heaven and Earth. Long God yumi standup.

We also have freedom from certain things. We have…

Freedom from tyranny
Freedom from oppression
Freedom from persecution
Freedom from slavery

But are we really free?

Many people think that they are free but have never experienced the freedom that God wants to give them.

We have been considering the message of the Gospel of John. Last week we saw that Jesus is the Light of the World. As he was teaching in the temple, “many believed in him” (John 8:30). And so we arrive at…

John 8:31-36 ESV So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed 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 practices sin is a slave to sin.³⁵The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

So we come today to this most important passage about life’s greatest freedom. This passage contains one of those verses that is so well-known, that we don’t really know it at all. How many times have we heard the phrase, “The truth will set you free”? Many universities around the world take a motto from this passage. These universities are places of higher learning. They are interested in knowledge and in the communication of knowledge. Universities sometimes think that they have a corner on truth and knowledge. And as I said, some of them have adopted the motto, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

But the problem with this motto is that it is taken out of its context. This motto, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” is often used without any consideration of who said it, to whom it was addressed, or the conditions that are necessary to receive the benefit of this promise.

2. THE PROMISE OF FREEDOM

2.1. The Addressees

First we should note that Jesus makes a great promise in these verses, but that promise is addressed to a particular group of people. Jesus is not making a general promise that applies to all people in all places at all points of time. Jesus is not saying that all people will know the truth. He is not saying that everyone will be set free. This promise is made to those who are truly his disciples. Verse 30 says that many of the Jews believed in him as a result of his teaching in the temple. The next verse says, “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.”

2.2. Jesus’ Promise

Second, this not some general principle that knowledge leads to freedom. Jesus is not telling us that education will set people free. Education can be good, but education is not the solution to the problems that we face in society today. There are many people with great knowledge who have not found freedom. The Book of Revelation speaks of those who have “learned what some call the deep things of Satan” (Revelation 2:24). They are not free.

In the beginning, God told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Up to that point, everything was good. Everything that Adam and Eve knew was good and they were free. But with disobedience came the knowledge of evil. That knowledge of evil did not liberate; it enslaved. That knowledge of evil did not lead to freedom; it led to bondage, slavery.

It is not general knowledge that leads to freedom. It is the knowledge of the truth that leads to freedom.

2.3. THE Truth

Jesus says, “…you will know THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH will set you free.” Some deny the possibility of knowing the truth. Some deny the existence of the truth. “There is no absolute truth,” they say. Is that true? It is absolutely true that there is no absolute truth? You see, such a statement is self-defeating. To state that there is no truth is to make a truth claim. If you say that all truth is relative, you are contradicting yourself for you have just made a truth statement about all truth, not just some truth.

Jesus speaks about THE truth, the truth that sets men free.

The Bible mentions “the truth” 76 times. The Bible speaks of…

Knowing the truth (Joh 8:32)
Believing the truth (2Th 2:12)
Listening to the truth (2Ti 4:4)
Speaking the truth (Pro 12:17)
Bearing witness to the truth (Joh 5:33)
Rejoicing in the truth (1Co 13:6)
Loving the truth (2Th 2:10)
Being established in the truth (2Pe 1:12)
Standing in the truth (Joh 8:44)
Keeping in step with the truth (Gal 2:14)
Walking in the truth (3Jo 1:4)
Practicing the truth (1Jo 1:6)
Obeying the truth (Rom 2:8)

It also warns about…

Swerving from the truth (2Ti 2:18)
Wandering from the truth (Jam 5:19)
Turning away from the truth (Tit 1:14)
Exchanging the truth for a lie (Rom 1:25)
Suppressing the truth (Rom 1:18)
Being false to the truth (Jam 3:14)
Opposing the truth (2Ti 3:8)

But the promise that Jesus makes here is “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

3. THE SHOCKING TRUTH

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

3.1. Different levels of belief

The Jews took issue with Jesus over the question of freedom. Many of them had professed to believe in Jesus. It seems that they had taken the first steps of discipleship: they believed on him.

But Jesus knows that there are many levels of belief.

Some believed that Jesus was a man sent from God, like one of the prophets.
Some believed that he was going to set them free from the Romans.
Some believed because of the miracles that they saw.

Jesus knows that there are people today who know and believe that he lived.

Some believe that he lived and died and rose again, but it has no impact on their lives.
Some believe because their parents believed.
Some believe because they grew up in the church.
Some believe because other people in their village believe.

Jesus knows about all about the different ways that people believe in him. So Jesus said to these believing Jews:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

This was a shocking statement to the Jews. They reacted strongly to what Jesus had said. They were supposed to be believers, but they couldn’t believe what Jesus had just said.

John 8:33 ESV 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 had said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The implication was that although they believed, they did not know the truth and that they were not free.

How would you like to be a slave? Nobody wants to be a slave. Nobody wants to be called a slave. If someone were to tell you that you were a slave, you would probably be insulted. And even if we were slaves, we wouldn’t want someone reminding us of the fact that we were slaves! Imagine being a slave and having someone walk past you every day saying, “Hi slave!” We wouldn’t like it one bit! How much less would we like it if believing we were free, someone were to tells that we were slaves! Jesus told these believing Jews that they were in effect slaves: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“We are the offspring of Abraham!” Don’t you know who we are? You’re a Jew! We’re Jews! We are the offspring of Abraham. We are his seed. Don’t you know who our many times great grandfather is? He’s Abraham! We are the descendants of Abraham!

Jesus is telling us that freedom is not a question of genealogy. It is not a question of physical descent. Freedom is not the result of having the right father or grandfather. You can be a direct descendant of Abraham and not be free. In fact, Jesus is telling all of these descendants of Abraham that they needed the freedom that Jesus alone could give them.

“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.”

This is an amazing statement: “We have never been enslaved to anyone!” It was made in the heat of the moment. They are angry at what Jesus said. By offering them freedom, Jesus implied that they were slaves, and they were offended. They quickly respond that they were the offspring of Abraham and had never been enslaved to anyone.

How quickly we forget! How little we know our own situation! The Jews had been slaves for 430 years in Egypt. They had been forced to make bricks of mud and straw. Pharaoh was killing off their baby boys to keep their population under control. It was only by the strong hand of the Lord and 10 plagues that God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt by the hand of Moses.

“We have never been enslaved to anyone,” they said. Had they forgotten about the Assyrians who carried away the 10 tribes of the north, never to return again? Had they forgotten about the Babylonians who had carried the Jews away into captivity for 70 years? Had they forgotten about Persian rule, and the Greeks, and the fact that they were under the dominion of Rome when Jesus spoke those words?

And yet, Jesus was not talking about political slavery. He was not talking about other countries or empires that had ruled over Israel in the past or present. He was talking about something much more cruel. He was talking about a slavery that was worse than their 430 years in Egypt, working in the hot sun, making bricks for others to build with. He was talking about something far worse than having authorities rip baby boys from their mothers’ arms and throwing them to the crocodiles in the Nile river.

John 8:33 ESV 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’?”

When we look at the world today, we can be thankful that we don’t live in countries like Syria where the government is killing hundreds of citizens every week.

We can be thankful that we don’t live in a country like North Korea where there is no freedom of religion.

We can be thank that we don’t live in a Muslim country like Iran where Pastor Josef has been in jail for five years and is awaiting execution simply because he is a Christian. Assemblies of God churches have been shut down. Church members have been arrested and others have lost their jobs for one reason: they are Christians.

We can be thankful that we don’t live in a country like Sudan or Eritrea where Christians are raped, tortured and killed.

We have

Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Freedom of religion
Freedom to vote
And many other freedoms.

But Jesus is not talking about freedom from political oppression. He is talking about a far greater freedom. He is talking about freedom from a far greater oppression. Jesus is talking about freedom from the slavery of sin.

3.2. Slavery to Sin

John 8:34 ESV Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

This is a very solemn statement that Jesus makes. He draws our attention to its importance by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you…” He wants us to know that this is a most serious issue: “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”

It does not matter what country you live in.
It does not matter whether your country is independent or not.
It does not matter what political freedoms you have.
It does not matter whether you are Jewish or not.
It does not matter who father or grandfather or great-grandfather was.
It does not matter what church you belong to.

“Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” He did not say that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. He said that everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. He is talking about the habitual sins that rule over your life. He is talking about sins that dominate and control. He is talking about those sins that we can’t get rid of. It might be any of a thousand sins:

Pride
Self-destructive habits
Drugs
Alcohol
Kava
Abuse
Uncontrolled anger
Lust
Pornography
Adultery
Fornication
Self-abuse
Private sins
Evil thoughts
Jealousy
Covetousness

Anything sin that is controlling your life: you are a slave to it. You think you are free. You are not free; you are a slave. The man who sins does not do what he likes; he does what sin likes (Barclay).

2 Peter 2:19 ESV They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

3.3. Jesus Gives us a Warning

Now here is a warning:

John 8:35 ESV The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

Slaves to sin will not enter the kingdom of God (v. 35).

The slave does not remain in the house forever. Jesus is saying that if you are a slave to sin, you will not remain in his house. Slaves to sin will be removed from the Father’s house.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,¹⁰nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.¹¹And 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.

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,²¹envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5 ESV For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

3.4. Jesus Also Gives Us a Promise

But at the same time that Jesus gives us a warning, he give us a promise:

You can be free from the slavery of sin! The son remains forever. The son has rights that the slave does not have. Jesus is telling us that He can set us free.

John 8:36 ESV So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

How are we set free?

Jesus has already given us the steps to freedom from sin:

John 8:31-32 ESV So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed 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.”

4. THREE STEPS TO FREEDOM

4.1. STEP ONE: Abide in my word.

Abiding in my word is the mark of a real disciple. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” Abiding in the word means that

We have determined to live in the word of Christ.
We have determined to live by the word of Christ.
We are continuously reading, studying, and listening the word of Christ.
We are continuously reflecting and meditating on His word.
We hold fast to the word of Christ.
We DO what he commands.

This is the mark of a true believer, the mark of a true disciple. Jesus said that we are to make disciples of all peoples everywhere, teaching them to obey everything that He has commanded us (Matthew 29:19).

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” A true disciple obeys the word. This is the condition to life’s greatest freedom: IF you abide in my word. The promise of being set free from sin is only for those who abide in God’s word.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46 ESV).

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21 ESV).

How often we wish to think that we are Christians, but Jesus said to those who believed that the mark of the true Christian is living according to his word: “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples” (Joh 8:31 NET).

4.2. STEP TWO: You will know the truth.

You will know the truth of God’s word. You will know the truth about Christ. You will know who he is. You will know that He is the Son of God. You will know that He was in the beginning with God and was God. You will know that all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything that was made. You will know that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us as the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. You will know that he is the only God who is at the Father’s side (1:18). You will be able to worship Him in spirit and truth, because you will know the truth. You will know that he went to the cross not only to bear the punishment for our sins, but to break the power of sin so that we would no longer be the slaves of sin and that sin would no longer have dominion over us.

4.3. STEP THREE: The truth will set you free.

Christ, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life, will set you free. You will know Him, and He will set you free from sin. You will experience the greatest freedom there is: freedom from sin.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36 ESV).

This is the gospel. This is the joyful news! Free from the tyranny of sin!

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.¹⁷Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.¹⁸Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.¹⁹Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.²⁰When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.²¹And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.²²But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life (Romans 6:16-22 NLT).

“Well,” you say, “what about grace?”

Paul tells us in Titus 2 that grace will not leave you a slave to sin:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,¹²training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,¹³waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14 ESV).

Everywhere the Bible gives the same message: Christ came that we might experience life’s greatest freedom. How about your life? Are you a slave to sin, or has Christ set you free?

Here is the condition to experience life’s greatest freedom: “If you abide in my word,” Jesus said. Get into the Word of God. Read it. Study it. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Obey it. Allow God’s Word to set you free.

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”

True disciples don’t simply believe. They live according to the Word. They obey God.

You will know the truth about Christ, and the truth will set you free. Who is the truth? The Son is the way, the truth, and the life. “If the Son sets you free, you will be really free.” You will experience life’s greatest freedom.

See also “Gospel of John”:

Introduction

1.THE SETTING

1.1.The Question: Who Sinned?

1.2.The Answer

1.3.The Solution

2.CONVERSATION 1: THE MAN AND HIS NEIGHBORS (9:8-12)

2.1.The Blind Man Sees!

2.2.The First Step Toward Perfect Vision: “The Man Called Jesus”

3.CONVERSATION 2: INTERROGATION BY THE PHARISEES (9:13-17)

3.1.Not On the Sabbath!

3.2.The Second Step of Faith

4.CONVERSATION 3 (9:18-23) – MAN AND HIS PARENTS

5.CONVERSATION 4 (9:24-34) – FULL BLOWN COURAGE AND BLASPHEMY

5.1.Name of the Game: Intimidation

5.2.Tell Us Again!

6.CONVERSATION 5 (V. 35-38) – JESUS AND THE BEGGAR

7.THE CONDEMNATION OF THOSE WHO SEE (vs. 39-41)

8.WE WERE ALL BORN BLIND!

Four questions:[12]

Three statements:

Ask Jesus to open the eyes of your heart.

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1.WHO IS JESUS?

1.1.Public Opinion

1.2.Diverse Opinions

2.IS JESUS DEMON-POSSESSED?

2.1.Round One

2.2.Round Two

3.“WHO DO YOU MAKE YOURSELF OUT TO BE?”

3.1.Greater than Abraham

3.2.Seen by Abraham

3.3.How Old Is Jesus?

4.JESUS, THE GREAT “I AM”

CONCLUSION

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Whose child are you?

Character Traits

John 8:31-47

Children of Abraham

Human Ancestry is Nothing

Violence toward Christ

Fatherhood of God

Whose child are you?

So what is the solution?

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Introduction

2. THE PROMISE OF FREEDOM

2.1. The Addressees

2.2. Jesus’ Promise

2.3. THE Truth

3. THE SHOCKING TRUTH

3.1. Different levels of belief

3.2. Slavery to Sin

3.3. Jesus Gives us a Warning

3.4. Jesus Also Gives Us a Promise

4. THREE STEPS TO FREEDOM

4.1. STEP ONE: Abide in my word.

4.2. STEP TWO: You will know the truth.

4.3. STEP THREE: The truth will set you free.

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Four questions:^[12]