Slippery Allegations

Turn once again to John chapter
8. John chapter 8. And as you’re turning, let me just express a word of gratitude for
your patience. This has been, I’ve studied harder
chapters theologically. This has been a chapter that
is difficult because of the volume of it, because of the nature
of it, this acrimonious dialogue that’s taking place, an argument
really. It has been tough for me and
really as I said last week, the only way that I have been able
to discover a way through it is just literally to plow verse
by verse through it and other than the the framework that I’ve
provided you there really is not even an easy way to outline
this particular passage and so thank you for your patience with
me and Lord willing we complete John chapter 8 today and honor
the word in doing so I don’t think you would appreciate me
and neither would the Lord if I just skipped over major sections
of scripture even if it is tempting at times This is God’s Word and
we have had the privilege and we have taken up a difficult
responsibility in literally plowing our way through this. And so
thank you for your patience in that. As you know, the conversation
has, as it were, been hijacked. Jesus was telling them about
himself. and his Jewish detractors just
become incensed at some of the things that Jesus is saying,
and so they literally take over the conversation and put Jesus
on the defense, peppering him with question after question
after question. It begins in verse 33, and I
would have God’s people turn back there again to verse 33
as we course down through the end of the chapter. They answered
him, we are Abraham’s descendants 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 commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in
the house forever. The son does remain forever. So if the son makes you free,
you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s
descendants, yet you seek to kill me, because my word has
no place in you. I speak the things which I have
seen with my father, therefore you also do the things which
you heard from your father.” They answered and said to him,
Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you are
Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. As it is, you are
seeking to kill me. A man who has told you the truth,
which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. You
are doing the deeds of your father. They said to him, we were not
born of fornication. We have one father, God. Jesus
said to them, if God were your father, you would love me, for
I proceeded forth and have come from God. For I have not even
come on my own initiative, but he sent me. Why do you not understand
what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear
my word. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do
the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning
and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in
him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he
speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of
lies. But because I speak the truth,
you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do
you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words
of God. For this reason, you do not hear
them because you are not of God. The Jews answered and said to
him, do we not rightly say 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. But I do not seek my glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Truly, truly, I say to you, if
anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. The Jews said
to him, now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, and the
prophets also. And you say if anyone keeps my
word, he will never taste of death? Surely you are not greater
than our father Abraham who died. The prophets died too. Whom 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. And you have not come to
know him, but I know him. And if I say that I do not know
Him, I will be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep
His Word. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said
to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen
Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly,
I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am. Therefore they
picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and
went out of the temple. There were six such interruptions
in the course of that passage that we just read. The conversation
has been hijacked. They’re trying to put Jesus on
the defense. Jesus answers every one of their
challenges. In verse 33, they question Jesus’
teaching and Jesus answers them fully. In verse 39, they contradict
Jesus’ statements about Abraham being their father. Jesus answers
that completely. In the middle of verse 41, they
make an accusation about Jesus’ heritage, his family tree. Jesus answers that fully. And
in verse 48, they indict his character. And that’s where we
pick up this Lord’s Day. They indict Jesus’ character,
they challenge the very nature of the one standing before them.
Go back to verse 48 if you would. The Jews answered and said, do
we not rightly say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? See, they knew that they were
not only losing this argument, they were likely losing the crowd
that was gathered around them. They were embarrassed, they were
provoked, quite obviously provoked, incensed at the very things that
Jesus was suggesting. And when Jesus challenged their
claim to a national right to be called sons of Abraham, it
sent them into an uncontrollable rage. Look at verse 39 of that
chapter, where they answered and said to Jesus, Abraham is
our father. And Jesus challenged it immediately,
if your Abraham’s children do the deeds of Abraham, they knew
that they didn’t measure up to that standard. They knew that
they weren’t walking by faith as Abraham had walked. In verse
44, there is this additional statement that Jesus makes, you
are of your father, the devil. Not only is Abraham irrelevant
to the conversation, ultimately if you trace your lineage back,
the one that you’re really emulating, the one that you really look
like, the one that really is your father is none other than
the devil himself. You see, their reply here is
just schoolyard mentality. We saw a lot of this thing at
the most recent campaign season, right? If someone accuses you
of something, you just go nuclear and make the same accusation
more vehemently. It’s the adult version, the more
civilized version of that schoolyard, age-old technique. I know you
are, but what am I? And so they resort to that which
people do almost instinctively. When they’re backed up against
the wall, they lash out in pride with this kind of name-calling
and recriminations, character attacks and the like. Why, this
man is nothing but a Samaritan! And he has a demon! There, how
do you like that, Jesus? You’re a Samaritan. You’re nothing
but a despised member of that half-breed race, the enemies
of Israel, and worse than that, you are possessed by the devil
himself. And perhaps you can almost see
them congratulating one another on their amusing reply, elbowing
each other in the ribs. That was a good one. We really
landed a zinger. Take that, Jesus. That’s their
mentality in this whole scene. nothing but abuse, nothing but
slander, nothing but blasphemy. They were completely unable to
answer the Lord’s argument, and so they resort to what people
usually resort to, this reproach. They call him a Samaritan. And it basically means that,
in saying so, that they were insinuating that he was no true
Jew. that he was just a step above
being a basic heathen. He was an enemy of Israel, he
was an enemy of Judaism, he was an enemy of the faith, and really
he’s an enemy of God himself. They believe that he contradicted
their precious Jewish traditions, and in view of their desire to
be exclusive, that they had the only right to claim God, they
basically put him in a box. What they pointed to is that
they felt that Jesus was lax in his observation of the basic
tenets of Judaism. He wasn’t playing religion like
they wanted him to play. He wasn’t jumping through the
hoops that they set up for him to jump through. He wasn’t holding
to the traditions of the elders and some of their prescriptions
of religion. And so they point to one of the
classic epithets in Jerusalem to call somebody a Samaritan.
This blend of Gentile and Israelite contrasting their supposed perfect
and legitimate birth with this questionable birth of Jesus.
And I think likely they bring up the fact that there was some
miracle. There was certainly uncertainty
as to the nature of Jesus’ birth. Many legends had likely crept
in. And so they questioned his religion.
They question his character. They question his refusal to
align himself underneath their leadership. You might also know that Jesus
had just come from Samaria. They likely knew this, that Jesus,
even in the direction in which he departed from Jerusalem originally,
probably inclined them to understand. Perhaps they’ve gotten a report,
even from Jesus’ disciples, that there had been some kind of a
ministry reception in Samaria. And so perhaps they feel that
they’re even losing this battle of religion. And so they say,
essentially, you challenge our Abrahamic heritage, you’re a
Samaritan. But worse than that, you say
that the devil is our father, you have a demon. Now the charge
that they leveled against Christ, that he had a demon, that’s one
that they had made before and they will make again. John 7,
20, the crowd answered, you have a demon, who seeks to kill you?
John 10, 20, many of them are saying he has a demon, he’s insane. basically what they say to him.
In calling him demon possessed and suggesting that he has a
devil is that he’s demented or mad or just plain nuts. You’re crazy, Jesus. Coming up
with this, suggesting that we’re not true children of Abraham,
you are crazy. But if you step back and think
of it, The devil is a liar. One who follows him is controlled
by him. This is exactly the argument
that Jesus was making. One who follows the devil would
be a liar also. The devil flatters people. He
tells them what they want to hear. It’s not something that
Jesus had done. Jesus told them the truth. And
that’s one of the precious elements of scripture, isn’t it? The scriptures
don’t flatter us, they tell us plainly that we are sinners.
And for that, they call Jesus demon possessed. The devil inflates
people with pride. Jesus didn’t come seeking honor
from anybody except his heavenly father, and his heavenly father
willingly gave it. Scoot down to Jesus’ reply in
verse 49. Jesus said, I do not have a demon,
but I honor my father and you dishonor me. But I do not seek
my glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if
anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. I want you to notice that Jesus
doesn’t even acknowledge, let alone does he address the Samaritan
covenant. I think in part, it didn’t even
shame him. They wouldn’t have shamed him to be called a Samaritan
He had just preached the gospel to Samaritans and welcomed some
of them into his kingdom. I don’t think he was ashamed.
He came to bring salvation to all manner of people. So he goes
instead instantly to the suggestion, this accusation that he’s demon
possessed. Such a blasphemous comment was
not only disrespectful and reprehensible to him personally, but also to
his Heavenly Father. I love the way one Puritan put
it, divinely calm is his reply, divinely dignified divinely majestic? How longsuffering was Christ? His patient bearing with these
vilifiers, His unruffled spirit and calm bearing evidenced Him
to be none other than the Son of God. Who else but Jesus Christ
would have replied like this? And even though He doesn’t address
their Samaritan comment, and even though He will address their
allegation of being demon-possessed, ultimately, do you know what
Jesus does here? Look at verse 51. He preaches
the Gospel. Truly, truly, I say to you, if
anyone keeps My Word, he will never see death. What a merciful
Savior we have. Jesus says, My whole goal is
to honor My Father. And by this nasty outburst that
they had given to Him, they were not only dishonoring Him, they
were dishonoring the Father that He, in His entire mission, His
entire mission of coming to the earth was to honor His Heavenly
Father. It must have really stung. Not
Him. It hurt Him because it dishonored
His Father. For him to be called a Samaritan,
as I said, that didn’t even register a blow. He might have even thought that
Samaritans, he’d certainly had a better reception with them
than he had even with the house of Israel. But he does deny that
he has a demon. And he contrasts his practice
of honoring the father, which is far removed from their practice,
even in this dialogue. I honor my Father, but you dishonor
me. But I do not seek my own glory,
there’s one who seeks and judges. You know what he says here? This
isn’t that complex. He says there’s one in all the
world, in all of the universe, there’s one who rightly gives,
bestows glory. There’s one that is the only
proper recipient of that glory, it’s God. And only God can glorify
Christ as God. In other words, Jesus didn’t
come to gain the glory of men. Jesus didn’t come to get the
accolades from men, or the approval of men, or the self-congratulation
of men. Jesus didn’t come for any of
that, it was His Father. He said, if I am seeking my own
glory from men, why would I have told you the truth about yourselves? Why wouldn’t I have come like
some kind of political candidate and told you what you wanted
to hear? As one pastor said, God seeks out
the glory that men bestow, not only seeks what they do, but
judges it. God is the one. God is the one. Jesus hearers may act as though
they are supreme and dispense justice and glory. Actually,
they are the ones under judgment. It is not therefore a matter
of whether they give glory. God searches out what they do
and God judges accordingly. But even in the face of that,
it’s solemn and He takes them to the very throne of God and
says, God is your judge. God is the one, God is the only
one that can grant me glory as a co-equal member of the Godhead. For you, you stand in judgment. You have to answer to this God. And without even time for a breath,
Jesus pleads the gospel to them. Look at verse 51. Truly, truly
I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. What is the father looking for
when he renders judgment? He’s looking for faithfulness.
He’s looking for faithfulness to Christ in keeping his word. That’s the simple equation here.
He’s already told them that He’s not there for their glory. They
stand in judgment. And on what will they be judged?
On keeping Christ’s word. What a mercy. What a mercy that
Christ renders them. By them He was despised. Just
like Isaiah says, despised and rejected of men. But life and death hangs in the
balance. Eternity hangs in the balance.
And it all depends on this message of mercy that Jesus would bring.
He who keeps my word will never see death. When He mentions His Word, what
He’s talking about is all of the divine revelation that He
had bestowed thus far. Certainly it begins with repentance
and a walk of faith. It begins with turning from sin
and following Christ, trusting Christ alone for salvation. Not merely gathering up a set
of facts to agree to, but a listening with a view to obey, listening
with a view to fulfill what God has called us to do, being on
watch and guarding and protecting. When it says, keep my word, he
means, as one said, to receive into your innermost being, to
receive it into your heart, to believe it and embrace it and
obey it and hold fast never to let it go. Psalm 119, right? Psalm 119, 11, your word have
I treasured in my heart. Jesus says, do you want to avoid
death? We’ll talk about that in a moment,
what that means. But do you want to avoid death?
Do you want eternal life? Do you want to receive God’s
fullness of mercy? Hold to his word, hold to Christ. Hold to faith alone in Christ
alone. points to a fixed understanding,
a full submission to Christ and to His Word. When it says, glance at the passage again,
truly, truly I say to you if anyone keeps My Word he will
never see death. The Jews are going to attempt
to twist His words in a moment. What they’ll do is suggest that
they wouldn’t even have to taste death. That in no way would any
such person ever have to die, that they just glide, as it were,
onto heaven like only a few others have done. That’s not what Jesus
says. And we need to embrace this. Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians,
said that we do not mourn like those who have no hope. We still
face death, we will face death in all likelihood in our season
here on earth. Only accepting if Christ should
come and return, we will see death, we will face death. The Jews were trying to suggest
that they would never die. Jesus didn’t say that. What he
did say was that death for them, for one who puts their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, for one who is willing to hold to
his word, to take it in to his innermost being, and to hold
it so as to not let it go, death will not for such individuals
be a perpetual state. They wouldn’t be swallowed up
by death. I love the way one pastor laid
it out. He said there’s a three-fold
element to this death. Number one, this death that he
escapes, he will be completely delivered from the spiritual
death of condemnation under which all mankind are born. Did you
hear that? That doesn’t mean physical death,
because many who have placed their faith in Christ From the
time of Christ forward, even to our modern day, many who have
placed their faith in Christ have died. What he’s talking
about is spiritual death. That we’re spiritually dead just
by being sons and daughters of Adam. And we are released, if we place
our faith in Christ, we’re released from that bondage of death. were
released, secondly, he says, from the sting of bodily death.
That in other words, it’s a passing phase that we go through. It’s
death, I kind of imagine it this way. You close your eyes in physical
death only to awaken spiritual eyes to eternity. What a blessing
it is to be a Christian, right? Absent from the body. present
with the Lord. That’s what he has in mind. Not
only are we completely delivered from spiritual death and the
sting of bodily death, but we’re delivered, he says thirdly, entirely
from the second death, from eternal punishment. That’s what hell
is described like. It is a perpetual death. It is dying every day, every
moment, all the time. And if you place your faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, you escape all of that. Not only are you
regenerated and brought back to life in the here and now.
Most of you in this room, if you have placed your faith in
Christ, have already been regenerated before you even exercised your
faith. You’ve already been brought back to spiritual life. One day you will face that brief
phase that we know as physical death, that you will never face. You will never experience eternal
death. Perpetual, non-ending death. Saint Augustine said it this way, the death from
which our Lord came to deliver us was the second death, eternal
death, the death of hell, the death of damnation with the devil
and his angels. And Jesus says, in order to avoid
that death, just keep my word. Place your faith in Christ alone. Abide with me as Jesus says elsewhere. Well, amazingly, Right, you would
think that this is where the revival breaks out and many begin
to flood forward to place their faith in Jesus Christ, fall on
their knees, fall on their faces, repent of their sins, place their
faith in Christ, and that’s not what happens. Look at verse 52. What they do is confront his
identity. Who do you think you are? The Jews said to him, now
we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets
also. And you say, if anyone keeps
my word, he will never taste of death.” I hear that mocking
tone, don’t you? And again, it’s not what Jesus
said, as I pointed out. Never taste death. Up to this
point, it was kind of conjecture, musing. Maybe, just maybe, this
wacko has a demon. And then they thought it and
they mulled it over. And then finally they verbalized
it. Now they believe it. They’re
absolutely convinced. You are demon possessed. And
soon they will take up the cause to kill Him. Jesus’ reply. Look at verse 53.
Pardon me. continue on, surely you are not
greater than our father Abraham who died. The prophets died too. Who do you make yourself out
to be? In other words, if Abraham ultimately perished, and they’re
still thinking of this formula that has some kind of escape
clause in it, where if you place your faith in Christ, or if you
keep your word, whatever that means, somehow you never have
to face physical death. And yet, the conundrum is that
Abraham died. What are you gonna do with that,
Jesus? The prophets also died. Are you saying that they just
died and perished? You, the crazy Galilean, are
you greater than Abraham, our spiritual father? You can hear
the anger welling up in their hearts. You can sense it in their
words. They don’t understand what He’s
saying. They don’t understand the concepts. They can’t hear
His words any longer. They’re utterly devoid of an
ability to listen and discern what He’s saying. And with somewhat now a broken
heart, Jesus replies. You see, they’re probing. They’re
probing to see whether Jesus is claiming to be greater than
Abraham. That’s all they would need for
a death sentence. That’s all they would need. And
he doesn’t even speak to that initially. The first thing that
he speaks to is the implied question of whether he cared about what
they thought about him. Did he truly long for that? Did
he need their approval for them to glorify him? Not at all, as
we’ve already seen. He didn’t need their glory. He
knew that the Heavenly Father was the one that glorified Him.
And here He says that Jesus answered in verse 54, if I glorify myself,
my glory is nothing. What significance would I have
if I took on all kinds of worldly titles and glorified myself with
clothing and robes and riches? Jesus tells them adamantly that
if he were to seek his own glory, it would be utterly worthless.
What’s the point of that? That’s not the case with him.
He will not conduct himself wondering if men would only support him
or give him some kind of accolades. After all, he doesn’t need the
approval of mere men because it’s God himself, his own heavenly
father who glorifies him. J.C. Ryle said it this way, he
who puts honor on me and commissions me to say that my saying shall
deliver a man from death is my father in heaven, the very being
you profess to call God. It is your own God, the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who has put such honor on me. What he says is, What Christ
was really concerned about was the Father’s esteem, whether
the Father glorified Him, whether He pleased the Father, not whether
He measured up to men’s standards. All Jesus wanted to do was please
the Father. And in reciprocation, all the
Father did was glorify the Son, glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
You say, how exactly did that happen? Well, first of all, just
the grace of all the miracles that Christ did, all that would
roll into his work as Messiah, all the signs, all the miracles,
all the works that Jesus did, even the words, as Jesus has
articulated in this context, the words that God gave him to
speak. Can you imagine coming, taking
a job, and he knows that he’s got to proclaim the gospel and
he opens his mouth and nothing comes out? God glorified him
by giving him the words to say. Not only his signs, his miracles,
his works, his words. I love this. You think of the glory that Jesus
received when he was born. One pastor said, by sending the
angels to herald him as Christ the Lord. We sing about that. That’s God putting his stamp
of approval and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ there in his
presence. He honored him during the days
of his infancy by directing the wise men from the east to come
and worship the young king. He honored Him at His baptism
by proclaiming Him His beloved Son. He honored Him in death.
He honored Him at His ascension. All that God does on behalf of
the Son is honor Him. But I want to take you to one
particular illustration. If you would keep your finger
here in John 8 and turn if you would to Ephesians chapter 1. If I were to outline this section,
I probably would call this paragraph maximum power. In fact, I have
called it that. Years ago, maybe 16 or 18 years
ago, I preached this passage. Maximum power, this is God exercising
all of his might. And what did he do? When God
flexed his muscles, as it were. Look at verse 15. This is Paul
speaking to the Ephesians. For this reason I too, having
heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus, which exists among you,
and your love for all the saints, do not cease in giving thanks
for you while making mention of you in my prayers, that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Here’s
what he says. He says, if I could pray one thing for you, I wish
that you could know how God and Christ operate in their relationship. I wish that you could understand
that you would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him. Okay, so specifically, what does
he pray for? Look at verse 18. I pray that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened. So that you may know, and that
know is a deep and abiding knowledge, this isn’t just head knowledge,
this is an utter confidence in what God has done. That you would
know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the
surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe. Did you
see what he says? I want you to know the hope.
I want you to know riches, spiritual riches, and I want you to know
how powerful God is. Okay. That’s good, Paul. That’s good stuff. That will
preach. Could you give us some examples
of power? Oh, you bet. You bet I can. I
want you to know what is the hope of His calling, the riches
of the glory of His inheritance to the saints, and what is the
surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe. These are in accordance with
the working of the strength of His might.” Three different words
all pointing to the same thing. The working of the strength of
His might which He brought about in Christ Jesus when He raised
Him from the dead. glorified him in that sense.
He seated him at his right hand and jump all the way down to
the middle of verse 22. And he gave him as head over
all things to the church. This is God glorifying his son. This is God putting his stamp
of approval on the sun. This is God giving Christ the
ultimate accolades. Back if you would to John. Jesus says, the Father is the
one that glorifies me. Jesus’ entire life, His entire
ministry was one of constant glorification, and you know what?
It will be throughout all eternity. Look at verse 55, the sad news,
and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I
say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you, but I do
know Him and I keep His Word. Jesus Christ’s whole life was
a life of perpetual obedience. And on their part, they had never
even begun. They had never even begun to
keep God’s Word. They had never even begun to
honor Christ. It remained to be seen even in
the best of them. Look at verse 56, Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see My day. And he saw it and was glad. This
is an absolutely incredible statement. And I want you to just pause
and take it in. Your father, Abraham, rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. Contrary to their rejection and
bitterness towards Christ, the one who they say and so proudly
claimed for themselves, Father Abraham, knew of the Messiah. He longed for the Messiah. And
when it became a certainty, he was overjoyed at such news. He rejoiced to see my day. That points to Not just the birth
of Christ, I would say it’s the incarnation, it’s the entirety
of Christ’s work on earth. He rejoiced to see that day.
He longed for that day. Abraham wanted that day more
than any other day. How? When did Abraham learn of
this? the suggestion or at least the
sense is that he caught wind of it in heaven, right? Abraham
is up there and in some state his soul is there and he’s interfacing
with God and he learns of this news, that he’s actually seen
it or witnessed or maybe they have some kind of way of reporting
what’s going on down on earth. And he’s actually seen it in
paradise. He learned that Jesus’ time was
come to be born and he rejoiced. That’s one view. Another view
is that somehow, in some way, not recorded anywhere in scripture,
mind you, Abraham and Jesus actually interfaced when Abraham was on
earth. That he met me, he saw me, he was glad, and Jesus is
just now letting us in on that rather important detail. I don’t buy it. I don’t think
Abraham is in heaven you know that parable of Lazarus that
was another argument that was used where you know Lazarus is
up there and he’s looking down and I don’t that is that’s a
parable in the first place you can’t use that as an argument
we don’t know what goes on in heaven maybe there is a giant
window where they can look down and the souls that have been
taken to heaven can look down and see they can’t interact they
can’t influence there’s a third option And it’s
the third option that I think is the answer. When did Abraham
learn of this? How did he learn of this? He
learned it by faith. He took it by faith. He knew
that it was God’s promise and he took it by faith. If you would,
turn once again. Keep your finger in John, where
did I leave it? John, turn if you would, keep a finger in John
8 and turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Abraham rejoiced at the promise
that the Messiah was going to be one of his descendants. By
faith he saw it, in a sense, and when he saw this promise
of God and the sureness of it, When God gave him a son, when
God began to fulfill exactly what he had promised to Abraham,
Abraham saw it and rejoiced. He knew that one day as he looked
down through the annals of history, there would be absolutely a Messiah. Look at verse one, we know this.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convictions
of things not seen. That promise to Abraham would
fit right in there very well. That God was going to send a
messiah, he was going to send a lamb, the lamb of God, to take
away the sin of the earth, including Abraham’s. Faith is the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it,
that is by faith, men of old gained approval. This is how
Abraham proved his faith to God. He believed. He took God at his
word. Jump down to verse eight. By
faith, Abraham. You know the pattern here. The
writer here is just laying out one argument after the other
of those who live lives of great faith. By faith Abraham, when
he was called to obey, going out to a place which he was to
receive for an inheritance, he went out not knowing where he
was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise,
as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob,
fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking for the city
which has its foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Where’s that? Nowhere on earth. He was looking
for heavenly glory. He was longing to be with God
for eternity. And he knew, he knew that in
his own sinful condition, he’d never make it on his own. By faith, look at verse 11. By
faith, even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive, even
beyond the proper time of life. Since she considered him faithful,
who had promised, Therefore, there was born even of one man,
and him as good as that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven
in number, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
All these died in faith.” That’s the whole point of Hebrews 11,
right? Without receiving the promises, they knew that they
were afar off. They knew there was a Messiah
coming. They knew that there was a plan of redemption. They
knew that there was a way to get to heaven. They didn’t know
exactly what it was. They didn’t know the name, the
Lord Jesus Christ, but they knew that God would provide a way.
All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having
seen them and having welcomed them from a distance. That’s
the gladness that Abraham had. And having confessed that they
were strangers and exiles on the earth, for those who say
such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of
their own. Abraham wanted nothing more than
to go to heaven. Look at verse 15. And if indeed they had been thinking
of that country from which they went out, they would have had
opportunity to return. If Abraham really longed for home, he could
have doubled back. That’s not what he wanted. He
was looking for a spiritual home. But as it is, verse 16, they
desire a better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared
a place for them. by faith, Abraham, when he was
tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises
was offering up his only begotten son. And it was he to whom it was said,
and Isaac shall your descendant. You talk about a difficult sacrifice? But he considered that God is
able to raise people even from the dead, which also he received
him back as the type. Now Abraham knows that there
has got to be a plan of redemption, and he knows that God is able
to raise even from the dead in that plan of redemption. Jump
all the way down to verse 39. And all these, having gained
approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised.
They welcomed it from afar off. They took it in faith, because
God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us,
they would not be made perfect. See, Abraham took it in faith. He
welcomed it from afar. And this, This leads to an absolute
challenge of, I mean, you would think that with all their Jewish
history, if they haven’t already fallen on their knees, that’s
it. You’ve got us, Jesus, you’ve
convinced us. But not even this. Look at verse
57, they challenge his credibility. You are not 50 years old and
you’ve seen Abraham? See, again, they misrepresent
Jesus’ words. He didn’t say that he had seen Abraham. Although
that’s certainly true, Jesus as Almighty God had already welcomed
souls into glory. But what Jesus said was, your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was
glad. He picked this nice round number,
50 years old, the point of maturity, middle years. And they basically issue this
contrast with the direct contrast of younger, less mature, less
knowledgeable, without as much life experience, without as much
wisdom, as with a man, say, 32 years of age. But even one 50
years old, is their suggestion. Even a man 50 years old, or 150,
or 250, would not have been old enough to have seen Abraham. Why this man wasn’t even old
enough to serve as an elder in the temple, this Jesus. And so
their conclusion is that the one who stood before them was
absolutely delusional. Jesus now brushes aside all other
argument and declares his deity absolutely unequivocally. He is superior not only to Abraham,
but to all others, save the Father. Look at verse 58. Jesus said
to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born,
I am. And that I am denoted an absolute
and eternal existence. That Jesus Christ stood before
them and said, I am God in the flesh. That’s how John started his gospel,
isn’t it? And the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
God. This statement, I am, brings
out the meaning of Christ’s existence, the fact of it so poignantly
in such a striking fashion. Jesus Christ distinctly affirms
here His eternal existence. For that very reason, make no
mistake, the Jews knew exactly what He meant. The Jews interpreted this as
none other than blasphemy, and for that, the penalty, Leviticus
24, was stoning. So they knew that their law not
only indicted this man according to their interpretation, but
it also prescribed a strict procedure for prosecuting this party, that
of stoning. With their passions stirred,
they bypassed the strict procedure that should have been followed,
and they began to take matters into their own hands, and it
was only God, only God’s providence, that allowed Christ to be hidden.
Jesus isn’t a coward. One day He will yield up His
hands to their chains and go willingly to the cross. This section reminds me of 1 Peter
2. He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.
While being reviled, He did not revile in return. While suffering,
He uttered no threats, but He kept entrusting Himself to Him
who judges righteously. This is our Savior. Jesus Christ so mercifully preached
the gospel right up until the last moment. And He’s not finished
by any stretch, but with this section, this difficult section
of John chapter 8, it draws to a close. Jesus Christ is pleading. Jesus Christ is still preaching
and pleading with sinners to yield to Him, the eternal Savior. Let’s go before Him in prayer. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves in Your glorious presence. And Lord, we who know You, we
rejoice in the privilege of that fact, we rejoice that You
have awakened us from the sin of death and has brought us by
Your grace to a life eager and willing to not only receive the
Savior, but to walk with Him in faithfulness. Lord, if there
are any here, this is a moment of mercy, a moment of reconciliation
with God Himself. that if we would only place our
faith in Christ and walk with Him, keeping His Word, we would
never see death. Lord, what a glorious promise.
Bring it home today, we pray. It’s in Jesus’ name that we ask. Amen.