The
Weekend, Oct. 31 –
First
of all, welcome to “All Saints Eve” – a celebration of Martin Luther nailing
the ninety-five theses on the church door in Wittenberg. Luther didn’t intend on leading a
Reformation, but it did. Part of
Luther’s concern was that the church had abandoned the teaching of the word of
God – “Sola Scriptura” – was the cry of the reformers to have the word
of God be the sole authority of the church.
So, we carry on the tradition of God’s word as we read through the
Gospel of John. This weekend – John 8:12
– 58. Please come back that we might
look at this important passage together.
Confrontations are never fun. This
entire section beginning in John 6 saw Jesus in Jerusalem at odds with the
Pharisees. He had talked to the crowd
about being the bread of life, and to the people in the temple about
being living water. Both were
metaphors that pointed to Jesus’ deity – his connection as the Son of God who
sees “my father is working and so am I” (5:19). As we left the last scene, Jesus is left
standing alone with a woman who he speaks grace to, while her accusers all walk
away. There must have been some time
between the woman and the next part, but we don’t know how much time. Jesus is in the temple and he speaks now a
third metaphor to describe who he is in relation to the Father –
“Again
Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12).
Nothing
is more linked to God than the creation, and the very first act of God in
creation was to speak the words, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:1,2). As the Feast of Tabernacles takes place, the
entire temple is filled with lights. The
promise of God was being portrayed symbolically as Isaiah had prophesied that
the servant of the Lord (the Messiah) would, “be a light to the Gentiles
that you might bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). Jesus’ declaration that he is “the light
of the world” was immediately understood and challenged – “So the
Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony
is not true” (8:13). What follows is
a series of statements Jesus makes in order to make clear who he is, and a
series of rejections, insults, cynicism, and an attempt to kill him.
The
Pharisees began by saying Jesus is false in speaking of himself without another
also agreeing with him. Jesus’ response
in 8:14 – 18, is that he is not alone in declaring who he is, the Father also
bears witness to who he is. Eugene
Peterson’s The Message Bible writes it like this –
“Jesus
replied, ‘You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it
being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know
where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can
see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my
judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my
experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That
fulfills the conditions set down in God's Law: that you can count on the
testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word
and you have the word of the Father who sent me’" (8:14-18).
The
Pharisees were not looking for the Messiah, in fact, they didn’t want the
Messiah to come and take away their power.
They return with their next charge – “where is your father?”. If we look ahead we see in that question an
accusation – “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only
Father we have is God himself” (8:41).
By now, the Pharisees had understood the circumstances of the birth of
Christ to Mary – but saw it not as a virgin-birth that God initiated but saw
Jesus as an illegitimate child and no Messiah would come from such
circumstances. “Where is your father” is
the question of those who do not believe Jesus has come from God. Jesus’ response is short, even curt – “You
do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my
Father also” (8:19).
The
confrontation was getting heated. Once
more Jesus begins to make the case for his exclusivity – “Once more Jesus
said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in
your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.’ This made the Jews ask, ‘Will he
kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?’ But he
continued, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am
not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do
not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins’” (8:21-24).
John
goes on to say that they didn’t understand what Jesus was saying about the
Father (8:27). Jesus’ response goes to
the heart of the Gospel – that as the Son of God, he has come from the Father,
and as the Son of Man, he has come to die for those who would receive him as
Savior –
“So
Jesus said, “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 but speak just what the Father has taught
me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I
always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my
teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free” (8:28-32).
They
do not understand, but keep repeating the words, “who are you?”. It isn’t a question in search of the truth,
but a question of their own cynicism and disbelief. Jesus refers to the end of his mission by
saying “when you have lifted up the Son of Man”, which is a clear
reference for the crucifixion to come.
Jesus is probably having these conversations over different periods of
time, and John remembers each of the encounters. As time went along, some of the Jews believed
him, and Jesus reminds them that “believing in him” is just the beginning. To continue in belief means to “hold to my
teaching…be disciples”. It’s a
principle that is still true today. We
who say we “believe” in Jesus don’t manifest that belief in church attendance,
but in committing our lives to follow Jesus’ way, his truth, his life (John
14:6). We take on the mantle of being “disciples”
– from the Greek word “mathetes”, a disciple is a “learner” – one who is
studying under a teacher. Jesus is that
teacher, and we hold to his teaching!
How
does that lead to discovering the truth that makes you free? The truth liberates because it frees us from
wrestling with how to be acceptable to God.
It is not through our religious efforts, our works. On this date especially, we realize Martin
Luther tried that and discovered there was no hope in trying to perform your
way to heaven. The truth about Jesus sets
us free to discover the grace of God and the life of faith in Christ alone. The Pharisees didn’t understand that – as all
religious people do not understand – and they appeal to a person, instead of to
Christ.
“They
answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of
anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” (8:33). And later, “Abraham is our father,” they
answered” (8:39).
It is
the mistake of every religion. It
appeals to a person, an institution, or a denominational distinctive – even a
building! Our faith must never be in
anything but Christ alone! Why? Because our natural self is bound by our
sinful nature, and only Christ can redeem us from our sin and change us from
the inside-out.
“Jesus
replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now
a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed… Jesus said to them,
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I
have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to
you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your
father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a
murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the
father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why
don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The
reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (8:34-38, 42-47).
The
language is strong and Jesus’ confrontation is not peaceful, but direct. They don’t realize that in rejecting Jesus
they are doing Satan’s will. They are
believing the lies of the devil, and not willing to see the truth of who Jesus
is. They respond with sarcasm, speaking
that Jesus is nothing more than a Samaritan and demon-possessed (8:48,
52). They cannot see who he is because
they are blinded by their own sinful nature – a nature that came from their father,
the Devil. Jesus says that the nature of
the Devil is to “lie…it is his native language, for he is a liar, the Father
of lies”. Think about that, for all
who reject Jesus as God’s Son, the Savior for their sin, is not listening to
God.
The
culmination of this confrontation leaves no doubt about who Jesus says he
is. “Your father Abraham rejoiced at
the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet
fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very
truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At
this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away
from the temple grounds” (8:56-59).
There
is something unambiguous about what Jesus is saying about himself. One can reject it, but no one can miss it. Jesus says “before Abraham was born, I
AM!” This was another of Jesus’ “I
am” statements, and they all refer back to God’s self-revealing to Moses in the
wilderness - “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say
to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14). My brother Edward summarizes this ending part
– “Jesus states unapologetically and unequivocally he is the “I am” (vs.
58). They understood completely what he was saying for they wanted to stone him
for blasphemy by making himself out to be Yahweh (Jehovah God) of Exodus 3:14.
This is the fourth “I am” statement Jesus has made to others but without a
doubt the most audacious one yet. [1]
Why do
people reject Jesus as God the Son? I
have always found C. S. Lewis’ words compelling: “I am trying here to
prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him
[that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I
don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man
who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a
great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who
says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make
your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or
something worse…You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill
Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let
us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human
teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” [2]
We
don’t have the option of choosing whether Jesus was God or not, he did not
leave that open to us. We can reject him at our peril, or we can commit our
lives to him in humble repentance and in Lordship obedience, worshiping the
Trinitarian Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Peace
[2] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Collins, London, 1952, page 54-56
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