Considering how extensive I went through John 7 last night, I thought I’d go ahead and keep the rhythm going by diving deep into John 8 as well.
…Or, I’m going deep into what I failed to mention or discuss last Sunday, to be precise.
John 8
The ESV indicates the following, concerning the transition between John 7 and John 8: “Some manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text“
With that being said, it’s unclear whether they transpired after the event regarding the officers not arresting Jesus, or after the event of Jesus being tested with the adulterous woman. So we’ll just go through them as they are.
12 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.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”
So the same One who proclaimed that whoever believes in Him, ‘out of (his/her) belly shall burst forth rivers of living water‘, speaks out again, saying that He is the light of the world. But, really quick, take a look at what follows. We follow Christ as we shall not walk in darkness. Does this mean that we will never find ourselves in darkness? I propose that even when we do go to places where there is absence of light, we will not be in darkness because we have the Light of Life from within, independent of our surroundings.
I’m only noticing now, after going through these chapters in-depth, of how crafty these Pharisees were, because they then tried to use Christ’s words against Him – But notice that their claim was Jesus was ‘bearing witness about (Himself)‘, and from this concluded that His statement was not true. However, Jesus clearly specified in the previous Chapter that it’s the one who speaks on his own authority who seeks his own glory.
The problem here is that the Pharisees immediately lashed out at Jesus after His statement; in His grace, He not only reacts directly to their claim, but continues:
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
What I’m gathering here is that we can bear witness about ourselves, but it doesn’t mean that we seek our own glory. We can bear witness about ourselves, but we can still be seek the glory of the One who sent us. Christ argued that His testimony stayed true because He knew ‘where (He) came from‘ acknowledging where His statement came from.
15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.
And He goes on, immediately going from testimony to judgment, and saying that both His testimony and judgment is true, because His Father who sent Him is with Him in passing judgment.
17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.John 8:12-20
Finally, here, we read of how Christ points out that even in the Law (which He refers to as ‘your (their) Law‘), His testimony is true because it stands on His witness, and the witness of the Father.
In response to this, they seem to have ditched their efforts to question the validity of His testimony and straight up asked Him, “Where is your Father?” ; To which He responds, essentially, that if they believed in Him, they would know His Father also.
Father, help me. I didn’t know this was such a great and valuable chapter.
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
We have a term for this sort of approach to replying and responding, and we call it being ‘pilosopo‘ in Tagalog: Our term for being smart-alecky, but, as we could see here, also for being shallow; Reacting, instead of responding. Reading from this, you can consider imagining how they are pouncing on every word that this Jesus is throwing that them… And consider that they aren’t just reacting the way they are because this Man is speaking, in their minds, nonsense/blasphemy/possessed talk – but also because He’s actually responding to them, and in their minds, He’s ‘winning‘ and they’re ‘losing‘.
I mean, look – Instead of inquiring further into what He was saying; Instead of attempting to go deeper into understanding His choice of words or why He said what He said – and without even paying heed to His warning, that they ‘will die in (their) sin‘, they went ahead and took that last line He had and shallowly concluded – He must be talking about killing Himself!
Imagine Jesus speaking to them, still in absolute glory and everlasting grace – reminding them of what He just said, and really just putting them in their place:
23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Going through all this now, I just have to give thanks to God, and I have a renewed respect for Christ – for, in these situations where He deals with people who are unreasonably stiff and angry, He CONTINUES in responding and not reacting, and speaking with grace and glory… In situations where the rest of us would fold, or give up!
See, in their mentality, in their anger, they pounce on just the last thing that Christ said – for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
You know, to be honest with you, I wouldn’t know where I would be, or what I would be thinking if I happened to be alive during these moments, a spectator to these encounters. I could imagine that the temptation to be angry and stiff would be very strong, and for all my talk here about the Pharisees, I could very well be thinking as one of them.
28 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. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.John 8:21-30
Not even sure if I would believe in Him at this point after what He said, but look – He circled back to the earlier argument, where the Jews were claiming He was bearing witness of Himself… responding by saying He does nothing on His own, and the words He speaks are spoken just as the (yes, THE and not His) Father taught Him.
I’m just going to share the rest of the Chapter here, because it’s all about the Jews just trying to strike Him down for everything He tries to say.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 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’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 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. 41 You are doing the works your father did.”
They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and 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. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
52 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.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”
54 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.’ 55 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. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. John 8:31-59
Christ was telling them, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ; “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”; “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
…but all they were hearing, and all they were reacting to was against His rebuke towards them, regarding their being of the devil for not hearing the words of God; All they were hearing was who they saw as an upstart who claimed that He was greater than Abraham, their ‘father’.
In the end, with all their efforts to convince themselves that they were right, and that Jesus was not only wrong, but downright blasphemous, they lose the argument – They lose their temper, seeking to kill this Jesus who they mocked and insinuated as being born of sexual immorality, calling Him a Samaritan who has a demon.
In all this I remember the pair of verses in Proverbs that I once thought were contradictory:
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Proverbs 26:4-5
I’ve oftentimes made the claim that Jesus was acting in grace, no matter who He was interacting with. He rebuked Peter, even calling him satan… in grace. He turned the tables over, and drove the moneychangers away… in grace. Here, I see another perspective to the everlasting love, and the grace He had – to the Pharisees, He addressed them head-on, knowing He was only making them angrier and harder of heart… but all in grace. Through all the mocking, all the shallow reactions, all the ad hominems, all the abject refusal to give Him some consideration – folks, He LOVED these Pharisees.
I don’t know, I was supposed to have some sort of deep points to possibly present to the folks who would be faithfully attending our midweek service, but all I have, all I’ve seen here is this – the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so amazing and from yet another perspective – standing, patient yet stern, against even those who from the very start were against Him.
Daniel had dreams in Chapters 7-8, and they left him sick.
Christ had words to say in Chapters 7-8, and they made them mad.
Yet, in grace, Daniel was taken care of.
In grace, Christ stood fast.
The Law came through Moses, but Grace AND Truth truly came through Jesus Christ.
I’m sorry if I’m all over the place here… but that last line really just wrapped it all up for me.
All praise and glory to God. Hail, hail the power of Jesus’ name!
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