The Purpose of Suffering, John 9:1-5

In the little book called the Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis sums up the problem of human suffering in its simplest form.  “If God were good, he would wish to make his creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty he would be able to do what he wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both.”  This statement makes several assumptions, all of which may or may not even be correct in light of what the Bible says about God.  However, we can all say with truth, that at some point every human being must experience suffering.  I mean let’s face it; a person causes pain by simply being born.  All of us suffer pain at one time in our lives, either from sickness, headaches, broken bones, cuts and scrapes, or even muscle and joint pain. 

Now, while it is true that everyone suffers at some point in their lives, both Christians and nonchristians, it is not true that all suffering is the same.  Looking at it from the outside, a Christian suffering from an incurable disease and a non-Christian suffering from the same disease may be said to be going through the same experience. But, according to the plain teachings of the Word of God, the two are not equal. From God’s point of view the non-Christian is suffering without purpose. Or, which may sometimes be the case, he is suffering at the due to the work of Satan, who is merely doing as he pleases with a member of his own kingdom. In the case of the Christian, an all-wise heavenly Father is permitting suffering in a carefully controlled situation in order that he might accomplish a desirable purpose. The Book of Job alone teaches us about God’s purpose in suffering.

However, if suffering that is endured by the Christian has a purpose, then surely we are not out of line by asking the question, “What is the purpose of this suffering?”  If we are to learn from suffering, then we must ask what it is that we are to learn.  If we are profit from it, as the Bible teaches, then we must ask how.  The answers to these questions and more can be found in various places in the Word of God, but this morning we are going to look at a passage in John chapter 9, where the evangelist tells us about Jesus’ interaction with a man born blind. 

We are only going to read a few verses this morning, John 9:1-5.  Let’s read them now.  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

As Jesus and his disciples pass by, Jesus sees a man who was blind from birth.  His disciples as him the age old question, the question we always ask.  But their question betrays some of their underlying false assumptions that Jesus immediately corrects. 

The first wrong assumption is that his condition was caused by something he or his parents did.  This man or his parents did something wrong, and his condition was the result of some sort of cosmic retribution.  This is also called karma, derived from the eastern religion of Hinduism.  We have all heard this at some point or another.  Someone wrongs someone else or do something bad, and people will say that karma will get him.  Or this will come back to bite him.  Something happens to this person, and people say it was karma that got him back.  All of these assume that people who do bad things will have retribution come back on them.  This is a false assumption, from a false religion, and is simply paganism.  Suffering in this life is often attributed to doing something wrong in this life or a previous life.  Again, this is paganism, and is rampant in the belief system of so many people today.  The Scriptures do not support this. 

The other assumption is that this man’s parents sinned and caused his condition.  Now, the Bible does consider this a possibility.  Sins of parents can be visited upon their children.  Drug or alcohol abuse during pregnancy can cause birth defects.  Abusive parents can cause pain and suffering in children, sometimes for life.  But Jesus says something about this reason here. 

Another error is that people believe that God is a stern, mean judge who is constantly watching us and ready to pounce when we mess up.  God is looking down from the heavens and spends his time watching us waiting for us to mess up.  And when we do, BAM!  He brings the hammer down on us.  This is not only not true, but also a major slam on the character of God.  In fact, it is God who keeps us from being as bad as we can be.  Yes God will judge, and sometimes we reap the consequences of our sins.  But God is patient, kind, and loving.  Those who do not know the Bible have these false views of God.  That is why we do what we do here.  My desire for all of you is to have you know truly the one true living God.  What he is like, and what he not like.  So we may all worship him in spirit and in truth. 

Another error of the disciples in their question is that they condemn this man and his parents as a judge themselves without thought of God and his great grace and forgiveness.  Think about this.  When something bad happens to someone, and they are suffering, often times we ask ourselves, “What did he do to deserve this?”  Perhaps we ask of ourselves, “What did I do to deserve this?”  Those are the wrong questions to ask because they make you out to be a judge instead of God.  We assume things about someone’s circumstances and that they must have done something to deserve what they are getting, even if not in a vengeful way.  But we still make ourselves out to be judge.  Suffering may arise out of sin, but God afflicts his people and others for various reasons.  Some people’s sins God does not punish in this world, but whose punishment he delays for the future life.  Sometimes God inflicts trials on his most faithful, not because they sinned more, but because they can taught to kill their sin even more, and grow in faith and knowledge all the more.  So be careful when looking at someone who is suffering and imagining the reasons for it. 

This is a lesson for us today.  There are no pat or simple answers for human suffering.  There are answers of course, and we will discuss one of them momentarily.  There are no just simplistic answers.  Consequently, we cannot say, as many people do today, that it is the right of every believer to be healthy. This is nonsense. Or that suffering is always the direct result of personal sin. In some cases, suffering is corrective. It is given in order to get us back on the path that God has chosen for us. In other cases, it is constructive. It is given to build character. In still other cases, as here, it is given solely that God might receive glory.

First of all, suffering can be corrective.  God sends some pain in order to get us back on the path he has set before us.  As parents, how often do we correct our children with spankings, or grounding, or even depriving them of their computer or phone?  Do parents do this because they delight in seeing their children suffer?  Or do they do these things because they don’t love their children?  Of course not.  The opposite is true.  We correct those we love because we don’t want them to get hurt, or mess up their life, or hurt others.  The same is true of God.  Look at Hebrews 12 starting with verse 5: My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?

The first thing we should do when we are confronted with suffering is to ask God whether or not it is intended for our correction. If it is, then we need to confess our sin or our straying from the ways of God and return once more to the path set before us.

Secondly, God sends the believer some sufferings that are constructive.  This is where God sends some suffering into our lives in order to build us up and grow us in Christ.  There is an old, silly, saying in the Army.  Pain is weakness leaving the body.  This is funny, but it is also true. After I came home from the hospital, I could barely walk to the end of my driveway.  Now my wife and I walk two miles or more sometimes every day.  It hurt.  I am sore, even now.  But this pain reminds me that I am getting stronger every day.  The same is true with some affliction that God send our way.  It hurts.  But we also grow because of it and through it to become better people and stronger followers of Christ.  David in Psalm 119:67 writes, Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

Finally, we get to our text this morning.  Jesus gives us an answer to the problem of human suffering in verse 3 of our text.  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. As in the case of the man who had been born blind, some suffering is merely that the grace of God might be revealed in the life of the Christian.  This man had been born blind, so that when Jesus was born and when he would pass by him as the sovereign God had ordained, Jesus would heal him, in a way that many people would see.  Including the Pharisees.  Some would come to believe.  Others would have their hearts hardened, like Pharaoh in Egypt, or like the Pharisees here.  We will talk about this next week. 

Would God permit a man to be struck with total blindness throughout the better part of his life so that in God’s own time he might become the object of a miracle performed by the Lord Jesus Christ? Look at the case of Lazarus.  Would God permit a child of his to die, bringing suffering not only upon himself but also upon his sisters who mourned for him, just so God could be glorified? In the light of the Word of God we answer not only that God would do such things but that he has done them and, actually, continues to do them in order that he might bring victory for himself and all believers in the great and invisible war between the powers of good and of evil. Those who know God well know this and, in part, understand it. They know that God is both perfect and loving and that he does all things well.

So let me conclude with a question this morning.  When you or others undergo pain and suffering, do you blame God and get angry at him?  Do you think that someone suffers because it is retribution for something bad that person has done?  Karma?  Or do you seek God and pray for understanding.  Do you seek God because it may be a corrective to get you back on track, back on the path God has set for you?  Do you also seek spiritual wisdom and understanding because it just me be constructive?  It may be God’s way of building you up, strengthening you so that you grow all the more in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Or it may be that God allows you to suffer or for Satan to torment you so that in your suffering, you demonstrate the grace and glory of God in your life.  In any of these, we must constantly seek the Lord, and His own wisdom, strength, and understanding, so that we may use this suffering to accomplish God’s will. 

The Great I AM John 8:51-59

Good morning Summit Community Church.  Last week we looked at just a couple of verses in which Jesus said that whoever believed in Him, whoever kept his words, would never see death.  We know that he was not talking about physical death, as many Christians have died.  Even Jesus died.  But He was talking about spiritual death.  “Never see death” is parallel to “have eternal life.”  Not eternal punishment as cosmic traitors, but eternal life as children of the living God. Remember, when Jesus prefaces a sentence with, “truly, truly, I saw to you…” it means God is speaking. It is amen, amen, these are the words of the unshakeable and faithful God.

We asked the question last week, and showed how Jesus could actually be trusted to keep this promise.  But how?  How do we know that Jesus can be trusted to keep a promise so extreme and outlandish as to guarantee someone that they would never see death, but live with God eternally?  We will answer this question this morning, using Jesus’ own words as he continues to respond to the attacks from the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders of his day. 

Let’s read John 8:51-59 together. 

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.

Jesus is promising freedom from death.  But the Pharisees, instead of rejoicing and believing, are even more angered.  The truth always tends to enrage the liars and deceivers.  Even today, as we try and persuade people to stop killing their babies or stop pretending they are something that they are certainly not, and never could be, we see the responses as yelling, screaming, cursing and swearing, and in-your-face attacks that betray their condition as captives and children of the devil.  We see the same thing here in the reaction of the Pharisees in verse 53. The Pharisees are even more angry and respond in anger.  Even asking the same old question they have been asking for a while now, “Who do you make yourself out to be?” 

Jesus, however, answers their question in a way that points the finger back at them. The question and the Pharisees’ response to the claims of Jesus show their ignorance of God, and that they are not of God. 

Look at verses 54-55.  The Pharisees are glorifying themselves by bragging that they are of God and know God, and they are even bringing Abraham and the prophets back into the picture, as their defense. But Jesus punches holes in their defense, pointing out that they are glorifying themselves.  They are making themselves out to be something that they are not.  But Jesus is not glorifying himself.  If he was, he would be like them.  But he is not like them.  The Father is glorifying Jesus as His Son.  Jesus knows who He is, and who they are. 

Jesus hits them with the baseball bat of truth.  He tells the Pharisees that they say God is their God.  Jesus however, shows them He is not their God in verse 55.  The Pharisees had long since lost sight of God, mainly because their own traditions had replaced biblical truth. These Pharisees had ideas about God, but really they had no idea. Therefore, when Jesus promised eternal life, they thought him crazy or evil. 

What are we to do when accused of being liars or having some old-fashioned beliefs, or not being on the right side of history, by people who simply cannot grasp divine truth? We should do what Jesus did.  First, he was able to show that he did not, in fact, live for his own glory but only for the glory of God. Now, we find Jesus simply continuing to tell the truth. He said in verse 55, 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.

Notice Jesus’ emphasis on keeping His word. Remember in verse 31, Jesus said that if you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples.  We are to stand on God’s Word, just as we are to make it the guide for our belief and conduct. No matter what the Pharisees said, Jesus was going to keep his Word, and we should do the same. When people object that we are not on the right side of history or hateful, we must simply respond: “God has revealed his truth to us in the Bible. We know it is his Word, and he calls us to continue telling the truth.” Let us be determined that if people are going to reject us, it is because they are rejecting God’s message. By making our message a simple presentation of God’s Word, we help people to see that they are out of step with the Bible, and that is often the first step in someone’s coming to faith. 

This was Jesus’ way.  It was also Paul’s way.  Look at 2 Corinthians 4:2.  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. Paul is saying that he and his team do not preach with fancy words, or try and manipulate people into believing.  Or to use ways that do not commend themselves to the gospel.  He does not tamper with God’s word, but preaches and teaches the pure, clear, simple Word of God.  But won’t there be people who will not accept God’s Word? Yes, Paul said, in part because the devil blinds their minds. Then why shouldn’t we turn to a different approach? some may ask. Paul’s answer is that the Bible is the very means God uses to open blind eyes and shine the light of his glory so that people believe.  This is how people are saved.  In verse 6 Paul writes, 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We gives the light of knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ though the teaching of the Word of God to those who do not believe.  This is evangelism. 

So as we have been going through this text in John 8, we have seen how the Pharisees continually bring up Abraham, and how they are children of Abraham.  Jesus is now going to address this issue of Abraham, and do it in a way that will, quite frankly, shock the Jews.  So much so that they immediately want to pick up rocks and stone him.  What does he say?  Look at verse 56.  Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. Of course, the Jews were confused.  Abraham had been dead for nearly 2,000 years by this time.  What in the world did Jesus mean when he said that Abraham was looking forward to seeing this day when Jesus was here, and he actually did see it and was glad.  He rejoiced!  Again, what does Jesus mean?  There are several possibilities, but since Jesus is using the past tense – he SAW it and WAS glad – I think it means that Abraham actually saw the Son of God when Abraham was alive.  How can this be? 

In Genesis 18, when Abraham was living by the oaks at Mamre, three angelic visitors came to him, one of whom Abraham addressed as the Lord. This is generally understood as having been a preincarnate appearance of the Divine Son, so that Abraham would physically have rejoiced to see Jesus two millennia before his birth.  In fact, when you study the Old Testament, there are several instances where the Son of God, the preincarnate Jesus, appears to certain men of God and instructs them.  This makes an important point about the Old Testament.  Jesus proves that Old Testament believers were saved by grace through faith just like people are saved today.  There has always been only one way to God, and that is through faith.  In Genesis 15, verse 6, it even says that Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 

But what a contrast between Abraham’s faith and the anger and rejection of the Pharisees.  What Abraham had longed to see—the coming of God’s Son, the Messiah—had actually happened in their own lifetimes. Their rejection of the One whom Abraham trusted showed that they really were no children of his. They could say what they wanted, but Jesus knew that their actions betrayed that they were not children of God. 

But to make sure the Pharisees knew in no uncertain terms what Jesus was talking about, he made one final statement, in verse 58: Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Remember, when Jesus says truly, truly – amen, amen – this is saying that that God is speaking.  It would have been bad enough for Jesus to say, Before Abraham was, I was.”  But he didn’t.  Jesus went to the fullest extreme and said, “Before Abraham was I AM.”

Why is this so important, and such a shock to the Jews?  Let’s go back to Exodus. In chapter 3, when the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He told Moses to let the Jewish people know that the LORD will rescue them.  In verse 13, it sates, Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.  So when Jesus said, before Abraham was, I AM, the Jews knew exactly what Jesus was saying.  Jesus was saying that He Himself was the great I AM.  The LORD Jehovah. 

The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was saying, as we see in verse 59. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.  This was the response of people who could not bear the truth of God and His Word.  They chose to reject Jesus, so much so that they became violent and sought to kill the one who was bringing them truth.  This type of reaction should be no surprise to us today.  How many times have we seen people react violently, with foul language and threats, towards Christians who proclaim he truth of the gospel? Christians who call people out for their sin and unbelief are more often than not nowadays met with hatred and scorn.  Accused of being intolerant, hateful, uncaring, you name it.  Don’t feel bad.  Jesus was met with the same reaction by those who should’ve known better. 

So the question before us this morning is, what is your reaction when presented with the truth of God’s Word?  Is it a reaction of humility, repentance, a desire to ask for forgiveness and do what God has asked us to do?  Or is it more of a rejection?  A reaction of, Who are you to tell me that?  Well, Jesus made it plain who He was – and is.  The very Son of God – God Himself.  The rection of the Pharisees was one of rejection and violence.  They were hardened unbelievers and reacted as such. 

But Jesus also responded as well.  He simply left.  He departed from them.  This is the stark reality for those who are faced with the truth about Jesus but will not believe in Him nor receive the gospel message.  Jesus left them to their sins, and the ultimate consequence of those sins.  The great church father Augustine gives a fitting last word, a word of warning: “As man, He fled from the stones; but woe to those from whose stony hearts God has fled.”

How will you react today to the truth of the message of Jesus? 

Let’s pray.

The Last Enemy Death Defeated John 8:48-51

Good morning Summit Community Church.  I have heard philosophers say that the two most important questions, the two great questions of the world, are:  Who am I? and Where am I going?  These are great questions, and ones which all of us ask over and over again.  Where are we going?  So many people take that to mean, where am I going after death?  Is there life after death?  Or when we die, are we just gone. 

When I was in the Army, and we were called up for Desert Storm, many of my young soldiers were scared.  They were scared that they would be killed in combat.  They were scared because they couldn’t answer these questions about life and death.  We were all in Bradleys or M1 Abrams tanks, and many of my troopers thought those were just steel coffins.  I scheduled time with them to teach them about armored combat.  I told them that historically, a tank was a safe place to be, if there was a safe place on the battlefield.  One author writes, “It is amazing to note that every Israeli tank committed to the Golan fighting was hit by hostile fire at least once during the war. Of the approximately 250 Centurions and Super Shermans hit badly enough to be considered “knocked out,” over 150 were returned to battle (at least once)…” [1]  And when tanks were hit, generally the crew survived. Stories like these seemed to help put them at ease. 

But many of them asked me, “Sir, aren’t you afraid to die?”  I told them no.  Why not, they asked?  I told them I knew where I was going when I died.  That of course led to other conversations.  You have probably heard it said that there are no atheists in foxholes.  There are no atheists in tanks either.  I saw so many soldiers and crewmen embrace Christ before and during the war, only to have them return to their previous life after the war.  After they knew they were free and clear, they tossed aside religion and lived like they wanted.  This is a sad fact that one can see over and over again, even in churches today.  When a crisis comes, people turn to God.  But when the crisis is done, people discard religion for the most part and go back to living like pagans. 

The problem is, the crisis has gone, but death still remains.  The war is over, and the chance of being killed in combat is gone, but death comes to everyone of us sooner or later.  It may not be as immediate as it seems in combat, but death is always present.  Benjamin Franklin is known to have said, “There are only two things in life that are certain, death and taxes.” So many people are afraid of death.  They work out, take vitamins, and do whatever they can do to extend their lives.  No one wants to grow old.  But death can occur at any moment.  For any of us.  But the question remains, What happens when we die?  

This morning we are going to look at one promise made by Jesus in John 8:48-51.  Just a couple of verses this morning, but as we will see, they are life transforming verses. 

Let’s read John 8:48-51 together:  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.”

Even though people fear death, we can find comfort in the words of Jesus.  This is a great promise and we will break it down into three parts:

1. The condition upon which the promise is based
2. The Promise itself
3. The assurance that the promise can be trusted

After Jesus comes down hard on the Pharisees as we saw last week, when he called them children of the devil, the Jews respond that Jesus has a demon.  This is another instance that just confirms what Jesus has been saying all along about the Jews (the religious leaders).  Jesus tells them the truth and not only do they not believe him, but they attack him in return.  This just proves Jesus’ point.  They insult Jesus and attack him.  But Jesus simply tells them that No, he doesn’t have a demon, but He honors HIS father and they dishonor him.  Notice that Jesus emphasizes that He honors His father, but implies that His father is not their father. 

Then Jesus makes an astounding promise!  But the promise comes with a condition.  If anyone keeps my word…. This promise is made to all sorts of people.  If anyone…. You can be anyone, rich, poor, sick, healthy, smart, not so smart, great looking, not so great looking…. Thank goodness! 

But one has to ask, what does it mean to keep the words of Jesus?  Let’s make a couple of observations.  One is that to keep the word of Jesus, you must hear it with understanding.  Remember, John 5:24, Jesus says, 24 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.  We hear the words of Jesus and act on them.  We hear, and it sinks down into our understanding, and then we act on it. 

This leads to the second aspect of the condition, hear the words of Jesus.  We believe in Christ.  We commit ourselves to him.  We don’t just hear him and understand him, but we do something with that knowledge.  To hear his words and acknowledge what Jesus says is true.  That is good.  But so what?  Even the demons believe God and tremble.  What do we do with it? We commit ourselves to Jesus as his disciple.  As his follower. 

A third aspect of the condition is that we obey Christ.  Jesus said that anyone who KEEPS my word.  The word KEEP here means obey.  Now, I am not saying that salvation depends on obedience, per se, as that leads to a salvation that is by faith and some sort of works.  But faith in Christ, and being born again by the power of His Spirit, leads to our obedience.  We are changed.  Our “want-to’s” have changed.  If we claim to be saved, and yet have no desire to obey the commands of Christ, then we have to ask ourselves, are we really saved? 

Now let’s look at the promise itself.  What is the promise:  that person will never see death. So what does this mean?  We have all known devout Christians who have died.  So does this mean Jesus doesn’t know what he is talking about?  I think it’s obvious that it doesn’t mean necessarily physical death.  After all, Jesus himself died.  I think we need to see that the phrase “he will never see death” is parallel to “has eternal life.”  So the primary reference to death here is spiritual death.  If one keeps the words of Christ, then that person will never see eternal spiritual death that is the result of judgment by God.  Paul writes in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death.  What is a wage?  Something you earn.  It is due to you.  You sin, and what you earn, what is due to you, is death. Paul follows this with, But the gift of God is eternal life. So death is what we deserve, it is what is due to us.  But eternal life is a gift of God that comes through faith alone. 

Now, this gift of God of eternal life also transforms the way we think about physical death.  When we know we have passed from death to life through faith in Christ, we have no fear of physical death.  I could die in combat, but I have no fear of death because I know where I’ll be after death.  This is true freedom.  This is freedom from fear of death.  Freedom from worry.  This is the answer to the question about where are you going. 

Finally, let’s look at the assurance that Jesus and the promise can be trusted. Jesus emphasizes that his words can be trusted when he says, truly, truly I say to you….  This word TRULY in the Greek is Amen.  Did you know that “amen” is a word that can be found in nearly every language of the world.  It is one of the few words that fall into that category.  It comes from an original Hebrew word meaning to support, or that which is supported.  It came to mean firm or unshakeable.  Later, the word took on a meaning which described one of God’s attributes.  That which is unshakeable.  This is God the unshakeable.  The God of truth.  Another meaning is more common today.  It is said when a person agrees with what God has said.  So when we end our prayers with Amen, we are saying that we are in agreement with God and reaffirm our faith in the promises of God. 

In the New Testament, especially when Jesus speaks, we find it means these things and much more.  It is not at the end of the sentence, but at the beginning.  In nearly 80 instances, it is found at the beginning of a sentence when Jesus is speaking.  Taking the other meanings into account, we find that this means it is God who is speaking.  Jesus is basically saying here, “Listen up people; God is speaking.” When Jesus prefaces what he is saying, he is essentially starting out by saying, “God is faithful. Here is what God says.”

Go back in John and see where Jesus says this.  Truly Truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin (John 8:34).  Look at 6:35 – truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, there is no life in you.  John 5:24 we read earlier.  Go back and do some searching.  You will see how important this is, and the significance of these two little words. 

Now let’s wrap it up.  Christ had just pointed out the fearful consequence of rejecting Him and His Word—there was One who would judge them.  The one who hears the words of God and rejects them, or neglects them, there is judgment.  Judgment from God. Not only that, as if that wasn’t enough, there is a constant fear of death.  What happens when I die?  Do I go somewhere, or am I just gone?  If this is the case, then the logical and practical answer is to live your life to the fullest, with your own happiness as the sole goal of all of life.  While this sounds good, it means that you will do whatever it takes to keep yourself happy.  Trample on others to get what you want.  Abort your babies because they put constraints on your happiness.  Lie so you don’t have to pay the consequences of your mistakes.  Is this the kind of world you want to live in?  Where everyone is out for themselves, at the expense of all others?  This is where your beliefs take you if you have no idea about death, or believe that when you die, that’s it.  This is not a very good place to live.  

For the one who hears and treasures the words of God, who obeys them out of love.  For the one who loves God, they have no fear of death.  These people can live life to the fullest not at the expense of others, but with others.  They accept responsibility.  They share, and give and love one another.  Because we know that this life is not all there is.  And more so, the next life is eternal life with God in the new heavens and the new earth, with no sickness, no sorrow, no pain, no sin, no thorns and poisonous snakes. 

So the question this morning is, what do you believe about death?  Is death the end?  Or is death perhaps a transition to something much better.  There is of course the condition laid out by Jesus himself.  Ask yourself where you stand.  Examine yourself.  Trust the promise, and be assured that Jesus will full it. 

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[1] Asher, Jerry; Hammel, Eric. Duel for the Golan: The 100-Hour Battle That Saved Israel . Pacifica Military History. Kindle Edition.

Who is Your Father?

John 8:34-47

Good morning Summit Community Church.  Last week we looked at freedom.  What it means, and what Jesus meant when he said, 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.”  Free from what, the Jews asked?  They had never been slaves, so what in the world was this man talking about.  Jesus replied that if anyone practices sin, they are a slave to sin.  Every human being in the world that has ever been born is a slave to sin.  Slave is a strong word.  It means no rights, no liberty, no freedom.  No real choice.  We are chained to our sin and cannot get free.  We cannot free ourselves.  We must have some power outside of ourselves to free us.  That supernatural power is Jesus Christ Himself.  Only the power of Jesus can free us from the bondage of slavery.  We must believe that He is who He says He is, and that He can actually do it – free us from the slavery of sin. 

This text this morning is another one of those tough passages.  Tough because it divides.  It divides humanity into two distinct camps.  So many people, including so many Christians, worship the god of free will.  They believe that mankind sits in the neutral middle, while God and Satan are at war, wrestling over our very souls.  We alone in the neutral middle can make the choice to side with one or the other.  It’s all up to us.  Neither one really has the power over our human free will.  We must make the choice.  This, my friends, is pure lies.  It is completely unbiblical, and it makes human beings out to be stronger, more powerful, than God.  It is a dangerous concept to believe in.  Because the people that believe in this concept, believe in the god of themselves.  They are their own god.  Whether they call themselves Christians or not is irrelevant. They are not.  Their god is themselves. 

The Bible, the very words of God, contradict this concept everywhere.  Today, we are going to hear from Jesus refuting this very concept.  Jesus divides humanity into two distinct groups of people.  Yes, truth unites. But truth also divides; it separates.  It differentiates truth from error.  Good from evil. 

Let’s read our text this morning, John 8:34-47. 

This morning, we are really going to explore the answer to the question, Who is your father?

So we all know the famous line.  “I am your father!”  Right?  From The Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back.  Perhaps one of the most famous movie lines in all of movie history.  Luke Skywalker finds out who his father really is.  None other than the one person who is his nemesis.  The evil right hand man of the evil emperor of the galaxy.  Once a Jedi; now a dark lord of the sith. 

So who is Your father?  In our text this morning, the Jews are proud and confident.  They claim with much pride and satisfaction that Abraham is their father, and they are Jews.  The chosen race.  But Jesus sets them straight in verses 37-38.  Yes, He says, you are offspring of Abraham.  Physical descendants.  But does that really matter?  You may be physical descendants of Abraham, but you are not spiritual descendants.  They claim to be Jews, but the law has no place in their hearts. Why?  Because Jesus calls them out as trying to kill him! 

The Jews claim to be children of Abraham, and even children of God.  In verse 39 they claim to be children of Abraham, and in verse 41 they claim to be children of God.  They think because they are descended from Abraham, that they are truly spiritual children of Abraham.  They are Jews, and have all of the promises and blessings of being a Jew.  They even claim to be children of God, and believe that because they practice the Sabbath and attend Synagogue and read and memorize the Torah that they are truly children of God.  But they miss the point entirely.

How many people do you know who say they are Christians because they go to church, or have Christian parents, or even read the Bible?  How many think they are followers of Christ because at one point in their life they may have said the sinner’s prayer and signed a form that said they were sincere.  Or even how many people do you know who say they are Christians who have been baptized?  All of these things DO NOT make you a Christian.  Having a certain lineage or ancestry doesn’t make you a Christian.  Checking the boxes off for church or Bible reading or even being baptized doesn’t make you a Christian.  Remember what Jesus said last week.  Verse 31:  If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. Do you abide in the words of Christ?  Do you obey what he teaches?  Do you find yourself at home in the Scriptures?  Have you obeyed Jesus and believed in Him?  These are questions to ponder if you want to know if you are truly a Christian.  

Listen to a lot of religious people today.  They will talk of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man.  There is a move that has been gaining momentum for many years to unite all of the churches under one universal church.  So many people will say that the Muslim god is the same as the Jewish god is the same as the Christian God is the same as the pagan god Mother Nature and is the same as every other god. Pope Francis said recently, “We are all children of God, and God loves us as we are and for the strength that each of us fights for our dignity.”  Even Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has been accused of mixing faiths in order to build bridges with Muslims.  So if god is our universal father/mother, then why are we all divided?  We should all unite!  Afterall, if god is our universal father, then we are all brothers and sisters.  We should live as one big family, happily on the planet.  But this is a fool’s paradise, and is clearly not Biblical.  It is not truth. 

And Jesus tells us so right here in John. 

Jesus confronts the Jews and tells them they are acting like their father, but that Father is not Abraham.  There are two classes of people on this earth.  No, not white and people of color. Not rich or poor.  Not liberal and conservative.  Not based on education, political party, color, money, or anything else.  It is based on who your father is. 

There are two kinds of people in this world.  Children of God.  And children of the devil.  It is that simple.  As I said earlier, we do not sit in the middle while God and Satan fight over our souls.  Every human being that has ever lived or ever will live is either in one of two families.  They are children of God, or children of the devil. 

That is a tough teaching.  No one considers themselves to be children of the devil.  But Jesus clearly defines two types of people.  And it is important to know what defines these two types of people if we are to embrace Jesus and avoid the devil.  So what are the characteristics of each one, according to Jesus in this passage?

Those whose father is the devil do what the devil does.  Note the end of verse 38:  …you do what you have heard from your father.  Look at the first part of verse 41.  You are doing the works your father did. Jesus is saying that the Jews are claiming to be children of Abraham, the true spiritual children of God, but they are not doing what Abraham did.  So what did Abraham do?  In Genesis 12 God commanded Abram to go to a land God would show him.  What did Abram do?  Genesis 12:4 – So Abram went, as the LORD told him to… In Genesis 15, when God told Abram that he would have as many children as the stars in the heavens, it says, 6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Abraham did many other things in obedience to God, all the while having faith in the word of the LORD that it was true and certain.  What does Jesus say about Abraham here?  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 are not doing what Abraham did in response to the word from God.  Therefore, Abraham is not their father.  Someone else is. 

Those whose father is the devil do not love Jesus.  Look at what Jesus says in verse 42:  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. Do you love Jesus?  How do you know?  Jesus defines what it means to love Him.  In John 14:15 Jesus says, 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  In John 14:24 he says, 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. So if your father is the devil, you do not keep the words of Jesus.  In other words, you do not abide in the teachings of the God, the triune God, as found in the 66 books of the Bible.  Jesus does not ask us to believe in Him; he commands us to believe.  If one doesn’t believe, then they disobey.  If one disobeys, they don’t love Him.  If one doesn’t love Jesus, then they are children of the devil.  How do we know the Pharisees and Jews didn’t love Jesus?  Because they wanted to kill him! 

Those whose father is the devil do not hear the words of God.  The word “hear” is often a Hebrew idiom, a figure of speech, which means to believe, receive, and do what he teaches.  Jesus in verse 43 says to the Jews, Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus says, 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  Jesus’s people, those whom God gives him and He will not lose, hear his voice and obey his words.  Those whose father is the devil do not hear his words and do not obey.  It is because they have no ear for God, no heart for His Word, no desire to learn His will.  The truth has no place in their hearts or in their minds.  There is no truth in the devil, and therefore there is no truth in his offspring either.  The devil is the father of lies, and so are his children.  They cannot bear the truth.  In verse 45, Jesus tells them, But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Haven’t you noticed how, when Jesus speaks the truth to the Pharisees, they don’t believe him, argue with him, and dismiss him?  The truth has no place in them. 

So then, if these are the characteristics of the children of the devil, what characterizes the children of God?  I think we can easily see, but let’s briefly go over them.

Those whose father is God, does what God does.  They love the same things as God loves, and they hate the same things that God hates. They do what God commands.  Like Abraham, they believe in faith, and it is credited to us as righteousness. 

Those whose father is God, love also the Son.  Verse 42: Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me….   How do we love Jesus?  We keep his commandments.  We strive to obey his teachings.  You can tell when children love their parents.  They obey them.  They respect them.  It is the same spiritually.  You can tell the children of God because they strive to obey them.  No one is perfect, but the desire is there.  In verse 44, Jesus says tells the Pharisees your father is the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.  The same is true as a child of God.  If our father is God, then our will is to do God’s desires.  That is love. 

Those whose father is God, hear the words of God.  Jesus in verse 47 says, Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”  My friends, if we are of God, then His word will be beautiful music to our ears.  Sugar to our tastebuds.  We will love His words.  We will find ourselves at home in his teaching.  We will strive to obey out of love. Does the Bible interest you?  Do you like reading the Bible? Sure, we may get frustrated and maybe not understand it all.  We may even question, why Lord, why in the world did you put that in there? But do we like to read the Bible like we like to watch football?  If we abide in his words, then we are truly his disciples.  Then and only then will be know the truth, and be set free from the bondage of sin and death.  Then and only then will we know we are children of the living God. 

So the question before us this morning is this:  Who is your father? 

Free Indeed – True discipleship

Good morning Summit Community Church. Friday was October 6th. On October 6th, 1973, the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, and a number of other Arab countries attacked Israel on one of its most holy Jewish days, Yom Kippur. The start of the Yom Kippur War was a strategic surprise for Israel. A few saw it coming, but many did not see it nor believe it. As you may or may not know, the war at the beginning was a near-run thing for Israel. The Arabs gained strategic surprise and stood a good chance of defeating the Israeli forces in the Sinai and the Golan Heights. However, after a couple of days, the war turned, the initiative shifted to the IDF, and the Israelis took the battle into enemy territory. The IDF even crossed into Egypt and occupied part of that country for a short time, as a message. The aftermath of this war reverberated through both the Israeli nation and the Arab countries. It led to the 1976 peace between Egypt and Israel.

Friday was the 50th anniversary of the start of the war. It was also the start of the next war. On Friday, the terrorist group Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel. Over 5,000 rockets exploded in and over Israeli towns, killing hundreds. It is reported that the massive rocket attack even overwhelmed the Israeli Iron Dome, designed to defend against such attacks. Hamas terrorists infiltrated towns and cities and brutally murdered men, women, and children, and left their bodies in the streets. They kidnapped women and children and executed them. Reports indicate that there are over 600 dead so far and over 2,000 wounded. This, too, was apparently a surprise. The Israelis had been lulled into complacency and laxity by the assurances of peace from other nations. All the while, Hamas was preparing for war. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced over the weekend that the nation was now at war. Again.

This morning let us pray for the nation of Israel. Hamas are evil. They are sons of the devil and are bent on terror, lies, death and destruction, simply for the sake of death and destruction. Their goal is to brutally wipe Israel off the map. My friends, let us pray, but I am going to say something I am sure will be controversial. I am not praying for peace. I am praying for victory. Victory over evil. Victory over the forces of darkness bent on death. Earlier Netanyahu said that if the Arabs laid down their arms, there would be peace. If the Israelis laid down their arms, there would be no more Israel. Peace does not come cheap. Freedom is not free. There will be much sacrifice by the Israelis to save their very lives and their very country. War is a terrible thing, but it must not be fought with timidity and restraint. If the Israelis are determined to continue as a nation, as a democratic republic, to secure freedom and safety for their people, then they must execute war with the utmost resolve and vigor. To paraphrase General Patton, no one won a war by dying for his country. He made the other poor dumb soul die for his country. The Israelis must remember this, and fight accordingly.

Now, please don’t equate what the IDF will do to Hamas with what they did to the Israelis. There is no moral equivalency between the evil terrorist group Hamas – and their Iranian financiers and supporters for that matter – and the IDF. This is like equating Hitler with Roosevelt and Churchill. There is no moral equivalency between good and evil. Hamas is evil. The Israelis are fighting for justice and truth, for freedom and liberty. For the right to live safe and free. Israel wants to build up, and Hamas simply wants to tear down. If good is to survive, it must sometimes fight. And it must fight with all of the determination, strength, and resolve that it is worth. When freedom and liberty is at stake, then good must fight with all it has. The fight must be according to the value of good and liberty and freedom.

So let’s pray for Israel and the victory that it must achieve over evil. Only this victory and nothing less will bring peace.

We have been talking for some time, several weeks, about the unbelief of the Jews and of the crowds in the face of the teaching of Jesus. We have seen how the Pharisees and other religious leaders have conspired to kill Jesus for his teachings. We have seen them use and entrap a poor woman to plan a trap for Jesus in order to bring a charge against him. We have seen them use false logic and arguments to convince themselves and others of the validity of their beliefs and the that no one should believe Jesus or what he is teaching. We have seen them make excuses, refuse to accept the testimony of numerous witnesses, and even use and abuse the law of Moses to get their way.

Despite all of this, Jesus said in John 8:24 – “I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” And then, in verse 30, John the Evangelist writes, As he was saying these things, many believed in him. Despite all of this unbelief by the Jewish religious establishment, many of the people believed in him. Or at least made a profession. As we look at this text, we see Jesus challenging those who say that they believed, yet when it comes down to it, may not.

Yet some people believed and some people didn’t. Jesus had words for both groups of people. In talking to the crowds and the Jews, Jesus had much to say about being free. Freedom.

What does Jesus say? Let’s read John 8:31-36 this morning.

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.

Freedom. That word rings loud and clear in America. At least it used to. Nowadays, freedom is just a reason to do what we want, to be ourselves. You be you. That is freedom. Listen to some of these quotes.

‌· Break the Rules. Find your freedom. Live your life.

‌· Freedom is being you without anyone’s permission.

‌· Never be afraid to do things that make you feel free.

‌· Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

‌· The moment we let go is the moment we find freedom.

‌· Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.

‌‌Freedom nowadays is just selfishness.

‌‌Our founding fathers and other great people thought freedom was much more than temporal, and temporary, happiness. It included sacrifice, selflessness, and courage. Here’s what they have to say.

· Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but what we ought. Abraham Lincoln

‌· Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.

‌· The price of freedom may be high, but never so costly as the loss of freedom.

‌· Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. Benjamin Franklin

‌· I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. Thomas Jefferson

‌· The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom and defended it as they ought. Samuel Adams

‌· Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it. Thomas Paine

Certainly not selfishness, but selflessness.

Jesus had another view of freedom. 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.” To understand what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying in these verses and to apply them properly, we need first to understand that there is a great deal of difference between merely believing Jesus and believing in him or on him. Some Bibles preserve the distinction between verse 30, and verse 31. The ESV that we use does preserve this distinction. In verse 30, some of the people believed in him. In verse 31, many others believed him. In other words, in verse 30, it seems that some people put their trust and faith in Christ. In verse 31, many just seemed to believe what he said, without actually putting their trust in the person of Jesus.

John has already introduced to us earlier in his gospel the idea of fickle faith. Is it possible to believe the things Jesus said in the Bible, but not put your trust and faith in HIM? Yes, it is. There are examples. One of which is Judas. Judas was in the inner circle, and certainly believed some things about Jesus, but Jesus referred to him as a devil. He was not a saved man. Simon Magus in Acts. We are told he believed after seeing some miracles, and was even baptized and became a member of the church. Yet he tried to buy spiritual power and was later rebuked for his unbelief by Peter. The best example is found in James 2 . Even the demons believe in God, and shudder!

There are many people in churches today like this. They may believe something about Jesus. They may have even said a prayer and made a profession. They may have even been baptized and are members of a church. Yet they have not believed in Jesus, in the person and work of Jesus, who He is. They do not believe unto salvation.

Jesus’ criteria consisted of more than an outward profession. Here Jesus tells us what true discipleship is. Here are the three basic concepts in this one sentence of John’s gospel spoken by Jesus. Three “If’s” that follow each other:

· IF you abide in Jesus’ word, then you are truly his disciple.

· IF you are truly a disciple, then you will know the truth.

· IF you know the truth, then you will be set free.

Let’s look at these in detail.

Jesus says you are truly His disciples if you abide in his word. Abiding and his word are two key concepts here. What is abiding? This literally means to hold fast to the teaching of Jesus in the context of the text. Hold fast. It is easy enough to be superficially attracted to Jesus, especially when he heals someone or feeds your belly. But the test is abiding. It is only those who continue in His teaching that are true disciples. If anyone in any sense believes in Jesus, then it is important that that person comes to see what real faith is. Real faith is abiding in the teachings of Jesus. Holding onto His Word. Abiding is to remain. To reside. To call home. To stay. Abiding is to persevere in the word of Christ. Yes, those for whom Christ died to save, he will never leave or forsake. Remember in John 6 . Those that the Father gives to Jesus He will never lose, and no one will be able to snatch them out of His hand. Yet Jesus, Paul, Peter and other Biblical writers also call us to persevere. To stay in the Word. To grow. So yes, we who persevere and remain in the word are true disciples. Also it is true that those who the Father gives to Jesus, those who will be saved, will be preserved. Two sides of the same coin. We persevere, because God preserves us. Now, I also need to say that Jesus does not say “you will be my disciples,” but instead says “you are” my disciples. Jesus is not laying down a condition of discipleship, but He is telling them and us in what discipleship consists. When anyone abides in Christ’s word, then that person is a true disciple.

Secondly, a disciple must abide in the teaching of Jesus. This is significant. When we believe IN him, then we will cling to and obey His teaching. In John 5:24 , Jesus says, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. In John 14:23 , Jesus says, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. Later in John 8 we will see many instances where Jesus calls out the Pharisees and the crowd because they do not bear his teaching, and his words (teaching) have no place in them. Jesus says in John 8 in verses 51 and 52 that if you keep His words, you will never taste death. In other words, if you keep the words of Christ, you will have eternal life. So it is critical to know what are Jesus’ words. The teachings of Jesus are found in the Bible. The whole Bible. The Scriptures. The text of the words of God.

This is why Bible study is so important. If we don’t know the teaching of Jesus, then how can we ever hope to be disciples? Many people in church today think Bible study is boring, or unimportant. Or they just get a Bible reading plan, read the verses for the day, check off the box, and go on with their lives. I would rather have you read and study and meditate on a few books of the Bible in a year, and get something out of it, rather than read the Bible in a whole year and just to check off the box. So knowing God’s word is critical to becoming a disciple. It is God’s word that we must know, treasure, cling to, remain in, learn and understand, and hold fast to in order to be disciples.

Now, let’s look at the next concept, at the beginning of verse 32. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth… If you abide in the teachings of Jesus, then you will know the truth. Truth is closely connected with the Person of Christ, so that knowledge of the truth is naturally associated with being his disciple. Remember John 1:17 – For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We all know John 14:6 – Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. To know Jesus is to know truth. To know His words, his teachings, is also to know truth. Not my truth. Not your truth. THE truth.

The last concept is found is the second part of John 8:32 and the truth will set you free. The truth of Jesus liberates. Now, this is not the freedom to be yourself. The liberation so that you can do you. Or the freedom to do what you like. In fact, the truth of Jesus will set you free from slavery. Now, I am sure we have the same concern and question that the Jews had, in verse 33. I can positively say that I know no one who has ever been a slave, and no one who has owned slaves. Regardless of what the race baiters say nowadays. The Jews, like so many people today, see everything in terms of race. But we are descended from Abraham. We are the chosen race. We have never been slaves. But Jesus tells us we are all slaves. 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Those who sin are slaves to their sin whether they realize it or not. This means that they cannot break away from their sin. If fact, most people rather like it. They do not know that they are in slavery and destined for eternal slavery and death. To become free, to break away from sin and slavery that sin holds us in, we need a power greater than our own.

The Jews thought of themselves as in God’s household. As God’s children. Yet Jesus tells them, and us, that those who are slaves are not permanent members of the household. They have no rights or security. Family is permanent. A slave may or may not stay in the household. A son, a family member, regardless of where he lives, is always a part of the household. So many people think they say a prayer and then live like they want to, never or rarely read the Bible, and never participate in the family of God, and still think they are God’s children. Friends, I would challenge you to think about this in light of what we have heard today. Be very careful.

So the son remains in the household forever as family. So if the Son – the Son of God – sets you free, you are free indeed. Not free to do your own thing. Free from the slavery of sin, to follow Christ. To hold fast to His teaching and obey His words. Jesus, through His teaching, by the power of the Spirit of God, will set you free from the bondage of sin and death, to freedom and eternal life. This is real freedom.

Friends, we are all slaves to sin. We are slaves to sin and destined for bondage and death in this world and the next. Slaves cannot free themselves. They are bound to their master. They have no rights, no power, and no choice. We are the same way as slaves to sin. We cannot save ourselves from the power of sin. No amount of education can make us better or release us from the bondage of sin. No amount of political power can help. No amount of technology. No amount of intelligence. No amount of money can be used to buy our way out of slavery to sin. We need a power greater than anything we as human beings have. We need a supernatural power that is outside of ourselves. Jesus has that power. He has that authority. His truth through the power of the Holy Spirit can indeed free you from the bondage of sin and slavery to freedom in Christ as a child of God. This is what it means to believe IN Christ. This is what it means to trust in Christ. Believe in Him and be set free.

Jesus on Trial, John 8:13-30

Good morning Summit Community Church!  Last week we did a deep dive in some respects into John 8:12, where Jesus said I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.    We looked at what the Bible meant by the terms light and darkness, and how Jesus used the Feast of Tabernacles to illustrate that He fulfilled what the symbols of that feast meant to show.  The feast looks forward to the Messiah, and Jesus actually fulfills that expectation. 

Of course, as soon as Jesus compares Himself to God in the form of the pillar of fire and the cloud that led, protected, and cared for the Israelites as they made their way out of Egypt and bondage, the Jews – the Pharisees and religious leaders – shoot back.  This section is a little repetitive,  but we will see again how the Jews represent the unbelief of the world.  Remember John 1:10-11 says, 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  His own people did not receive Him.  They did not believe in Him.  The ones that should have believed, the Jews who were looking for the Messiah and had the great knowledge of the Old Testament, were blinded by the fact that Jesus was not like them.  They refused to believe in Him because they were sure the true Messiah would be the one who agreed with their point of view and fulfilled their own particular view of the Old Testament and their view of salvation for the Jews.  They were the experts, and let everyone know they were the experts.  But they were wrong. 

Let’s read John 8:12 – 30 this morning, and we will jump right in. 

So first, let’s look at the Pharisees and their display of stubborn belief.  They come right out and say to Jesus in verse 13, You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true. Let’s make a couple of observations.  One is that there was plenty of proof and witnesses.  The Pharisees had seen and heard multiple witnesses. John the Baptist was a witness for Jesus. Earlier in John 1 beginning at verse 19 John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Messiah.  In John 3, Nicodemus, a high level Pharisee, told Jesus that they knew He came from God as no one else could do the things Jesus was doing.  In John 5, the Pharisees received the testimony of the lame man healed at the pool.  There were many others.  So the part about the testimony of Jesus Himself, and no other witnesses, is just an excuse by the Jews to justify their unbelief.  They were stubborn and just didn’t want to believe because His teaching was not in accordance with their own views. 

Secondly, the Jews displayed stubborn unbelief because while they claimed to be following the law in demanding multiple witnesses, the law really didn’t demand multiple witnesses unless the claim was in a criminal court case.  Deuteronomy 19:15 and 17:6 both specify criminal cases.  This discussion, however, was not part of a criminal case.  It wasn’t even a formal hearing where Jesus would present His case.  Had the Pharisees wanted to follow the law, they would have consulted what the Old Testament said about false prophets in Deuteronomy 13 and 18.  But then again, as we have seen in previous chapters of the gospel, the Pharisees liked to SAY they were following the law and loved the law; yet, they sought to use a woman to trap Jesus, sought to kill Jesus, and used faulty and even false arguments to justify their disbelief.  Their words said one thing, but their actions were far from obedience to the law.  Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 5:45-46, There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”  The problem with the Pharisees was that they claimed to believe in the Law and Moses, when they really believed in neither one.  Therefore, they didn’t believe in Jesus either. 

Jesus called them out on their unbelief and faulty judgment.  Remember John 7:24?  Jesus said, Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.  Here in John 8:15, Jesus reminded the Pharisees that they judged according to the flesh. The Pharisees were judging according to their own sinful nature, their flesh.  Their judgment was not according to God, nor was it according to the Scriptures or the Spirit.  It was based on their own feelings and worldly agenda.  Even later, in the same conversation, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are from below, they are from the world. The Pharisees had witnesses, they had seen things for themselves, and they had even the words of Jesus Himself.  Yet they did not believe. 

Two observations here.  One is that unbelief rejects Jesus because He never conforms to our worldly interests.  Jesus did not look like the Pharisees, and He certainly didn’t teach like them.  He did not treat people like they did, as indicated in the woman caught in adultery.  He is not always like what we want Him to be.  That is why we must be very wary of a Jesus to whom we are attracted that seems a lot like ourselves or what we think our needs are.  The prosperity false gospel focuses on health and wealth, and that Jesus is very attractive to many people who want the same things, and think Jesus can give them what they want.  Or a Jesus that is only interested in social justice, helping the poor, or “sticking it to the man.”  Jesus loved people, all people alike, but had just as much to say to the crowds as He did to the Pharisees.  Jesus does not conform to a certain American political party, party line, or felt need.  Jesus came to challenge, capture, and transform all worldly agendas under His rule.  Remember, Jesus is not only our savior, but He is Lord overall as well. 

Secondly, the Pharisees remind us that unbelief is never only an intellectual matter.  It is always a matter of the heart.  The Pharisees had the best Scriptural education there was, and they studied and conversed, and wrote as experts in the Scriptures and the Law.  Yet they were proud, self-absorbed, and convinced that they and they alone had the perfect view of how things should be.  They completely missed the true meaning of Scripture, of grace and mercy.  So many people believe that they can debate and convince unbelievers with sound intellectual arguments, tons of evidence, and even logical and scientific proofs that Jesus is the savior.  Now, I am a huge fan of apologetics, and can show you tons of proofs and evidence that Jesus is who He says He is.  But none of that will convince someone on an intellectual level only.  The Spirit must change the heart.  The Spirit must open the eyes of the blind so that they see the beauty and majesty of Jesus. Sure, the Spirit may use your words and evidence and facts.  But ultimately, belief is a heart matter.  One that requires supernatural work outside of us to open our eyes, turn our hearts from cold dead rock to living spirit. 

OK, now let’s look at two questions asked by the Pharisees.  One is in verse 19.  Where is your father?  The other is in verse 25.  Who are you?  Both of these questions show that they Pharisees were far from God, even though they were supposed to be the experts.  Both of these questions are related.  Who Jesus is, is tied up with who His Father is.  If you know who the Father is, if you know God, they you will know Jesus.  If you do not know God, then you will not know Jesus.  Likewise, if you do not really know Jesus and who He is, then no matter what you say or what you think, you will not truly know God either. 

Look at Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s question in verse 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.”  Back up in John 5, verse 23, Jesus said to the Jews:  Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.  Also look at John 5:37 – 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.  Jesus is very clear.  If you believe in God and know God, and have His word in your heart, then you will believe in the Son, whom God the Father has sent.  You cannot believe in God and not believe in the Son of God.  It’s not possible.  If you do not believe in the Son of God, then you do not believe in the one true living God either.  These statements have major consequences for those who claim to know God, or a god, but refuse to believe that Jesus is divine.  You can’t say you believe in God and then say that Jesus was not God. 

So Jesus was clear here, I think.  The Pharisees, as well as everyone else, were morally and spiritually obliged to believe in Jesus.  Their unbelief will be judged before the throne of God.  As will all others.  They believed the testimony of men, of themselves.  But John writes in 1 John 5:9 – If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.  Unbelievers will accept the words, writings, and testimony of scientists, archeologists, physicists, and other religious people that say Jesus was just a prophet.  But they will all be held accountable before the judgment of God for their beliefs about Jesus.  So will we all. 

So the challenge for us this morning is this, found in verses 21-30.  In verse 21, Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is going away, and that they will seek Him, but they will die in their sin because where Jesus is going they cannot come.  Verse 24 is critical.  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. The Jews were seeking Jesus, not to believe in Him, but to ask him more questions.  Who are you?  Where is your father?  Where did you come from?  Where are you going?  Jesus responds to them that He has been telling them these answers from the beginning.  Verse 25:  Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.  The Pharisees think that they have the promises of heaven, that they are God’s children.  Yet Jesus tells them that they will seek Him, but not find Him, and that they will die in their sins.  Why?  Because they do not believe in Him.  Jesus even says that where He is going they CANNOT come.  Verse 21.  Those that do not believe in Jesus, who He is and what He has come to do, are of this world.  They are worldly, not spiritual.  They CANNOT attain the promises of God and heaven, eternal life.  CANNOT.  They are not able to.  They do not believe therefore they will not be with Jesus in heaven with God. 

Let this challenge us this morning.  Do we truly believe in the Son of God?  Do we truly believe that He is from the Father, from God?  That Jesus is truly GOD?  Friends, the answer to these questions are critical for our eternal lives. 

The Light of the World, John 8:12

Good morning Summit Community Church.  We are exploring John 8 again this morning with another of the I AM sayings of Jesus.  Remember, in Exodus chapter 3, when Moses was called to speak to the Israelites who were in slavery captive of the Egyptians, he asked the Lord at the burning bush, Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”  I AM is the name of the Lord Jehovah.  Jesus speaks to the people using several “I am” sayings.  And to give a little preview, Jesus later in John chapter 8, tells the Pharisees Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”  We will get into more detail on this name later.  This morning, we are going to look at John 8:12 and see what Jesus meant when he said He was the Light of the World. 

Verse 12 is the main verse.  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.”  Remember in John 1, the gospel writer also spoke right up front that Jesus was the light of men.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 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. 

Jesus spoke of light 6 times in chapter 3 of John.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” 

So what does it mean that Jesus is the light of the world?  A few observations, and then we will look at the rest of our text. 

There are two states of the world and the people in it:  Light and darkness.  When you are in the house and it is night time, it’s dark.  You can’t see anything.  You don’t really know where anything is.  You stumble around.  You trip over things.  So in darkness you can’t see.  But when you turn on the light, things become clear.  You can see.  So Jesus is the light of the world.  In Him and through Him, you can see things, you can see the world, as it really is.  Your spiritual eyes are opened and you can see grace and truth and beauty and God.  In darkness, your eyes are closed, blinded by sin and the devil, so that you cannot see the world as it truly is.  You are enslaved to darkness.  You see only what the enemy allows you to see, or tells you what to see.  Walking around the house in the darkness, you don’t see the house as it truly is.  When you turn on the light, you see the house as it truly is.  In Christ, you see the world as it truly is. 

Secondly, in darkness there is fear.  But in the light, you are not afraid.  Why do you think haunted houses at places like Six Flags are always dark?  People naturally have a fear of the dark. Haunted houses play on this fear for entertainment.  Horror movies do the same thing.  Your children have a fear of the dark when they are small, and we have night lights to help calm their fears.  So when one walks in darkness, then they are walking in fear.  Walking in darkness means you can’t see where you are going.  You can’t see the world as it is.  Your imagination runs wild.  You are afraid of hurting yourself, running into something.  Darkness breeds fear.  Light, on the other hand, removes fear.  The nightlight in your child’s room removes the fear of the dark.  The flashlight removes the fear of running into something and hurting yourself. Criminals love darkness and do their crimes in the dark.  They feed on the fear of the dark to help them commit crimes.  The light switch or spotlights in the yard (and maybe some good home protection) deters criminals because it eliminates the cover of darkness. Jesus is the light of the world.  Those that follow Him do not walk in fear, but walk in truth.  They walk in joy and confidence because He is the light. 

Thirdly, in darkness there is uncertainty and the unknown.  In the light there is visibility, what is known, and some certainty. According to the Bible, darkness is the realm of ignorance and folly. Psalm 82:5 explains that the ignorant have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness. Again with the haunted house analogy.  You are riding through this pitch black house, and you are scared of what is coming next, because you don’t know. Then something pops out, and you scream, and pee in your pants. This is the fear of the unknown in the darkness.  You have no certainty.  Everything is left to the imagination. People who build haunted houses play on this fear of the unknown in the dark.  Spiritually, those in darkness have no idea of what is coming next. To say that the world is dark is therefore to say that it is lost in ignorance, superstition, and folly. Is there life after death?  Is there really a God who judges the world?  Eternal life and eternal punishment?  Or when we die are just dead, and there is nothing afterwards?  I was badly sick and spent weeks in the hospital, had major surgery, and took some time to recover.  Other people may as in similar situations, what if I die?  What’s happening to me?  Those who walk in darkness without Christ can’t answer these questions.  However, while I don’t know some of the answers, I can remain confident and calm knowing that Jesus is the light and my future is with Him.  Yes, there is life after death.  Yes, I will be with Christ.  I don’t know all of the answers, but I know some as they are revealed by God in His Word.  Those who follow Christ are not perfect, nor do we never fear anything.  We are after all still human.  But we have someone on whom to cast our fears.  We have someone we can truth to light the way, and illuminate the unknown.  And even when we don’t know, we still know Jesus is there with us. 

Fourthly, darkness also speaks to bondage, misery, and death. Isaiah characterized the world as “distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish” (Isa. 8:22). He said, “Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom” (59:9). Darkness is a biblical description of the Israelites’ time in their bondage in Egypt; Paul said that mankind suffers presently in the slave-chains of Satan. He speaks of “the cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12). The darkness of the world involves a bondage in sin and misery that culminates in death. The psalmist laments: “He has made me sit in darkness like those long dead” (Ps. 143:3).  In death we close our eyes, and there is darkness.  But with Christ, we are no longer a slave to fear and darkness; we are children of the living God. 

Finally, the world in darkness sits under God’s judgment and is consigned to God’s wrath. Zephaniah spoke of “a day of wrath …, a day of darkness and gloom” (Zeph. 1:15). Jesus foretold the judgment of sinners in the day of the Lord: “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:13). Hannah prayed, “The wicked shall be cut off in darkness” (1 Sam. 2:9).  But in Christ there is eternal life.  There is not wrath and judgment, but grace and mercy.  There is blessing. 

This is the darkness into which Jesus came as a light. Darkness consists of a lack of knowledge: ignorance, folly, and superstition; it has a moral dimension: evil and fear; it is experiential: bondage, misery and death; and it is judicial: judgment and wrath. What is true of the dark world is also true of every life apart from the shining of the light of Jesus’ gospel.

In contrast with this darkness, when you walk with Jesus, when you believe in him, and who He is, then you walk in the light.  What does it mean to walk in the light then?  John uses the imagery of light to describe Jesus sixteen times in this Gospel, light being a fitting symbol for the coming of God among men. So then, Jesus is the only remedy for the darkness in the world. It is only through faith in him that a darkened world may see and receive the light of God.

Jesus spoke this saying in the temple, shortly after the Feast of Tabernacles.  In one of the ceremonies, the people would light two great lamps in the courts of the temple.  They would light up a great part of the city.  The lamps represented the pillar of cloud and fire that had accompanied the people of Israel as they left Egypt.  The cloud and fire stood between the Israelites and the army of the pursuing Egyptians. It kept the Jewish people from being attacked and later, guided them through the wilderness in the Sinai.  It also gave shade during the day and light at night.  Where the lamps had hung, Jesus now presented himself as “the light of the world.” He fulfilled what the ritual had symbolized: Jesus is the light: he alone provided the reality for which the people rejoiced in the feast.

Let’s look at a few things following Jesus means.  One is, as we follow Jesus, he relieves us of ignorance and folly by teaching us his Word.  The Bible is a history book, showing us God’s dealings with His creation throughout history.  But at the same time it is also an instruction book, teaching us how to live according to God’s standards and laws.  The world normally looks to itself for standards and laws that govern people and behaviors, but as Christians we look beyond ourselves to the one true living God and the book that He gave to us. Psalm 119:105 says, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:29 says, Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! God’s word is here to teach us and guide us out of ignorance and folly.  It is the wisdom of God for us, yesterday and today.

Secondly, following Jesus should relieve us of the fear that is exhibited by people who do not follow Christ.  So many people are living their lives in fear right now.  Fear of disease, fear of death, fear of hard times, fear of never finding love, you name it.  Living your life in fear is no way to live your life!  Now, I am not saying that following Jesus will lead to a life of unicorns and roses.  The easy life!  No more worry!  But Psalm 91 does say, when you walk with the LORD and dwell in his shelter, You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.  It doesn’t say there won’t be arrows in the day and terror at night.  It doesn’t say there won’t be any sickness or disease.  But it does say you will not fear these things.  Here is the difference.  Who do you trust?  Trusting in yourself and the world leads to fear when the world and people turn against you.  Trusting in the LORD leads to assurance because we follow the one who created all things and governs all things. 

Thirdly, following Jesus rescues us from bondage and death.  So many people are afraid of dying.  We saw it during the past couple of years.  Why?  Because everyone knows that death is now a part of the world in which we live.  We are slaves to death and old age.  Watch TV and you will see commercials of aging creams, makeup, dietary supplements, exercise equipment and routines, all of it.  All designed to do what?  Increase our lifespan.  But we all know that we can stay healthy and in shape, but death could take us at any time.  We are slaves to death.  Yet in Christ, we are no longer slaves to death.  Christ died as the punishment for our sins, but rose again in life after three days to show that death did not have any power over him.  Nor does it have any power over his followers.  Hebrews 2:15 says that Christ rose again to deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  We are no longer in bondage to sin and death, but free from sin and all of its after-effects.  Later in John 8, Jesus says to those who follow Him, ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

Finally, as followers of Christ, we are no longer under condemnation and the wrath of God in judgment.  We are children of the living God, reconciled to Him through the blood shed by Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation in our relationship with the God.  Romans 5:9 says, Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  Throughout John so far, how many times have we seen where Jesus says, when we believe in him, we are no longer condemned, but have eternal life. Earlier we saw in John 3:36, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  Paul writes in Colossians 2, And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  You are no longer dead in your sins, condemned in court by the written record of debt of failings and treason.  On the cross Jesus cancelled that record of debt, and took it upon himself. 

So let me challenge each one of you this morning.  Do you walk in darkness or in the light? 

Let’s pray.

Reckoning with Jesus, John 7:25-52

(No video for this sermon)

Good morning summit Community Church!  We are continuing to look at John chapter 7, and have in the past couple of weeks looked at various forms of unbelief in Jesus.  The good news is great news!  And quite frankly, I can’t see why anyone would want to disregard this good news and continue their life in their sins, punishable by a holy God.  God has made a way for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation back to Him, so why not take it and be joyful forever? 

Unfortunately, there are some very concrete spiritual reasons that are the root cause of unbelief, and these are based on the mind and actions of God the Father Himself.  We went over that in John chapter 6.  Look at chapter 6 verse 43-44:  Do not grumble among yourselves. ⁴⁴ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And John 6:63-65:  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”  Remember, we find the same thing repeated in John 10.  So people don’t believe because they are not chosen by God and have not been granted by God to come to Jesus, and the Father by the Spirit has not drawn them to Jesus.  Tough teaching, but Jesus says this plainly and repeats it. 

In the first 24 verses of John 7, we saw last week that while there are spiritual reasons that underlie one’s unbelief in Jesus, these reasons manifest themselves in ways that are visible in the world.  The brothers of Jesus didn’t believe in Jesus because they were after the praise of man rather than the salvation of the Lord.  The crowd didn’t believe in Jesus because they were afraid of man, and what people may do or say about them if they did believe.  And finally, the Jews didn’t believe because what Jesus was teaching went again their very institutions, beliefs, power and influence.  Their very way of life. 

This week, I want to look at the rest of John 7 and show all of us that regardless of whether or not we believe in Jesus, who He is, why did He come, and what does He teach; we are going to have to reckon with Him.  We are going to have to do something with Jesus.  Believe or not.  Accept or not.  Walk away or come to him.  Jesus is real.  His teachings are plain.  And He commands to do certain things, one of which is to believe in Him and who He is.  We have to reckon with Jesus.  We have to do something with him. 

Let’s read John 7:25-52 and then we will jump right in.

The first point for all of us, all of us as human beings, is that we must come toa. Conclusion about Jesus.  We must reckon with Him. 

Notice the crowds discussion in verses 25-27, 35-36, and 40-52.  Most of this section!  Much of this section of Scripture consist of people, such as the crowds, the people, or the Jews and Pharisees, talking about Jesus and wondering who He is, where He has come from, and what HE really is doing and teaching. 

Let’s look first at the three questions asked by the crowd in verses 25-31.  What are they?  The first question is found in verse 25:  Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?  Last week in verse 20 much of the crowd denied that anyone was seeking to kill Jesus.  But here, some are wondering aloud and asking, wait… isn’t this the guy the Jews want to kill?  John doesn’t give an answer, but the obvious answer is, Yes, He is!  So why do they want to kill him?  He heals a man on the Sabbath.  He heals many people in many areas.  He teaches things that are not in accordance with the Jewish traditions of men.  His teachings are freeing, as we will see later in John.  Even today, we have to wrestle with the question, why did Jesus die?  Did he have to die?  Answers to those questions will go a long way to determining whether you believe in Jesus and who He is, or not. 

The second question is found in verse 26:  Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?  Again, people are attempting to reason their way around who this Jesus really is.  This is a 1^st century version of a conspiracy theorist.  The establishment says this guy is not the Christ, and they are trying to kill him.  BUT… do they really know this IS the Christ, and are trying to hide it from us?  I’m thinking neither the crowds nor the Jewish establishment knew Jesus was the Christ, for the most part.  Why – remember last week?  They did not wish to know.  They were blinded to the truth, and refused to hear the truth as spoken by Jesus. 

The third question asked in the his section is found in verse 31: They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” This question was asked by a subset of the crowd.  How were they different?  They believed in Jesus.  The answer to this question, is obviously, no he will not.  Why?  Because Jesus is the Christ!  While their faith rested on the miracles that Jesus performed, it is better to believe because of the miracles, than to not believe at all.  This after all, was the reason for the miracles in the first place.  The healing and compassion were great.  But the real reason for the miracles was to open people’s eyes to the truth of who Jesus is. 

What about the questions asked by the Jews?  The religious establishment who should know better?  It’s always good to ask questions regarding religious statements and pronouncements.  But the Jews did not seek out Scripture nor did they do any investigation of the Scriptures or of Jesus to find out the truth.  Look at verses 35-36:  The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”  The Jews think it is beneath the Messiah to go and teach the Greeks, but even in the Old Testament, the Greeks will receive the good news.  And what happens after the cross?  The Word spreads to the Greeks more so than to the Jews, who for the most part reject Jesus, even today. 

After Jesus speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the people have even more questions.  Look at verses 41-43:  But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? ⁴² Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So there was a division among the people over him.  The crowd is still wondering who this man really is.  They ask a good question, about whether the Christ will come from Galilee.  They even answer correctly their own question, using Scripture.  The problem is, they do not do enough research or know to even ask if what they have heard is true – that Jesus is from Galilee. We know that Jesus was not from Galilee, but was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, as a descendant of David, just like the Scriptures foretold.  Perhaps we should add another worldly reason for unbelief.  Ignorance of the truth.  These people knew the truth of Scripture, but they did not know the truth about Jesus and where he was from.  Apparently, neither did the Jews.  In verse 52, the Pharisees told Nicodemus in response to his question, Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”  So again, ignorance.  Ignorance due to the fact that the crowd simply believed what they were told, and didn’t investigate for themselves.  Ignorance due to the laziness of the Pharisees, or blindness, or reluctance, to investigate Jesus and learn that He was indeed born in Bethlehem of the house of David.  This may not have changed their minds, but at least they would have done their due diligence. 

Finally, one more question as we get to our conclusion this morning.  Nicodemus.  Remember, back in Chapter 3 Nicodemus approached Jesus to get to know Him, His teachings, and to evaluate for himself who this man really was.  Perhaps Nicodemus was getting closer to the truth, his eyes were opening, the Spirit was working on him.  Nicodemus asks a question, a legitimate question, in verse 51:  “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”  A good legitimate question.  Let’s do our research.  Let’s interview this man, and let him speak for himself.  Instead of listening to rumors and hearsay and judging with our own biased and perhaps uninformed opinions, let’s see what the man has to say! 

The Pharisees mocked Nicodemus and lashed out at him in verse 52.  Out of their ignorance not of the Scriptures so much as their ignorance of who Jesus was and where he actually came from. 

One group of people may have been persuaded.  The officers who were sent by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus.  They came back empty-handed.  When asked where Jesus was, and why they didn’t arrest him, they responded in verse 46:  “No one ever spoke like this man!.”  I suspect that many of them believed in Jesus because they listened to what he actually said. 

So this morning, I want to challenge you all, even if you claim to be Christians, have you wrestled with who Jesus is?  Have you had a reckoning with Jesus?  Have you asked questions?  Have you asked and answered questions based on facts and not hearsay, ignorance, or misinformation?  At this point, we cannot simply knock on Jesus’ door at his house and ask him questions about who he is and why he came.  However, we can open the book He left behind, written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  We can open the book, ask it questions, and search for the answers.  Let me give you three challenges this morning so that you yourself may reckon with Jesus.

One is, ask questions.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the Lord, or of the Bible.  God is not afraid of your questions.  There is no question that He will not answer.  Perhaps not in the way you expect, but nonetheless, the answers will come.  Ask hard questions.  Don’t just throw softball questions at God.  Ask the tough ones.  He’s up to it.  BUT… don’t ask stupid questions.  Something like, what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?  That’s kind of a stupid question, with no answer.  Ask hard questions, yes.  But be sincere.  Do you really want to know?  Or are you just be argumentative?  We used to say of my younger daughter, she would argue with a fencepost.  Ask questions because you are seeking real answers. 

Secondly, avoid unbelief due to ignorance.  This means ask questions because you want to know the answers.  Do your investigation.  Don’t always believe what you hear.  Don’t always believe what you see.  Magicians make a living using various slight-of-hand techniques to entertain you.  So do many religious and church people as well.  Don’t always follow the crowds. Usually, the crowd is ignorance and simply believes what they are told.  This is the fallacy of popular opinion.  Don’t appeal to popular opinion to reckon with Jesus. Well, everyone believes such and such, so it must be true.  Nope.  Rarely is that ever the case. It is also a logical fallacy, called the argument from authority, to say that just because the Jews didn’t believe in Jesus, then he must not be the Christ.  The Jews actually made this argument in verses 47-48: The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?  They are arguing from the fallacy of authority.  They may have been the teachers of the law and the experts on Scripture, but they were still wrong.  Finally, the Pharisees use the logical fallacy called ad hominem, when in verse 49 they describe the crowd, and those who do not believe, as ignorant of the law and cursed. Don’t be like the crowd!  They are ignorant and cursed.  You don’t want to be like them do you?  The Pharisees are insulting the believers in the crowd and calling them names and accusing them of being something no one wants to be in order to persuade you not to believe.  Don’t fall for this either. 

Finally, do your due diligence.  The officers believed because they heard what Jesus was saying.  Some people in the crowd believed because they saw the miracles and understood their significance.  Read your Bible.  Dig into it.  Find your answers there.  Also, while you should read your Bible first and foremost, also look at other books like commentaries and books about God and the Bible.  But be careful.  There is a lot of really good writing out there, but there is also a lot of junk, and worse, deceitful and malicious misinterpretations.  Do your investigation and read the Bible.  This is your first-hand account. 

So, have you reckoned with Jesus?  If not, today is the day.   

Pride: The Cause of Unbelief and Wrong Judgment John 7:1-24

Good morning Summit Community Church!  We are jumping into John 7 this morning and looking at a pretty lengthy section of text, but it all gives us good insight into the various folks who hear Jesus but don’t believe, and what Jesus tells them about it.  Remember last week we talked about how Jesus speaks to many people, and they just don’t believe.  This morning in John 7 we will continue to address this general topic but at another angle.  Besides the ultimate spiritual reason that Jesus gives us in John 6 about why people don’t believe – cannot believe – which is they have not been drawn by the Father and granted by Him to believe, because they are not one of those whom the father will give Jesus – there are other more immediate reasons that people do not believe.  These reasons are described in the first part of John 7. 

We are going to look at the brothers of Jesus, the crowd during the feast, and the Jews – the Jewish religious establishment.  All three of these groups have major disbelief about Jesus.  What are they?  Can we identify them and learn from them so we don’t exhibit them in our own lives?  What does Jesus teach about in John 7 as a remedy to these forms of unbelief? 

Go ahead and get out your Bibles, or Bible apps, or the Bible underneath he seat in front of you, and let’s read John 7:1-24 this morning. 

John 7:1-24

First of all, we are going to look at the brothers of Jesus.  This is John 7:1-9.  But look at verse 5:  5 For not even his brothers believed in him.  His own family, those closest to him, did not believe.  But they certainly believed in his miracles.  And even encouraged him to go to the very public and very crowded Feast of Booths to show himself and show his miracles.  This quite frankly is a bit shocking.  This is James and Joseph and Simon and Judas (not Iscariot), mentioned in Matthew 13:55. His brother James would be one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem as described in Acts 15, and would write one of the books of the New Testament. The apostle John knows all this. He knows James became a great believer and leader in the church. So he knows this is shocking.  Shocking yes, but this is teaching us something about unbelief. 

Look what they tell Jesus in verses 3-4.  So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”  Now, If the brothers had said, “We don’t think you can do these miracles; we think it’s all smoke and mirrors; we don’t want to be associated with you; we are embarrassed by what you are doing” — if they had said that, we would understand if Jesus said that they said it because they don’t believe. But they believe in his miracles. They believe he can do these things. They are amazed. They love it, and they want him to make an appearance in Jerusalem to win more amazed followers. And Jesus says that this comes from unbelief.

Why?  Because the brothers are more interested in the praise of man than belief in the Son of God.  This is our first point – a lot of people would rather have the the praise of men than the salvation of the Lord.  I think the brothers wanted Jesus to go to the feast and do a couple of miracles with the standing by Him, and then receive praise from those around them as they stood next to their famous miracle-working brother.  They believed in the miracles, but could care less about his teaching.  They want the praise of men.  To be known.  To capitalize off of the popularity of their brother.  Let’s go on to the other types of unbelief, and then we will spend some time on the observations and what Jesus told us to do. 

The second group of people we need to look at is the crowd of people around the area at the Feast of Booths.  Jesus decides later to go privately to the feast, and as it states in verse 14, he went to the temple and began teaching.  Look at the reaction of the crowds – the people – to Jesus in verses 12-13:  And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.  Some may have believed.  Many did not.  There was much confusion among the crowd of people there.  But no one spoke of Him openly… why?  Verse 13:  They feared the Jewish religious leaders.  What is another cause of unbelief and, I would say, even confusion about who Jesus is?  The fear of man. 

This is the opposite of what the brothers desired and felt.  Many people fear what others will think of them or say about them.  They even fear what others may do to them.  Those that were convinced Jesus was the Messiah, the savior, were then outcasts.  The Jewish religious people would embarrass them, cast them out of the temple and worship services, and put them on the naughty list.  What about today?  Talk openly about Jesus and you get told you can’t talk about that.  Or you get ridiculed as one of those religious nuts.  Or you get grouped together with the other religions… Oh he’s just one of those religious types, along with these other religions.  You’re a science denier – “you don’t believe in evolution?  Creation is just a nonsense,” they say.  I’m sure many of you have heard a number of things.  Look at verse 20.  Jesus says they are trying to kill him simply because he healed a man on the Sabbath.  The crowd adamantly denies it, even though John has plainly told us on several occasions.  Jesus says something true that challenges the beliefs of the crowd, and they lash out against Him.  Certainly you don’t want people even to think you believe Jesus, and lash out at you, do you?  All of this causes people to keep quiet about Jesus because, ultimately, a fear of man.  This is the second reason for unbelief. 

There is a third reason I think that this described in this text.  And that is demonstrated by the Jews, the Jewish religious establishment.  Look at verses 14-15.  About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”  This man is smart, knows the scriptures, but has never studied in one of our academies.  Wait!  We can’t have this.  The Jews refused to believe in Jesus because they saw he had great knowledge and insight into the Scriptures, but He wasn’t one of their own.  He wasn’t part of the system, the establishment.  In fact, Jesus threatened their whole establishment and system.  Later on, He calls them sons of the Devil.  During many of His sermons, he starts by saying, “You have heard it said, but I tell you….”  Heard it said?  This was a reference to the Jewish traditions and laws.  Jesus said you have heard what the Jews say, but let me tell you what the Scriptures really mean.  The Jews refused to believe in Jesus because Jesus threatened their institutions and way of life.

How many people refuse to believe in Jesus and His teaching because it would cause them to change the way they live or change what they believe and hold dear?  I am the captain of my soul, and as Frank Sinatra sang, I did it my way!  Believing in Jesus and His teaching would require to do things God’s way.  What about the hot topic of today, sexuality?  Many people refuse to believe because it would cause them to change the way they view their own and others sexuality.  Politics would change.  Education would change.  So many institutions and ways of life would change, and way too many people are comfortable with the way their life is now.  The Jews were that way.  They refused to believe, for one reason, because what Jesus taught and who He claimed to be threatened their status and power and influence. 

Why does all of this matter?  Because outside of Jesus, all of mankind is dead in our sins, as Ephesians 2 states.  We are all condemned already as stated in John 3:18.  But Jesus says come to me, believe in me, and I will give you eternal life.  Refuse to believe in me, and you remain condemned and will suffer eternal death and judgment. John 3:36 says, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  So my friends, this is very important.  If one refuses to believe, you will remain condemned and under judgment from the wrath of God.  But Jesus commands all of us to believe in Him, believe in the one God has sent, to forgive our sins, restore us to spiritual life, cause us to be born again out of condemnation into eternal life. 

This is a belief – a faith – that is secure, as we discussed last week.  As long as we hold fast to the truth.  Paul writes to the Corinthians, and to us, Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  We are secure, because as Jesus said repeatedly in John 6, who the Father gives me I will never lose.  No one can snatch them out of my hand.  Why? Because true believers will do as Paul instructs, we will hold fast to the teaching of the Scriptures, and will persevere to the end.  Because Christ will preserve us to the end. 

So what can we observe from this text and how can we apply it to our lives?  Again, now that we know all of this, how then should we live? 

First, let’s remind ourselves of what Jesus said in John 6 about doing God’s will:  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”  You want to do the will of God?  What God desires you to do?  Believe in Jesus Christ. 

Now let’s look at what Jesus says in John 7:16-18:  So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.  Believe in Jesus Christ, and believe in His teaching.  If you seek the will of God you will know that Jesus is who He says He is, and that His teaching is true.  Where can we find the teaching of Jesus – of the triune God?  Right here in His very own book.  My friends, if we do not read this book, study it, dig into it, then we cannot claim to know the will of God or the what God desires for us.  We cannot know who Jesus really is or what His teachings are.  So let’s all dig into this book.  I’m all about reading the Bible through once a year, but I’m also all about slowing down, reading it, digesting it, meditating on it, and really striving to understand it, regardless whether it says stuff that we may not agree with.  Last week I spoke about some things that many Christians do not agree with.  But they are right there plainly in the text, even in the words of Jesus.  We need to wrestle with those texts and pray to have the Spirit open our hearts and minds to the meaning of these texts, even though our human pride may push back.  Dig into the Bible. 

Secondly, Jesus gives us some wisdom in verse 24:  Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”  I could teach for days on this verse alone.  But notice it doesn’t say, as the world is so quick to always tell Christians, do not judge.  So many people that verse out of context.  But Jesus plainly states here to judge, but do so not by appearances, not superficially, but with right judgment.  How do we do this?  Verse 18 is a key:  The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.  If we say what we say and do what we do for our own glory, then we are not seeking to judge properly.  We are not preparing our minds and our hearts to judge rightly, but by worldly standards and appearances.  But if we seek the glory of God in all that we say and do, and seek the wisdom of His Son as the Spirit guides us, then we will strive to make sound and right judgments, based not on our own authority, but on the authority of the teachings of Jesus and the Triune God. 

John Piper writes, “Because pride, at its core, is the rejection of grace and the craving for human approval. And faith, at its core, is despairing of human approval and being glad in the God of grace.”

Unbelief because one desires the praise of man, unbelief because one fears the actions of man, or unbelief because one feels their way of life and institutions are threatened by the teachings of Jesus, are all at the root caused by pride.  The focus on the god of Self.  Jesus asks the Jews in John 5:44 – How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

How can we believe when we seek glory from others and ourselves, in the form of pride?   Let us judge rightly and seek the glory of God through faith and through grace. 

Caught in the Act John 8:1-11

Good morning Summit Community Church!  Today we are starting John chapter 8.  Most of you will be familiar with this text this morning, but many of you will not be as familiar with the controversial nature of the text.  In most Bibles, this section of text is enclosed in double brackets, or even made a footnote.  I think only in the King James version of the Bible is it simply there as all of the rest of the text.  Why is that? 

The reason for this is that most New Testament scholars do not think it was part of the Gospel of John when it was first written, but was added centuries later. In many of the commentaries on John, these scholars believe that this text was not written by John and also added later.  I am not talking about liberal scholars who deny the inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Jesus, or the miracles as recorded in the Scriptures.  I am talking about the most conservative Bible-believing commentators there are, and who I regularly consult. These include such people as D.A. Carson, Leon Morris, Andreas Kostenberger, and Herman Ridderbos.  So what happened to cause this section of text to be in the our Bibles, and, if it is not inspired or part of the canon of Scripture, what are we to do with it?  Does this fact actually prove our Bibles are not trustworthy?  Perhaps does it belong somewhere else in the Bible rather than in John? I want to look at some of these questions briefly, then I will teach on this passage.  Kostenberger, who teaches at Southeastern Baptist Seminary, cautions that pastors should not even preach from this section of text. I actually will tech from this text this morning, though.  And I will explain why in a few minutes. 

Why should this text NOT be in our Bibles, at least here in John?  Here are some reasons, briefly: 

• The story is missing from all the Greek manuscripts of John before the fifth century.
• All the earliest church fathers omit this passage in commenting on John and pass directly from John 7:52 to John 8:12.
• In fact, the text flows very nicely from 7:52 to 8:12 if you leave out the story and just read the passage as though the story were not there.
• No Eastern church father cites the passage before the tenth century when dealing with this Gospel.
• When the story starts to appear in manuscript copies of the Gospel of John, it shows up in three different places other than here (after John 7:36; 7:44; 21:25), and in one manuscript of Luke, it shows up after 21:38.
• Its style and vocabulary is more unlike the rest of John’s Gospel than any other paragraph in the Gospel.

The science of textual criticism, as it is called, is how we figure out if the text is legitimate, fits where it supposed to, is actually written by the author, and comes from the original.  Let’s remind ourselves that the New Testament was originally written in Greek.  The first printed Greek New Testament — that came off a printing press — was published by a person named Erasmus in 1516. It turned the world upside down. If you want a great glimpse of this period and the heroism it produced, read David Daniell’s biography of William Tyndale.  Tyndale, and earlier John Wycliff in England, were killed by the Catholic church for printing the Bible in the language of the people rather than in Latin, which only the priests understood. 

This means that for 1,500 years the manuscripts of the biblical books were passed down to us through handwritten copies. This is how we have access to the actual words that the New Testament writers wrote with their very hands. None of those first, original manuscripts are known to exist. Which is probably just as well, since we would probably turn it into an idol and charge money for people to come worship at the original documents.  So these copies were produced by hard-working and faithful copyists.  And before we start thinking how fallible human beings are and how there has to be tons of errors in these copies, let me go over some statistics with you.  They are staggering and show the preservation of God’s Word over thousands of years by a sovereign God. 

Dr. Norman Geisler, a well-known Christian apologist, states, “There is more abundant and accurate manuscript evidence for the New Testament than for any other book from the ancient world.”  There are 5,686 currently existing Greek manuscripts of the New Testament.  There are 19,284 manuscripts in other languages, such as Latin Vulgate, Ethiopic, Slavic, Armenian, Arabic, etc.  Total = 24,970+.  The nearest secular comparison is Homer’s Iliad with only 643 surviving manuscripts. F. F. Bruce, a Biblical historian and commentator from earlier in the mid-twentieth century, said, “There is no body of ancient literature in the world which enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament.”  All of these manuscripts, some of which go all the way back to the time of the apostles, and certainly the earliest of the early church fathers, show that our copy of the Bible has been passed down with such accuracy that it boggles the mind.  The dead sea scrolls, which are copies of the Old Testament, show that the words themselves have been passed down with such accuracy that the only changes amount to variations in spelling like armor vs armour.  Any other changes were so small that they did not affect the text or meaning at all.  I could go on and on.  But out of all of the books from ancient history, the Old and New Testaments have such staggering proof of authenticity that no other document even comes close. 

So then what should I as a teacher of the Bible do with this text?  Well, while Kostenberger urges caution, D.A. Carson and others certainly believe the story happened.  Many commentators believe that this is a real story that happened in the life of Jesus.  Bruce Metzger says, “The account has all the earmarks of historical veracity” (Textual Commentary, 220). And Carson says, “There is little reason for doubting that the event here described occurred” (The Gospel According to John, 333). It may belong in Luke, because the writing style and vocabulary align more with Luke than John.  But I think I can still teach from it.  The passage fits with other teachings of Christ, and the circumstances and actions of both Jesus and the Pharisees (remember John calls them the Jews) also align with other sections of the Scriptures.  So we are teaching from it this morning. 

This morning I want to talk about several things, then some application.  We will go through the Setting of the story, the Bait, the Trap, the Verdict, the Response of the accusers, and the Compassion and Challenge of Jesus. 

Let’s read John 8:1-11 This morning, then we will jump right in.

Let’s look first at the setting.  Where did all of this occur?  In the temple, or outside and around the temple, where Jesus was teaching.  This was a very public place.  Verse 2 implies there was a good size crowd there listening to Jesus teach.  This is not in private, but in a very public place.  What better place to confront, embarrass, and even trap Jesus than teaching in the temple? 

Second, we have the bait in verses 3-4.  In order to trap Jesus in a very public place, the Jews needed bait.  Remember, Luke refers to the religious leaders as “the scribes and Pharisees,” while John refers to them as the Jews.  So we are talking about the same group of people John has been writing about in the first 7 chapters of his gospel. 

Look at verses 3-4.  Let’s notice a few things in these verses.  The woman was dragged out into the public arena to be humiliated.  She was being used by the very people who should have valued human life and dignity, even in the middle of sin.  And if they were the ones who actually set the trap, then double shame on them. Think about this, too. How many of our leaders today in all walks of life tend to use people as merely things, means to accomplish our desires and plans to get ahead, without actually recognizing that these are people created in the image of God?  The Jews – the scribes and Pharisees – were acting worse than the woman who they were accusing of adultery.  Jesus later refers to them as being of their father the Devil, the father of lies.  They were supposed to be the religious leaders of the community.  Yet they were nothing more than sons of the devil. 

Look also at what the Pharisees say.  This woman has been caught in the act of adultery.  How can someone be literally caught in the very act of adultery?  Unless it was a set up…. Boice (The Gospel of John, 603) notes that “…it could hardly be otherwise, on the basis of their testimony and in light of the very exacting requirements of Jewish law in this and other capital cases. Under Jewish law, as it was practiced by the rabbis in the time of Christ and later, it was necessary to have multiple witnesses to the act of intercourse before the charge of adultery could be substantiated, and even this was to be under the most exacting of circumstances…”.  This had to be a setup, monitored closely through spies, all arranged, probably using a man who had agreed to take part in the scheme, and was guaranteed immunity. 

In fact, where is the man in this story?  It takes two to tango.  There is already something strange going on here as only the woman is brought forward. There is no such thing as adultery where only one party is guilty. But there she is and no man.  The whole scenario raises many questions that seem to point to the fact that this situation was a setup and was arranged by the Pharisees to entrap Jesus. 

Third, we have the trap in verses 5-6. The reason for the whole affair is explained by John in the first sentence of verse 6.  It was a trap for Jesus by the Jews so that they could have a case to bring against Jesus.  Disgusting and dishonest.  The Jews were using a trap and the law to get rid of this troublemaker, who was teaching things that went against NOT scripture but against the traditions of the Jews, their own traditions and laws outside of Scripture. 

But what did they say to Jesus, in verse 5?  The Pharisees claimed that the law of Moses required her to be stoned.  True, adultery (sex outside of marriage when one partner was married) required the death of both participants, but stoning was not mentioned in the Old Testament law.  The law said in Deuteronomy 22:22 – “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die.”  Stoning was the required punishment when one of the participants was engaged to be married, and both participants received the death sentence.  But again, where was the man here?  Jesus had already challenged the Jews and their belief in the Scriptures and adherence to the law in John 7:19-22, and John 5:45-47.  The Jews claimed to hold fast and obey the law, yet they were plotting to kill him.  Now they were using the law not only to entrap a woman in the crime of adultery, but also to entrap Jesus. 

What’s interesting is that while the Jewish law demanded capital punishment for adultery – death – Roman law, while fairly lenient to those areas under their rule, mandated that all capital offenses be tried under Roman courts, not in the individual regional and local courts.  Not the Jewish courts.  If Jesus answered to stone her, then he would be in trouble with the Romans, but if he said let her go and sided with Roman law, he would have been seen as disobedient to the Mosaic law.  Perhaps even seen as justifying fornication and adultery. He would be seen as a false prophet.  Trapped! 

However, in verses 7-8, we have the verdict of Jesus.  He avoids the trap. Always the question arises, what was Jesus writing on the ground? We don’t know, and the Bible doesn’t tell us.  So I am not going to speculate.  Every commentary I have read says something different.  So let’s not focus on that.  Let’s instead look at what Jesus told them, after they kept insisting that he answer the question.   

In Deuteronomy 17:7 the law states that if a witness accuses a person of a crime requiring capital punishment, and they are found guilty of the capital crime, the witness themselves must participate in the execution of the sentence.  Why?  Because this would prevent frivolous accusations and prevent fraudulent and spiteful accusations.  It would keep the people from sinning even more than they already did.  If you wrongly accused someone of a capital crime, and they were found guilty, by your participation in the execution you would be murdering an innocent victim. Jesus turned the law back on the accusers. 

In verse 9, we have the response of the accusers.  They, one by one, dropped the stones and walked away. They all left and Jesus was left with the woman in the middle of the crowd.  The scribes and Pharisees had not only been bested by Jesus and their own law, but were also thoroughly embarrassed and put to shame in the public, as they had intended to do with Jesus and the woman. Confronted with their own sin, the accusers find it is better for them to not falsely accuse the victim, and simply walk away.  In Deuteronomy 19:15, the law required two witnesses before any sentence could be executed.  Now there were no witnesses.   Not a single witness to accuse her, and the Jews and the law were powerless to touch her.  What, then, remained? The way was now clear for Christ to act in “grace and truth.”

In verses 10-11, we see the compassion and the challenge of Jesus.  All the accusers were gone.  Jesus then replies with compassion.  No one was there to accuse her.  Jesus did not see her commit the act, in his human form at least.  He does not accuse her.  BUT… Jesus says some things here that shows us he knows what the woman has done, and shows us his power as God himself. 

In verse 11, Jesus tells her to go and sin not more.  Yes, you committed the sin of adultery.  I did not see it in my humanity, but I know, because I am God.  Jesus also shows he has the power to condemn and convict.  Notice he says, neither do I condemn you.  Not accuse you.  But Jesus also has the power to forgive by grace and with mercy.  Jesus speaks the sweetest words anyone could hear.  He doesn’t condemn her, but forgives her. 

So what does all of this mean?  How then should we live?  A couple of points to consider.

One, this text reveals the situation of Israel at the time, not in terms of sexual sin, but in terms of selfishness and evil of the rulers, elites, and religious leaders.  They have no qualms about ruining a person’s life for their own ends.  The fact that they even contrive this plan shows the depths of evil in their own hearts, and one main reason why Jesus calls them children of the devil later in John chapter 8.  Our challenge today, as we look around and see much of the same behavior and mindset today is, how can we as followers of Christ uphold the compassion and view of human dignity as Christ has, even for those who live destitute lives and commit vile sins? How can we view sin as sin, treason against a holy and just God, yet still treat all people as created in the image of God?  This is our challenge today as Christians. 

Secondly, Jesus upholds sin while at the same time providing forgiveness and mercy. Jesus does not minimize sexual sin in this text.  In fact, he upholds the law of Moses and its just penalty for this type of sin.  Sexual sin is a perversion against the created order that is prohibited in just about every NT book. BUT… Jesus elevates forgiveness and mercy towards a sinner who was being used for evil purposes. Mercy and forgiveness are free, freely given by Christ to those who don’t deserve either.  BUT out of our gratitude and love to Christ as a result of his mercy on us, we are bound to then go and sin no more.  Not out of some false sense that we can even begin to repay Christ for what he has done.  This is blasphemy; its an insult to God!  But out of love and our desire to please God and Christ.  The law is still in force, but it doesn’t enslave us.  We are servants of Christ!  

This incident is a striking example of John 1:17 – For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  The grace of God never conflicts with His law, but, on the contrary, upholds its authority.  Romans 5:20-21 says, 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But how grace might reign “through righteousness” was a problem which God alone could solve, and Christ’s solution marks Him as none other than “God manifest in flesh.” Christ came to save sinners, through grace and mercy.  He fulfilled the law and took our punishment, while at the same time, Jesus provided grace and forgiveness for us, so that we might be reconciled to God in a right relationship with Him. Justice was satisfied by Christ’s punishment.  Yet, all the more, grace abounded for us, through the righteousness of Christ, so that we may have NOT eternal punishment, but eternal life through the person and work of Jesus.    

Let’s pray.