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“Family Ties" • 9.22.19 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- It has taken us three weeks to
cover this single encounter between the religious leaders and Jesus, which
began with an illegal preceeding designed to trap the Master.
- They brought a woman caught in
the act of adultery, but failed to bring along the man! When they couldn't trap
Him in His actions, they worked on trapping Him in His words.
- They brought out a legal charge
against Him by telling Him that He was the sole witness to His claims. When the
legal charge didn't stick, they levied a personal attack.
- "Who is your Father?"
They couldn't find a legal way to trap Him, so they hoped that embarassment
would rattle His cage.
- All the while, the truth was
coming forth that it was not the Lord who was on trial, but the Pharisees. They
had it all backward.
- They thought that they were
standing in judgment over this supposedly blasphemous Man, when in reality, their
Messiah stood over them, attempting to reveal their true state to them!
- He tells them in their very own
treasury, in the room next to the Sanhedrin's ruling chambers, that He has many
things to pronounce over them, which He will limit to one.
- They were slaves, in bondage to
the sin of unbelief and He, being the Son, could free them from their condition
and bring them into new life! What was their defense?
- "We are Abraham's
descendants!" Most Jewish people at this time believed that simply being
Jewish kept a person from hell!
- Relation to a man is not what
saves you, but relationship with the Son does! Jesus completes His examination
of the Phariseess beginning in verse 37.
Text
• John 8:37,38 : "I know that you are
Abraham’s descendants, but you seek
to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you
have seen with your father.'" : Jesus isn't denying the physical
heritage of the people of Israel. These leaders were Jews by birth, relatives
of Abraham.
- They are of his "seed"
physically, but they were nothing like Abraham. They were actively, presently,
looking for a way to kill Jesus.
- They did not want to submit to or
acknowledge His claim. They wanted to end His life. Why? Because His word had
no place in them!
- The word speaks of a space
reserved in a home for the reception of guests. It would be the equivalent of a
"living room." The Pharisees did not have hospitable hearts toward
the Lord Jesus.
- God's word did not have the room
to expand into their living space!
- His command to believe upon Him,
to see Him as "I AM," could find not a footing in their hearts. That
is the first indictment of any man's claim to religion before God.
- What do you say about Jesus
Christ? Does He have the room to operate and exercise Lordship in your life!
Jesus isn't just saying this alone.
- Jesus speaks out from what He had
seen with His Father. The word family gives us our word "optometry."
The picture is of one who is staring, contemplating the meaning of something.
- Jesus, the Son, has been standing
alongside of His Father and the two have been comparing notes with regard to the
actions of the Pharisees.
- He has seen where their hatred
and resentment and He knows where those feelings originated. Jesus sees with
perfect clarity and is wanting them to see their error!
- God, His Father, is
compassionate, merciful, loving and yes, eventually throughly just! The Jewish
leaders however, were acting in accordance with their Father's behavior.
- Actions speak of a person's true
heritage. If they act like Christ, they belong to Christ. If their actions are
foreign to Christ, they are of another source. The Pharisees return the volley.
Verse 39.
• John 8:39-41 : "They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham
is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of
Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told
you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do
this. You do the deeds of your father.' Then they said to Him, 'We were not
born of fornication; we have one Father—God.'" : Predictably, the religious Jews held
their ground.. Physical DNA proved their claim. Abraham was their nation's
progenitor. That isn't in dispute. There is however, a distinction to be made.
- The people of Israel are Abraham's seed, but
they are not necessarily his children. If they were His children, they would
act like their Father did.
- In ancient times, children very often worked
in the fashion of their family and it was expected that they would act
according to family code. "There goes a chip off the old block!"
- Abraham responded to God in a very different
way than these Pharisees did! Beyond physical resemblance, there was not much
else that they had in common.
- Jesus is hinting at what Paul will later
explicitly say about who can claim a relationship with Abraham in Romans
and Galatians.
• Romans 2:28,29 : "For he is not a Jew who is one
outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one
inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the
letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."
• Romans 9:6-8 : "But it is not that the word of God
has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because
they are the seed of Abraham; but, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called.' That is, those who are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise
are counted as the seed."
• Galatians 3:5-7 : "Therefore He who supplies the
Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the
law, or by the hearing of faith?—just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.' Therefore know that only those who
are of faith are sons of Abraham." : Abraham's children are those that believe God! They take Him at
His word and trust that He is able to fulfill His promise!
- That is the one "work" that Abraham
is credited with and the one work that Jesus has already outlined for the
people of Israel: "Believe in HIm whom He sent!" (John 6:29)
- That isn't what these men sought to do! They
sought to murder Jesus! They sought to kill the One that told them the truth
about Himself and about their lives and destinies!
- They were revealing their true heritage by
their actions. Without answering the Lord's words they simply blurt out their
false claim about His heritage!
- "At least we know where we come from!
Our Father is God! We weren't the result of a torrid affair!" The ugliness
that comes from their mouths is utterly astounding!
- We mentioned last week that they had likely
believed the rumor of an illicit affair between Jesus and a Roman soldier. They
are calling His Mother a hor!
- They have come unglued and aren't concerned
at all for subtlety! They just want to be as vicious as possible toward Jesus.
Their hatred is completely unmasked.
- They will not believe the very first sign of
the Lord's deity, namely that of the Virgin birth! Friends, understand that no
doctrine when it comes to Christ, is indispensable!
- If they would have believed there, they would
not be having this issue here! Verse 42.
• John 8:42,43 : "Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me,
for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to
listen to My word." : If
Abraham were their Father, they'd respond with faith toward Jesus. If God were
their Father, they would shower Jesus with love and affection!
- The way that this is phrased would sound like
this to us: "You would love me more and more!" That is when you know
the Father! You can't help but experience increasing love for Jesus!
- If God was their Father, they would recognize
Jesus as their own brother because they would have noted the family
resemblance! Jesus had gone out from God and was arriving from God!
- Jesus had come by the Father's authority, but
they couldn't understand the language of heaven! Jesus isn't asking, except to
rhetorically get their attention.
- "Why can't you understand my speech? You
want to know why? Because you don't have the power to hear His Word! You won't
believe part one! How can you believe part two!?"
- They were deaf to the Lord's words! There was
no ability within them to comprehend what His words meant! It was all a jumble
to them.
- They understood the words, but could not do
what we are doing here by the power of God's Spirit. They could not apply those
words or see their own hearts as targets of those words!
- It would be a matter of great concern to me
if I sensed this was true of my own heart. Can I distinguish what God is saying
in His Word? Do I hear Him clearly? Jesus continues in verse 44.
• John 8:44-47 : "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and
the father of it. But
because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do
you not believe Me? He who is
of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of
God.'" : This is
the most direct statement made by the Lord to the Pharisees that we have in
scripture! Remember who He's addressing!
- These are men with an extensive religious
background and knowledge of the Word! In Christ's estimation, the only one that
matters, they are children of the devil!
- There is no refuge in religion if your
actions relate you to the Devil! They are rightly identified because of their
murderous intent. That is the way Satan has always operated!
- Satan has always been a murderer and a liar! This
has been his consistent pattern. They have grown used to listening to the Devil
and have nothing that they can say to Jesus!
- Which of them would stand to tell Jesus of
the sin that He committed to earn their hatred! He had only told them the
truth! He had only spoken to them of God's words!
- This issue wasn't the truth in His words, but
the lack of response in their hearts! Are you able to respond to God's words?
Then, you are of God!
- When you read the Word and hear a command,
your Spirit responds with obedience and your actions seek to carry it out. That
is a person who "hears" God's Word!
- God's first "word" to you is to
believe upon Jesus Christ, to repent of your sin and then to walk in holiness.
If you won't hear that, there isn't another word coming! That has to be settled
first!
- They can't hear His words and when you don't
belong to God, there is only one alternative: Satan's Kingdom! Verse 48.
• John 8:48-51 : "Then the Jews answered and said to
Him, 'Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?' Jesus answered, 'I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there
is One who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.'" : By this time the religious leaders
have lost all sense of measurement! They are outraged and out for blood.
- The very worst things that they can say is
that he has proven their suspicions. They had been saying this among
themselves, questioning His ethnicity and His source of power.
- This was an all out racial slur. Nothing was
worse to a Jew than a Samaritan, who were universally hated for their
idolatrous and syncretistic ways.
- To say that Jesus was really a Samaritan
helped ease their rejection of Him. To say that He was controlled by demons
helped explain His power.
- In other places in the gospel records,
several of the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of
the Devil himself! (Matthew 12:24)
- Jesus counters their claim and explains that
He brings honor, not shame to His Father, while they brought shame to Him. Why
could they not see His perfection? Because He wasn't like them!
- The religious leaders all sought to enhance
their fame and reputation. Jesus never acted that way. He didn't need to! His
Father sought to glorify the Son and He's the true Judge!
- Notice that: God the Father is the One who
"seeks." He is seeking for worshippers according to Christ's words to
the Samaritan woman. When He doesn't find a worshipper, He finds an insult!
- Jesus sought to obey His Father, which is our
goal. His life is our example. The Father Himself would take care of the Son's
reputation. That is His prerogative in our life as well!
- The more our lives honor Christ, the more He
will make sure that we have a platform to shine from! Do it with your whole
life! Never fear what can be done to you!
- Jesus was willing to be obedient to His
Father to the point of death!
- He encourages us with these words: If anyone
obeys my word he will never see death!
- "Most assuredly" is a word of
solemn promise. It's close to us saying that we solemly "swear"
something is true. Remember that there were new believers standing right in
that assembly.
- They had a healthy, reality based fear of
these Pharisees and were weighing the cost of their obedience to the Father in
relation to their belief in Jesus.
- Jesus tells them that true death, separation
from God, won't happen to those that make a practice of obeying His command!
Verse 52.
• John 8:52,53 : "Then the Jews said to Him, 'Now we
know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste
death.’ Are You greater than our father
Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out
to be?'" : There is
no dispute now! The religious leaders are sure that they have Him!
- Abraham and the prophets were long gone! They
had kept God's command and they died. How could Jesus now say that anyone who
kept His Word would not die?
- Is Jesus greater than Abraham and the
prophets? That is the point! He is! Who did Jesus make Himself out to be? The
unique Son of God, the Messiah of Israel! Verse 54.
• John 8:54-56 : "Jesus answered, 'If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not
know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.'" : They asked who He made Himself out to
be. Jesus was not making Himself out to be anything. He was declaring who He
was!
- If He had attempted to make Himself something
that would be meaningless. God the Father is the One who brought attention to
Jesus! It was God who did this!
- Read between the lines here. The religious
leaders want Him to slip up. They want Him to acknowledge that He is acting
alone, but they didn't know the Father!
- Jesus did and to say that He didn't would
have put Him in the same category as these charlatans! He would have been lying
to them! Jesus knew the Father and kept His Word.
- As for Abraham, he was grateful to see Jesus'
day or as the NLT puts it, "he rejoiced as he looked forward to" His
coming!
- This is the quintessential understanding of
what made Old Testament saints men and women who were right with God. They
looked forward in faith toward the Messiah.
- That is what the Bible teaches! The Old
Testament saints believed in Christ, the blessing of God upon the nations, the Victor
over Satan's scheme against humanity.
- You and I believe back in time to the
sufficiency of Christ's completed work upon the cross, taking unto Himself all
of the guilt that we accrued to our own accounts via our sin and shame.
- Both Old and New Testament saints are saved
into the same person, Jesus Christ!
- When Abraham saw His day, he was overjoyed and
filled with cheer. When did this happen? What is Jesus referring to? There are
varying opinions, but I'd refer us to Genesis 22.
- God has called Abraham to bring his only son
Isaac up to a mountain that He would reveal to Him. God wants Abraham to offer
Isaac to Him as a burnt offering.
- Abraham faithfully goes, with Isaac along
with Him, willing to obey the Lord's command, reasoning, as Paul will later
reveal, that God would be able to resurrect Him. (Hebrews 11:19)
- Still, even with that supernatural resolve,
it was not a joyous walk! Abraham had resolve, but no joy, up until the moment
that he raised the knife over Isaac's body.
- At that precise moment, Abraham heard the
Father's command to cease! That had to be a great relief, but the joy came, not
at what he heard, but by what he saw.
• Genesis 22:13,14 : "Then Abraham lifted his eyes and
looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So
Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead
of his son. And Abraham called the name of the
place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to
this day, 'In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.'" : In that moment, Abraham saw the
Lord's day! Abraham came to understand the significance and related it to the
Messiah! Verse 57.
• John 8:57-59 : "Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are
not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.' Then they took up stones to throw
at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through
the midst of them, and so passed by." : Jesus has been talking about Abraham as if He had first hand
knowledge, both of his person and His attitude. He recognized who Abraham was
and could comment upon his joy.
- From a natural perspective, Jesus is about 33
years old. Abraham hadn't been on the earth for nearly 3,000 years!
- Jesus has been examined from every single
vantage point and now, tells them as directly as possible, who He is. Liberal
scholars say that Jesus never claimed to be God.
- The only way to make that claim is to ignore
the gospel of John entirely!
- Without question, most solemly, the Lord
testifies that this is true: "Before Abraham was, I AM!" If you are
inclined to believe that this isn't an outright claim to deity, consider the
response.
- They took up stones to kill him! Where did
those stones come from?
- Remember that the temple was being renovated
by Herod during this time, plus there were stones left by the men who had
brought the woman caught in adultery.
- They have the weapons in their hands to stone
a man, but they have nothing that can touch their God, who simply walks right
by them and passes on from the scene!
Conclusion
- Jesus won't let them believe that He is
simply a man with a desire to make something of Himself! He is the virgin born,
unique Son of God, who shares the same characteristics as the Father!
- He is greater than Abraham because He existed
before Abraham. He called Abraham into being and then called him into
relationship with Himself!
- Many of us here are sons of Abraham because
we believe like Abraham! Our faith is in the Messiah of Israel, the I AM, Jesus
Christ!
- This is how we know we are Abraham's
children: We have believed upon Jesus Christ, we have growing love and
affection for Him and we hear His Word!
- If that is not true of you, you are a slave
to sin and a son of Satan! The beautiful news is that Jesus frees slaves and He
adopts children! I pray that you and I will be found in the same family!
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