Below is the manuscript to this Sunday’s sermon. Chances are, you will encounter grammatical errors. Please be gracious. I pray this will be beneficial to you as you study the Word of God that is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).”
Sometimes it’s easy to evaluate a child’s looks, thoughts, and actions and identify his or her true father.
Well, in the same way that someone can easily identify a parent by the looks of a child, Jesus (in our passage today) is telling the Jews that he can identify their true father by their actions. In our passage today, Jesus is seeking to show the Jews who their true father is by exposing their thoughts and actions.
Where Israel thinks that, because they’re descendants of Abraham, they’re children of God, Jesus is seeking to show them that this is far from the truth.
Yes, the Jews were biological descendants of Abraham. But, their actions reveal that they were actually children of the devil.
Yikes…
That’s not a message you want to hear proclaimed in the temple.
This is a strong and offensive message; and we’re going to see today that Jesus is not proclaiming this message out of hate, and he’s not doing it out of spite. Rather, he’s doing this out of love. He proclaims this message so that they might have eternal life.
Where the Jews thought that being descendants of Abraham was sufficient to prevent them from spiritual slavery and give them eternal life, Jesus is showing them that they actually needed someone who was far greater than Abraham to give them eternal life.
Now, our passage today is a continuation of last week’s passage. So, although we divided it up into two weeks, this is one fluid conversation.
Let’s therefore go back and quickly refresh our memory of what we learned last week.
Brady did an outstanding job teaching the word last week, and I’ve heard several stories this week of how God spoke to men and women through the teaching of his word last week. So, praise God for that! If you weren’t here last week, I strongly encourage you to go back and listen to it.
In last week’s passage, Jesus began to show those who believed in him what true belief looks like.
True belief is not merely intellect. If you truly believe in Jesus, you will be his disciple. You will follow him. You will abide in his word; and, in abiding, you will be set free.
Belief in Jesus isn’t an intellectual “aha” moment that we have once. We don’t just pray a prayer, then continue to live the life we always lived. True belief is a continual abiding in, remaining in, and trusting in Jesus.
We saw, however, the crowd couldn’t fathom the fact that they needed to be set free from anything since they’ve never been enslaved to anyone. So, they point to their heritage, to the fact that they’re descendants of Abraham, and they say, “We’ve never been enslaved to anyone. How can we be set free if we’re not slaves?”
Jesus’s message is not computing.
Now, quick detour: for those of you who might not know, Abraham was considered the father of Israel.
In Genesis 12, we see Abraham was called out of a pagan nation by God to become a people (a nation) that would bless the nations. Here we see (1) the LORD called Abraham to leave everything he’s ever known (his family, his country, everything), but we also see (2) God promised him that he would be blessed in doing so.
So, God made a promise to Abraham that “in him all the families of the earth would be blessed.”
“In him” implies biological descendants. This was a profound promise because, at the time, Abraham’s wife was barren. They had no children. So, God is promising a man whose wife is barren that in him all the families of the earth will be blessed.
This would have been a promise that would not have made sense logically. There’s no physical proof for Abraham, at this moment, that this promise will come through. In the same way that you need sticks to make a fire, you need biological children for this promise to work, and they have none.
Yet, despite the uncertainty, Abraham went and followed the LORD. He took his wife… he took his brothers son, Lot… and all the people and possessions that he had acquired… and followed the LORD.
Then, in chapter 15, God gives validation to this promise by making a covenant with Abraham. Here God promised Abraham that his offspring will be like the stars in the sky. Well, if you fast forward to many years later, you will see God faithfully carry out this promise.
So, Israel is saying, “Hey! We’re descendants of Abraham. We are the people of God. We are living poof that God is faithful. We’ve never been enslaved to anyone. What freedom are you talking about?”
This is yet another classic example of them missing the point. Jesus proceeds to show them that this isn’t a physical freedom that he’s talking about. Rather, this is a spiritual enslavement. They’re enslaved to sin, and the Son can set them free from this slavery. He can set them free from the bondage of sin.
But, this message unfortunately has no place in their hearts, and they begin to reject this invitation to freedom. They don’t want to accept this freedom because they don’t want to embrace the reality that they need to be set free.
Now, before we pick up our stones, we must realize that we’re quick to do the same. We are quick to reject help because we don’t want people to think that we need help.
But, let me tell you, at the heart of the gospel is a cry for help. Proclaiming to be a Christian is not a power move. Proclaiming to be a Christian is the most humble proclamation you can make.
Their only hope for eternal life is standing right before them and they’re seeking to kill him, rejecting his message.
Jesus is therefore seeking to show them the reliability of his message. His Father really is God, and his message really is from God. He is speaking of what he has seen with God. And the crowd, however, is rejecting this message from God because they’re doing what they heard from their father.
Jesus is seeking to show them that sonship is proven through obedience, not heritage. Their actions are revealing they are not sons of God.
That leads us to our passage today. Our passage today begins with their response to Jesus’s accusations.
In response to the accusation that their hostile actions towards Jesus are revealing who their true father is, they respond in verse 39,
“Abraham is our father.”
Once again, they’re pointing to Abraham in order to give validation to their relationship with God.
They’re saying, “We are Abraham’s seed. We are his descendants. We are from his bloodline. We’re doing what we’ve heard from Abraham. We don’t need you Jesus because our father is Abraham.”
This is a very common thought process in the americanized church today.
“Are you a Christian?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, that’s how I grew up. That’s how I was raised.”
It’s easy to think that the faith of your parents or grandparents is sufficient to save you. But, it’s not.
Listen to me, Jesus is showing his audience that being a biological descendent of Abraham did not equate to salvation (i.e. freedom from sin) for the Jews. In the same way, being a biological descent of a Christian does not equate to salvation for us today. Growing up in a Christian home does not mean that you’re a Christian.
What we’re about to see is the crowd thought that they were in God’s family because they were descendants of Abraham. But their actions are revealing otherwise.
In verses 39b-41, Jesus responds to their statement. Here he begins to show them that their actions are inconsistent with Abraham’s action, which reveals that they’re not Abraham’s children, and if they’re not Abraham’s children, then that means they have another father.
Let’s look at his response.
“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.”
So, where they think they have no need for freedom because of their bloodline, Jesus is exposing the reality of their brokenness.
Jesus is saying, “How do you actions reflect that you’re from Abraham? They don’t. Your pursuit to kill me reveals that you’re children of someone else.”
If I proclaimed to be an Alabama fan (which I wouldn't), but always wore Auburn clothes (which I wouldn’t) and always went to Auburn games (which I wouldn't), you would begin to question whether or not I was actually an Alabama fan (which I’m not).
The proof that they are not not children of Abraham is their inability to do the works Abraham did. Abraham’s actions were the opposite of their actions.
So, the first question that I asked here was, “What were the works Abraham did?”
Well, for starters, Jesus’s words here give us an idea of what these works would be.
The statement, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works of Abraham” tells us that whatever they’re doing is the opposite of what Abraham did.
So, where they’re seeking to kill Jesus, Abraham would have sought to exalt Jesus. Where they’re at war with the truth bearer, Abraham would submit to the truth being told by God. Where Abraham “believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness,” they’re rejecting the message of God.
Abraham was a man who listened to, walked with, and trusted God… even when nothing made sense. He was a man who’s faith resided in the promises of God.
On the opposite hand, the descendants of Abraham are seeking to kill Jesus, the one who has told them the truth that he heard from God. So, their actions are inconsistent with Abraham’s. Abraham believed God and they rejected God.
So, Jesus is looking at their actions and he’s saying, “You’re not sons of Abraham.”
Well, they responded to Jesus by saying,
“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father— even God.”
Here they’re giving further validity to their claim to be Abraham’s children. They’re claiming to be pure-born. They’re not an illegitimate breed. “We were not born of sexual immorality.”
Now, several commentators point out that this could very easily be a subtle jab at Jesus’ mother’s virgin conception.
“We know our father. But, you have two father’s. Your father, Joseph, adopted you. Your mom was conceived outside of wedlock.”
“We” presents a stark contrast between those speaking and Jesus. “We weren’t born of sexual immorality (wink, wink) like someone else we know…”
So, in their attempt to affirm their legitimacy, they could be insinuating that Jesus is illegitimate. “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
Whether that’s a part of their motive or not, the point still remains: they’re claiming that their conception and birth is pure, they’re truly descendants of Abraham, which means God alone is their father.
They’re claiming that they belong to the one true God. But, Jesus responds by showing them that their hatred of Jesus reveals who their father actually is.
In a somewhat Jerry Springer fashion, he lets the crowd know that Abraham is not their father, but the devil is.
Look at how he begins this in verse 42,
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.”
So, Jesus is saying that proof of being a child of God is love for Jesus. If you don’t love Jesus, you’re not a child of God.
Jesus is not an enemy to God who came on his own accord in order to steal God’s glory.
He was sent from God.
“For I came from God and I am here…”
Meaning: the one standing before them came from heaven,
Their lack of love for Jesus is (1) exposing their lack of love for God and (2) exposing who their true father is.
So, how do you know if you’re a child of God? Proof of being a child of God is found in your love for Jesus. If you love Jesus, cling to Jesus, abide in Jesus, trust in Jesus, and follow after Jesus, then you are a child of God.
Love for Jesus is evidence of being a son or daughter of God.
Look at verse 43,
“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.”
Now, Jesus here is not saying that he’s a poor communicator. Rather, he’s saying that they cannot understand him because of their love for falsehood. The focus here is on their unwillingness to accept Jesus’s message rather than their inability to understand its meaning. The issue is found in their refusal to listen.
Then, he says in verse 44,
“44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
The cats out of the bag here. Jesus explicitly tells the truth.
Your father is the devil. You like what your father likes. Your will is to do your father’s desires.
What’s his desires? To kill, destroy, lie, and deceive.
“He was a murderer from the beginning” is reference to a very common passage in the Bible found in Genesis 3.
As Adam and Eve dwelled with God in perfect harmony in the garden, the devil came in the form of a serpent and lied to Eve and twisted the truth, deceiving her and Adam into eating the forbidden fruit. From this deception, death entered the scene.
This wasn’t a slip up by the devil. He didn’t accidentally lead them to eat the fruit. It was calculated deception, war against God. He does not stand in the truth. There is no truth in him. He is a liar. He is the father of lies. This is your father.
Then, in verse 45, Jesus says,
“But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.”
So, again, their rejection of Jesus reveals that they are sons of the devil. They do not love Jesus because Jesus tells the truth. The reason they do not believe Jesus is because Jesus speaks the truth.
They loved deception. They loved being able to hide their sin in the dark. They would rather be slaves to sin in private than embrace their only hope for freedom, the truth bearer, Jesus. Their rejection of Jesus is rooted in the fact that Jesus is speaking the truth.
Listen to me, this is a temptation we all face.
In order to believe the good news of Jesus, we have to face the truth about ourselves. We have to come to terms with the fact that we are all dead in our trespasses and sins, sons and daughters of the devil, and because of this we have no hope for eternal life on our own.
Proclaiming to be a Christian is not a power move. Proclaiming to be a Christian is the most humble proclamation you can make.
Our only hope for eternal life is found in Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus, we can become adopted sons and daughters of the One true God.
Jesus then asks the question in verse 46,
“Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell you the truth, why do you not believe me?
Feel the weight of what Jesus is doing here. This is still the feast of booths. So, there’s still a large crowd present.
And Jesus holds the microphone up and says, “If any of you can accuse me of sin, come on up.”
I imagine a long pause and some crickets chirping, then him saying, “No. You can’t accuse me of sin. I’m blameless. So, If you can’t convict me of sin, then what makes you think I’m lying here? I’m telling you the truth.”
Jesus here is using his blameless actions as proof that his words are true.
Then, he says in verse 47,
“Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
So, the reason why you reject me is because you’re not of God.
Faith in Jesus is one’s only hope for being a child of God. Yet, their rejection of Jesus is showing them that they are in fact sons of the devil. Their actions are far from Abraham.
Jesus is forcing his audience to reflect on the question: whose actions do your actions reflect more: Abraham’s or the devil’s?
And I want you to reflect on the same question this week. Who’s actions do your actions reflect more: Abraham’s or the devils? Do you embrace the truth about Jesus? Do you embrace the truth about yourself? Or do you try to hide from the truth about yourself?
Rejecting the truth about Jesus and ourself reveals to us the fact that we are sons of the devil and not of God.
They then respond with the classic come back in verse 48,
“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
Sometimes I’m quick and witty and can fire back a snarky comeback. But, most of the time I’m not.
So, growing up, if someone says, “Ryan, you’re so stupid,” I will often times respond with the very uncreative remark, “No, you’re stupid.”
When you don’t really have an insult to say, you just repeat the insult someone just made about yourself.
Well, I feel like the crowd is doing the same thing. In the face of the accusation that their father is the devil, they ask if Jesus was demon possessed.
What a comeback, guys. Good one!
Well, Jesus responds,
“I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
So, no, Jesus is not demon possessed. He’s from the Father, and he honors the Father.
Think about it, Jesus would be the worst demon possessed man to ever exist. He’s never sinned, perfectly observing the law. He honors the Father. He humbly doesn’t seek his own glory. If he was demon possessed, whatever demon possessed him would need to be fired.
Jesus honors the Father and they dishonor Jesus. They dishonor him by (1) claiming that he has a demon and (2) by not giving him the proper honor that he rightfully deserves as the Son of God. Therefore, they dishonor the Father.
Then, smack dab in the middle of this rebuke Jesus says,
“If you keep my word, you will never see death.”
Now, is Jesus saying, if you keep his word, then you will never literally die? No.
There’s an interesting stat out there: out of every five people, five people die. Death is inevitable. Jesus himself dies.
So, what is Jesus saying here?
He’s saying that if you do what he’s been calling you to do, which is come to him in belief, clinging to him as your only hope for freedom from sin and your only hope for eternal life, then you will never see death. Though you will die, you will live with Christ for all eternity.
The beauty of the gospel is that when you believe in Jesus, you receive the Holy Spirit, and in that moment you’re miraculously brought from death to life. You’ve been made alive with Christ (in a spiritual sense), by the mercy of God.
So, when your physical body passes away, you will be at home with the Lord for all eternity. Belief in Jesus leads to eternal life. If you abide in, cling to, and trust in the message he’s proclaiming, you will never see death.
Jesus here is claiming to possess power over sin and death; he’s claiming to possess the power to give eternal life; and he’s inviting children of the devil to come to him in faith, so that they might have eternal life.
Jesus lovingly and truthfully exposes their corruption so that he could share with them true hope.
They, however, respond to this invitation by saying,
“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?”
So, yup, you’re demon possessed. Not even Abraham, the father of Israel, or the prophets have avoided death. Death is inescapable. How can you say such a thing, Jesus?
Once again they’re thinking merely in the physical, unable to hear the true message Jesus is proclaiming.
But, Jesus responds,
“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.”
So, Jesus doesn’t really respond by answering their questions directly. Rather, he says, “The God you claim to serve is my Father, and he is the one who glorifies me.”
Once again, he’s saying that if they truly knew the God they claimed to serve, they would truly know Jesus. But, they don’t know God. So, they don’t know Jesus.
But, Jesus knows God. Jesus, the Son, truly knows the Father. He is truly the Messiah who came to proclaim good news to the poor and set the captive free.
Then, Jesus brings back up their father Abraham and says,
“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
So, Jesus here is speaking in a personal, divine, manner. He’s speaking out of a divine knowledge, as if he was there to see Abraham rejoice.
Not only is Jesus claiming to know God, but he’s claiming that he knew Abraham on a personal level. Abraham rejoiced that he would see the coming of Jesus; and the fact that Abraham rejoiced over the coming of Jesus tells us that Jesus is claiming to be superior to Abraham.
Abraham acknowledged the fact that Jesus is superior, not vice versa.
It’s not Abraham > Jesus.
It’s Jesus > Abraham.
So, yes, Jesus is greater than Abraham; and Abraham, their father, acknowledged this truth. Jesus is the one that Abraham’s hope resided in. If they were truly Abraham’s children, they would notice this and they would join in this rejoicing.
Well, following these words, they say,
“You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
And Jesus responds,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Jesus has made a lot of “I am” claims up until this point in the gospel. He’s claimed to be the bread of life. He’s claimed to be the light of the world. By the end of the gospel of John, there will be seven “I am” statements made by Jesus.
In all of these claims, he is claiming to be able to do and accomplish things that only God could do and accomplish. But, here in verse 58 Jesus isn’t just claiming to be able do things that only God can do. He is claiming to be God. He is claiming for himself the divine covenantal name of God.
In Exodus 3, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush, and he calls Moses to go Egypt and set his people free from slavery. During this exchange, Moses asked God to tell him what his name was, so that he could tell the people.
And God responds,
“I AM WHO I AM… Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you. The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”
Jesus here is claiming to be the God of their fathers. He is claiming to be the creator of all things, the great I AM. He is the one who called Abraham.
He is the one who heard Israel’s cry in slavery and acted on their behalf. He is the one who delivered them from their enemies. He is the one who filled the Nile with blood. He is the one who sent the frogs, gnats, and flies. He is the one who killed all of the Egyptian livestock. He is the one who sent the boils, who sent the hail, who sent the locust, who sent the darkness, and who killed all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. He is the one who parted the Red Sea. He is the one who delivered his people from slavery. He is the one who dwelt with his people in the wilderness. He is the one who provided them bread from heaven and water from rocks. He is the one who led his people to the promise land. He is the almighty God, the Great I AM.
This means that the Great I AM has come and dwelt among man in order to redeem sinners through his death on the cross.
You cannot make a more specific claim to deity than the one Jesus has made here, and because of this claim, we see in verse 59,
“So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”
Listen to me, there’s two types of responses one may have to this claim from Jesus:
We can bow down to him in reverence, awe, and submission.
Or, we can pick up stones to throw at him.
There’s no middle ground. He’s either a blaspheming fool or he’s the great I AM. If he’s the great I AM, then we can trust him.
We can trust him for eternal life. A person is justified (made in right standing with God) only through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Salvation does not depend upon your ability to try harder.
The almighty God of the universe came to earth in the form of a baby (Merry Christmas, BTW). His mother Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was born in a manger.
He grew like us, he learned like us, he bled like us, laughed like us, yawned like us, wept like us.
But! He never sinned like us. He walked in perfect submission to the Father, doing exactly what the Father told him to do; and he did so to the point of dying on the cross for sinful humanity like you and I.
He died the death that we should have died. He took upon himself the punishment that we all deserve. He rose from the grave, defeating sin and death, so that through faith in him we never have to taste death.
Rest in this truth. Rest in the gospel. Rest in Jesus.
The great I AM loved us enough to die for us, and if this is true then we can trust him in every aspect of our lives.
He is a good God who never leaves his people. He disciplined them, sure. But, though they encountered discipline and though they encountered many trials, they never encountered them alone.
That truth has not changed today. Though we encounter many trials in this life, we know that those trials cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Ever since the garden, the devil has been a liar, hellbent on our destruction. But, from the beginning, before all things were created, God has been good and he possesses a good plan for his people. It was God’s plan, before the foundation of the world, to redeem sinners like us through Jesus’s death on the cross.
The actions of Jesus’s audience revealed who their true father was. Though they claimed to know God, their actions revealed otherwise. Their actions revealed that they were actually enemies of God.
True belief in Jesus entails following Jesus. True belief in Jesus entails an abiding in Jesus.
Does your life, do the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart, reveal that you are sons and daughters of God? Or do they reveal that you are enemies of God, sons and daughters of the devil?
If you are sons and daughters of God, because of your faith that resides in Jesus, then may you continue to grow and trust in him for all things, in all situations.