The Opposition to Christ
Notes
Transcript
The Opposition to Christ
The Opposition to Christ
In the previous verses of this chapter 8, we saw the exchange between Jesus and the supposed believing Jews during the Feast of Tabernacles. Their claim was that they were not only Abrahams physical children and spiritual children, but they went as far as to say that “We are children of God.”
We find, in this discourse, that a true disciple of Christ, WILL abide in His word. The one who habitually commits sin is still a slave of sin. It is only the Son of God who can make “one” free, and that “one” is said to be free indeed.
We find that there is no benefit or advantage for the Jew over the Gentile. Those who claimed to be the true Children of God were in reality true Children of Satan. Despite the belief among these self-righteous Jews, like everyone else, must come to hear and heed the truth of His Holy word. In fact Jesus clearly states in no uncertain terms that “He who is of God hears the words of God;” but in contrast they who want to do the desires of the devil, there is no place for Christs words in them, they do not hear His word, because they are not of God.
Needless to say, they were having a “come to Jesus moment.” The Jewish leaders are becoming increasingly agitated and abusive. Jesus’ words were outrageous and repulsive to the offspring of Abraham. The pagans, agnostics, and infidels of our time, are appalled by the teachings of the Son of God, and so were these.
When Jesus exposed the true spiritual condition of these apostate hypocrites, we find that they were actually the enemy of the God they claimed to know and serve. Jesus even openly declared them to be children of Satan. Like their father, the devil, they are liars, murderers, and enemies of God.
Now lets see how they respond to the Son of God!
John 8:48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
John 8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
John 8:50 “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
John 8:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”
Now the unbelieving Jews are accusing our Lord of having a demon. This statement is blasphemous in nature.
This serves to show the outrage of this crowd by Jesus’ declaration that they were really children of the devil.
In response, the Jews call Him a Samaritan. Why did they call Him a Samaritan? This is meant to be an insult. They themselves despised the Samaritans and saw them as physical and spiritual half-breeds. The Samaritans were the descendants of Jews who remained in the northern kingdom after its fall and intermarried with pagans transplanted there by the Assyrians. The Jews avoided dealing with the Samaritans altogether. For a Jew to call another Jew, a Samaritan, would have been the ultimate insult, until they accused Him of having a demon.
Jesus knew that by their calling Him a Samaritan, they were calling Him a false teacher, a traitor of Israel, and an enemy of God. For a Jew to call another Jew, a Samaritan, would have been the ultimate insult, except they go a step further. They make the blasphemous accusation that Jesus is possessed by a demon. The scribes had already accused Him of being possessed by Beelzebul and of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons. Many of the Jews are recorded as saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?
They had accused John the Baptist of having a devil as well.
In Jesus’ response to His accusers, He did not acknowledge the Samaritan comment, but...
John 8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
Having been called a Samaritan and being accused by them of having a demon, He clarifies whats really happening here, by saying “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.”
Jesus honored the Father by doing and saying what was pleasing to the Father. All the while, the Jews who claim to know God, dishonor the Father by there dishonor of the Son of God.
But it was Jesus who fully honored the Father, while a person who is possessed by a demon, could not possibly honor God!
The Lord said to them...
John 8:50 “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
He who left the splendor of heaven and His divine glory, did not come to this earth, taking on dying flesh, to seek His own glory.
He did not come seeking the approval of humanity.
But He did come to seek and save those who were sitting in darkness, He did come to take on the sins of many, He did come to redeem His people from the slavery of sin by taking the place for Adam’s helpless race, and shedding His precious blood and drawing His last breath of life, on the cross of Calvary.
This is not a man that seeks glory, but this is the Good Shepherd, who emptied Himself of all, but love, for His sheep!
Although Jesus did not receive honor from Man, there is One who seeks honor for the Son, and that is, the Father! And He judges rightly, and you know what? He has determined that His Son is worthy of glory. Why? Because He was perfectly obedient. And He obediently humbled Himself even to the point of death on Calvary’s rugged cross.
Philippians 2:9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
Philippians 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Philippians 2:11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Next, Jesus makes a tremendous promise to those who honor and glorify Him by obedience to His call to salvation, He says to them...
John 8:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”
Now here is something to hold on to, this is glorious news. Jesus says, Truly, Truly which means “LISTEN, LISTEN, “IF” anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
It is only a child of God who keeps His word. What does it mean to keep His word? To “keep” His word means- to retain it, to hold it, to preserve it, to continue in it, to persist in obedience to His word.
Such are these who are given a promise to never see death.
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
To never see death, means to NEVER come into judgment, to NEVER be separated from God, but it means to be alive forever more.
John 8:52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’
Again, we hear the blasphemous utterances of these men, who claim that our Lord is demon possessed. Yet it is they who are not moved one bit by the wonderful promises of Christ.
No believer will see death, why? Because believers having been born again of incorruptible seed, live even when the body dies. Death can not extinguish those who are united to Christ. Death is simply the passageway into the heavenly kingdom.
Romans 8:10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
However, Jesus’ opponents could not perceive any hope of deliverance from death, because such things are spiritually discerned.
As spiritually dead men, the Jew present with two challenging questions in verse 53...
John 8:53 “Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
They try to obscure the glory of Christ, by the splendor of Abraham and of the saints. Christ is the greater Light, He is the Light of the world. In fact, men sit in complete and utter blackness, except for the Light of Christ.
Certainly He is infinitely greater than Abraham, and Abraham would have told them so.
John the Baptist, the last of the Old Testament prophets, Jesus said there is none greater than John the Baptist. And John the Baptist testified of Him,
John 1:26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.
John 1:27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
John the Baptist had given testimony of the greatness of Jesus.
After His submersion into the River of Jordan, a great voice called out from Heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I AM well pleased.”
Even with the signs that He performed, and with His great words of wisdom like no man has ever uttered, mankind with hardened and rebellious hearts, rejected Him.
Jesus calmly and patiently reiterates again...
John 8:54 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’;
Throughout the Gospel of John we find that the Father...
Sent His Son, Sealed His Son, Taught His Son, Commanded His Son, Bore witness to His Son, Loves His Son, Delighted in His Son, and YES…He Honored and Glorified His Son.
And of course Jesus honored the Father in every way!
The claims that Jesus made were not those of a person who is demon possessed. The glory of Christ was not that of a demon, but that of the Son of God. His glory was by His eternal relation to His Heavenly Father. The very One of whom the Jews claimed, “HE is our God.”
It was nonsense, that while they claimed to “know God” they were using blasphemous words in rejection of His Son!
What does Jesus do in response? He plainly points out the obvious to these children of Satan by saying...
John 8:55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
Many today, like these Jewish leaders, are delusional. They profess to know God, but in reality they deny Him and are enemies of His.
Because they do the desires of their father, the Devil.
Jesus pressed them, even though their blood was boiling with anger, the Lord refused to back down or deny that He knew the Father.
He knew they were lying, and Jesus did not back down, for if He denied knowing God, then He Himself would have been a liar.
Jesus knew the Father in a profound and eternal Oneness as only the Son of God can.
Although they were rejecting Him Jesus pointed out...
John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
Abraham saw in his son Isaac, the beginning of God’s fulfillment of His covenant with him, which would culminate in the coming of the Messiah.
In fact, we find that Abraham prophetically saw and welcomed Christ’s day, as stated in...
Hebrews 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Here once more, our Lord gives a contrast between the behavior of His opposers, with the behavior of Abraham. They wanted to murder the very One in whose coming Abraham rejoiced.
John 8:57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
This is a full blown claim to deity.
Christ is eternal. Christ is timeless. As God He has always been. Before Abraham was, I AM is!
Fully aware of this claim to be God, they fly into a rage!
John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.