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Jesus, The Light of the World, Part VI, John 8:44-53
In Chapter 8 of the Gospel of John, Jesus has declared himself to be the Light of the World and that declaration has fallen on ears that operate in the land of the Lie.
In that land the scribes and the Pharisees claim connection with Father Abraham but that connection is based only on blood and is no basis for entrance into the presence of God for the blood of sinful man does not satisfy the Father.
Only connection with Abraham as the Father of Faith will bring one into favor with God, only connection with the sinless blood of His Son will bring favor.
Jesus Christ does not mince words with these false teachers, these manipulators of the Word of God, these men who bind other men to themselves though the false doctrine of a man made religion, a religion of the works of man.
And not mincing words which we are so prone to do, He tells them the truth and connects them to, not Abraham as their father but to their true father, their father, the devil.
So He declares in no uncertain words the words of John 8:44:
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
This is the climax, this is the peak that the Lord was climbing, for our Lord is fearless.
He had found nothing to their claim that they were the children of Abraham.
He had demonstrated that Abraham’s God was not their Father.
Now he tells them plainly, without softening the message, without worrying about their feelings, that they are of their father the devil.
He faces them with truth about themselves for this is always the Gospel’s goal.
It was obvious to Jesus Christ who their father was by their character and by their fruit.
But it was not obvious to the Jews who were under the influence of wicked and deceitful hearts.
For they opposed the truth, upheld the Lie, and therefore they were kin to the father of lies.
Wasn't it the devil who planted the first seed of lies in the Garden and promised:
"Ye shall be as gods!"
In this he showed himself as the father of lies!
Jesus is telling them, You are controlled by that one who was a murderer from the beginning, the one who brought death into the world in the Garden.
All death on the earth is laid at your father's door.
He is a mass murderer, the murderer of the human race, the reason for every graveyard.
These religious Jews loved darkness instead of light and therefore they loved to operate in the realm of the prince of darkness.
In this realm the devil blinds their minds, he directs their daily walk, he works in them his will to do evil, to walk independent of the Father, to walk dependent upon the devil.
Jesus knew without a doubt that they were of the devil because the lusts of their father they were doing.
Their fruit revealed the kind of tree from which they came!
They were the tares that always followed the true wheat, they are the counterfeits, the children of the apostasy, enemies of the true gospel, and purveyors of the false gospel, very religious but very lost.
And Jesus continues in John 8:45, And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
This is the nature of the unregenerate!
This is a principle on which you can count.
They refuse to believe the Son of God simply because he tells the truth.
How could they know truth when their father was the father of lies.
Children of the father of lies only know lies and cannot know truth.
Lost people do not know Jesus Christ for Jesus Christ is truth!
Therefore in their natural state they cannot know truth.
If they cannot know truth then the only thing left for them is to know error.
The only thing left for them is to believe the lie.
That is why man will give heed to the most absurd and ridiculous propositions and arguments.
How can men look at every last thing around them and deny the God who made all things.
To those who know truth that conclusion is absolutely absurd and almost comical!
Why does man believe he evolved from apes?
Why does man believe in himself as God?
Why does man believe that there is no such thing as sin?
Why does man believe he can purchase status with God by his works?
What need does God have of man’s works?
All these questions are answered because the natural man is not of God and knows not truth and can only operate in the world of lies!
Psalm 58:3, The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Psalm 62:4, They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.
Isaiah 28:15, Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
2 Timothy 3:7, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Only if Jesus were to be false then they would believe him.
When truth comes about and shines light on their lies it only arouses murder and hatred in their heart.
Why do lost people so easily believe the Lie.
Because that is what their father is.
There is no truth in him and there is no truth in them.
Like father, like son.
Again Jesus knows their character.
And the character of children of the devil is to refuse to accept the truth.
So Jesus continues to speak the truth in John 8:46,47, Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
He challenges them to point the finger at a single sin in his life.
Here he claims moral perfection!
Here he claims to be without blemish or spot.
Take the entire Mosaic Law and test my life against it and find one error or sin.
Take the prophets, take the whole Old Testament and match it against my life to see if there is any deviation from the upright.
Go to my home, talk to my mother, my brothers, my neighbors to see what transgressions I have committed.
Go to Nazareth, and Cana, and Bethesda and Galilee.
Trace my footsteps and talk to the people who have listened to me and have seen my testimony to see if you can find any flaw in my conduct.
Jesus dares to make this challenge.
He is the only one who ever lived in a human body to dare to make a statement like this.
Which of you convinceth me of sin?
Jesus knew who he was and he knew that God cannot be convicted of sin.
So he can ask the question in a way that should convince them that they are not of God; that they are not children of God.
You don't believe me? Why don't you believe me?
He answers the question!
Because you are not of God and those not of God cannot know truth; they cannot believe truth because they cannot hear truth!
Read John 3:34, For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God:
And John 18:37, Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
If I preach truth in accordance with the scriptures and you do not believe my words then I can say by the authority of Jesus Christ that you are not of God!
And so said Jesus!
John 8:48, Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
This is a diversion on the part of the Jews.
They cannot answer his probing question so they resort to sidetrack.
He had just declared that they were not the true children of Abraham.
He had also declared that their father was the devil.
So their retort was as a child would retort.
No, you are not a pure Jew and you must be demon possessed to talk about Jews the way you do!
You are not one of us, having consorted with Samaritans.
No proper Jew would do what you have done with Samaritans.
Their hatred of Samaritans was bitter and complete, typical of the bigotry of the Pharisees.
John 8:49, Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
Jesus does not address the charge that he is a Samaritan, for he is the Light of the whole World, the savior of all men, including Samaritans.
Jesus was prudent in his words and did not give time to ridiculous charges.
He truthfully denies that he has a devil or a demon.
He honors his Father by telling the truth about men.
He does not flatter in order to gain supporters but he shows and depicts man's fallen nature in humble terms.
By his statement that he honors his Father he shows that he does not seek the honor of men for himself for that is not his motive.
One who is moved by the Devil is inflated with pride and seeks honor and fame for himself for that is natural from the Father of Lies.
This He did not do.
In fact he was the opposite of this since he took great effort to turn eyes toward God and away from him.
For in John 8:50 He brings emphasis on this by saying, And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
If he sought his own glory he would not have told them the truth.
If he sought his own glory he would not have followed the course he was on that led to his death on a Roman cross.
He sought not his own glory but was an example to us of one who humbles himself and one who will be lifted up by the Father at the appointed time.
He knew that this was in the plan of God; that the Son was to be glorified.
But that was to be the Father's doing, not his own.
Jesus Christ knew that this was not the time for his glory but this was the time to glorify the Father.
He was doing the Father's will, and they were treating him with contempt.
God’s message is woe unto these who treat God the Son with contempt!
Dreadful is the judgment that awaits such as these!
Be careful where you place your contempt.
There is one who seeketh and judgeth!
So another bold statement comes from the lips of Christ in John 8:51 where He says: Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Yes, my enemies, there is one who seeketh and judgeth, but my invitation is extended to you, you who hate me and despitefully use me.
If you keep my saying you shall never see death.
Notice who this is effective for.
Note the word "keep".
Keep means what it says.
Keep means to hide Jesus Christ's word in your heart.
Keep means a heart transaction.
Keep means that the heart now belongs to God as a repository, as a safe deposit box for God's word.
Keep means to retain it in our memory.
Keep means that the word is effective in our daily lives.
Keep means I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Keep is only effective for the child of God, the born again one, the believer in Christ and in his word.
Ye shall never see death, because that which the world sees of the believer is not death, but only that which brings the believer into a presence with God for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
John 8:52,53, Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
Hear the natural man speak!
The natural man only knows natural things.
He has no capacity for spiritual things.
He is not alive to spiritual things for his realm is trespass and sin.
Don't try to force fit spiritual things into the natural man.
This is done all the time in the church of the apostasy.
This is what the church of the apostasy is about.
The church of the natural man.
The church of the natural man is best at assuming the appearance of the spiritual man.
The natural man is without discernment; having no capacity to perceive what Christ is saying about death.
They see only what the eyes see; they see only what the flesh sees and therefore the things of God are foolishness to him.
They are not babes in Christ but fully mature in their own naturalness.
Their interests are elsewhere and having no desire to know light they have no understanding of the word of Christ. |