New Life Bible Fellowship Church
2-16-25
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      • Psalm 96:1–6NKJV

  • All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name
  • To God Be The Glory

      • Psalm 119:113–128NKJV

  • Introduction:

    As we continue through this amazing gospel of John, we learned last week that Jesus in his interaction with his opponents, the Jewish religious leaders, declared to them that he was the truth that would set them free. They, however, understood that through being a descendent of Abraham, they were not in slavery. However, Jesus directed them to the true reality of their condition…they were slaves to sin, living in the covenant community of the faith of Abraham, but actually belonging to their father the devil.
    This morning, we will see that Jesus declares emphatically that the one of whom they believe was their father, Abraham, actually longed to see his day, and in reality, did not precede him, but, Jesus declared, that he was before Abraham, and was in fact, the great, I am, equating himself with the Yahweh of the Old Testament in human form. So let’s read this glorious passage together in John 8:48-59.

    Text: John 8:48-59

    John 8:48–59 ESV
    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.” 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.

    Main Idea: Because Jesus is the great I AM, all those who keep his words will not die.

    We begin this morning with a response from the Jews; a response to what Jesus said in our closing verse of last week, verse 47:
    John 8:47 ESV
    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.”
    Jesus once again is…

    I. Proclaiming Divine Authority (8:48-51)

    48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
    a Samaritan. A term of insult, possibly implying that Jesus was born out of wedlock, equating that with their contempt for the Samaritans.
    have a demon. When cornered by the truth, Jesus’ enemies turn to blasphemy (Matt. 12:24, 31).
    49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
    I do not have a demon. Jesus’ conduct, in honoring the Father and not seeking self-glory, is the opposite of what a demon-possessed person would do. Jesus is not afraid to refer the matter to God’s judgment (cf. 17:4), but…Jesus never loses focus…
    I honor my Father, and you dishonor me - In essence Jesus is saying that because I honor my father, and you dishonor me, you therefore, in dishonoring me, dishonor my father, though you may think otherwise. This ongoing intimacy between the father and son is revealed over and over again.
    Jesus now expands on this idea of who it is that vindicates him…
    50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
    Yet I do not seek my own glory. In spite of the fact that I honor the father, Jesus is saying, I do not seek my own praise or honour. In all his teaching this was true. He did not seek to exalt or to vindicate himself. He was willing to bear reproach and be despised. He regarded little, therefore, their taunts and accusations; and even now, he says, he would not seek to vindicate himself, why?…because…
    there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. God will take care of his reputation. He seeks his welfare and honour, and so he committed his cause into his hands without attempting his own vindication.
    Matthew 26:53 ESV
    53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?
    Thus at no time was Jesus distracted from his purpose, but to the contrary…
    51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” - Jesus now drills down even further, as a result of his divine authority, not only will the truth of his words set them free, but through his words they will escape death.
    Truly, truly, I say to you, - listen up everyone, you must hear this…
    if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. - this death, that Jesus is referring to is eternal separation from fellowship with God, and is the judicial punishment for sin (Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, ….” ). Since Jesus would died as the substitute for His people, those who belong to Him are freed from the penalty of sin because Christ endured it for them.
    never see death. this promise will extend beyond this life, Jesus lays claim to a divine prerogative. As we will see, the Jews understood this statement as promising avoidance of physical death (v. 52). In chapter 11, we will see how Jesus comforts grieving Martha with this same assurance that believers, though they experience physical death, nevertheless live and “never die” (11:25, 26).
    This divine authority and intimacy with the father comes from…

    II. Possessing True Knowledge (8:52-55)

    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.’
    Now we know that you have a demon! The terrible insult is now repeated with added emphasis. It has become a wicked, exulting jeer: like saying, “Now we know… that you are insane.”, for, they reason…
    Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Again, as so often before, Christ’s sublime saying (8:51) is given a most literal, earthly interpretation, as if he had been talking about physical death. They said, “Abraham died, as did the prophets.” The biography of each of these great men ended with the terse comment, “And he died.” One seems to hear the echo of Gen. 5: “and he died … and he died … and he died.”
    But again, Jesus had not been speaking about physical death. Hence, when these hostile Jews now repeat and by implication vehemently reject the Lord’s majestic promise as if it were absurd, they are simply proving the truth of his saying recorded in what we saw last week from, John 8:43
    John 8:43 ESV
    43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
    They continue by exclaiming,
    53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?”
    Are you greater than our father Abraham. Abraham and the prophets, great as they were in the history of redemption, could not avoid or dispel death…but Christ is claiming triumph over the grave.
    Who do you make yourself out to be? - in other words, “Who do you think you are anyway?”
    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.’
    If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. In the days of His earthly ministry, Jesus did not seek honor even though it belonged to Him as the Son of God. Christ’s glory was visible only to those who had eyes to see it (1:14).
    It is my Father who glorifies me - Again, Jesus leaves this in the hands of his father and does not allow their claims to distract him from his purpose. We will see that as He approaches His departure from the earth through death, resurrection, and ascension, He asked the Father to restore the visible display of His divine majesty that had been His before creation and His incarnation (17:5). Jesus’ glory will be seen fully and by all at His Second Coming (Matt. 24:30; 2 Thess. 1:9, 10).
    of whom you say, ‘He is our God. - Jesus here reemphasizes the cluelessness of their claim, and introduces to them what it means to know the father…
    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.
    Though you boastfully monopolize him, calling him Our God (v. 54), you have not known (ginosko)) him. but I do know (oida) him.
    The meaning is this: You have not learned to recognize him, have not become acquainted with him (though he revealed himself to you), but I do know him absolutely and directly (having been in his very presence from all eternity; cf. 1:18). It is fair to add, however, that the wicked Jews possessed neither the one nor the other kind of knowledge (cf. 8:55 with 7:28); and that Jesus possessed both; i.e., he knew the Father both absolutely and by experience (cf. 8:55 with 10:15; 17:25).
    If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you - Observe that by means of the conditional sentence, Jesus calls these men liars right to their face. This was already implied back in John 8:44
    John 8:44 ESV
    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.
    but I do know (oida) him and I keep (tereo [pre, act, ind] - watch over, guard, maintain) his word. - In essence Jesus is saying, “I absolutely know the father, and I guard his word that he has given to me in trust.”
    Thus Jesus defines what true knowledge of God is, it is not just the assimilation of facts, but it is taking those facts and acting upon them; living by them; allowing those truths to transform your life. Jesus now in public declaration, pulls out all stops and his eternal identity…

    III. Recognizing Eternal Identity (8:56-59)

    56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
    Abraham ... saw it and was glad. Abraham saw Christ’s day as he embraced in faith many promises given to him by God, promises that demanded the coming of Christ to be fulfilled.
    Since the context of the discussion has been Satan as a murderer and Jesus as one whose death delivers from death, it may have special reference to God’s providing the ram as a substitute when Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac.
    Genesis 22:1–8 ESV
    1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.
    This statement shows clearly that even in OT times, believers were saved through faith in Christ, who was presented to them in the shadows and types given by God to reveal His redemptive plan (cf. Acts 4:12; Heb. 10:1–18).
    Hebrews 10:1 ESV
    1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
    Hebrews 10:9–10 ESV
    9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
    57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
    fifty years old. Jesus is closer to age thirty when this statement is made (Luke 3:23).
    Jesus response to this was the final straw for the Jews…
    58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
    Truly, truly, I say to you - this is it…don’t miss this…
    before Abraham was, I am. This is a clear reference to Jesus’ eternal preexistence. Since this is an attribute of God alone, this text is a forceful statement of Jesus’ deity.
    Take note of the use of the present tense of the verb which suggests the eternal present tense of God’s eternality. “I am” is reminiscent of God’s name in Ex. 3:14 
    If there had been any uncertainty about Jesus’ identity in other passages where he said, “I am” (e.g., 6:35; 9:5; 11:25), there was no confusion here because Jesus is claiming to be the one who was alive before Abraham was, that is, more than 2,000 years earlier. Jesus does not simply say, “Before Abraham was, I was,” which would simply mean that he is more than 2,000 years old. Rather, because he uses the present tense “I am” in speaking of existence more than 2,000 years earlier, he is thus claiming a kind of transcendence over time that could only be true of God.
    Jesus is thus claiming not only to be eternal but also to be the God who appeared to Moses at the burning bush. His Jewish opponents understood his meaning immediately, and responded…
    59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
    picked up stones. - Stoning was the prescribed punishment for blasphemy (Lev. 24:16)
    Leviticus 24:16 ESV
    16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
    However, this punishment was supposed to be the result of righteous judgment, not mob violence (Deut. 17:2–7)
    Deuteronomy 17:2–7 ESV
    2 “If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden, 4 and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. 6 On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
    but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. - again we note that Jesus time for his sacrificial death had not yet arrived and no one could change that timing.

    So What?

    Do we understand that Jesus is the great “I AM” of scripture, as with the Father and the Spirit, he is the eternal, self-sufficient, transcendent God who exists in the present tense?
    Do we understand that because Jesus is the great “I AM”, he therefore is able to take us from spiritual death into spiritual, eternal life?

      • John 8:48–59ESV

      • John 8:47ESV

      • John 8:48–50ESV

      • John 8:48–50ESV

      • John 8:48–50ESV

      • Matthew 26:53ESV

      • John 8:51ESV

      • John 8:52ESV

      • John 8:43ESV

      • John 8:53–55ESV

      • John 8:53–55ESV

      • John 8:53–55ESV

      • John 8:44ESV

      • John 8:56ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Genesis 22:1–8ESV

      • Hebrews 10:1ESV

      • Hebrews 10:9–10ESV

      • Hebrews 10:9–10ESV

      • John 8:57–59ESV

      • John 8:57–59ESV

      • John 8:57–59ESV

      • Leviticus 24:16ESV

      • Deuteronomy 17:2–7ESV

  • My Tribute
New Life Bible Fellowship Church
dick.bickings@gmail.com
(302) 945-8145
https://newlifebfcde.org
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