John 8:49-59 (Teaching)

[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. Back in John chapter 8 this morning, as hard as I was trying last week, we didn't wrap it up.

[0:16] Therefore, I feel like I may have sped through some things and same on me for doing that. Last week, I do know that I've read verse 52 and verse 52 is where I realized that we weren't going to reach the end of the chapter.

[0:34] So that's all I did was read it. I'd like to back up just a little bit to verse 49 and reread from there up to where we'll be picking up this week.

[0:49] Last week we started, I believe we started in verse 33 last week and continued on as hard as we could.

[1:01] But there's an argument, if you'd like, I'd like to call it that, going on here between the Jews and Jesus. And of course the Jews are saying, you know, we're of Abraham's seed and God is our Father and of course Jesus knows better.

[1:20] Jesus doesn't deny that they're physically from the seed of Abraham. But as far as spiritually goes, Jesus rebuked them sharply for that as well as them being actual children of God as they were claiming to be.

[1:39] So that's in a real condensed nutshell there of what's going on here. But if we back up to verse 49 in John chapter 8, this is just after the Jews have said, accused Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a devil.

[2:00] And when we talked about this last week, they were just hurling insults at Jesus at this point because they had no argument. They couldn't argue what he was saying. So just like the world does now.

[2:13] You know, once you back them into a corner, they'll start hurling insults. And I have found that out in doing ministry for a number of years now and in particular street ministry that if you back somebody into a corner, they'll just start hurling insults.

[2:33] They'll hurl insults at you, they'll hurl them at God, they'll hurl them at the church. Just trying to break you, trying to make you basically get mad at them.

[2:44] So then they have reason to accuse you. And that's what was going on here. But verse 49 in John chapter 8 says, Jesus answered, I have not a devil, but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me.

[3:00] And I seek not my own glory, there is one that seeketh and judges. And I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

[3:11] And this is really where we ended exposition, if you'd like to call it that, last week. I said, I know I read verse 52, we didn't really get into it. But beginning 49 on down 351, again in verse 50, and I seek not my own glory, Jesus speaking here, there is one that seeketh and judges. And this seeketh, I may or may not have tagged it last week, because last time I know I was in a hurry towards the end of it all.

[3:42] So shame on me, but when he says, there is one that seeketh and judges. Jesus just before this in the same verse had said, I seek not my own glory.

[3:54] He says, there's one that seeketh. This isn't talking about seeking out, seeking out, you know, searching the reins of the heart, as it's phrased in the scripture, seeking out those that believe.

[4:07] We're in the same line, we're in the same verse here, verse 50, where Jesus said, I seek not my own glory. He says, but there is one that seeketh, seeketh what? Seeketh the glory of Jesus Christ. And that one that seeks the glory of Jesus Christ wasn't Jesus himself.

[4:22] He didn't come here to get the back pat of man. He didn't come here to even get the approval of man. But God Almighty, God the Father, is the one that was seeking the glory of Jesus Christ.

[4:35] So he tells these people here, he says, there is one that seeketh and that judges. So he's given them warning here. These things that they're, he's telling them these things that you're saying.

[4:47] He said, God is seeking my honor. You do dishonor me, he said just before this. He said, but God is seeking my honor. And there is one that seeketh and that judges. In other words, God is going to sit in the, God is going to be in the judgment seat when it comes to your judgment for the things that you are saying to me right now.

[5:08] Jesus has given them a very stern warning in saying those things. Verse 51, verily, verily I say unto you, if a man keep my, keep my saying, he shall never see death.

[5:19] If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Remember, he had just rebuked these people by saying there's one that seeketh and that judges. But here he says, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.

[5:33] So he's told them, he's given them the warning that judgment is coming their way. But he says, if a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death.

[5:44] So he's given them the way out as well. If a man keep my saying. Jesus also says in the Gospel, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments, does he not?

[5:55] And this is basically telling them the same thing. So he's given them the warning, but he's also given them the way out. Keep my saying. Keep everything that I'm telling you. I've told you that I'm from God.

[6:07] I've told you that I'm from forever, that I am the ancient of days. I've told you that I am eternal. I'm not a created being. I am co-equal with God the Father.

[6:18] This God which you claim to serve, this God which you claim to belong to. I am co-equal with him. I am from him. Keep these sayings of mine.

[6:29] What does it mean to keep a saying of Jesus Christ? It doesn't just mean to follow what the Bible says to actually keep something. It means in this context here, in biblical context, it would mean to hide it in your heart, to keep it within you.

[6:44] Keep it in your heart. Keep it in your mind. Memorize the Scripture and keep it in your heart that you don't sin against God. That's what the psalmist says. That's what David said in Psalm 119.

[6:56] He said, I will hide thy word in my heart that I might not sin against thee. That's what it means to keep the sayings of Jesus, not just to follow them and then forget them.

[7:09] To keep something means exactly that. You keep it. So Jesus here says, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Verse 52, then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast to devil.

[7:23] 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?

[7:34] Whom makeest thou thyself? So the Jews here throw another accusation at him. They say, now we know that thou hast to devil. They already accused him of such.

[7:48] And Jesus had already rebuked him from it. Now they're saying, now we know that you have a devil. And what was the reason they give? Because Abraham is dead, and the prophets and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.

[8:04] Art thou greater than our Father Abraham, which is dead? Well, yes. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ was and is greater than Abraham. And these people's father here, they asked that question.

[8:17] They put Abraham up on a pedestal. They put Moses up on a pedestal. They put David up on a pedestal. These Jews did, and even more so nowadays than then, they put David upon a pedestal.

[8:32] They put King David more upon a pedestal now than they do Abraham or Moses, either one nowadays, now in 2023. But they said, Art thou greater than our Father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophet are dead, whom makeest thou thyself?

[8:49] Who do you think you are? Who are you making yourself out to be? In other words, is what these Jews are asking Jesus Christ and Jesus answers. In verse 54, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing.

[9:03] If it is my Father that honoreth me, it is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God. So Christ here says, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing.

[9:16] And I just got through saying a few minutes ago that Christ did not come here in his first advent to gain honor of men. We know from the scripture Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost.

[9:29] That was his purpose of coming here, was to do the Father's will. And the Father's will was that Jesus Christ died a perfect and spotless and unblemished sacrifice for the reconciliation of fallen, evil, wicked man back to the Father. That's why Jesus Christ came.

[9:48] It was not to gain honor from man. So again, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God.

[9:59] He said, I'm not here to honor myself. It is my Father that honoreth me. How has God honored him here in verse 54?

[10:12] It is my Father that honoreth me. That's a Greek word called dexaso. And it's in the present active tense. In other words, he is presently honoring me and he is continually honoring me.

[10:26] He is perpetually honoring me. And Christ has always, from the time he was born, God the Father has honored Christ.

[10:37] At the birth of Jesus Christ, we're getting ready to celebrate that here in the next week or so. The birth of Jesus Christ, God the Father sent angels to herald that Christ the King was born.

[10:49] That Christ the Messiah had indeed come. He sent shepherds to worship the baby Jesus. At the baptism of Jesus Christ, God honored Jesus Christ by saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

[11:05] At the death of Jesus Christ, God honored Jesus Christ by not allowing his body to see corruption. He allowed him to lay in the grave for those three days, but his body did not see corruption.

[11:17] And God the Father honored Jesus Christ in his ascension. He honored him by exalting him to the very right hand of God the Father. And he will honor him on into the future when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and on into the future beyond that for all of eternity.

[11:36] All of heaven's population will forever honor the King that we call Christ. The King that we call our Lord. The King that the Bible calls Jesus Christ.

[11:47] He is presently honoring Jesus Christ and he will forever honor Jesus Christ. This is Jesus telling these Jews, I don't care if you honor me or not.

[11:58] There is one that does honor me. He is presently honoring me and I will forever be honored by him. And folks, that's the honor that we should all shoot for. I'm not saying that God should look down upon us and say that we are equal with Jesus Christ.

[12:14] When God looks upon me as a saved sinner, he must see Jesus Christ. Yes, because if he sees me, I'm in trouble. He must see the righteousness of Jesus Christ when he looks upon me.

[12:27] But I will never receive the honor that Jesus Christ did. I've never saved a single soul. But that's the type of... We should seek to honor Jesus Christ just as God the Father honors Jesus Christ.

[12:42] Why do we honor someone? Why would we put ourselves in a position to make someone known so that others... So that we could make others aware of that person as well and so that they would honor him just like we do?

[13:00] This is the honor that God seeks... God the Father seeks for God the Son. Verse 54, 55, yet you have not known him, but I know him.

[13:14] And if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you. But I know him and keep his saying. Again, in verse 55, yet you have not known him.

[13:26] Christ just laying it out here on the line. He's not beating around the bushes. He's not hiding his words at all. He says, yet you have not known him. Notice that's past tense.

[13:37] You have not known him. In other words, he's saying you've never known him. You've never known the one that is seeking out my honor, the one that is honoring me now and forever.

[13:51] You have not known him. He doesn't say you will not know him. He doesn't say you do not know him. He says you have not known him. In other words, you never have, even though you're claiming to be the children of God, even though you claim to be a child of God, you have not known him.

[14:11] But I know him. Christ goes on with that line. But I know him. You don't know him, but I do. And he says, and if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you.

[14:23] And people nowadays in the church, people nowadays will say, well, that's not very Christlike of Jesus to set. Call these people liars right to their face. And that's exactly what he just did.

[14:34] He said, you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say that I don't know him, I'll be a liar just like you are. Like unto you is what Jesus said.

[14:45] But he's calling them liars to their face. He says, but I know him and keep his saying. That last line there is something that you and I as Christians, we need to look at and we need to dwell on.

[14:57] We need to meditate on that. If Christ says, but I know him and keep his saying, how will we say that we know him? How can we say that we know him the same way that Christ did here by keeping his saying?

[15:15] I just got through saying a little while ago, Christ said, if you love me, keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments. He says here, I know him, I know the Father, what you are claiming to know, and I'm keeping his saying.

[15:29] In other words, Jesus is telling them here, I don't care what you come at me with. I don't care what accusations you go ahead and call me a Samaritan. You go ahead and tell me that I have a demon.

[15:40] You go ahead and say this about me and say that about me. I know the Father and I keep his sayings. And if I claim to not know him, then I'll be a liar just like you are.

[15:53] So what Christ was saying here is everything that he was telling them was directly from the Father. It was directly from the one that they claim to be a child of, verse 56.

[16:08] Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Folks, I ain't gonna lie to you. I hope you didn't come in here expecting me to fully explain this verse to you because I can't.

[16:22] I cannot. He says, your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. You look at different commentators such as I have. You study this verse such as I have.

[16:33] You look at cross of stone. You look at you look at falset. You look at brown. You look at Henry. You look at a row. You look at pink. You look at all these people.

[16:44] And there's not a contradiction anywhere in the Bible, but there's all kinds of contradictions within the interpretations of this verse.

[16:55] When the Bible says your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. I have no problem explaining your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. We got all kinds of scripture that can support that.

[17:10] I mean, you know, was it talking in a figurative sense when Abraham took Isaac up on Mount Moriah and was going to offer him up as a sacrifice. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him not to hurt the child.

[17:24] And there was a ram caught in the thicket. Is that what's being spoken of here? It very well could be. The folks, I can tell you for certain though. I can tell you for certain that the Old Testament patriarchs such as Abraham have some knowledge of what was going on right here and what was going to go on in the future.

[17:44] And we need to look no further than the amount of transfiguration where Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus Christ and what were they speaking about with him.

[17:56] The crucifixion that hadn't even happened yet. They were speaking to him of the things that were going to come to pass. Not long after that, but it hadn't happened yet.

[18:09] So the Old Testament patriarchs such as Moses and Elijah, they had some knowledge of that. Now, when it says Abraham, he says, your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

[18:22] Folks, there's all kinds of different ways that we can go with that. But if Abraham has knowledge at this time of the day of Jesus Christ, what day are we talking about?

[18:34] This day that he's speaking of right here? No, the day of Jesus Christ is from his birth, on up to his death, his ascension, and on into the future. That's the day of Jesus Christ.

[18:47] There's days of Christ that the Scripture speaks about here. The day of Jesus that Abraham would have rejoiced to see would be the day where Abraham saw all this culminating.

[19:00] Everything that God had promised Abraham, he had promised him that a seed would come from him and that seed would turn into a great nation. And that nation would be the source of blessing for the entire world.

[19:14] And Abraham was able to see this. Even though Abraham was dead, he was able to see this. So I hope that helped you all just a little bit.

[19:25] I can't explain it completely. I can't explain it fully. But your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Why wouldn't he be glad?

[19:37] Like I said, it was everything that had been promised to him. Everything had been promised to him beforehand. Before Isaac was born, before the nation of Israel came to be, Abraham believed God and that belief was counted unto him for righteousness.

[19:56] He believed what God had told him about his seed. Even though Abraham was on up in years and Sarah was on up in years, Abraham believed what God told him.

[20:09] And that faith in the Word of God, anything that God spoke to Abraham was the Word of God. And that faith in the Word of God is what was counted to him for righteousness.

[20:22] He saw it and was glad. So all this being said, everything that may or may not have been clear as mud to you.

[20:34] Because like I said, I have a hard time with that verse. I do. I ain't going to lie to you. And if I don't completely understand something, I ain't going to completely... I can't convince you of something that I'm not convinced of myself in other words.

[20:46] But all this being said, if you look back to verse 39 in John chapter 8, it says, they answered and said, Abraham is our Father. Jesus said unto him, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

[21:03] Here in verse 56, he says, your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. These people weren't rejoicing at all. Verse 39, he's telling them, if you were really Abraham's children, you would act like Abraham's children.

[21:17] You would act just like Abraham did. But here in verse 56, he says, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. They were not rejoicing and they were not glad that Messiah was right there in their presence.

[21:32] Abraham rejoiced at the very fact that a Messiah was promised over in the Old Testament. I mean, we know from the book of Hebrews that the people of faith, Abraham, Sarah, they died in the faith, not seeing the promises that were made to them, but they saw them from afar off.

[21:53] But they still died in faith. They died believing the Word of God. Verse 57, then said that Jews unto him, they art not yet fifty years old and hast thou seen Abraham?

[22:07] This was just an outright stupid thing for them to say. I'm just going to be honest with you. This was stupid. They said, then the Jews said, thou art not yet fifty years old and hast thou seen Abraham?

[22:19] Now, read verse 56 again, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Where does Jesus Christ ever say he saw Abraham? And where does he say Abraham saw me?

[22:31] He doesn't. But they said, thou art not yet fifty years old and hast thou seen Abraham? The Word says that Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ, not Christ himself.

[22:46] This was stupid of them to say this, but again, they were backed into a corner and they had nothing else to do. So they resorted to making silly remarks and making insulting remarks like we've been reading for the past couple of Sundays that they've been doing.

[23:04] Then said the Jews unto him, they art not yet fifty years old, hast thou seen Abraham? And this also goes back to verse 43, which we covered last week. Verse 43, why do you not understand my speech, even because you cannot hear my word?

[23:16] Christ has been explaining every bit of this to them since the twelfth verse of chapter 8. He's been explaining all this. I'm lied. He's been explaining how he is lied.

[23:29] And he's also been explaining how they are in darkness and how they are not the children of Abraham. They are not the children of God. So again, thou art not yet fifty years old and hast thou seen Abraham?

[23:42] Didn't Jesus say unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, praise God, I am. Before Abraham was, I am.

[23:53] This is one of the great I am statements of Jesus Christ here in the Gospel of John. There are several other ones. He says, I am the bread of life. I am the living water. I am the resurrection.

[24:04] I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am this and I am that. Jesus Christ here says, before Abraham was, I am. I noticed he didn't say before Abraham was, I was, or I existed.

[24:22] I was, that could portray, that could convey to us and to these Jews here that Christ was a created being. That him saying before Abraham was, I am.

[24:33] This is the great I am statement that God made over in the book of Exodus when Moses said, who should I tell your people? Send me. He said, I am that I am.

[24:45] The great I am of the Scripture is the one that sent you. This is Christ saying before Abraham was, I am. He didn't say I existed and he didn't say I was.

[24:56] He said, I am. And this, obviously in the last verse here, they understood that. You go back to verse 43 again. Why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear my word?

[25:08] Boy, they heard this. They heard him say before Abraham was, I am. They heard that and they understood it too. That's why we have verse 59.

[25:20] Then took they up stones to cast at him because they understood what he was saying and they didn't like what he was saying. Then they took up stones to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by.

[25:37] Jesus makes one statement here. He's made a whole bunch of statements since the 12th verse of chapter 8. He made all kinds of statements, but this one statement because he's told them.

[25:48] He's told them in fewer words than what I've given you all. He's told them in fewer words. I am God. I am the eternal one. I am the ancient of days.

[25:59] I am the first and the last. I am your Creator. I'm the Creator of this entire world and this entire universe. He's told them all these things within the verses we've been going through in chapter 8 of the Gospel of John.

[26:15] But when he said before Abraham was, I am, that sealed it for him. Then they understood and what did they do instead of giving him honor?

[26:26] Instead of bowing a knee to him instead of confessing him as Lord? Instead of saying the throne of David is this way, come have your seat? Instead of any of that, they took up stones to kill him.

[26:40] They took up stones to cast him, folks. This is the best portrayal I told you all when we began chapter 8. This is the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John.

[26:54] It's a beautiful contrast of light and darkness. Verse 58, we have the culmination of that light within this chapter.

[27:07] Within this chapter when he says, before Abraham was, I am. That light shone so bright to those people out there. But it showed just how much darkness was there in the very next verse.

[27:20] It says they took up stones to cast him. Then they took up stones to cast him. Jesus hid himself, and you all have heard me say it before, when we read about Jesus hiding himself or outrunning the crowd or going this way, when the crowd is going that way, it is not because Christ was afraid of those people.

[27:40] Jesus Christ has never known what fear was, and he never will know what fear is. Did he dread the cross? Absolutely he dreaded the cross. He didn't dread the Roman soldiers nailing him there.

[27:53] He didn't dread the Roman wood, he didn't dread the Roman nails. He didn't dread anything to do with man. He did not fear man, and he does not fear man.

[28:04] I'll tell you what he dreaded though, was the wrath of Almighty God coming down upon him and being laid upon him. That's what he dreaded. I didn't say he feared it.

[28:15] I don't think Christ ever feared the Father. But he did dread that. If he didn't dread it, his sweat wouldn't have became as great drops of blood as he was praying and get semening.

[28:26] But anyway, he says, Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. That's very important words. He went out of the temple. All this was happening within the temple area.

[28:39] Maybe not inside the temple itself, but within the area of the temple. Anytime you read in the scripture about people going up to the temple or people going to the temple, it's not necessarily inside of the temple.

[28:53] It is within the grounds that the temple was on. There were several courtyards around the temple and leading into the temple and so on. But the importance of this is all this was going on within the temple.

[29:09] Where, what was supposed to be taking place? What was the temple there for? Why was the tabernacle put in place and Exodus and Leviticus? It was to worship God.

[29:20] You went to the temple to worship God. And God was right there in the temple with them and they did not worship Him. Instead, they took up stones to cast at Him.

[29:33] He left the temple. Jesus hit Himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by. That's very important. We're going to get into it this week.

[29:46] That's very important going into chapter 9 though. In chapter 9 we read about this blind man at the very beginning of the chapter. The first, I think, seven verses that we read about this blind man, the Jesus heals.

[30:01] That blind man done exactly what he was supposed to do. He followed the Word of God whereas these people here were not following it. Again, we can go back to verse 43 so many times throughout the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John.

[30:16] We're going to say, why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear my word? Why are you not understanding this because you cannot hear it? But we get to John chapter 9, this blind man, and he follows exactly what Christ says and he's healed.

[30:29] And that is outside the temple. It's very important as we get into that next week, but I'm not going to teach that chapter or even get into that chapter this week.

[30:40] Finally, we're at the end of chapter 8. Anybody got any questions or comments on any of that? God bless you. Thank you.