1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,680 My aim is to preach expositionally, meaning I aim to 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,360 only say what the Bible says and applied faithfully. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:11,760 Your job is to listen expositionally and so as you 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,920 open your Bible, you should notice something interesting 5 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:17,440 written there at the beginning of John chapter 8. 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,160 You may have also noticed today's sermon only covers from 7 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,280 the chapter 8 verse 12 onward. If you notice that, you get a 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,240 thumbs up. OK, if you so if you look down 9 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:30,600 into your Bible, there's probably a note that says 10 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,320 something like this. The earliest manuscripts do not 11 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:38,240 include Chapter 7 verse 53 to chapter 8 verse 11. 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,240 You might also have a footnote, if your Bible is like mine, at 13 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,040 the bottom that says other manuscripts add the passage here 14 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:50,600 or after John Chapter 7 verse 36, or after John chapter 21 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:56,000 verse 25, or after Luke chapter 21 verse 38 with variations in 16 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,240 the text. And so the reason for this is we 17 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,560 have to understand how the Word of God was handed down to us. 18 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,680 And so this is a little bit of a side before you jump into the 19 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,480 rest of the sermon, but from the time of the apostles, there were 20 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,240 scribes who copied the writings of Scripture in order to 21 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,080 preserve these letters for the next generation. 22 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:23,440 This was all done by handwriting word for word until the printing 23 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,920 press was invented later in the 1400s. 24 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,000 So all upon this time, they're in these handwritten copies. 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,640 We do see slight discrepancies, slight differences from 26 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:38,640 handwritten manuscripts from throughout history, but we rest 27 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,400 assured that most of these differences are regarding things 28 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,760 like numbers or names, spelling differences. 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,480 But none of these differences call into question the core 30 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,280 Christian doctrine. We as Christians, we also 31 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,680 believe God's word is inerrant, meaning God used the apostles to 32 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:01,440 write his word without error. But that doesn't mean that for 33 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:04,760 the hundreds of years afterward there would not be differences 34 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,960 in the copies. We also believe that God has 35 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:12,960 preserved His word for us and that what we have today is a 36 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,400 trustworthy copy of the original. 37 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,680 We actually have over 5000 Greek copies, full manuscripts or 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,320 parts of manuscripts of the New Testament that we have in our 39 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,440 hands today from as early as the year 120. 40 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:34,920 With that said, scholars agree that this passage in chapter 753 41 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:39,640 to chapter 8, verse 11 was not part of the original because 42 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:42,720 they're not found in the earliest manuscripts that we 43 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,520 have now. Later manuscripts that were 44 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,800 found had this passage in different places, like it's 45 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,680 noted in the footnote either here at the end of John or even 46 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,320 at the end of the book of Luke. And it's interesting that none 47 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:01,080 of the early church fathers who comment on the the Gospels, 48 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,400 they, none of them make comments on this particular section. 49 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,840 They in fact, their comments go from Chapter 7 verse 52 right to 50 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:13,040 chapter 8 verse 12. So then why is it in our Bibles 51 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,760 today? Because in the 1600's the most 52 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,400 influential English translation of the Bible, the King James 53 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,720 Version, included this story, and so English translations 54 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,360 afterwards kept it, but they put it in brackets with this note. 55 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:34,000 Now I know this passage of the adulterous woman is a beloved 56 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,640 passage for many, and it even seems true to the ministry and 57 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,520 the character of Jesus Christ. And it seems that it very much 58 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:48,200 well has might have happened. But we know it was not part of 59 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,560 the original manuscripts and we will not regard it as Scripture. 60 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,120 So with that said, let's get started today. 61 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,640 In today's sermon from John chapter 8, verse 12 to 59. 62 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:03,200 A question for yourself to begin. 63 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,400 Do you think you know yourself? Do you think you know yourself? 64 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,240 I think most of us have a pretty good idea about who we are, our 65 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,560 identity. And I know, but I know all of us 66 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,200 are actually learning more about ourselves as we get older. 67 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,600 We thought we were like this, but we start to realize, oh, so 68 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,400 I am a little bit more like that. 69 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,120 One of the ways I learned more about ourselves, myself, and the 70 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,000 one of the ways I realized we all learn about ourselves is 71 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,520 learning of actually learning about other people. 72 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,680 So the more that we learn about other people, we realize more 73 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,640 about ourselves, especially those who are close in our 74 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,600 lives, in our families. I'm learning that my first 75 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:54,680 daughter is quick to speak, very quick to speak, and she has a 76 00:04:54,680 --> 00:05:00,560 lot of words to say, especially when she is defending herself. 77 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,760 And I always wondered, where in the world did she learn that 78 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:06,560 from? And then I realized with the 79 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,000 help of my wife, oh, I'm like that. 80 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,360 I'm exactly like that. I thought myself to be a slow to 81 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,040 speak person, a quick to listen kind of person. 82 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:18,760 But I'm learning through my daughter. 83 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,560 Oh, I'm not so much like this. I'm a little bit more like that. 84 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,680 I also thought myself to be quite a generous person. 85 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,280 Yes, I'll, if you eat with me or get coffee with me, I'll offer 86 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:32,480 and I'll buy meals and drinks for you. 87 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,600 I'll give tips for various services here and there, even 88 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,640 though this is not a tipping culture. 89 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,320 And then I learned about how generous my wife is. 90 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:44,640 And maybe a little bit too generous. 91 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,880 She is. She is more like ready to give 92 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,840 away money at every opportunity God gives to her. 93 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,480 And so I learned a little bit more about myself. 94 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:58,280 Oh, I'm not that generous. I'm actually quite stingy. 95 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,800 You may have had this experience too, how you learn more about 96 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,800 yourself as you learn more about the important people in your 97 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,240 life. This is all the more true when 98 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,440 it comes to the most important person in all of our lives, the 99 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,800 one whom all of our lives revolve around Jesus Christ. 100 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:24,120 The more we learn about Jesus identity, who he is, the more we 101 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,160 will learn about who we are in our identities. 102 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:32,040 And the more we accept Jesus identity, the more we'll be able 103 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,960 to accept our own. And This is why we've been going 104 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,240 to the sermon series called Jesus Is. 105 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:42,560 And if you realize each sermon title points to 1 aspect of 106 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,920 Jesus identity as we see it directly from scripture today in 107 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:51,320 John chapter 8, we'll see that Jesus is the light of the world. 108 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,920 We'll also consider how Jesus identity directly applies to us 109 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:58,960 today. Because by revealing his 110 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,560 identity, Jesus teaches us about our own. 111 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:05,160 And I pray that from hearing God's Word in this sermon, we'll 112 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,280 come to know and understand who Jesus is more deeply so that we 113 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,120 may properly accept who Jesus is. 114 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:15,600 And by doing so, we may learn and accept who we are in light 115 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,200 of who Jesus is. The identity. 116 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,600 What is our identity that we naturally have apart from 117 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,280 Christ? And what is the new spiritual 118 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,600 identity that we have now in Christ? 119 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,720 I believe in that. There will be much in God's Word 120 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,120 that will correct us as well as much in God's Word that will 121 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,320 encourage us as we learn about who Jesus is and who we are. 122 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:44,640 And so here are the two points of the sermon. 123 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,160 If you are taking notes. First accepting Jesus identity. 124 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,880 See that in verses 12 to 30, as well as accepting our own 125 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:57,000 identity, verses 31 to 59. First accepting Jesus identity, 126 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,840 I want to remind us of the setting we left off from John 127 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,360 Chapter 7. It was the last day of the great 128 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,000 Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. It was a week long celebration. 129 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,480 They were celebrating A plentiful harvest, praising God 130 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,960 for providing the rains all season and providing food for 131 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,240 them to eat until the next year's harvest. 132 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:20,560 They were also remembering in the Feast of Tabernacles, right 133 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:25,440 Feast of Boots, as how God had LED Israel through the 134 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,800 wilderness. So they stayed in temporary 135 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:33,400 shelter for a week, remembering how God provided for them water 136 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:36,440 their their ancestors water from the rock to drink. 137 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:40,080 So there was a water pouring ceremony. 138 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,440 If you remember from the last sermon in John Chapter 7 and and 139 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,840 in that ceremony, Jesus stood up to declare if anyone thirsts, 140 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,320 let him come to me and drink. Now there was another 141 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,120 spectacular event as part of this feast that will help us to 142 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,800 understand the significance of what Jesus says here in John 143 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,640 chapter 8. That event was called the 144 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:07,280 illumination of the temple. It involved lighting four large 145 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,600 candelabras that were placed in the treasury at the temple. 146 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,960 We see down in in verse 20 when we get there that they were this 147 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,000 all this, this discussion took place in the treasury. 148 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,880 A Candelabra, if you don't know, is a candle holder that has 149 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,960 different branches. If you still can't imagine what 150 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,960 it is, if you've seen the movie Beauty and the Beast, it's 151 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,320 Lumiere. That's what he is. 152 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,320 He's the candle guy who sings be our guest. 153 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:35,800 Be our guest, right? But imagine him much grander and 154 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:40,080 much greater. And then four of these huge 155 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,840 candelabras placed together at the treasury. 156 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,080 They were so big that young priests had to climb up on 157 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:51,440 ladders as high as the temple walls in order to fill these 158 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:56,600 bowls with liters and liters of oil and to light the torches on 159 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,160 the top. And the flames that were coming 160 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:02,720 out of these torches were so great that they lit up the whole 161 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,640 temple, hence called the illumination of the temple, as 162 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,920 well as the surrounding city of Jerusalem. 163 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:14,800 That was another visual reminder of God's faithfulness to Israel 164 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,760 during the wilderness time, where God LED them by a pillar 165 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:23,040 of fire, by night, lighting their way through the darkness, 166 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,640 leading them from slavery to freedom, leading them from 167 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,840 Pharaoh's prison to God's promised land. 168 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,160 Now as a feast came to an end, the lights were put out. 169 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,720 And as the lights were put out, see what Jesus said in verse 12. 170 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,880 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the 171 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,280 world. Whoever follows me will not walk 172 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,600 in darkness, but will have the light of life. 173 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,600 This is an extraordinary way to make an extraordinary claim by 174 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:57,800 an extraordinary person. No other person in the history 175 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,400 of the world has made such claims to be the light of the 176 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,520 world. To those who are living in 177 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:11,520 darkness, stumbling at every step, lost in sin, confused, 178 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,280 hopeless, anxious as at life's challenges. 179 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:19,760 To such people Jesus offered protection, guidance, 180 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,600 forgiveness, salvation, truth and hope. 181 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:30,480 He offers it all as the light of the world, as the one who would 182 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:36,800 fulfil the promises of God, who would lead his people just like 183 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,320 God did Israel in the for Israel in the wilderness. 184 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,680 Now Jesus would for all those who are spiritual in spiritual 185 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:47,920 darkness. He will be the the light to 186 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:55,640 leave them out. Jesus makes the exclusive claim 187 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:58,600 that He is the only way to be saved out of the darkness of 188 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,560 sin. See what he offers again. 189 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,560 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the 190 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:07,920 light of life. He who has the light of life 191 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,400 gives the light of life that we who were once in darkness would 192 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,600 have that light. There is no other way. 193 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,800 Meaning that that we and we definitely cannot save 194 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,320 ourselves. I don't know if you've ever 195 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,640 tried to walk in a straight line blindfolded. 196 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,040 There have been tests done to see if people can do this, and 197 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:31,640 they found out that no one can keep walking in a straight line 198 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,720 blindfolded. After a few meters, we might be 199 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,280 able to walk down, you know, this hallway right outside, but 200 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:42,120 in an open field, people who are blindfolded were way off, making 201 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:45,920 circles and loops. And The funny thing was everyone 202 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,520 thought they were walking in a straight line when they were 203 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,520 completely off. As human beings, we need visual 204 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:56,800 cues and physical clues to maintain a straight path. 205 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,360 How true is this for us in our spiritual lives? 206 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,720 We live in darkness, lost, spiraling away from God. 207 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:12,720 But praise God spiritually, we're given our visual cue, the 208 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:18,560 light of Jesus Christ, that we may walk in accordance, in the 209 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,640 right way, in accordance to God to to please Him. 210 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,840 Friend, what path are you on today? 211 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:30,440 Where is your path leading to? And how can you be sure of 212 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:36,000 what's at the end of that path? As you think about your life and 213 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,840 what path you're on, you'll have two choices presented here 214 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:42,320 before you, Either to listen to the one who claims to be the 215 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:47,320 light of the world, receive his light, or take the risk of 216 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,560 walking in darkness, continuing to walk in your own way. 217 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,760 Sadly, the Pharisees chose the latter as a challenge. 218 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,760 Jesus, see verse 13. So the Pharisees said to him, 219 00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:00,800 you are bearing witness about yourself. 220 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,200 Your testimony is not true. Now to be clear it's not wrong 221 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,520 to ask for evidence or explanations is expected 222 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:12,200 especially when the claims that are being made are so world 223 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:16,280 shattering as Jesus claims were. Jewish law also stated that for 224 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,200 any formal testimony to be accepted there it must be agreed 225 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,640 upon by two or three witnesses. So it wasn't wrong to ask for 226 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:29,160 proof but they are wrong to wrongly interpret what Jesus had 227 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,120 said. Jesus said back in John chapter 228 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,720 5 verse 31 and they were repeating that because Jesus 229 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,440 said there if I alone bear witness about myself, my 230 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,840 testimony is not true. But the problem was they left 231 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,760 out the word alone. And they also left out the part 232 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,280 where Jesus gave multiple witnesses, the witness of John 233 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,440 the Baptist, the witness of Jesus's miraculous signs, the 234 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,000 witness of the scriptures that were pointing to him. 235 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:59,960 The religious leaders here were also wrong to try to use the 236 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:05,520 legal standards and and loopholes to try to force the 237 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,280 conclusion that Jesus was not telling the truth. 238 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:11,320 And in the end, they're simply wrong because they just don't 239 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,360 believe Jesus. They look at the light of the 240 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,800 world and they see nothing but a crazy man talking nonsense. 241 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,880 So they're not really asking for an explanation in their hearts. 242 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,680 They're actually looking for reasons to silence Jesus. 243 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,160 See verse 14. Onward. 244 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,640 Jesus answered. Even if I do bear witness about 245 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,520 myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and 246 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,960 where I am going. But you do not know where I come 247 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:40,760 from or where I am going. You judge according to the 248 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,240 flesh. I judge no one, Yet even if I do 249 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,120 judge, my judgement is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but 250 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,920 I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that 251 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:52,440 the testimony of two people is true. 252 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,640 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who 253 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,720 sent me bears witness about me. They said to him, Therefore 254 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:04,680 where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither 255 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,080 me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know 256 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,560 my Father also. These words He spoke in the 257 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,520 treasury as he taught in the temple, but no one arrested him 258 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,080 because his hour had not yet come. 259 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,080 So Jesus says he knows where he came from and where he is going. 260 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:25,080 He is referring to heaven. He's saying that he is the 261 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:30,280 expert about matters of heaven and these spiritual issues that 262 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,400 concern them. And so therefore, as the master 263 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:37,880 of heavenly things, Jesus is right to talk the way that he 264 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:42,840 does. These were the matters that the 265 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,560 Pharisees knew nothing about. Yes, they may have been experts 266 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:51,160 in their own field in the Jewish law, but they were judging by 267 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:55,640 the flesh, meaning judging to what they see, judging by human 268 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:00,760 worldly standards. They're probably recalling how 269 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:02,600 Jesus doesn't have any credentials. 270 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,440 Where did he study? He's the son of a Carpenter, but 271 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,040 it's clear that Jesus doesn't judge the way they do, for he 272 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:16,280 knows the heart. Ultimately, Jesus knew the 273 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:20,359 Father who sent him for this, for his very mission to shine 274 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,920 the light of life in the darkness to bring salvation for 275 00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,839 sinners. So God the Father is the other 276 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:31,360 witness Jesus brings to to his testimony. 277 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:34,760 Case closed. Or at least it should be. 278 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,280 The Pharisees are the ones that have should have been silent at 279 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,040 this point, listening to the light of life, learning at the 280 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:46,840 feet of God who has come in the flesh. 281 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,320 But they have been all trying all this time to silence Jesus. 282 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,160 And here again they try to get Jesus arrested. 283 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:58,160 But it is not his hour yet. Jesus will go when his hour 284 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,360 comes to be arrested, and not a second before. 285 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,680 Now Jesus describes to them what is waiting for them at the end 286 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,320 of their darkness. See verse 21 to 23. 287 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,600 So he said to them again, I'm going away and you will seek me, 288 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,680 and you will die in your sin. Where I'm going, you cannot 289 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,200 come. So the Jew said, will he kill 290 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:21,200 himself? Since he says where I'm going, 291 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,800 you cannot come. He said to them, You are from 292 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:28,200 below, I am from above, you are of this world, I am not of this 293 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,200 world. Jesus brings to them a stern 294 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,200 warning. He says they will not be excused 295 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,400 for their ignorance. They're asking the same 296 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,480 questions over and over again, Jesus repeating the answers over 297 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,840 and over again. But in their hearts, they're 298 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,880 rebelling against God as they continue to reject Jesus. 299 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:51,160 And as they do that, they will die in their sins. 300 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:56,800 That will be their end. But see how the Pharisees just 301 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,400 gloss over that warning like it's not a big deal? 302 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,280 They're more concerned about where Jesus will go that they 303 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:05,000 cannot come. Where is Jesus going? 304 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,240 They strangely think Jesus might kill himself, when the irony is 305 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:18,080 that they would be the ones to bring Jesus to be killed now 306 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:19,560 because they seem to have missed a warning. 307 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,160 Jesus repeats it two more times in verse 24. 308 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,160 I told you that you would die in your sins. 309 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:31,480 For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. 310 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,840 If you're with us here today and you are not a Christian, we want 311 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:44,640 to extend this same loving warning to you to those who do 312 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,920 not believe in Jesus. For you will die in your sin, 313 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,560 not just the physical death, as we all will die, but a spiritual 314 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,800 death to be separated from God forever in hell. 315 00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:59,400 It's because you are of this world. 316 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:05,360 You do not belong with God, and you will face the wrath of God 317 00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:09,000 for your sins. But I hope you hear the hope 318 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:15,560 that you have in verse 24. Unless you believe that I am He, 319 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:19,560 you will die in your sins. Jesus is your only hope. 320 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,480 Just like He alone is the hope of all the other Christians who 321 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,440 are in this room who have come to believe that He is who He 322 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:29,880 claimed to be, the light of the world. 323 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,720 Some of us here have not yet made the decision. 324 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,440 We have left it to ignorance saying I just don't know enough 325 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,440 to make a decision yet. Upon hearing this word, you have 326 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:46,080 a choice today, the decision to believe or not to believe. 327 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,600 If you've left that decision hanging for some time, heed this 328 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:54,160 warning. Unless you believe you will die 329 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,280 in your sins, that is nothing to leave to ignore ignorance. 330 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,280 That is nothing to leave for later on. 331 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,360 May you come to believe in Jesus today. 332 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,440 See verse 25. So they said to him, Who are 333 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,200 you? Jesus said to them, See what 334 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,800 I've been telling you, just just what I have been telling you 335 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,680 from the beginning. I have much to say about you and 336 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,280 much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the 337 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:26,920 world what I have heard from Him. 338 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,840 They do not understand that He had been speaking to them about 339 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,600 the Father. You see by now how Jesus has 340 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,680 been repeating Himself. He declares who He is. 341 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:43,280 The Jews demand proof, so Jesus provides the proof, and then the 342 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:46,800 Jews ask who he is. Jesus explains again who he is, 343 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,720 and the cycle goes over and over and over again. 344 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,960 Any one of us can come to the conclusion they are not asking 345 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,600 to learn, they're asking to condemn. 346 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:04,000 And it is clear, as it says in verse 27, they do not understand 347 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:10,480 nor do they want to see. Jesus responds. 348 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,120 Verse 26, verse 28. So Jesus said to them, when you 349 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:18,280 have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, 350 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:22,000 and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the 351 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,480 Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. 352 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:29,200 He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are 353 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:31,720 pleasing to Him. As He was saying these things, 354 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,960 many believe in Him. So not only was Jesus claiming 355 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,200 that He uniquely knows the Father, not only was he claiming 356 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,760 that he was sent from heaven from the by the Father, but now 357 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:49,800 Jesus claims in verse 29, I always do what is pleasing to 358 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:54,240 him. I always do everything that I do 359 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,680 is pleasing to the Father. I know all Christians say we 360 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:02,840 want to please God. I know Christians say we want to 361 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,960 do all things for the glory of God, that we want to love God 362 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,280 with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. 363 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,520 But can anyone really say it like Jesus does? 364 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:18,800 No, no one in their right mind and in their honest heart can 365 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:21,560 say I always do what is pleasing to the Father. 366 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:27,120 Which is why we can praise God that Jesus can, and we praise 367 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,320 God that Jesus has done it so perfectly. 368 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:34,960 This is why Jesus can be the substitute to die in our place 369 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,320 for our sins. It would be no use if there was 370 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,880 another Sinner. Even if I were to die for you, 371 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,800 it would mean nothing. I'm a fellow Sinner, guilty of 372 00:23:44,800 --> 00:23:49,120 sin, guilty on my own before God to receive His wrath. 373 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:54,120 But Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world 374 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:59,360 because He was the perfect sacrifice who was without sin. 375 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,040 He lived in perfect obedience to the Father like we should have 376 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:08,000 lived, yet He chose to die the death we sinners should have 377 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,680 died. How did he do that? 378 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:17,080 Says in verse 28 the Son of Man was lifted up. 379 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,480 How was he lifted up? He was lifted up onto the cross 380 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:28,680 as a substitute, taking upon himself the wrath of God, the 381 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,720 shame for our sin, so that all who would repent of their sins 382 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,400 and believe in him, the light of the world, would be saved. 383 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,560 This is what it means to accept Jesus for who he is. 384 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,000 And accepting Jesus identity means we learn to accept our 385 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,360 own, how we are in need, how we were desperately lost. 386 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,240 We see more of this in the in the second point of the sermon, 387 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:56,360 accepting our own identity. See verse 31. 388 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:00,560 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, If you abide 389 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:04,080 in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the 390 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,520 truth, and the truth will set you free. 391 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:10,200 We have to know. What's interesting here is that 392 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:14,920 Jesus turns his attention to those who believed in him, 393 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,480 right? That's what it said in verse 30. 394 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,920 And now so he turns to the Jews who believed in him. 395 00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:23,920 What he does not say is, yay, you believe. 396 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,120 Great job. No, he says, if you abide in my 397 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,360 word, you are truly my disciples. 398 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:39,040 In the same way he did for all those who claim to believe in 399 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:44,920 him. Jesus asks us today to pause and 400 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:49,560 consider the faith that we think we have because they, along with 401 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:53,520 all who consider themselves to be Christian, we must examine 402 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,920 our own faith. How do we know if we are true 403 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,560 disciples of Jesus? Note what He doesn't do. 404 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,200 He doesn't give us a whole list we need to check off, does He? 405 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:11,480 He simply says one thing. If you abide in My word, meaning 406 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:16,960 if you hold on to His word, you cling to His word for your dear 407 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,960 life and you remain in His word knowing that you have nothing 408 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,440 good apart from Him and His word. 409 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:29,280 As you follow Him, you can know you are truly His disciples. 410 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,280 It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, it doesn't 411 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,080 matter where you come from, it doesn't matter what you have 412 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:41,120 achieved or how you have failed. If you abide in Jesus word, you 413 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:44,240 will know you can know you are truly His disciples. 414 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,080 Verse 32 and you will know the truth and the truth will set you 415 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,880 free. This means as Jesus disciples, 416 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,560 we don't pick and choose different parts of Jesus's 417 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,520 teaching that we will and we want to obey. 418 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:02,560 No, we submit to the authority of all of Jesus's teaching and I 419 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,400 think that's why here it's it's in that single unified summary 420 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:14,640 as the word of Jesus, our submission and obedience is 421 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:20,680 reflected over time in regards to personal holiness, in regards 422 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,960 to worship, in regards to church life, and in regards to 423 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,520 evangelism. We will submit our lives, all 424 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:33,360 that we do to the word of God. That means including when we 425 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:38,120 fall short, when we fail, we abide, we remain, we believe it 426 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:44,680 is true still because God's Word gives, Jesus's word gives life 427 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:56,920 to our hearts darkened by sin. I think we can apply this, 428 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,840 especially when it comes to our evangelism. 429 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,960 It means as we evangelize, we evangelize thoughtfully, not 430 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:07,160 recklessly. We don't pressure people into 431 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:11,200 conversion by winning arguments, but we rather lead them to the 432 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,480 truth of Jesus teaching and guide them to genuine faith. 433 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,200 This is especially true in evangelizing our children, 434 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,720 whether as parents in the home or teachers in children's 435 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,640 ministry, or as older Christians to the next generation. 436 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,360 We should call for professions of faith from our children, and 437 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,240 we should do so regularly. Do you believe in Jesus? 438 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:35,440 Do you know what that means? What is the saying God's word? 439 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:41,120 How will you live that out? But we should also affirm the 440 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:45,640 genuineness of their faith. It means we don't rush them or 441 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:50,560 pressure them to make decisions like getting baptized out of our 442 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,440 own fear that they might not go to heaven. 443 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:58,720 Remember, that's not the way. It's simply to abide in Jesus's 444 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:02,120 word, to remain in his word over time. 445 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,640 It's by faith. And so we can help our children 446 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:12,280 to be sure to teach them how to abide in His word together. 447 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,600 This promise of Jesus is what settles our fears and sets our 448 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,400 hope. When we fall short, when there's 449 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,520 people in beloved people in our lives who have yet to come to 450 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:28,680 believe in Jesus Christ, verse 32 you will know the truth and 451 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:34,680 the truth will set you free, free from sin, free from death. 452 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,960 Now for the Jews who believed, they began to show signs already 453 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,400 that they did not abide in Jesus's teaching. 454 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:46,200 They did not abide in Jesus's word for very long at all 455 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,400 because as Jesus began to show them their real identity he had 456 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:57,520 prick their pride and they are quick to argue against what 457 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:04,840 Jesus says. We can take another breath of 458 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,240 hope as we as we see a negative example. 459 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,600 What does it mean to not truly be Jesus disciples like this? 460 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,280 To say you believe and not abiding his word? 461 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,880 Simple as that. See verse 33. 462 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,600 They answered him. We are offspring of Abraham and 463 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,480 have never been enslaved to anyone. 464 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,280 How is it that you say you will become free? 465 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:33,240 You can start to hear the ugly, challenging tone in their 466 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,880 question. It's because they were so sure 467 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,120 of their status as Abraham's offspring with because with that 468 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:43,960 status came special benefits. They had the covenant promises 469 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:47,160 of God that through Abraham they will be blessed. 470 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,520 They had God's presence at the temple and that unique 471 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,960 relationship with God. So even though they had been 472 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:58,400 oppressed by many other nations in the past, including Rome in 473 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:03,360 their present, their sense of spiritual freedom and privilege 474 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,600 was so strong that they did not recognize their need for 475 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:11,640 anything else. Blinded by their pride, they 476 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,640 were set in their minds, they're good to go. 477 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:19,520 What else do they need? And so Jesus continues to spell 478 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,800 it out for them very specifically what their need is 479 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:26,640 and what was wrong with their hearts. 480 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:29,400 See verse 34. Jesus answered them truly, 481 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,080 truly. I say to you, everyone who 482 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:35,560 practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the 483 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,840 house forever. The sun remains forever. 484 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,640 So if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. 485 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,800 I know that you are offspring of Abraham, yet you seek to kill me 486 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,560 because My word finds no place in you. 487 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,880 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do, and you 488 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,480 do what you have heard from your Father. 489 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:02,720 Our ears should go up whenever Jesus says truly, truly, because 490 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:07,560 he is about to drop some serious truth that we must take heed and 491 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,480 take into our hearts. He says to them their problem 492 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:13,360 truly, truly that their problem was sin. 493 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:17,320 They should have their whatever spiritual benefits that they had 494 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:22,360 as as the biological offspring of Abraham should not blind them 495 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,080 to the deeper problem in their hearts. 496 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:29,160 He says everyone who sins is a Sinner and a Sinner is not free, 497 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:31,960 no matter how much they think there are. 498 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:36,240 It's just like how an addict denies the power of his 499 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,240 addiction. He says he can stop tomorrow if 500 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:43,800 he wanted to. Yet it has been years since he 501 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,640 started. Sooner or later that addiction 502 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:51,120 will kill him. So to our slave, our sin 503 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:54,800 enslaves us by making us think we don't have a problem. 504 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,520 That's how sin works. Sin masters us by making us 505 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:04,720 think we're actually free to choose, that we can stop when we 506 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,080 want to. No, that's not That's not 507 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,440 freedom. That's stubborn blindness. 508 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:17,560 And pitiful life to the teenagers. 509 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,480 If I could speak to you in this room, I know you're in a season 510 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:25,000 of life where you think freedom is doing whatever it is you want 511 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,560 to do. I know this because I was a 512 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:31,920 teenager once who did lots of things thinking I was free 513 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,080 because I could do them. But I was still enslaved by my 514 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:39,080 sin, sneaking off at night, doing the things that my mom 515 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:40,880 would not want me to do if she knew. 516 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:43,280 I hope she's not listening to this. 517 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,240 No teens, true freedom is choosing to do what is right 518 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:52,040 even when your parents are not around. 519 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,280 That's true freedom. No one needs to tell you to do 520 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:59,720 what is right. No one needs to to pressure you 521 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:05,440 to follow God. Freedom is obeying and honouring 522 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,800 God from your heart, even when your friends are trying to 523 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:10,880 pressure you to do the wrong things. 524 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,560 So before you go off to university and have all that 525 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,159 extra time and space to yourself, learn now what true 526 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:25,560 freedom is. And as you see yourself enslave 527 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:29,120 to sin because you sin and because you are a Sinner, ask 528 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,400 Jesus to set you free. Set you free from your sins. 529 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:37,520 For it says in verse 36, if the sun sets you free, you will be 530 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,400 free indeed. May you be free to do what is 531 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:44,360 right for God now to the rest of your life. 532 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:49,600 Christians, this is the great promise of Jesus to those who 533 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,440 accept that they are sinners enslaved to sin, that our 534 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,280 problem is sin, that we cannot shake it off no matter how much 535 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,840 we try on our own. And though we continue to 536 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,880 struggle with sin, we have been set free. 537 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,480 We've been set free from the penalty of sin. 538 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,440 We no longer have to pay the the the punishment of our sins in in 539 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:13,000 God's wrath. We are being set free from the 540 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:21,880 power of sin as sin slowly loosens its grasp on us, as we 541 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:25,080 hate sin, as we want to kill sin in our lives. 542 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:30,920 And we will be free one day fully from the presence of all 543 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,480 sin in heaven. So for those who have been set 544 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:38,360 free from being slaves to sin, what can, what else could we do 545 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,960 but to give glory to God by sharing your stories of freedom? 546 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:46,120 Share how God has set you free from yourself, from your 547 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:47,680 blindness, from your stubbornness. 548 00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:52,320 Maybe encourage one another testifying about God's power and 549 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:54,960 grace setting us free from our sins. 550 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,800 Sadly, this is not true for the Jews who believed and were no 551 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,320 longer abiding in Jesus word Jesus continued to diagnose 552 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:09,160 their hearts saying in verse 37, I know that you are offspring of 553 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,800 Abraham yet to seek, yet you seek to kill me because my word 554 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:21,160 finds no place in you as he says as he as we narrow in on that we 555 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:23,760 see that the problem of sin cannot be solved by claiming 556 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:26,560 heritage or history. But this is what they're doing 557 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:30,360 and some, some Christians do this today even I'm a Christian 558 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:35,000 because I have a heritage or a history of Christian works. 559 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:40,760 No, their hearts were too full of pride and self-sufficiency, 560 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:45,360 too full of themselves that they had no room for Jesus word for 561 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,080 Jesus truth. And that is what's tragic. 562 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,960 And it only gets worse because they refused to think about what 563 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:54,160 Jesus was saying. Verse 39. 564 00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:56,960 They answered him, Abraham is our father. 565 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:01,000 Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be 566 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,680 doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man 567 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:06,840 who has told you the truth that I heard from God. 568 00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:12,680 This is not what Abraham did. So what Jesus is doing here is 569 00:37:12,680 --> 00:37:18,840 he begins to suggest that as as Jesus said, my father is, is God 570 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,920 in heaven. They follow their father and now 571 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:24,960 he he continues to make clear that they are not the true 572 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:29,200 offspring of Abraham because if they were they would have been, 573 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:33,240 they would have been glad to hear Jesus word because that's 574 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:40,440 what Abraham did to God's word. Abraham respond to faith when 575 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:44,800 God said, go, leave your home, leave your country to a place 576 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,560 unknown that you have no idea you've never been, and I'll make 577 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:53,000 into a great nation. Abraham by faith believe. 578 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,880 And so it's true, Abraham would never do what they are doing now 579 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,840 rejecting the word of God. And in fact, we learned later in 580 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:06,320 Romans Chapter 9 that not all the natural ethnic children of 581 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:10,160 Abraham are his true offspring, but the children of the promise 582 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:13,880 who share in that same faith of Abraham, who are count, who are, 583 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:16,480 those are the ones who are counted as his offspring. 584 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,880 And they will come from all nations, not just from Israel. 585 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:24,800 So if they were not Abraham's offspring, whose offspring were 586 00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:31,560 they? Verse 41 You are doing the works 587 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:34,800 your father did. They said to him, we were not 588 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,800 born of sexual immorality. We have one father, even God. 589 00:38:38,720 --> 00:38:41,680 Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me, 590 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:43,560 for I came from God and I am here. 591 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:46,600 I came not of my own accord, but He sent me. 592 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:48,840 Why do you not understand what I say? 593 00:38:49,600 --> 00:38:52,920 It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 594 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,880 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do 595 00:38:56,880 --> 00:38:59,440 your father's desires. He was a murderer from the 596 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,400 beginning and does not stand in the truth because there's no 597 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,360 truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of 598 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,520 his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 599 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:12,920 Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 600 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:15,360 Which one of you convicts me of sin? 601 00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:18,920 If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 602 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:22,000 Whoever is of God hears the word of God. 603 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:26,440 The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. 604 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:31,760 From Abraham, the Jews here, they jumped straight to God, 605 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:34,200 saying God, even God, is our father. 606 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:37,360 To that Jesus gives 2 reasons why they're not God's children. 607 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,200 Because if they really were God's children verse 42, then 608 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:44,520 they would love Jesus the Father. 609 00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:48,240 In His love He sent his only Son to do His will. 610 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:51,360 And God was standing before their very eyes, standing in the 611 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:55,280 flesh to come to teach them, show them the way, and save them 612 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,560 from their sins. But clearly no love for Jesus. 613 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:00,600 So they cannot claim God as their Father. 614 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:05,440 The second reason in verse 47, if they were of God, meaning if 615 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:08,480 they belong to God, they would accept Jesus's word. 616 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,760 But they do not hear, they do not accept, they do not 617 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:14,760 understand, because they do not belong to God. 618 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:20,520 So whose children were they? Just need to do what's called 619 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:22,640 the duck test, right? If it swims like a duck, quacks 620 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:24,560 like a duck, it's probably a duck. 621 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:29,880 Jesus points out their will to kill and their love for lies. 622 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,920 Now who was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand for 623 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:37,000 truth? The devil himself, the father of 624 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,880 all lies. The Jews here we're not the 625 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,840 offspring of Abraham. They could not claim God as 626 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:45,760 their father. They were the offspring of the 627 00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:51,480 devil, so that's why they were acting this way, wanting to kill 628 00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:53,920 Jesus. That's why they hated the truth. 629 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,760 Jesus is diagnosed. Diagnosis here of who they 630 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:03,920 really are makes so much sense compared to the proud, arrogant 631 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:08,800 claims that they were making. They were so enslaved by sin, so 632 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:11,840 hardened to the truth, so darkened in their understanding, 633 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,080 that they hated the light of the world. 634 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:21,000 How sad is verse 45? Because I tell the truth, you do 635 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:25,360 not believe me. So fixed and set in their own 636 00:41:25,360 --> 00:41:31,600 ways, in their sin they are that Jesus can say, because I tell 637 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:33,680 the truth, you do not believe me. 638 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:39,840 Because they love what's false. If you do not believe Jesus, if 639 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:43,680 you do not hear the words of God, if you are not moved by the 640 00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:48,520 truth of Jesus in the Gospel, it is because you do not belong to 641 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:52,120 God. I pray you would cry out to God 642 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:55,320 that He may have mercy on you and that He would make you his 643 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:58,720 child. Because all the children of God 644 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:01,680 are adopted. No one's born into his family, 645 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:08,320 but born again into new life with new hearts that hate the 646 00:42:08,320 --> 00:42:12,000 old ways and love God and love Jesus Christ. 647 00:42:14,160 --> 00:42:17,600 And if you are a believer in Jesus, remember and may you 648 00:42:17,720 --> 00:42:21,560 today be renewed in your hope that God has brought you out of 649 00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:23,600 his darkness and into his marvellous light. 650 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:32,040 What hope that we have to continue to walk in this world 651 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:36,520 still darkened by sin and death, by pain, by loss. 652 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:43,520 We walk with a hope that we belong to God. 653 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:50,680 So now, who else in your life needs to hear? 654 00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:54,680 To my Christian friends, to whom can you proclaim the 655 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:57,440 excellencies of God? Who has called you out? 656 00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:00,360 Who has saved you? Whether starting with your 657 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:04,560 family, go to your friends. There's no one too lost or too 658 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:08,200 far to be saved by the power of God that has saved us. 659 00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:15,120 Now look at verse 48. The Jews answered him. 660 00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:18,040 Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a 661 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:21,440 demon? Jesus answered, I do not have a 662 00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:24,560 demon, but I honour my Father and you dishonour me. 663 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:28,160 Yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and 664 00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:30,160 He is the judge. Truly, truly. 665 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:34,320 I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. 666 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:40,160 What do the Jews resort to now? The final weapon, Name calling. 667 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:44,920 Like children backed up into a corner, having nothing left to 668 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:48,080 defend themselves. Now they name call Jesus, Jesus. 669 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:53,320 They knew Jesus was a Jew before they were mocking him because he 670 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:55,240 was just. He looked like such an ordinary 671 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:57,120 Jew to be doing these great things of God. 672 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:02,640 But by calling him a Samaritan, it shows how much they hated 673 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:07,080 Jesus because they hated Samaritans deeply. 674 00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:11,720 On top of that they call Jesus demon possessed. 675 00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:17,080 And so they were slandering Jesus all the claims that he 676 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:23,560 make, all the things that he taught by 1 accusation saying he 677 00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:26,720 has a demon. They try to negate everything 678 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:33,720 Jesus has said thus far. See how Jesus knew slander so 679 00:44:33,720 --> 00:44:40,840 well, even though he spoke truth, he received slander as he 680 00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:46,880 tried to misalign his character. And as Jesus knew slander, Jesus 681 00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:49,360 taught his followers to be prepared for slander as well. 682 00:44:50,840 --> 00:44:55,520 Beloved Christians, if we truly follow Jesus, if we truly abide 683 00:44:55,520 --> 00:45:00,600 in His Word as we make Him known and and share our testimonies of 684 00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:04,840 our freedom from sin, testimonies of how great God is 685 00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:09,040 and how he's the only way to be saved, as we live such lives, we 686 00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:12,320 too will be hated. We too will be slandered without 687 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:15,600 a real reason other than being Jesus's disciple. 688 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:21,960 We should not be surprised when it happens to us and when it 689 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:26,160 does, we must strive to honour God above all by the grace of 690 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:28,240 God. Just like how Jesus here was 691 00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:31,000 honouring the Father even when he was being dishonoured. 692 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:35,960 And just like how Jesus trusted the Father would seek the glory 693 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:38,960 of his Son, right? He says in verse 50, I do not 694 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:42,120 seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, his 695 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:46,840 Father who is the judge. And like Jesus, we can trust 696 00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,320 that God will be the one who will judge, that God will be the 697 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:53,280 one who will repay. He will have his justice. 698 00:45:54,240 --> 00:45:57,600 So as we commit ourselves to the Lord, even as we face 699 00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:01,960 persecution, even threats to our lives, we are secure in the 700 00:46:01,960 --> 00:46:06,000 promise of Jesus. Verse 51 Truly, truly, I say to 701 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:10,040 you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. 702 00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:14,720 I think a great way to be reminded of this is to be able 703 00:46:14,720 --> 00:46:19,160 to get on the newsletters of missionaries and and hear their 704 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:21,520 stories and receive their prayer requests. 705 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:24,760 I just received one yesterday. I'd like to read a part of it 706 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:28,080 for us. This is our third week in of 707 00:46:28,080 --> 00:46:30,640 meeting in the village. Each of the last two weeks we've 708 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:35,040 had clear verbal opposition to our being there, parentheses and 709 00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:37,480 a few harmless rocks thrown at the house where we meet. 710 00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:41,680 Pray that those who come to oppose us would have their 711 00:46:41,680 --> 00:46:45,840 hearts turned so that they would come and listen and pray for the 712 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,840 growth and health and strength of this seedling church. 713 00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:53,080 End Quote. And praise God as we prayed for 714 00:46:53,080 --> 00:46:54,560 them. They had a blessed gathering, 715 00:46:55,040 --> 00:46:57,880 learning from the Gospel of Mark, even had a fruitful 716 00:46:57,880 --> 00:47:01,160 conversation with the village leaders about them meeting there 717 00:47:01,680 --> 00:47:03,680 and they won favour with the village leader. 718 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:09,880 What a godly example for us to live for our Lord Jesus, where 719 00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:14,880 rocks are harmless and where it is our priority to honour God, 720 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:20,840 to love those who dishonour us. To God be the glory even when we 721 00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:22,600 face harm and hatred for His name. 722 00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:30,120 Now this, this talk about never seeing death was the final 723 00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:34,560 trigger for them. What was meant to bring about 724 00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:38,720 such hope and encouragement for those who follow Jesus? 725 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:42,160 They were driven to even more offence and anger. 726 00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:48,520 They took it personally. Verse 52 the Jew said to him, 727 00:47:48,600 --> 00:47:50,480 now we know that you have a demon. 728 00:47:50,840 --> 00:47:52,360 Abraham died as did the prophets. 729 00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:55,400 Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. 730 00:47:55,960 --> 00:47:59,000 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died and the 731 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:01,280 prophets died? Who do you make yourself out to 732 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:03,440 be? Jesus answered. 733 00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:06,080 If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. 734 00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:09,600 It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, he is our 735 00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:13,640 God, but you have not known him. I know him. 736 00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:16,720 If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like 737 00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:19,080 you. But I do know Him, and I keep 738 00:48:19,080 --> 00:48:21,560 his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced 739 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:24,640 that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. 740 00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:28,760 What Jesus says is here is interesting because Abraham 741 00:48:28,760 --> 00:48:31,160 lived some 2000 years before Jesus did. 742 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,680 So what does it mean that Abraham rejoiced and saw the day 743 00:48:34,960 --> 00:48:39,280 of Jesus? It was not like he saw a future 744 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:41,440 vision of Jesus, but it was by faith. 745 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:45,680 Abraham believed all the promises of God. 746 00:48:47,240 --> 00:48:51,160 He believed all that God said in His word would come true. 747 00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:55,880 Hebrews Chapter 11 records all the faithful Israelites, how 748 00:48:55,880 --> 00:48:59,440 they too all died in faith, not having received the things 749 00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:03,680 promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. 750 00:49:06,560 --> 00:49:10,120 God had promised Abraham that he will be greatly blessed, made 751 00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:13,520 into a great nation, and in Abraham the families of the 752 00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:17,560 earth would be blessed too. And Abraham believed God at his 753 00:49:17,560 --> 00:49:21,520 word, so Even so, and by faith he believes that even when he 754 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:25,520 was tested, Abraham offered up his only son, Isaac. 755 00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:31,800 Abraham did not withhold his only son, so God promised to 756 00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:36,600 multiply his offspring through Isaac as the stars in the sky, 757 00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:39,720 as a sand on the seashore, to bless all the nations. 758 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:44,200 And the way of blessing to the nations would be through this 759 00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:48,960 one Saviour who would come from one of his offspring through the 760 00:49:48,960 --> 00:49:53,920 generations of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, all the way to Jesus. 761 00:49:55,600 --> 00:50:00,840 So Jesus declared, the promise is being fulfilled, the time is 762 00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:05,400 here, the day is here. When he said Abraham saw my day 763 00:50:05,680 --> 00:50:08,200 and was glad. Jesus was saying that all those 764 00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:15,320 promises of Abraham are true in him and for this we praise God, 765 00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:19,960 for God had not diverted. God did not forget his promises 766 00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:23,880 or His word. He is faithful, He is true, and 767 00:50:23,880 --> 00:50:29,680 he remains faithful to his promises today for those who 768 00:50:29,680 --> 00:50:33,920 here can come to trust and believe in in God like Abraham 769 00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:38,400 did. Now we know that the Jews who 770 00:50:38,400 --> 00:50:42,560 heard Jesus, by now, we know they're really not listening. 771 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:46,760 In their pride and in their anger, they cannot accept their 772 00:50:46,960 --> 00:50:51,680 limited finiteness in light of Jesus's unlimited Infinity, in 773 00:50:51,680 --> 00:50:57,240 light of Jesus's timelessness. See verse 37 to the end. 774 00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:01,520 So the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old, and have 775 00:51:01,520 --> 00:51:04,600 you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, 776 00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:09,320 truly, I say to you, before Abraham was I am. 777 00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:12,760 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid 778 00:51:12,760 --> 00:51:14,360 himself and went out of the temple. 779 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:18,120 We should notice that there seems to be somewhat of a 780 00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:23,920 grammatical error in verse 58. Before Abraham was I was would 781 00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,720 be proper grammar. But Jesus was not giving a 782 00:51:26,720 --> 00:51:28,880 language lesson on past tense verbs. 783 00:51:28,880 --> 00:51:32,160 He was making a reference to the divine name of God. 784 00:51:32,680 --> 00:51:35,560 I am. Remember how we read early in 785 00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:39,960 the service from Exodus chapter 3 where God gives his name to 786 00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:45,360 Moses from the burning Bush. I am who I am. 787 00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:52,920 Tell them I am has sent you. Just like how the fire did not 788 00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:56,240 consume the wood of the of the Bush. 789 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:00,080 That is a glimpse of what God is like. 790 00:52:01,120 --> 00:52:05,560 God is not dependent on anyone. God is self-sufficient. 791 00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:12,280 He is self existent, existent. He has no beginning, no end. 792 00:52:12,840 --> 00:52:17,800 He is sovereign over all, the source of life, who gives life, 793 00:52:18,760 --> 00:52:21,280 who needs not receive anything from anyone. 794 00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:28,280 He is the great I am. And what Jesus is doing here is 795 00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:31,800 declaring himself to be that great. 796 00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:37,440 I am to be God. Either Jesus's words are really 797 00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:42,560 the words of a demon possessed blasphemer, or truly the words 798 00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:48,000 of God who has come in the flesh in response to such a grand 799 00:52:48,000 --> 00:52:51,040 claim to be God. There are two options. 800 00:52:52,080 --> 00:52:56,200 Either we accept Him with humble hearts and welcome Jesus as God, 801 00:52:56,200 --> 00:53:02,680 as Lord, as we strive to live according to His will, or we 802 00:53:02,680 --> 00:53:08,760 reject Him. The Jews clearly understood what 803 00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:11,120 Jesus was saying, what Jesus was claiming to be. 804 00:53:11,840 --> 00:53:15,680 The more Jesus revealed himself, the more they wanted to kill Him 805 00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:17,960 for blasphemy. That's the reason why here they 806 00:53:17,960 --> 00:53:21,000 picked up stones to end Jesus right there. 807 00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:25,520 But again, they couldn't. There was not yet time according 808 00:53:25,920 --> 00:53:27,680 to the schedule of the great I AM. 809 00:53:30,560 --> 00:53:38,040 But how sad it is for at the end of verse 59, how Jesus hid 810 00:53:38,040 --> 00:53:43,760 himself when out of the temple. Augustine said of this as man 811 00:53:44,200 --> 00:53:49,320 Jesus fled from the stones, But woe to those from whose Stony 812 00:53:49,320 --> 00:53:55,560 hearts God has fled. They do not belong to God. 813 00:53:56,280 --> 00:54:03,880 They want nothing to do with God, for they are set, happy and 814 00:54:03,880 --> 00:54:07,480 secure in all the wrong ways, in what they have, in their 815 00:54:07,480 --> 00:54:10,800 ethnicity, in their heritage, in their history. 816 00:54:13,560 --> 00:54:15,800 But for us today, let's not make that same mistake. 817 00:54:17,000 --> 00:54:19,800 Let's understand that Jesus is the eternal God who stepped down 818 00:54:19,800 --> 00:54:22,640 into our time. He is the pre-existing God who 819 00:54:22,640 --> 00:54:26,520 has come in the flesh. He is the humble servant who 820 00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:29,800 laid down his life for sinners like us, the light of the world 821 00:54:29,800 --> 00:54:36,040 who has given life to us. But for now, at the end of this 822 00:54:36,040 --> 00:54:39,040 passage, He hides himself away from the temple. 823 00:54:40,240 --> 00:54:42,960 His time had not yet come. His hour is not yet. 824 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:49,120 But soon the Pharisees would get what they wanted, not because 825 00:54:49,120 --> 00:54:51,720 they overpowered Jesus or outwitted Jesus in their 826 00:54:51,720 --> 00:54:55,560 arguments, but because Jesus himself would willingly go like 827 00:54:55,560 --> 00:54:57,400 a lamb that has led to the slaughter. 828 00:54:57,800 --> 00:55:01,080 He did not open his mouth to revile those who reviled against 829 00:55:01,080 --> 00:55:02,640 him. He did not oppress those who 830 00:55:02,640 --> 00:55:07,160 oppressed him. But Jesus went willing to be 831 00:55:07,200 --> 00:55:10,360 betrayed, willing to go to the cross He did not deserve, 832 00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:15,480 willing to die for us and for all who would repent of their 833 00:55:15,480 --> 00:55:19,720 sins, believe in Jesus Christ and abide in His word. 834 00:55:21,240 --> 00:55:24,200 So hearing all of Jesus's words that he spoke here in John 835 00:55:24,200 --> 00:55:26,200 chapter 8, we must come to a decision. 836 00:55:26,760 --> 00:55:30,800 Is what Jesus said true? Is all that he said about 837 00:55:30,800 --> 00:55:32,280 himself? Is it all true? 838 00:55:34,760 --> 00:55:38,200 If it is true, will you reject Him? 839 00:55:39,960 --> 00:55:43,760 Or if it or seeing that it is true, will you receive and 840 00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:47,400 accept what He says about himself and what He says about 841 00:55:47,400 --> 00:55:49,960 you? That you are a Sinner and slave 842 00:55:49,960 --> 00:55:54,800 to your sin and the only way to be freed is by believing in 843 00:55:54,840 --> 00:56:00,360 Jesus. The truth will set you free. 844 00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:03,680 Free from sin, free from death, free from darkness. 845 00:56:04,560 --> 00:56:07,360 If we accept who Jesus is and accept who we are, we are 846 00:56:07,360 --> 00:56:09,840 brought out of that darkness into His light. 847 00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:13,240 Apart from Christ, we will stay enslaved. 848 00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:16,720 We remain of the devil, the father of lies and the murderer 849 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:19,400 of all time. He will remain our Father. 850 00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:25,520 But when we are in Christ Jesus, we belong to his Father, adopted 851 00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:27,240 into his family as his own children. 852 00:56:28,320 --> 00:56:31,360 So know Jesus to know more of yourself. 853 00:56:31,800 --> 00:56:36,400 Accept who Jesus is and accept who you are and find true 854 00:56:36,400 --> 00:56:38,880 freedom in Jesus Christ. Let's pray. 855 00:56:40,080 --> 00:56:43,800 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your words that are true, 856 00:56:45,920 --> 00:56:50,520 Such wonderful truth that gives us comfort and hope, but also 857 00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:54,720 hard truth that that makes us evaluate and look deeply to our 858 00:56:54,720 --> 00:57:01,160 own hearts and to our own needs. Wake us up out of our blindness 859 00:57:01,640 --> 00:57:04,760 if there remains any, out of our darkness if there remains any, 860 00:57:05,400 --> 00:57:10,400 and maybe walk following the light of the world with the 861 00:57:10,400 --> 00:57:15,200 light of life by your truth. Continue to drive this truth in 862 00:57:15,200 --> 00:57:19,840 US even as we continue in our time of worship, as we go to the 863 00:57:19,840 --> 00:57:25,040 table, that we may love you and worship you with all that we 864 00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:27,200 are. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 865 00:57:28,600 --> 00:57:32,160 Take a moment to consider the Word of God that was preached 866 00:57:32,160 --> 00:57:36,640 for yourself, personally responding to it, what you learn 867 00:57:36,640 --> 00:57:39,400 about yourself, but more importantly what you learn about 868 00:57:39,400 --> 00:57:49,160 God as you do afterwards, we will take of the Lord's Supper 869 00:57:49,160 --> 00:57:49,560 together.