[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       John chapter 8, verse 27: “They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” As he was saying these things, many believed in him” (ESV).

       We left off last week in the middle of Jesus' conversation with the Jews, wherein he was speaking to them about God the Father, but they didn't realize this. Blindedness had set in for them as pertained to what was really going on, and as pertained to their own sin. It travels down the line to that stopping point—their own sin. With open hearts and a lack of pride, perhaps then they would have seen him for who he truly was. But that wasn't the case. Pride had blinded there eyes. That’s the chief sin, after all. Pride is the chief sin because under the influence of pride a person or group of people believes they are right, and aren’t open to considering otherwise. Pride was the original sin from, you remember, Satan, when he rebelled against God, and he and one third of the Heavenly Beings were thrown down to the earth. It appears that event took place after the six day creation. It’s allegiance to pride which causes individuals to remain in their sin, and not be open to the truth of God’s saving message, what we call the Gospel message. This allegiance keeps churches stuck in their old ways, in thinking they are the rightest or bestest in their doctrine when God actually works with all kinds of Christians all over the world. Anyway, setting all that aside, it's going to take the conclusion of the matter, that is, Jesus' execution, for them finally to understand, at least, that's what Jesus in hoping. The rest is on that hope, that when they see the epic miracles surrounding his death, then they will get it.

       Let's be careful not to read past the part where Jesus says “He has not left me alone.” Wonder can set in, in trying to ponder how Jesus bore it, how he was able to deal with the fact that truly, at the end of the day, from a 'human' standpoint, that he was by himself. Yes, he had his disciples, even the Eleven faithful ones, but they couldn't be totally trusted. The minds for them had been fixed on worldly things; their gaze was set toward the physical Kingdom. Remember John told us, at the end of chapter 2, that Jesus entrusted himself to no one. The Eleven also had the sin-nature which too meant they couldn't be trusted (see verses 24 and 25). At the end, and as is also true with us now, the Father was with him. That's a beautiful thing. We can know that no matter how alone we may feel, that the Father is with us. That means the Christian is never truly alone, no matter what. Even if on the inside we feel alone, if the mind has those emotions, we aren't alone. The mind, as it can be at times, isn't correct. Sometimes in our lives we find ourselves with less people around us versus other times. Times may come where we are in a drought people-wise. Perhaps your a young couple, and you’ve moved to a new city. Maybe you’re a single guy and all you’re friends have gotten married and you seem left alone. Whatever it is, whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we know that God is always with us, no matter what.

       Quickly, the last part in the text, the last part about Jesus always being pleasing to the Father, seems to be a reference to the Old Testament way, the Jewish Law way. Back then, one could lose their connection with God based on their performance to the point that one would actually find themselves alone. In fact, some sins really couldn’t be dealt with under the animal sacrifices in that one’s guilt would not be taken way. It could be bad if one committed a ‘big’ sin. In contrast, nowadays, under Christ, being in dwelled by the Spirit, we are never truly alone. Even if we sin, commit a ‘big’ sin, or sin continually, we are not really alone. We can grieve the Holy Spirit for sure, as Paul tells us, but we aren't alone. We don't lose our connection with God. God doesn't leave us, at least, that's what we believe. If he left when we sinned, how could we grieve him?

       Verse 31: “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (ESV).

       Many persons had accepted what Jesus had been saying, for that’s what John had told us. That's encouraging. Always there are people who will get it. That’s why the message is shared on Sunday mornings, and that’s why individuals decide to personally witness to others, or to simply shine their lights before others. Jesus tells those who recognize him to abide in his Word. This, again, seems to have an Old Covenant ring to it, for again remember that these people are under that Old Covenant and it is transitioning to the New Covenant. Regardless, we would say the same is true even today, for we like to see a difference in the life of the believer versus a person who still doesn't believe. Eventually, these disciples will know the whole truth. A seeing in part at this moment but a seeing more clearly as time passes by will occur, and this once the Holy Spirit indwells them. The truth gained will make them freer and freer. Have you ever noticed that that's what truth does? A person becomes freer and freer. That's one reason why it is fun to learn. Being enlightened by God’s truth, the truth can then be recognized from anywhere, wherever that truth comes, even from non-religious sources. It makes one have a truth-ometer, if you will, easily able to detect truth and use it to one’s advantage.

       Yet the Jews don't feel they are enslaved. That's a problem. That's a bad spot to be in. To not see any need to change. Is it not this that sends people to Hell—thinking they are okay ' 'as is.’? The blinding and enslaving power of their sin. That's what sin does for a person when practiced regularly. That’s being in darkness. That's why Jesus, shinning brightly the truth, is hoping to break through that darkness. The Jews are taking pride in the fact that God has kept them free—free in the external sense from other countries’ rule. That's the freedom they think he is speaking of. They still don't get it. Comfort for sure there is in just keeping things they way they have always been, in not wanting to confront the issues. A person can know, for a brief moment, when the truth shines, that they have issues. But often they don’t want to deal with them, and they become immediately distracted again. It’s as Jesus said in the Parable of the Sower, found in Luke 8. It’s that first kind of seed, where Jesus said, “Some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it” (Luke 8:5, ESV). People don’t take it up, but let the birds of the air devour it.

       Verse 34: “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father” (ESV).

       The destructiveness of sin. The destructiveness of sin. Sin, when practiced, snowballs. It gets bigger and bigger and people's lives come to ruin. Unnecessary problems exist, problems that could have been avoided otherwise. Diseases, death, broken relationships, divorce, you name it. It all results from someone sinning. We may not have even sinned, but someone else did, and the negative consequences are left to be reaped. It's only common sense that a person who blatantly practices sin cannot be in the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone seems to understand that. That's why it's often believed that individuals who do not have obvious sin, but appear good on the outside, as with the case of many Americans, will go to Heaven when the die. Or, it could be said that persons of other religions, whatever those religions are, those peace-loving persons, they too will spend eternity in Heaven. We need to recall that sin within, however. Jesus talked about it on another occasion: “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:18-20, ESV). Notice he points to the heart. That's where it all starts. Those behaviors he just mentioned offend God, and he doesn’t want us to do them. They are displeasing to this character, and, believe it or not, are harmful for us. It’s not that he just prohibits things to be a killjoy, or to make life difficult. They actually harm.

       "The son remains forever.” "The son remains forever." That's a good eternal security verse. Don't miss that.

       How does the Son, Jesus, set us free? What does it mean that we will be free indeed? This is an epic verse; it's a big one. No matter what wrongs have been done in the past, we can be free from those wrongs by trusting in Christ's sacrifice for our sins. This is really the whole premise as to why people become Christians in the first place. They recognize their sin, and see that there's a way to be free from it and take God up on that way. No matter what a person has done, they can feel close to God again, or for the first time. Now, it may be the case that others around the person don’t accept the transformation in character that has taken place. And that may be as a result of the person reflecting back to them that which is truly wrong with them. The abundance of forgiveness from God, though, transforms the converted person, and that person can then forgive others even when the other persons doesn’t fully accept them anymore, or even turns against them.

       Interestingly enough, there have been persons come across in the experience who believe they're too far gone, too bad to become a Christian. And that really boggled the mind. Why is that? What is the reality behind that way of thinking? Though the finger can't be placed on it exactly, it seems to have to do with how they feel they are perceived by others. And it also seems to indicate that they don't really believe they'll spend eternity in Hell when they die. If they really believed that, they wouldn't care about how others saw the change in their character. It seems a lot of folks just believe that they'll somehow get off the hook when they die, that if there is a God, hopefully he'll just let them in, give them a pass. After all, that's what so often happens in this life. Even the government lets individuals of the hook at times. When it all comes to an end, they think that’s probably the way it’ll go down. That’s what they’re use to. The stark reality, however, is that that is not the way it works, since there are eternal rules, if you will, in place, and those rules even God himself cannot violate. If he could just decide whatever he wants to decide, there would have been no need for Jesus to come down to the earth and die on the cross. If he could just at liberty forgive sins with no payment, then Christ died for nothing.

       Verse 39: “They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did” (ESV).

       The whole premise behind the Jews argument doesn't seem to make sense. They say, "Abraham is our father." That doesn't make sense because Jesus himself is Jewish, and therefore Abraham would be his Father as well. The dividing line they are trying to draw doesn't make sense. Jesus even notes that he too is a man, a human like them and like Abraham. He states that he is like Abraham in that he heard truth from God and was telling it to the people, that he has good-will towards them. Remember what is recorded of Abraham? It is so very basic.

       Jesus then notes that the works they are truly accomplishing are similar instead to another person's works. This is fascinating. Hidden in the text here is really the heart of God, the heart of God. He is showing that two person's works contrast, that of his Father, God, and that of their father, Satan. This goes to show us, then, that it's not God behind the evil events that happen in our world. It's not like a double-sided coin where God is on one side and Satan is on the other. Satan is not God's dark side, or shadow, to use some Carl Jung terminology. It's not that what happened back in Job chapter 1 is how any and every situation works, as is often thought and taught. Everything that happens, then, is not God's will. Rather, it's two hearts, two wills. God's will and Satan's will. And they don't work in cooperation with each other. Genesis 15:6 says that Abraham “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (ESV). That’s all it takes, whether back then, or whether we are talking about now. To believe God. To believe what he has said is true.

       Verse 41 continued: “They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word” (ESV).

       After the Jews insult Jesus by saying that his mother was sexually immoral—they the make the claim that God is actually their father. The claim is being made that they are in the right with God. And Jesus cuts straight to the heart of the matter. In a real connection with God, he says, they would recognize who he is. That's very simple and yet very true. That's the true test for anybody - even to our day. If they know the true God, they will recogn­ize Jesus. Otherwise, it's just religion, nothing more, nothing less. Love for him would reside. That’s making it more personal. They tried to get under his skin by insulting his mother and noting that he was a born out of wedlock child. Now, he returns that by asking why they are not loving him? He wants them to, otherwise he wouldn't take the conversation in that direction. Jesus notes that it was truly the Father who sent him to the earth rather than him deciding to personally make this choice on his own. You see, if he had made that choice alone, one might try to say that he had ulterior motives. Perhaps he was coming to be king just because he wanted to be king. Maybe it was a selfish choice. Satan didn't understand that, remember. He tried to get Jesus to take the kingdoms of the world early, to take them outside of the proper way of getting them. To usurp authority—like other leaders in history have done. The ears can't bear to hear what he is saying because they're so hardened and darkened to the truth, just like their father Satan.

       Verse 44: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (ESV).

       Jesus, at this point, goes ahead and tells it like it is. He tells them that contrary to what they believe, to what they think, that they are actually aligned with Satan, not God. Truly, this is the state of everyone who isn't in right relationship with God. They are, by default, due to the sin-nature, aligned with Satan. That’s the original default setting for everyone. It's not that people are saying to themselves, "I want to align with Satan," it's just the way it unfortunately is. To be aligned with practicing sin, which everyone who doesn't know God does, is to be aligned with the wrong side. It's like Jesus said to them in verse 34, “everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (John 8:34, ESV). Yes, people still have God's image and they are capable of some good, but they are also capable of a lot of bad. Even persons who are spiritual do bad in some areas. Some of the most interesting non-Christian spiritual teachers practice sexual immorality, or worship gods that don’t really exist. They may have some good to say; there’s no doubt about that. Yet, they don’t have the whole picture, and they aren’t saved from their sins. They aren’t currently saved from the sins. And do they wish to do away with those who proclaim Jesus?

       The Jews do wish to murder Jesus, to do their father's desire. Love for their religion exists more than love for the truth. Jesus notes that Satan was this way from the beginning. We really don't know what that means. It is a bit mysterious since we really don't understand what that statement entails. For a proponent of The Gap Theory, (that is, the theory that there was a created world, or worlds, before ours) for proponents of that, perhaps Satan murdered people in that world. The whole Gap Theory thing is interesting to think about. The statement by Jesus could also refer to Satan playing a role in Cain murdering Abel. That would definitely make sense.

       The depravation of Satan’s character is discussed, and as to that, it would seem to show Satan is always up to no good. The text seems to imply that this is by his own choice—it’s not that he has no choice but to be evil. And it’s not that he can't mix truth with falsehood; we certainly believe he does that. It's just the intent is always corrupt. As from the beg­inning with Adam and Eve in the Garden, he loves to lie and lead individuals astray. Whole groups of people have been used by him to create false religions by mixing truth with error. Even for the Jews, he has led their hearts astray. Not that they haven't willingly chosen that, but he put the temptation before them. And the same even happens with Christians. Whether we think of Joseph Smith or Joseph Rutherford, he has done this. Just like in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, where God says, "An enemy has done this." It doesn't mean God doesn't work to bring individuals into the truth, just like Jesus is doing here with the Jews. A lot of times, though, people won't believe, they won't believe. Spiritual error blinds and deafens, and it can be really difficult for a person to come out of it. It's like a deep sleep that's hard to wake up from. If coffee represents truth, it can take a lot of coffee to come out of that. It's like it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14, ESV). Wake up, wake up, wake up. Dig deep enough, and anybody can wake up.

       Verse 45: “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God” (ESV).

       Again, the Jews don’t want the truth. No desire is present to hear that they have a sin problem and need to come into right relationship with God. They want to believe they are already okay, and that God is sending the Christ to establish an earthy kingdom and make them above their foes again. Get rid of the Roman rule, for instance. Jesus points out that there really is no credible sin that anyone can bring against him. There is nothing anyone can really say that makes it evident that he has sinner. If we go back to John chapter 5, specifically to verse 18, we can see the sins they tried to say he had committed. That verse states, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18, ESV). Therefore, there were two things. Violating the Sabbath by healing a person, and calling himself God, which couldn’t be disproved. That was the best they had on him. Those who wanted to truly be right with God from the heart, or were already right with God under the Jewish system, they believed. But those who were seeking after the worldly things, seeking after the material and physical, they didn’t believe.

       Verse 48: “The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (ESV).

       The age-old argument is used in this setting, one that’s even used to our day and age. The Jews are trying to make Jesus out to be crazy. That’s what they’re trying to do. It’s what a lot of people do today against Christians when they try to speak the truth. If one says, “I have the way. I know the truth. There is a God who will judge the world, and everyone needs to be right with him.” If one says that, one is often labeled by the secular person as ‘crazy.’ That person will respond, “There are many gods, and many beliefs. How do you say you have the correct way, the correct beliefs?” And that’s the way it goes down, and this is the way it was back then. Them saying that Jesus was a Samaritan seems to denote they thought his mother Mary had had some kind of relationship with a Samaritan man. That could be one way to look it. How that would be, who knows? Or, it could be that they just thought he was from somewhere that he wasn’t, that they thought he was from the region of Samaria. Guess that would be an easy way to try to discredit what he was saying. For if he had been a Samaritan, he couldn’t have been the Christ, or even a prophet for that matter.

       Notice how Jesus says that there is One who seeks his own glory. It was the Father who was glorifying the Son, making him out to be right for everyone who saw him. Showing the world that what he had to say was in fact true, the true way to real life. And that’s where Jesus ties the whole thing in, in saying that anyone who listens to him, and truly keeps what he is saying, will never actually die. It’s a truly incredible proposition. It’s an incredible truth. Anyone, anywhere, and of any time can actually live forever. No one has to experience permanent death.

       Verse 52: “The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (ESV).

       The Jews are thinking on this physical plane. That’s the problem. The conclusion is made that Jesus must be saying he will live forever without physically dying, which actually would of been true. Yet, they think somehow that Jesus is boosting about himself. They think he’s trying to promote himself, which would have been something they would have done. And Jesus basically summarizes the whole conversation for us, and goes over pretty much everything that has gone down up to this point. It’s amazing to think about that in all the practicing of religion these Jewish persons were doing, in all that practicing, they didn’t know God. It’s pretty incredible to think about. How one can be so religious, and yet not know God. And Jesus ups the ante, when he says, that Abraham actually saw his day, and was glad when he saw it. We can bring to mind the scene, back in Genesis 22, where Abraham is in the process of sacrificing his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. We read, back there, verse 8 of Genesis 22, “Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (ESV). How much of a foreshadowing can you get? The writer of Hebrews notes that the people of the Old Testament saw what was to come and were happy about it for the future (see Hebrews 11:13). The people who knew God knew he was going to provide a provision.

       Verse 57: “So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple” (ESV).

       There it is, there it is. Jesus provides the direct claim that he is God, for all to see it. That which they hadn’t been understanding—that which they were blinded to perceiving. This time, this time, they understand. They grasped ahold of stones off the ground to kill him, which is what the Jewish Law said to do for anyone who claimed to be God but wasn’t. After all that they didn’t believe him. And notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Before Abraham is, I am.” He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” This shows that God within time, has come into the world, and residing in time, is working to bring persons to himself. God resides with his people at any time, since he can truly do that. It’s not that he is ever present as if there was no time, but he is present with them along their journeys. And Jesus somehow, for John really doesn’t say, makes himself become hidden from them. Whether he disappeared, or whether his appearance changed, we really don’t know. But somehow, someway, he got out of this stoning that was to occur, and obviously since his time hadn’t yet come.

- Daniel Litton