I'd like to turn in your Bibles
to John Chapter 8 with me. It's been some weeks since we've
been looking closely at John's Gospel. John Chapter 8 is a remarkable
passage of scripture. And it's wonderful, one of the
things that's amazing is that John's gospel is characterized
by these long conversations that the Lord Jesus Christ has with
religious people. And this, in John chapter eight,
are religious people who will and have, in John chapter seven,
established the fact before all men that their intention is to
kill him. and their intention is to establish their own righteousness
in killing him. But it's just extraordinary,
isn't it, that the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ cause us
now in 2023 to read these remarkable words that the Lord says to us
through his words to them. After we sing again I wanted
to read John chapter 8 and I want to make just a few comments on
it. But John chapter 8 speaks of two groups of people of which
I don't want to be a part of and I don't want any of you to
be a part of at all. There is one group of people
who are in direct opposition to him and openly so. And then
there is another group of people who in verse 31 says And verse 30 says, when he spoke
these words, many believed on him. So they had a type of faith. They had a type of faith. They
had a faith that was then challenged and exposed by the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you go down to the end
of the chapter, these people in John chapter eight, verse
31, that believed on him, Verse 59, and they took up stones to
cast at him. And then the Lord Jesus Christ
does something quite remarkable, doesn't he? Which is something
I pray that he never does for you or for me. Jesus hid himself. Jesus hid himself and went out
and he went through the midst of them and he passed by. I pray
that this is a place where the Lord Jesus Christ stops and as
we saw in Exodus chapter 3 last week, that He reveals Himself
in His glory and He draws His people aside to see the wonderful
sight. I've been looking at John chapter
8 for the last, I don't know how many weeks I've had this
floating around on my desk, but the yellow bits are the Lord's
descriptions of Himself. The pink bits are his challenge
and his exhortations to those who didn't believe and the warnings
of those who did believe in his word. John Chapter 8 has several
descriptions of him where he declares himself to be the I
Am and in fact they pick up stones to stone him because he declared
to be the I Am. He says that he is the I am on
a number of occasions and also John chapter 8 is a remarkable
chapter where he says, if, if, if you continue in my word, the
words that he is speaking here, if you continue in them, John
8 31, then are you my disciples indeed. Our brothers and sisters, I want
to be a disciple indeed. I want to be a disciple. I want
you to be disciples indeed. I want us to hear His Word, to
believe His Word, to continue in His Word. God's children find
the Word of God a delight. continuing delight to their souls. There's so much of it that we
don't understand, but we just, there's so much of it that we
can believe and rejoice in. I'm so pleased that the Lord
says we don't have to have understanding, we just have to have faith. We
just have to believe. And one of the things that you
need to take in mind before we come and read this remarkable
passage of scripture, is that the Lord Jesus Christ, as he
was saying these things and as he was doing these things in
Jerusalem, he was living a perfect righteousness before the holy
law of God. He was loving God with all of
his heart, all of his soul, and all of his mind, and all of his
strength. And he was loving his neighbor as himself. And we were
doing it with him. This is our righteousness being
declared. This is our saviour being declared. This is our saviour dealing with
opposition to the simple things that he says about who he is
and how he saves his people. And may he find in us. parts that are receptive. I don't
want to be in either of those categories of people, and I pray
that you will pray with me that you're not part of them, because
the reality is that they are few. They are few. And the Pharisees and the others
are many. So with all that said, I'd like
us to sing again. I think it's number, is it 28,
Norm? Number 28 in your hymn books. Number 28, for me the spotless
lamb agreed his father's wrath to bear, for me his precious
blood he shed, my guilty soul to spare. I see his head, his
hands, his feet, I hear his groans and cries, for me he bears hell's
awful heat, for me the surety dies. you He was father's family, His father's
God did make. I made these wreaths and all
these prayers, each time by grace and love. John Chapter 8 begins with the story of that
woman caught in adultery, and I just do love how the enemies
of the Lord Jesus Christ, in their attempt to put him to death
and to prove him false, cause this lady to be brought into
his presence, and the Lord Jesus Christ declared to her, when
they'd all gone away, all the accusers are gone, then he speaks
to her, he doesn't have to say another word to her, all the
accusers are gone, then he speaks, and he says, She had no sin in
his sight. And that's the glorious thing.
That's the gospel, isn't it? Guilty and yet not condemned. Guilty and yet not condemned. So verse 12, after this, and
so this is in a church service. So let's just try and remember
the setting of this is a church service. The Lord Jesus Christ
had come to the temple on the day after the Feast of Tabernacles
was finished. So the people there had gathered
on their way home to have one last opportunity, many of them,
to hear from the Lord Jesus Christ, because he didn't stay in Jerusalem
for long. He was never there for very long.
He came and he visited when he had to, and he left. He left,
and so this was maybe their last opportunity. So a crowd is gathered
in his court of the women, and the Lord Jesus Christ has this
church service, and into the middle of the church service,
in comes the Pharisees with this woman caught in adultery, to
embarrass her as much as possible, and to humiliate and to denigrate
him, and to prove him false. So then, The Lord Jesus Christ
speaks. So this is in the temple, this
is in the tabernacle, this is speaking to a group of Jews who
knew their Old Testament really well. They were attending a religious
service. These people were zealous. They'd
travelled across land and see many of them, all of them, nearly
all of them had come on some long journey to get there at
some great sacrifice. So these were serious people
in religion. It wasn't just an incidental
thing in their lives, this was a big deal. In verse 12, then
Jesus spake again unto them, saying, I am the light of the
world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Last week
we looked at Exodus chapter 3 and for him to be the I am is to
declare in the plainest simple terms possible, I am God. And in Exodus chapter 3, I am
that I am. I am the sovereign ruler of all
things. And I have come, and I hear the
cries of my people. I've come down to do what I promised,
what I promised Abraham 450 years before these events, what I promised
in the eternal covenant of grace. I've come down to fulfill my
promise. And he is. in Exodus, the great deliverer.
But he's not just a great deliverer, he's a great bringer, isn't he?
He not just delivers his people from the darkness of Egypt, he
brings his people into the light of the promised land. He does
it all, and he does it all to the glory of his power and his
grace and his character. He's revealing who he is, isn't
he? That's what the declaration of
the gospel is. It's a declaration of a hymn.
And he declares himself, have I bragged about myself? The same
response we'd get from the Pharisees, wouldn't we? You bear record
of yourself, your record's not true. The Lord Jesus Christ bears
record of himself as God. and he's not boasting, he's just
telling the truth again and again and again. He's not like us,
brothers and sisters. He needs to make himself known. He needs to declare himself so
we can know him. He needs to. And we need for
him to declare himself to us. You'll have the light of life.
You'll no longer walk in darkness. You'll no longer walk in the
captivity of this world and the captivity of its religion, the
captivity of sin, the captivity of Satan, all of the things that
darken this world. You'll have the light of life.
You'll have it. It'll be the possession. It is
the promised possession of all of God's children. 13. The Pharisees
therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself, though
record is not true. 14. Jesus answered and said unto
them, Though I bear record of myself, this word record, this
word testimony, is the word from which we get the word martyr.
He is prepared to die for this testimony, brothers and sisters.
He is prepared to die and stand condemned on the basis of this
record of who he is. My record is true, for I know
whence I came and whither I go. I know that I've come from heaven
and I know I'm going back to heaven. And he says, but you cannot tell
whence I come and whither I go. You can't tell. You can't tell
by human reasoning. You can't tell by human intellect
or human knowledge of any way. You cannot tell. Cannot tell. Three times in this passage of
scripture he says you cannot. And also he says you will. Let's
go on. You cannot tell. You judge. You judge after the flesh. Your judgment is just a fleshly
judgment. This man standing before you
looks like a carpenter from Nazareth, and he is a carpenter from Nazareth,
but he's much, much more than a carpenter from Nazareth. You
judge after the flesh. You are standing in judgment
of God, you people, which is exactly what Satan told us in
the garden. You will know good and evil.
You'll be able to discern the difference between good and evil,
and you will, on account of your free will, be able to do the
good and shun the evil. Look what's happened ever since,
brothers and sisters, in all of this world. And then verse
16, he says, and if yet I judge, my judgment is true, for I am
not alone, but I and the Father that has sent me. He and the
Father are one. He and the Father are together.
He says in John 14, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father.
That's how close we are. It is also written in your law
that the testimony of two men is true. You can read about that
in Deuteronomy 17 and 19. And it was the testimony of two
men to put someone else to death is the testimony that's being
spoken of there. I am. Don't you love this? I am the one that bear witness
of myself. He's one of these witnesses.
And the Father that hath sent me, bear witness of me. The Father
bear witness of him. He spoke from heaven. This is
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him, listen to
him, follow him. And then they said unto him,
I want us to see these people as people in darkness. and they're
in the very presence of God who is proclaiming himself to be
God and doing the things that only God can do. They said unto
him, where is thy father? Jesus answered, you neither know
me nor my father. If you had known me, you should
have known my father also. These words spake Jesus in the
treasury as he taught in the temple, and no man laid hands
on him, for his hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again
unto them, I go my way. You shall seek me and shall die
in your sins. Whether I go, you cannot come. There is a great gold fixture,
brothers and sisters, between heaven and hell. You cannot go
from one to the other. Praise the Lord. Then said the
Jews, look at the ignorance, isn't it? He is making the most
remarkable statements and they are saying the silliest things.
These are incredibly intelligent people with extraordinary history
and tradition and knowledge of the Scriptures. And here they
are in the presence of God Almighty looking like fools, aren't they?
Will he kill himself? Because he says, whither I go
you cannot come. They said the same silly things
in John chapter 5 and John chapter 7. And he said unto them, You are from beneath. I am from above. For, or because, if you believe,
that I am, and the he's in italics, isn't it? If you believe not
that I am God, if you believe not that I am who I say I am,
you shall die in your sins. The people, the multitudes that
go from this place to that place that I pray none of you ever
go to, Die surrounded by their sins. Die knowing that all of
their sins and all of their reasons for being in that place is all
of their own fault. They'll be without excuse on
that great day of judgment and their mouths will be shut. Some
of these arrogant people, I remember David Attenborough, no it wasn't,
it was some other, Stephen Fry saying, you know, he's asked
what's going to happen when you meet God. Well he says, when I meet
God I'm going to tell him this, this, this and this and he didn't
design things very well, he didn't organise things, he didn't arrange
things very well in this world. He will be silent and aware of
his sins. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, even
the same that I said unto you from the beginning. And it may
well have been the beginning of this particular discourse
with them. It may well have been the beginning of his time in
Jerusalem, the first time they encountered him in Jerusalem.
He went to that temple, and he cast out thousands of people
and hundreds of cattle and overturned those tables. It wasn't just
a little thing done in the corner. That was a huge marketplace,
and he cleared it all. And he said, I'm God. And this
is my father's house. And it was meant to be a house
of prayer for all nations, where people met with God and talked
with God. And you have just turned it into
a marketplace. You've just turned it into a marketplace. That was
the first time they encountered him seriously, unless we go back
to what happened up at the Jordan, but they seemed to ignore him
there as well, and ignore the words of John the Baptist. Even
the same as I said to you from the beginning, I have many things
to say and to judge of you, but he that sent me is true, and
I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. Verse
27. They understood not that he spoke
to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When
you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you shall know that
I am. I am, I am He, I am God, and
that I do nothing of myself. But as my Father has taught me,
I speak these things. And He that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone,
for I do always those things that please Him. He's the only
man that ever walked on this earth that could say those words
and for it to be true and gloriously true. Always those things that
please Him. And as he spoke these words,
many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed on him, if you continue in my word, then are
you my disciples indeed. I want to be a disciple indeed.
I want you to be a disciple. The word disciple means learner.
I love that. I love the fact that we are learning,
aren't we? We grow in the grace and knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We never attain that completeness
until we leave this place, do we? I want to be a learner. I
want to be a follower, I want to be a disciple indeed. I want
you to be disciples indeed. Not just in word, not just in
thought, but disciples indeed. And then listen to what happens
to the disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. The true disciples know
him, they know him, and they know the truth. The truth's a
person in the scriptures, isn't it? All of the truth that matters
is the truth of a person. Verse 33, we the Abraham seed
and were never in bondage to any man. Unless that was written
in the scriptures, you couldn't believe that any Jew would ever
even contemplate saying that, could you? They hadn't been in
bondage for a whole bunch of their lives. They'd been in bondage
in Egypt for 450 years. They'd been in bondage to Babylon
for 70 years. They were now in bondage to Rome
and they were looking for a Messiah to set them free. And they were
excited about the Messiah coming so they could reign and sit on
the throne of Rome. Dear, oh dear. These are intelligent
people, brothers and sisters. These are religious people. These
aren't people that have come out of some gutter somewhere.
These are morally upright, religiously not knowledgeable people. We've
never been in bondage. How sayest thou that you should
be made free? Then the Lord Jesus talks about
the captivity, isn't he? Verily, verily, truly, truly,
I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin, literally
the slave. If you commit sin, you're a slave
to sin. And the servant, the slave, abideth
not in the house forever. They just have a temporary time
in the house, don't they? But the son abideth ever. If the Son, therefore, shall
make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's
seed. But you seek to kill me, because
my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen
of my father, and you do that which you have seen of your father.'
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus
saith unto them, If you were Abraham's children, you would
do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me,
a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of
God. This did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We were
not born of fornication. And I can't help but think that
they'd gone to Nazareth and they'd found out what happened up there
and they found all the stories and all the salacious gossip
from around Nazareth about Joseph and Mary and this baby that conveniently
was born a long, long way away, but Mary was well pregnant before
the marriage, as they would have thought anyway. I'm sure there
was a mocking in their tone. We have one Father, even God. That's a good boast, isn't it?
We're Abraham's children and we are the children of God. Have
you heard that before? We are the children of God. Jesus! Say unto them, if God were your
father, you would love me. If God's your father, you'll
love the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll love him as he's described
here. You'll love him in this conversation with these people.
You'll love this one who stands between his enemies and his bride
and speaks such powerful words. The lady caught in adultery was
no doubt still there at this time. If God were your father, you
would love me. I came from God. Neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. Why do you not understand my
speech? Even because you cannot hear
my word. You cannot hear my word. O Lord, speak to us. You are
of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father the promise of their actions,
nothing surprised the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a murderer from
the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no
truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaketh
of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. But I tell
you the truth, and because, I'm sorry, verse 45, and because
I tell you the truth, You believe me not. What a remarkable statement
from our God to these people that claim to be the children
of God, that knew from their genealogies that they were Abraham's
fleshly children, but they weren't Abraham's faith children. Because
I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Which of you convinces
me, convicts me of sin? What a remarkable statement.
He's saying to these people who are going to kill him, have you
ever found one sin in me, on me? In thought and word and deed. We think we know what holiness
looks like, don't we? We think obedience to the law
would look like, wouldn't you? You would think that a religious
crowd would have some inkling of someone who is perfectly holy
and perfectly true and perfectly righteous. And here he is standing
in their midst declaring himself to be that one. Listen to them. And if I say
the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God, and the
word of is a word of origin. He that has an origin from God,
he is that is born from above. He that is of God, heareth God's
words. You, therefore, hear them not,
because you are not of God. Then answered the Jews and said
unto him, say we not well, say we not well, this is a good speech
from us, that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil. They knew from
their own genealogical records that he wasn't a Samaritan. They
probably heard that he'd been in that Samaritan village, bringing
the water of eternal life into that place. Jesus answered, I have not a
devil, but I honour my Father, and you do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory,
but there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see
death. If you remain, if you continue
in my word, The day of the dying of a believer
is the most glorious day in their lives. The one thing that hinders
us seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in all of his glory is this flesh. No wonder the public can beat
upon his chest. Never see death. Then said the Jews unto him,
Now we know thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets. And thou sayest, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never taste death. Art thou greater than
our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honour myself,
my honour is nothing. It is my Father that honoureth
me, of whom you say, He is your God. Yet you have not known Him,
but I know Him. And if I should say, I know Him
not, I shall be a liar like unto you. But I know Him, and keep
His saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. Abraham was exceedingly joyful
when he saw the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he probably
saw it on several occasions in his life, but most of all he
saw it on Mount Moriah, when he saw the glorious substitutionary
work of the Lord Jesus Christ in that lamb that was caught
in a thicket. And he went down that mountain with Isaac, and
I'm sure there was a lot of rejoicing. There was a lot of faith before
he went up there, but the faith was turned into glorious sight
for Abraham and Isaac. He was rejoicing. And he wasn't
rejoicing about what he'd done. He was rejoicing about the Lamb.
He was rejoicing about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was rejoicing
in the fullness of God. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day. He saw it and was glad. Then
the Jews said unto him, thou art not yet 50 years old and
thou hast seen Abraham. Jesus said unto them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham was, I am. He is God. He's God. He's just declaring himself to
be God Almighty, God incarnate. God come to redeem, to rescue. God come to bring light into
the darkness. What have we seen in all of these
statements from these people? Nothing but darkness. And he
declares his light, doesn't he? He declares his glory. Then they
took up stones to cast him. They wanted him silenced, and
they wanted him dead, himself, and went out from the
temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Let's not stop. The chapter divisions
The chapter divisions are put in by men in the 13th and 14th
century. And as Jesus passed by, he saw
a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked
him, this is a fleshly answer, isn't it? A fleshly question.
Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born
blind? His blindness is a result of some sin that he's done, it
must be. We can trace this. That's what Job's miserable counselors
did, didn't they? His friends, so-called. You must
have done something wrong to cause this to come upon you.
Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents,
but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must
work the works of him that sent me While it is day, the night
cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world. He is the light of the world.
And chapter 9 finishes with that man declaring, declaring the
Lord Jesus Christ. He says, Lord, I believe. and
he worshipped him. Light came, the darkness is dispelled,
the man simply believed and worshipped. These are chilling words that
the Lord says near the end of John chapter 9 verse 39. For
judgment am I come into this world, that they which see might
not see. Those that feel and see and think
that they can see clearly enough to stand in judgment of God and
His Word will be made blind. I have come into this world that
they which see might not see, Well, they which see not, I'm
sorry, is come. That's the story of the blind
man, isn't it? The blind man saw him. But they which see might
be made blind. Made blind. Brothers and sisters,
this is a glorious, glorious passage of scripture, isn't it?
This light shining in darkness. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
comes and when he shines, the darkness is exposed as the deep
and dreadful darkness it is, and the light shines more gloriously
on him. I want to be free. I want to
have his freedom. I want to be a disciple indeed. Will you pray with me that that
would be what you call upon him? If you continue in my word, every
word that we have just read is the words of God. They're not
my words, they're God's words. God's children, like Abraham,
believe them in faith. We believe the one who has spoken
them. I want to be a disciple indeed. I want to know the truth. I want
to know the truth and I want to be free. I want this glorious
liberty of the children of God. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
please bless your words. We thank you. We thank you that
they are recorded faithfully. And we thank you, Heavenly Father,
that they are promised to be illuminated by the blessed Holy
Spirit. Heavenly Father, may we go from
here knowing the glorious liberty of the children of God. May we
know the glorious freedom which Christ has made for us. And may we be disciples indeed.
Heavenly Father, you alone can cause us to continue in your
word. We pray your blessing on us,
Heavenly Father, for we pray in Jesus' name and for his glory. Amen.