The unforgiveable sin

 

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.  Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.  For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.  --Isaiah 35:5-6

 This morning I was scrolling through social media, and came upon a reel from one of my favorite authors, Chad Bird.  Here is a transcript of Bird's commentary on Mark 3 and the unforgiveable sin:

The sin against the Holy Spirit or the unforgiveable sin.  What is it?  Well, we read about it today in Bible in One Year, in Mark chapter three.  Matthew 12 and Luke 12 also discuss this.  Now, in brief, what's going on?  Well, never neglect the context here, because that is very, very important to understand what this sin is.  Jesus has cast out a demon.  The Pharisees attribute this work of Jesus to the devil.  They have thereby "Satanized" the work of Jesus.  And that gets to the very heart of what this unforgiveable sin is.  It's not just a general sin.  It's not just unbelief.  It's not even just a blasphemous thought or word that's spoken. It's certainly not a big sin, like murder or adultery.  This a very context-specific sin.  It is to "Satanize" the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  And to do this vocally, it's not something which is merely thought.  The Pharisees said these words.  They knew what they were doing.  It's not something which is done in ignorance.  They did it quite purposely.  It's not an accidental kind of thing.  So to vocally, with knowledge and with purpose, to "Satanize" the work of Jesus, that is what the sin against the Holy Spirit or the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is.  This, then, leads to a permanent hardening of the heart against God.  And that's important because it means that a person who's committed this is never going to be worried about committing it.  So if you're worried about committing the sin against the Holy Spirit you haven't.  Because those who have committed this would mock repentance, would mock God.  They have forever hardened their heart against the work of God.  And that ultimately is why the sin cannot be forgiven.  All of the sins, all of the blasphemies can be forgiven because that person can be brought to repentance and faith.  But to "Satanize" the work of Jesus is going to lead to this forever hardening of the heart, which will forever therefore resist the work of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 3:2 says that the Pharisees "watched Jesus, to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him."  We've seen this theme quite a lot in our study of John: Jesus preaching and teaching and healing, and the Pharisees finding fault. 

But there was division among them, because the Old Testament had prophesied this about the coming Messiah, that He would come "like streams in the desert," and that He would cause the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk (Isaiah 35:5-6 quoted above).  Wasn't that what Jesus was doing?

Throughout Scripture there have been times of decision, of turning to the right or to the left.  Exodus 32 tells of one of those times: Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments and found that the people had made a golden calf that they had worshipped.  Moses stood before them and asked, "Who is on the Lord's side?"  Joshua 24 gives us another example, when Joshua stood before the people and said, "Choose you this day whom you will serve; as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

This brings us back to our study in John 9.  We have seen a contrast in the man born blind, who can now see as a result of his faith and trust in Jesus, versus the Pharisees who have seen the light and have turned a blind eye to the truth.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind."  Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?"  Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains.  --John 9:39-41

Commentator David Guzik writes, "John recorded these words of Jesus as part of a larger theme in his Gospel — that men were divided over Jesus, with some accepting and some rejecting. This is one way Jesus brought judgment…into this world, by being a dividing line.

i. In this sense, Jesus is like the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains; a single place where an entire path is decided. Jesus is “the pivot on which human destiny turns.” (Tenney)

ii. “His statement that He had come to judge the world meant that He would be the separating One, the One through whom God would judge.” (Morgan)

NT Wright, in his commentary John for Everyone, writes:

The position of the man's accusers--the hardline Pharisees who are sticking to their principles at the cost of the evidence--is then all the more devastatingly exposed.  Not only are they wrong, but they have constructed a system within which they will never see that they are wrong.  It is one thing to be genuinely mistaken, and to be open to new evidence, new arguments, new insights.  It is another to create a closed world, like a sealed room, into which no light, no fresh air can come from outside.  Their condition, in fact, is not far removed from that which Paul describes in the first chapter of Romans (1:32).  There are some people who not only do the wrong thing but adjust their vision of the moral universe so that they can label evil as 'good' and good as 'evil'.  Once that has happened, such people have effectively struck a deal not only with evil but with death itself.  They have turned away from the life-giving God and locked themselves into a way of thinking and living which systematically excludes Him--and, with Him, the prospect and possibility of rescue.

 What about you?  Have you sought Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength?  Or have you been blinded to His message for you and for the world?  If you reject Him and His message, you become like the Pharisees, who have attributed the work and words of Jesus to the work and words of Satan--what Chad Bird called "Satanizing Christ."

Repent and believe, before it is too late.  Do not commit the unforgiveable sin; do not let your heart be hardened toward Christ.  Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Once I was blind, but now I see

 

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  --John 9:3

Some animals get a bad rap.  Take the badger as an example.  Badgers are small, furry carnivores native to the northern United States.  The state in which I now reside is known as the Badger State.  The University of Wisconsin has the badger as their mascot.

Somewhere around the 16th century the term "badgering" was coined.  Badgering is believed to be inspired by the behavior of this harmless furry creature, known for its persistent digging.  The term "badgering" evolved from an earlier meaning related to trading and haggling, eventually taking on connotations of annoyance.

If you have ever seen a courtroom drama on television or in movies, you may be familiar with a certain phrase:  "Objection!  Badgering the witness."  I think of this phrase every time I read the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John.

One of the pitfalls of doing a verse-by-verse Bible study is that sometimes you lose context.  When you break down Scripture into tiny segments to glean nuggets of wisdom, you sometimes overlook the big picture.  You may even miss the point entirely.

With that in mind, today I am going to break out of my usual routine.  I like digging into Scripture.  But if you keep digging incessantly and miss what God is saying, it can be annoying.  So let's take a broader view, shall we?

With the exception of a mis-placed passage about a woman caught in adultery, John chapter 7 and 8 are all about Jesus being on trial.  No, it's not set in a formal courtroom, but rather on the Temple steps.  The Pharisees and Jewish lawyers keep interrogating Jesus while He is trying to teach openly.  They keep badgering Him about who He is, where He came from, and what He is doing.  

Their main objection is not His healing people, but rather His desecration of the Sabbath.  The Scriptures command that the Sabbath should be a day of rest.  No work should be done on this day.  There are many writings in Jewish literature documenting debate on the definition of the word "work" for purposes of keeping the Sabbath.  "Keep the Sabbath holy" was the fourth commandment.  The Mosaic law went on to say anyone who goes out and gathers from his field or works the ground on that day should be cut off from His people, and even stoned to death.

Scripture gives us seven miracles that Jesus performed specifically on the Sabbath:

1. Withered hand--Matthew 12:9
2. Demoniac at Capernaum--Marck 1:21
3. Simon's mother-in-law--Mark 1:29
4. Woman bowed down 18 years--Luke 13:14
5. Man with dropsy--Luke 14:1
6. Paralytic at Bethesda--John 5:10
7. Man born blind--John 9:6-7

These acts were considered so dangerous that the Pharisees truly believed that Jesus must be stopped.  In fact, at the end of John chapter 8 they took up stones to kill Him, but He walked away.

It is in this context that, when the followers of Jesus come upon a man begging near the steps of the Temple, they start asking questions.  The poor blind beggar probably was calling out, "Please help me.  I was born blind.  I've never been able to work, to support myself.  Can you please give me a little money?"  This is most likely how they knew that the man had been born blind; because he told them.

So the disciples are asking Jesus about the blindness, which to them was obviously a result of sin.  In verse 2, they ask Jesus, "Who sinned, this man or his parents?"  Jesus answered in verse 3, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  In other words, this man was born blind so that Jesus could make a point right here in front of the Temple on a Sabbath.

Remember the passage in Ruth, where she was worried about some testimony she had to bring before the king?  She was told, "Perhaps you were born for such a time as this."  I believe this poor blind man was there that day to become a witness for Jesus.  As we will see in the coming verses, testifying for Jesus was not all sunshine and roses.  Sometimes following our calling will require us getting outside our comfort zone.  Instead of Jesus gently calling, He sometimes has a message of, "Buckle up--it's going to get bumpy up ahead!"

Jesus heals the man by spitting on the ground and making mud, then applying the wet dirt to the man's eyes.  Some commentaries say that in ancient times, they believed that applying spit (especially saliva from a righteous man) had medicinal purposes.  Anyway, Jesus asks the man to go wash the mud off at the pool of Siloam.

When the man does this, he can see.  So instead of going back to begging in front of the Temple, the man goes home.  Verses 8 and 9 say that the neighbors saw him and started talking.  "Is this the same guy that was born blind, the one who sits by the road and begs?" They were perplexed.  "Sure looks like him."  This is the first opportunity that the man has to testify to what Jesus did for him.

When he tells his neighbors about Jesus, they want to see Jesus, too.  They ask him where Jesus is.  He answers truthfully.  "I don't know."  So the next day they take him to the Temple, where he last saw Jesus.  The Pharisees were sitting in session at the Temple gate, and they took note of him.  They probably recognized him as one who had been begging for alms, and now he can clearly see.  They question him.  Was he lying all this time to get sympathy, to prey upon people's sympathy?  What caused the change in his life?

This is the second time the man gets to testify about what Jesus did for him.  As soon as the Pharisees hear the name Jesus, they warn the man: this Jesus is a bad guy.  There is some discussion--how bad could Jesus be if He was able and willing to make a blind man see?  The Pharisees then ask the man what he thinks of Jesus, since He had opened the man's eyes.  The man identifies Jesus as a Prophet.

The Pharisees launch an investigation as to whether this man was truly born blind.  They get his parents and interrogate them.

"Is this your son?"

"Yes, he is our son."

"Was he born blind?"

"Yes, he was born blind."

"Well, then, how is it that he now clearly can see?"

"We don't know.  Ask him, he is of legal age."

The parents didn't want to be expelled from the synagogue.  They had heard that anyone who spoke in favor of this Jesus would not be welcome to worship there anymore.  They were afraid.  Fortunately, their son had more confidence.  He was willing to speak truth to power, and even give them a little lip, a little sass.

He was called back before the Pharisees and was told, "Give glory to God."  This was basically telling him to swear to the truth, even if it resulted in his death.  You can find this same phrase in Joshua 7:19 when Achan had disobeyed God's direct command and had kept some spoils of war.  Joshua adjured him to "give glory to the God of Israel and confess what you have done."  In Achan's case, that confession would mean the death penalty.  In the blind man's case here in John 9, it would mean his excommunication from the Jewish synagogue.

The Pharisees let him know what they thought of Jesus.  He was a sinner, in that He didn't honor the Sabbath.  The man gave this memorable answer:  "Whether He is a sinner or not, I do not know.  One thing I do know--I once was blind, but now I see."

He told the truth.  His testimony is sung about in churches even today.

The religious leaders pressed him.  Think about what you are saying, they seemed to warn him.  What exactly did He do for you?  The man answered, "I told you once already, and you didn't listen.  Why do you want me to tell you again?  Do you want to be His disciple, too?"

After some harrumphs and well-I-never's, they cast him out of the synagogue.  He was cut off from his family, his community, and his former faith.  All because he told the truth.

In John chapter 8, amidst the same harassment and accusations from these same Pharisees, Jesus said to those who did believe in Him, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  For the man born blind, he was free now to exercise his new-found faith.  This idea was scary to his family, who had held their opinions of Jesus to themselves for fear of being ostracized.

Sharing your faith may come with consequences.  You may be expelled from school or lose your job because of your testimony.  In some countries today you could be jailed (or worse) for testifying to the truth.  God calls us to speak the truth anyway, no matter the cost.

At the end of John chapter 9 Jesus finds the man, and gives him some encouragement.  He says the man who was born blind can see the truth of Christ clearly, but those who reject Him are in fact blind.  The Pharisees asked stupidly, "Are You talking to us?  Are You saying we're blind?"

Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin."  After all that they had seen, however, they were compelled to believe in Him.  If they did not believe, then they were stuck in their sinful ways.

Following Christ may come with a cost.  

We should testify of all He has done for us, whatever the cost may be.

Evidence that demands a verdict

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.  --1 Thessalonians 2:13

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."  He also wrote, "You Christians look after a document [Bible] containing enough dynamite to blow all civilization to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet.  But you treat it as if it is nothing more than a piece of literature."

The Bible is powerful when applied correctly, but powerless when ignored or misapplied.  When we see that the entire Bible points to Christ and His supremacy, then God can affect a change in our hearts, and we can affect change in our world.  Rejecting Christ means rejecting the word of God.  Rejecting the word of God makes you an enemy of God, like those Jews who confronted Jesus in John chapter 8.

We have seen in the first half of this passage the Jewish leaders confronting Jesus and questioning His authority.  Jesus made some bold claims, and some believed.  Those who did not believe turned a spirited debate into a life-and-death struggle with the Savior.

Let's take up our reading in verse 28:

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift us the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  --John 8:28-30

If you looked at an inter-linear Bible, you will see that Jesus did not say, "I am He."  Bible translators and editors changed it so that it would make more sense grammatically.  What Jesus actually said was, "I am." 

Now any self-respecting Jew would know that I AM refers to Exodus 3:14, where God told Moses, "I AM that I AM; tell [the people of Israel] that I AM has sent you."  If they were having a light theological discussion up to now, at this point it became serious.  Jesus was actually identifying Himself with God, not as a mere follower or disciple of God, but as the Son of God.  

When Jesus self-identified as "Son of Man", He was referencing the prophet Ezekiel.  Jewish leaders knew that the book of Ezekiel explores such profound themes as the glory of God, judgment and restoration, divine sovereignty, and the consequences of disobedience.  "Son of Man" is a name that God Himself gave to the prophet Ezekiel, and it was a name that Jesus gave to Himself.

When Jesus referred to God as His Father, He was claiming not only a relationship with God, but that He was equal to God, having the same authority as God and exhibiting the same power as God.  This is why we will see later in our passage that the Jews questioned His lineage, calling Him an illegitimate son and a Samaritan.

So the crowd was divided.  On the one hand were people who believed in Him: believed that He was the Son of God, the Messiah.  On the other hand were people who believed that He was a liar and a blasphemer.  Jesus addresses each group in turn.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  --John 8:31-32

Jesus wants to encourage believers to seek the truth.  In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."  Jesus wanted His true disciples to listen to His words and put them into practice.  In short, He wanted them to live as He lived.

His detractors in the crowd challenged Him in a crazy way.  "They answered Him, 'We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, "You will be made free'?" (John 8:33).  You can tell that the Jewish leaders are getting desperate now, because their argument does not hold water.  Weren't the Jews slaves in Egypt?  Weren't they carried off into exile in Babylon?  Weren't they even now forced subjects of the Roman Empire?  How can they say, "we've never been in bondage to anyone"?

Jesus overlooks their historical inaccuracy and makes a different point.

Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father." --John 8:34-41

Jesus calls them slaves to sin, and sons of the devil.  Over their objection that they are not subject to any master, Jesus rightly points out that their master is sin.  NT Wright in his commentary John For Everyone, writes, "When people rebel against God in whatever way, new fields of force are called into being, a cumulative effect builds up, and individuals and societies alike become enslaved just as surely as if every single one of them wore chains and was hounded to work every day by a strong man with a whip."

They claimed to be children of Abraham, who was a faithful follower of God.  Jesus was sent by God, and they did not listen to Him.  Therefore their Abrahamic lineage counted for nothing if they did not do the work of God.  Jesus was doing the works of His Father, and He was faithful.  The Jews could not impeach His character, so they resorted to calling Him names.

Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand for truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.  --John 8:41-47

It has been said that when logic fails, an argument turns into name-calling.  They knew that Jesus claimed to be born of a virgin, and that Joseph was not His father, so the Jews reverted to name-calling.  "We were not born of fornication," they said, implying that Jesus's mother had been unfaithful.  Then they claimed that they were the true children of God.  Jesus overlooks the personal dig and exposes their lying. Satan is the father of lies, so their lying reveals their ancestry.  Satan is a murderer, so their plotting to murder Him is further evidence of their lineage and allegiance.

Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly 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.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." --John 8:48-51

Continuing their name-calling, they threw a racial epithet at Jesus.  Jews hated Samaritans because they descended from unfaithful Jews who had inter-married with Gentiles during the Assyrian occupation in 721 BC.  Calling Jesus a Samaritan was another dig at His paternity, as there was a rumor that His mother Mary had been impregnated by a Roman soldier.  Jesus again ignores this dig and goes to the other accusation, that He was demon possessed.  

As proof that He was not possessed by a demon, Jesus points out that His whole life had been spent honoring God.  Demons do not honor God; they engage in self-promotion.  Jesus says He does not seek His own glory, as demons would.  Then He makes a bold claim: anyone who keeps His words will not face death.  Note that He is not saying that His followers will never die.  Of course we know that all mortal men die.  It is the spirit that lives on beyond death.  Followers of Jesus will not face the second death called Hell.  Further, we will not fear death, as it is not our final destination.

Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  --John 8:52-56

Jesus made a bold claim of immortality, something that most orthodox Jews believed in.  However, the Jews twisted His words.  Did you see it?  Jesus said His followers would not "see" death--they would not face it with dread.  The original Greek word has a meaning of pondering it or mulling it over.  The Jews thought He had said they would never "taste" death--never experience it.  The Greek word used here literally means partake of or enjoy.

They again invoke the name of Abraham, stating that he was dead.  Jesus had claimed to be a prophet, and all the prophets were dead.  Just who did Jesus think He was?

Jesus doubles down.  This Abraham you keep talking about?  He knows Me.  He foresaw My coming and rejoiced in it.  The Jews were taken aback by this statement.

Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by." --John 8:57-59

Abraham lived about 2000 years before Jesus.  Jesus was just over 30 years old.  The Jews stated the obvious--You are young, so You could not have seen Abraham alive.  Jesus answered that He Himself was alive before Abraham was even born.  In fact, before Abraham existed, Jesus co-existed with God. The New Cambridge Bible Commentary says,

The key to 8:58 is our recognition of two forms of existence.  All mortals come into existence and die; they are created in the past and perish in the future.  But God, the Immortal One, has no beginning or ending; God is uncreated and imperishable.  God eternally "is."  And this, too, the author [John] claims for Jesus.... Here, the claim is made that Jesus's "life in Himself" extends into the past, such that, unlike Abraham, Jesus did not "come into being" but always "was" or, more accurately, always "is."

The Jews correctly ascertained that Jesus was making a claim to be God.  This was heresy, a blasphemy deserving of death.  They picked up stones to execute Him, but He walked out through the midst of them.  It was not yet His time, but He had thrown down the gauntlet.  The Jews had picked it up, choosing to believe in their traditions and not in Jesus.

They had considered the evidence and were ready to act, based on their idea of "justice."  When you consider the evidence, are you moved to act?  You can't be impartial.  Either Jesus is the Christ or He is not.  If He is not, then you want to silence Him once and for all.  If He is, then you must side with believers, who placed their trust in Him.  If you believe He existed before time, that he has the power to lay down His life and take it up again, that He has the power to save--if you believe all of that, then you must be changed, transformed into a child of God, ready to lay down your own life for Him who laid down His life for you. 

 

Jesus and the Court of Public Opinion

 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  --Psalm 119:105

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a prominent American politician and sociologist, is often quoted as saying, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  We as a society often rush to judgment, deciding the guilt or innocence of a prominent person involved in a scandal, often without having heard both sides.  Canadian-American lawyer, writer, and journalist once said:

“In the Court of Public Opinion there are no rules of evidence, no burdens of proof, no cross-examinations, and no standards of admissibility. There are no questions and also no answers. Also, please be aware that in the Court of Public Opinion, choosing silence or doubt is itself a prosecutable offense…the Court of Public Opinion is what we used to call villagers with flaming torches. It has no rules, no arbiter, no mechanism at all for separating truth from lies. It allows everything into evidence and has no mechanism to separate facts about the case from the experiences and political leanings of the millions of us who are all acting as witnesses, judges, and jurors.”

In our passage today out of John chapter 8, we see that the Pharisees were attempting to try Jesus in the court of public opinion.  You will recall that in the 7th chapter of the book of John, they had sent men to arrest Jesus and bring Him back to the Sanhedrin, where He would be questioned.  They wanted to kill him, John says, so this formal "trial" in the halls of the Sanhedrin would not have been a fair trial at all.  They had made up their minds already that He was guilty of blasphemy and deserving of death.

You will also recall that the men they sent to arrest Jesus came back empty-handed.  When asked why, the men responded, "No one speaks like this Man."  John goes on to say that Jesus was in charge of His destiny, not the Pharisees.  The reason He was not arrested yet was that "His time had not come."

So the Pharisees sent men to listen to His sermons.  Imagine listening to the greatest preacher of the age, and having well respected religious leaders heckle the sermon, interrupting every point.  This is what was happening in John 7 and 8.  In chapter 7 we saw that Jesus used the occasion of the Feast, where ceremonial water was poured out on the Temple steps, to say that He was the Living Water.  In our text beginning in John 8:12, Jesus uses the occasion of lighting up the Temple to proclaim Himself the Light of the World.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I dot judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of  Myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of Me.  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no on laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of the world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  They they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  --John 8:12-27

 Jesus stood before the people and tried to preach the Gospel to them.  He used an object lesson that many of them were very familiar with.  Light was an important symbol in the Feast of Tabernacles. During the feast, many emblems and ceremonies remembered the pillar of fire that gave light to Israel during the Exodus. Now, Jesus took this important symbol and simply applied it to Himself when He said, "I am the light of the world."  Commentator David Guzik writes:

i. Barclay and several others connect the light of the world sayings with a ceremony associated with the Feast of Tabernacles known as The Illumination of the Temple. “It was the custom during the first night, if not during every night, of the feast of tabernacles, to light up two large golden chandeliers in the court of the women, the light of which illuminated all Jerusalem. All that night they held a festal dance by the light.” (Alford)

ii. This was a strong and eloquent contrast to the darkness of those opposing Jesus, those who just brought to Him the woman caught in adultery.

iii. “‘I am’ is emphatic. It is the very style of deity which we have seen employed before in this Gospel.” (Morris)

You Don't Know What You Are Talking About

The Pharisees start throwing up objections, intended to impeach the testimony of Jesus.  They start with a legal principle: in order for someone's testimony to be believed, it must be corroborated by two or more witnesses.  In our modern court system, an accused person cannot be forced to testify--the Court must prove its case against him without a confession of guilt, and most of the jury might think that the accused was lying anyway if he denied the charges.  In some cases, though, an accused man will take the stand, because he could be the only one who knows all of the facts.

In this case, Jesus does bear witness of Himself, because He is the only One who knows the end from the beginning.  He is the very Word of God, as John reminded us at the beginning of his Gospel, present with God from the beginning of time.  His words are true, but if you need a second witness, you have God the Father who can speak on His behalf.

Who's Your Daddy?

In a debate, whenever one side starts to lose on facts, they will often try to besmirch the character of their opponent.  This is called an ad hominem attack.  Since Jesus mentioned His Father, the Pharisees brought up His questionable parentage.  They all knew that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus.  They had likely spread rumors that Jesus was the bastard child of some man, probably a Roman soldier.  

They did not believe in the virgin birth, so they used this opportunity to demand that Jesus produce His biological dad.  "Who is your father?" they asked.  "Name him.  Bring him out to us, we want to question him."

Jesus responded that they didn't know what they were talking about.  They did not know Jesus, and they certainly did not know God the Father.  There was no point in engaging them further on this topic.

Suicide Is An Unpardonable Sin

Jesus begins to speak prophetically about His death.  He also alludes to the final judgment of the Pharisees, saying they will seek after Him but will die in their sins because of their unbelief.  The Jewish leaders miss this point, or ignore it completely, and go directly to the point that He predicts His own death.  No one knows the day or the hour that they will pass away, so if Jesus predicts His own death, it must mean He is suicidal.  David Guzik writes, 

The Jews of Jesus’ time taught that the lowest levels of Hades were for those who committed suicide. Here the Pharisees tried to twist Jesus’ words to imply that He will commit suicide and therefore be damned. “According to Jewish thought, the depths of hell were reserved for those who took their own lives.” (Barclay)

So if Jesus was having suicidal thoughts, they argued, then He could not be counted on for spiritual guidance.  His words were to be discounted and not followed.

Jesus takes the idea of the lowest level of Hades and turns it back on them.  "You are from beneath," He says.  "I am from above."  Your thinking is rooted in this world, but I am not of this world, He tells them.  Then He doubles down on the curse that their sin brings down on them: if they don't believe in Him, they will die in their sins.  If they die and their sins are not forgiven, where will they spend eternity?

Just Who Do You Think You Are?

Jesus has just condemned the Jewish leaders to hell.  They are appalled.  "Who are You?" was not a cry for help--it was an accusation.  How dare He condemn them, the religious leaders of their day?  How can He claim that they would die in their sins?  Just who did He think He was, anyway?

Jesus responds that He speaks the truth, and if the truth condemns them, then He will act as their judge by His words alone.  The words He spoke come directly from God Himself, and they did not understand it or believe it.

What about you?  Do you take Jesus at His word?  Do you believe in Him with all your heart?  Or do you side with the Pharisees?  Do you question His veracity, His lineage, His message, or His deity?  If so, you are in danger of dying in your sin.  Trust in Jesus, believe in His words, and repent of your sin today.

Isaiah 9:2 says, "The people wo walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined."  What is your response to the Light of the World? Will you be drawn toward the Light in faith? Or will you shield your eyes and look away.  Will you run back to the shadows and die in your sins because that is what you know and are more comfortable with?  Do not gamble with your eternity, my friend.  Trust in the One who died in your place, who bore your sins upon Himself, so that you can take on His righteousness before God.  Then and only then will the Holy God allow you into His presence for eternity.