John 8:19-27
19 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."
20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
21Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."
22 So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"
23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 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."
25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"
And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
26 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."
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
John Chapter 8 gives to us the final confrontation of the Jews with Jesus. That is not to say that there will not be other things said. There will be a sham trial in Chapter 18 where accusations will be made. But here in Chapter 8 the hatred of the Jews for Jesus is out for all to see and Jesus tells the Jewish leaders who He is and what they are.
Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” The Jews say that His testimony is not valid. Jesus tells the most religious men on earth that they do not know God!
"You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also." John 8:19
The Jews were intent on killing Jesus and had plotted to find a way to trap Him in a violation of the law. Their plot had failed. They will see Him dead hanging on the cross but it will not be a thing that they controlled.
“His “hour had not yet come” [20]. This means that the time of His death had not yet some. Jesus will allow the soldiers to take Him when in the “determined counsel and foreknowledge of God” it is time [Acts 2:23].
In our text today we have several statements made by Jesus that show His omniscience as God. Jesus tells the Jews that He is going away to a place that they cannot come to.
Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that He and they have a different origin. They are from below and He is from above.
Jesus tells the Jews that they will die in their sins because of their unbelief.
How can Jesus know that what He says will necessarily come to pass?
Unless you are as spiritually blind as these scribes and Pharisees you know the answer to that question.
It is not possible for us to fully sense the hatred of these religious leaders toward this Man who was to them just itinerate rabbi.
They, so they thought, were the chosen people of God because they were children of Abraham after the flesh. Jesus, they said, had never studied in any of their schools [7:15]. They marveled at His understanding of Scripture but they did not want to listen to Him.
There is very much that we could say about verses 19-27 but I am only going to deal with the three questions that the Jews asked Jesus.
Verse 19:
"Where is Your Father?"
Verse 22:"Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"
Verse 25:"Who are You?"
The first question is: "Where is Your Father?"
The intent of this question is revealed in verse 41:
Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father — God."
The Jews knew the story of Mary and Joseph. They had heard about His mother. Mary was with child before she and Joseph had consummated their espousal. Jesus, they said, was illegitimate.
There is a profound truth in the answer that Jesus gives to this question:
"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."
Go back to 5:38-39:
John 5:38-39
38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
How important is it for us to know the OT Scriptures? Not only to know what they say but what they mean. The Jews memorized the Scriptures and still did not know what they meant.
The OT Scriptures tell us about Jesus. If you cannot see Jesus in the OT then you do not know who He is.
Romans 1:1-4
1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
But to be fair, the disciples didn’t know who Jesus was either.
John 14:7-10
7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?
Well if the Jewish leaders did not know who He was and the disciples did not yet know who He was, how can anyone ever know who He is?
Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
The knowledge of God is by revelation.
The divine nature is revealed in creation.
The written Word of God reveals the truth.
The Holy Spirit convinces of sin and reveals Jesus Christ.
God, the divine nature, is revealed in creation.
“The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth showeth forth His handiwork.”
Every morning before daylight when the sky is clear and I get my newspaper I look up and say that verse out loud. I don’t mean this in an irreverent way, but I also say, “Good work God.”
But the revelation of God in nature is not unto salvation. In fact, Romans Chapter One tells us that many who see the clear revelation of the divine nature hold down that knowledge and God “gives them up.”
God is revealed in the Scriptures.
But here are religious leaders who knew the strict letter of the Scriptures but were blind to the spirit of the Scriptures.
The revelation of God that results in the true knowledge of God in Christ is from Christ Himself. The Son of God is revealed to our heart, mind, and soul and then our will is changed and we repent and come to Christ.
So the answer to the first question, "Where is Your Father?", is that when Jesus Christ is revealed to you, you will know where the Father is. The Father is to seen in Christ!
Salvation is to know the Jesus Christ of the Scriptures and the knowledge of Jesus is by revelation.
The second question is in verse 22: "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"
The Jews believed that anyone who killed himself went to the lowest part of hell. So if Jesus killed Himself He would go to hell.
They certainly believed that they were going to heaven and so to them what He is saying is that there are two very different destinations. They will go to heaven and He will go to hell. They have it all figured out.
23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 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."
The reason you do not believe that “I am He”, says Jesus, is because your thoughts are from hell and My thoughts are from heaven.
Jesus repeats what He had said in 7:33-34:
33 Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.
34 You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."
What a sobering thought, to seek Jesus and not find Him!
Dear Pharisee, and you dear soul, will seek Jesus at the instant of your death.
If you die believing in Christ according to the Scriptures you will be safe in the loving arms of our dear Savior.
Revelation 14:13
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'"
If you die in unbelief you will “die in your sins” and like the rich man who died and went to hell and saw Lazarus afar off in the bosom of Abraham you too will not be able to cross the great gulf fixed.
Luke 16:19-31
19 "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate,
21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
25 But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'
27 "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house,
28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'
29 Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'
30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
31 But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"
There is a question suggested by verse 24 that everyone should ponder.
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."
If Jesus died for all the sins of every human being as some people teach, how can a person die in their sins? Jesus clearly means that if you die in your sins you will go to hell.
You will die in your sins with no atonement for your sins!
Can God punish sin twice, in Christ and in the sinner?
When a person understands the intent of the atonement they will see that the salvation of any soul is a matter of God’s eternal purpose and God’s sovereign choice and that salvation is an act of a holy and merciful God.
The third question is in verse 25:"Who are You?"
The eternal destiny of every soul is in the correct answer to this question.
Is Jesus just another name on a list of important men of all time. He was a “good man” but He was not God.
Or is Jesus, as Philippians 2:9-11 says:
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Is Jesus your “Savior” but He is not your Lord?
Some have taught that you can accept Jesus as you Savior and when you decide to you can make Him your Lord. At least you have your ticket to heaven but you can continue in willful sin. That is a lie of the devil.
Or have you heard with an obedient heart what Jesus says in Luke 6:46?
"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?”
The Pharisees ask: "Who are You?"
25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
26 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."
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
Let me give to you a spiritual insight from Charles Alexander from his commentary on John.
As we discover the spiritual meaning of John’s Gospel we again find a “buried treasure.” It would be easy to assume that Jesus’ answer to their question is simply “I have already told you and have continued to tell you who I am.”
But such a convenient interpretation fails on two grounds.
The first ground is that His answer is to an incredulous inquiry based on what He has just said in verse 24.
“ … for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
The second ground is what has baffled theologians for over 2000 years.
The Lord was quoting from an OT Scripture affirming His absolute deity, and that Scripture is Isaiah 48:12-16.
Open your Bible to Isaiah 48 and keep your place at John 8 and let’s compare the two passages.
Isaiah 48:12-16
12 "Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
13 Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together.
14 "All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; He shall do His pleasure on Babylon, And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; Yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16 "Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me."
John 8: 23-25
23 And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 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."
25 Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"
And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 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."
If that were not sufficient let’s also compare Isaiah 45:18-19 and
John 18:19-20.
Isaiah 45:18-19
18 For thus says the LORD,
Who created the heavens,
Who is God,
Who formed the earth and made it,
Who has established it,
Who did not create it in vain,
Who formed it to be inhabited:
"I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
'Seek Me in vain';
I, the LORD, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right.
John 18:19-20
19 The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.
20 Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing.
The words of Jesus were spoken to men who knew Isaiah according to the letter. They knew that Jesus was claiming His identity with the God of Isaiah. They knew that Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah that Isaiah and the prophets wrote and spoke about. They heard Him and understood what He claimed for Himself and they continued to try to kill Him.
Finally, I ask you, how will you answer the three questions we have looked at today?
Verse 19:"Where is Your Father?"
Can you say to Jesus, God is Your Father and You were sent to earth by Him to be the Savior of sinners. I am a sinner and must have mercy! Jesus, when I see You I see the Father. Can you believe that?
Verse 22:"Will He kill Himself, … ?"
Can you say, “Yes He will,” because Jesus came into the world for the purpose of going to the cross? Jesus voluntarily gave up His life as the Good Shepherd and He has the power to raise Himself from the dead. And that He has done! Do you believe that?
Verse 25:"Who are You?"
Can you say, “Jesus is my Lord and Savior and that Jesus is the only Savior the world will ever know and to believe in Him is the only way to have eternal life?” Is that your testimony?
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
They did not understand!
Do you understand, by the grace of God, that when Jesus speaks about Himself He is revealing the Father? Jesus is the Word made flesh and He is the revelation of God.
Amen
