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John 8:21-30
So before we get into today’s devotion, I want to mention that the first part of Chapter 8 tells us the story of the woman caught in adultery. In this story we see Jesus not so much re-interpret the law, but He gives the people involved a fresh understanding of the law. And what we learn is that it’s not just our actions or obeying the law, but that the spirit of the law is to be followed by our hearts. Our actions become the overflow of our hearts. And Jesus gives us a fresh understanding all throughout the Gospels in similar situations. Jesus will tell the people “You’ve heard it said…but I say…” So this is part of Who Jesus is, in that He is always looking to the heart that is within us. He is looking into our spirit and soul.
So let’s look at what happens next. Jesus is talking about being the light of the world, and the Pharisees get a little upset. Remember He had just told a great crowd of people that He is the bread of life. He had been testifying about Himself. There were some cultural rules that encapsulated a testimony in that day, especially testimony of this significance – remember He is testifying to being the Messiah, the Son of God. But here’s the thing, and I believe this to be rightly so, Jesus wasn’t the only testimony that was given about Who He is. Remember back to His baptism, what happened?
Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, and when He comes up out of the water the heavens open up and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove lands on Him and the voice of God is heard by everyone saying “This is my Son in whom I am pleased.” We have all three persons of the Trinity right there at the same time. And to top it off, if the Pharisees had simply studied their Scriptures as diligently as they portrayed they did, they would have known the Father and thusly would have known the Father’s testimony about the Son.
John 8:21-30 (NIV) Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
“Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “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 but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
All throughout this portion of Scripture, the Pharisees and others around Jesus are pressing to hear Jesus tell them Who He is – and many do believe Him. But there were those who did not.
And here Jesus says some “I Am” statements. Which I have always thought interesting, and here’s why. I Am is the name that God gave Abram when he asked who was telling him to pack everything up and go to the promised land.
And here Jesus talks about in these last couple of chapters and makes these “I am” statements, I Am the light of the world, I Am from above (heaven), I Am not of this world, I Am He (Messiah). Now, I know that when Jesus says I am He is not using it as a name as God did explicitly with Abram. But at the same time there would Have to be a bit of a parallel there, especially when Jesus claims He is not from earthly origins but from heavenly origins. At that moment – I think they missed it.
And even when Jesus talks of His crucifixion, even though I’m not certain that those around Him understood Him, but it’s in this phrase of being lifted up that Jesus again tells everyone He doesn’t say anything or do anything on His own – only what the Father has for Him to do.
It’s here I would like to end this morning. You see Jesus is our perfect example. And just as He asks us to allow His Holy Spirit to live in us and through us, Jesus demonstrated how that works. We can see His example through His relationship with the Father. Fast forward to the point where Jesus, facing crucifixion prays in the Garden for another solution to the problem of sin. And yet He knows there is not one and He relinquishes His own will to the will of the Father. That kind of obedience does not come from simply following the rules. That kind of obedience is fruit of His relationship with the Father. It is the fruit of His heart.