04-29-2018 – Jesus Responds to His Accusers

BULLETIN INSERT--this is different from the downloadable sermon notes.

04-29-2018

Jesus Responds to His Accusers

John 8:47-59

Satan was thrown from heaven to earth (cf. Ezekiel 28:13-17), where he deceived Eve and Adam (cf. Genesis 3:1-22), bringing the curse of sin upon us.
1John 3:8, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.”
Read John 8:47-51... Jews hated Samaritans and considered them to be half-breeds, unclean. And yet, Jesus first reveals Himself as Messiah to a Samaritan woman (cf. John 4:25-26).
The Jews said Jesus was possessed by a demon, in
Mark 3:22 they said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons He is driving out demons.” They also said about John the Baptist (Matthew 11:18), “He has a demon.”
Jesus responded, “I do not have a demon.”
John 5:22-23, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on My own; but He sent Me,” (John 8:42), "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on My own; but He sent Me.”
Jesus came to (Matthew 1:21), “save His people from their sins,” (Luke 19:10), “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost,” (Hebrews 9:28), “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; ...to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”
God the Father places everything under the control and authority of His Son (Philippians 2:9-11), “God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Isaiah 52:13, “My Servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.”
Christians won’t die (cf. John 8:51), this is repeated in the Scriptures (cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:50; 11:25-26). Read John 8:52-59... These Jews are thinking, “He is saying He has seen Abraham? He is demon possessed!”
Abraham is alive (see Matthew 22:30-33).
John 8:58, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!" This is a direct claim to equality with God.
Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’” This is expressed in Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty,” i.e., “I AM, I always have been and I always will be, because, I AM.” John 8:59, “At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”
Jesus is saying He is equal with God, the Jews pick up stones to kill Him (Leviticus 24:16), “anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.”
“No one laid a hand on Him, because His time had not yet come” (John 7:30; 8:20; 10:39; 13:1). No one could take Him by force (John 10:17-18), “I lay down My life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
Jesus’ warning is stern (John 8:24), “I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins."
John 20:31, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”