Before Abraham Was

Good morning, I Was remarking that whoever built this pulpit must have been tall. Because this was he.

I.

Understand that most of you have the New King James Bible. And so I'd like for you if you have a Bible, I'm going to use the one that's here. I would normally preach from the ESV. But I'm going to use the the one that's here this morning and I'm going to invite you to take out your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John.

Find yourself at chapter 8 and we are going to read verses 48 to 59. Before I read I want to just say one thing. For those of you who don't know me, obviously most of you don't. I'm Keith Foskey. I'm with Sovereign Grace Family Church.

If you're a visitor today, I am NOT the normal pastor. I think sometimes that's important to point out if you're if you're a first-time person, don't let me run you away. There is a Much better man than me who is normally here.

But he is at my church this morning and I'm grateful to have him there preaching and so we are going to Read the Word of God together. Do you normally stand for that brother? Let us stand for the reading of the word.

We're going to read verses 48 to 59. 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. Then the Jews said to him now we know 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. Like 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 know do know him and keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to him you are not yet 50 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. So ends a reading of God's holy inspired and inerrant word. May we pray?

Father I thank you for the opportunity to preach the word this morning. I pray that you would first and foremost keep me from error. For God, I am a fallible man and capable of preaching error. And I don't want to do that for the sake of your people for the sake of your name and for the sake of my own conscience.

Father, I pray that you would open the hearts of everyone here this morning to hear your word. That it would go out Under the power of the Spirit and be mixed with faith and that it would move us forward in our walk with Christ.

Lord for the believer who is here today that he would be drawn closer in his understanding of who Christ is and what he has done. And Lord for the one who has come today and maybe many who have come today who know not the Lord that today might be the day that they bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ for we know that in this life or in the next every knee shall bow and Every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father and we pray it in his name.

Amen.

Understanding What We Can Know and What We Cannot Comprehend

Please be seated. The longer that I study the Word of God the more I realize that there is a difference between understanding something and Comprehending something. Those sound like synonyms and oftentimes we use them as synonyms.

But they're really not. To understand something means we have the idea of what it is. We we get the gist of it. But to fully comprehend it means we've really wrapped our minds around it. And many things in the Bible we can understand But we can't really comprehend.

I'll give you an example if I say to you that God is.

Eternal.

He has no beginning he has no ending well you understand that. But you really don't comprehend it. You understand what it means when I say he had no beginning and he had no ending but if I tell you to in your mind to contemplate the idea of of Anything that didn't have a starting point and we'll never have an ending point.

I mean you can kind of imagine the no ending point because that's kind of how you see yourself, right? Well, I'm gonna go on forever. I Think young people have that dangerous in their mind. They think this life's gonna go on forever, and it is not.

But we do have an eternal future, but we don't have an eternal past. God doesn't even think in those terms. He doesn't live in past present and future. He is the ever-present now without beginning or ending and we just can't wrap our minds around that idea.

In Fact there are those who believe that if you can't comprehend it it can't be true. Take for instance the the subject of God being eternal there's a group called the open theists. I don't know if you've ever heard of open theism that open theism teaches that God is essentially going through time the same way.

We are God is experiencing time the same way we do and God really doesn't know the future for certain because God Hasn't experienced it yet. He knows what can be known, but since the free acts of people can't be known according to open theism God really doesn't know the future.

He's not there yet. We're not there yet, and so he just doesn't know the future is open thus the term open theism. But you understand what they're doing. What they're doing is they're saying I can't comprehend it must not be true.

You got to tie it into my understanding got to tie it into my comprehension and thus God can't be all-knowing past present and future.

That's wrong.

If we limit God to our knowledge if we limit God to what we comprehend that is going to make God like us. And that is wrong. We dare not limit God to our simple ability to comprehend. It would be as if we were trying to take the entire Atlantic Ocean and put it inside of a five-gallon bucket.

To take all of the infinite nature of God and to put it into our finite little mind. It's just foolish to think that we could. And with that as an introduction I want to turn our attention now to one of the most amazing and incomprehensible subjects in all of the Bible the subject of the eternality of Jesus Christ.

You see when we talk about God as eternal We know God is one being but three Persons. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity states that God is one in essence. But three in person and the second person of the Trinity shares all that is God.

He is co eternal with the father. He is co equal with the father and yet distinct. Able to have a relationship with the father. We don't serve three gods. We serve one God in three persons. And so the second person is fully God and thus he is eternal.

I think it's easy for people even believers. To kind of see Jesus is just this New Testament character who sort of comes on the scene in Bethlehem relatively late in Israel's history. Yet historically Christians have always seen Jesus the second person of the Trinity as being Pre-existent now.

That may be a term you're not used to using. I'm sure you don't use that at parties much. But that's a that's an important theological term the idea of pre-existence. Meaning that Jesus Christ the Word of God Pre-existed Bethlehem.

We believe that right? Okay. All right. Just making sure I'm not speaking. I mean, we're Orthodox, right? That's what Orthodoxy teaches that Jesus Christ is Pre-existent. This is an important distinction that we make between Jesus and us.

We are not pre-existent. You had a time when you weren't and Then you was and now you is.

But you weren't.

Not good language, but good theology. Right. You were you you had a time before you existed. There was never a time before Jesus existed and. So that's an important part of Christian theology. And this is one of the proofs that the Bible provides to us that Jesus is actually divine.

His human nature is born at Bethlehem. We read that in the confession this morning from from Ligonier ministries. His human nature. Yes is born in Bethlehem, but his divine nature is lasting everlasting and eternal.

These two natures are united in one person what we call the Hypostatic union or the union of two natures in one person the God-man. Thus we call him truly God and truly man. But how did we arrive at such a tradition?

Did we arrive on that basis because of the Council of Nicaea? Did we arrive at that because of the Council of Chalcedon? Did we arrive at that because of the early church fathers. Now I submit to you that the councils and the church fathers certainly agreed with this teaching.

But they agreed with it not because they created it. But because it's what is clearly taught in the Bible. Sola scriptura is not a reformation Concept even though it's where it was articulated. Sola scriptura is a Christian concept.

Our theology comes from the Bible. Our theology comes from the word of God, Old Testament and New Testament. And we learn about Jesus being eternal in the word of God. Christians believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man.

Because this is simply what the Bible teaches. Cults come and try to argue with us about this. This sublime reality. They pick one verse here and one verse here to try to make us question the concept of Jesus's eternality or Jesus's divinity.

And in doing so, they have to turn the entire Bible on its head and make it say many things that it does not. And often run roughshod over the text to simply try to prove the point that they just do not want to believe what the Bible says about Jesus.

Time will not allow us to look at the entire chapter of John, chapter eight today. Not even really the entire incident that's happening here. But what I do want to do with the time that we have allowed is I'd like for us to look at verses 48 to 59.

Because in this passage of interaction between Jesus and the Jews, where they are debating over what it means to be a son of Abraham. And we are told in the midst of this passage about the eternal nature of Christ from his own mouth.

From the lips of Jesus, we are told who he is. He is. I am. Sounds funny to say, but that's who he is. He is. I am. So here's how we're going to outline today. I don't I don't do three points in a poem.

If that's I don't know if that's the standard. But but I what I usually just I read and give commentary as we go. That's my normal way of giving exposition, but I will give you headings if that's helpful.

We're going to have three accusations from the Jews to Jesus three responses from Jesus to the Jews and then one Crescendoed hate-filled response from the Jews at the end of the chapter. So we're going to see three Accusations three responses and then that crescendos into one hate-filled final response from the Jews to Jesus.

So let's begin in verse 48. It's this is the first accusation of the Jews. Then the Jews answered and said to him. Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? All right, the accusation has two parts.

One. You are a Samaritan to you have a demon. Yet it's interesting. When we look at the response of Jesus, he never responds to the first accusation. He only responds to the accusation of being demon-possessed.

He says I do not have a demon. He never really responds to the accusation of being a Samaritan. Now was Jesus a Samaritan? No, could he have said I'm not a Samaritan. Yes, but for some reason he doesn't make the response and this has led some to conclude that this phrase is a way of saying The same thing twice that by saying a Samaritan.

They're saying you have a demon because they hated the Samaritans so much and so by Jesus saying I don't have a demon. He's actually answering both. But I think that it actually could be an attack. Sorry an attack against Jesus's pedigree.

What's the conversation about the entire conversation with Jesus and the Jews here? Who's the who's your father? Our father is Abraham. What was the significance of being a Samaritan? Do you remember what the Samaritans were?

They were hated by the Jews because they were neither Gentile nor Jew in the exile to Assyria that happened in 722 BC when the northern kingdoms were taken out and they were brought into Assyria and exiled having never really Reconstituting themselves.

They were spread abroad some of the Jews that were taken intermarried with the Assyrians and created a new mixed race of people and that mixed race became known as the Samaritan people. The Samaritans were hated by both sides.

They weren't really Gentiles. They weren't really Jews. They were and they had their own way if you remember when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well and John chapter 4 She said we worship on this mountain.

We do it this way they sort of had had created their own lifestyle based on this situation that they were in and The Jews had a disdain for them. But it's important to realize that Jesus Never showed disdain for the Samaritans.

In fact, we realize when we look at the teachings of the Gospels that Jesus makes a point to always Express the Samaritans in the positive. Again I mentioned the woman at the well John chapter 4 she was not that she was positive.

She had the many the many husbands issue and Jesus dealt with her. But he dealt with her kindly and he took a positive approach to this woman that others other Jewish men wouldn't even had spoken to. In fact, she said why do you speak to me?

You know, our people don't talk to each other and yet Jesus loved her. We know that there were ten lepers that came to Jesus and were healed and when they went away one of them came back. And the text tells us in the gospel of Luke chapter 17 verse 16.

He was a Samaritan. Jesus pointed it out. Is there no one who can give thanks to God except for this foreigner? And what's the model of love in the New Testament? Jesus said if you love your neighbors yourself, somebody said Who is my neighbor?

Jesus said a man was going on a road and he was fallen under robbers and the robber and the priest passed by and the Levite passed by but here comes a Samaritan and he became the model for all time of what it meant to be one who loved his neighbor as himself.

Right. So Jesus always gives a positive to these people that are hated. Showing our responsibility to love those who we may not want to love. To reach out to those who we may not want to reach out to.

There's great mercy in the actions of the Lord. So again, the accusation is calling him a Samaritan. You're not truly of Abraham. You're not truly of Abraham. Why would they even care? Because Jesus said you're not really of Abraham either.

Well, you must be a Samaritan, no Jesus not a Samaritan. But he is of Abraham. And he's challenging their claim To that relationship. In fact, he says earlier in the text you are of your father who?

The devil.

You got to think about how hard that's going to punch a Jewish first century Jewish Nationalist person who loves the Jewish nation a Pharisee or a Jew that's very strong. Think of the gut punch that is to say you're not of Abraham.

You're of your father the devil. I think sometimes people get the wrong idea about Jesus. Yes, Jesus loved the unlovable.

Yes.

Jesus allowed the the woman to wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair and Jesus did show great mercy and Kindness, but Jesus also was no pushover. He would tell like it is Say it like it was and stand for the truth.

Jesus was no weak Savior and you're of your father the devil and they said well, you're a Samaritan and you have a demon. Okay, here's Jesus's response. Verse 49. Jesus answered and said I do not have a demon but I honor my father by the way, stop right there.

I think that's Jesus's answer to this Samaritan argument. Because even though he says I'm he doesn't say I'm not a Samaritan. He says I don't have a demon and I and I honor my father. So you think you're honoring Abraham?

You're not you're of your father the devil, but I am of my father in heaven. Who's got the real pedigree? Who's got the real connect who what really matters the connection to Abraham or the connection to God?

Now obviously Abraham is very important but Jesus Bypasses that you want to call me a Samaritan. I'm of my father and I'm here to honor my father's. I think that's the answer by the way. He said I 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.

Hmm.

Think about that.

That's a bold statement. You realize Abraham never said anything like that. If you keep my word, you will never see death even Moses.

Would have said.

Keep the Word of God. Keep the law of God. Jesus puts it on himself if you keep my word. You realize if you read the Gospels over half of the Material in the in the Gospels the first four books of the New Testament over half of the material is just the words of Jesus.

He is called mighty in what word and deed. All right, he speaks God's Word. He is God's Word. And when he says to these people if you keep my word You shall never see death. That is a device. It's a claim to divinity.

I couldn't say that. You couldn't say that. Sometimes cult leaders say that kind of craziness. No one who is not divine could make such a claim. But Jesus is divine. Again, it's a claim to divinity so he says If you keep my word, you will never taste death.

The death here, of course is not death of the physical body. It is the second death. Do we know what the second death is?

Hell hell.

Revelation chapter 21 verse 8. But as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable and for murderers and sexually immoral Sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second.

Death.

He who is born again. What what is it. He who is born twice will only die once. He who is born once will die twice. If you're born again, you die in the body, but you will live in the spirit. If you're not born again, you'll die on the body and die again in hell.

And by that I don't mean by just to clarify. I'm not talking about eternal. What's it called? Sleep where people think you just vanish away. Annihilation. Ism. No, I believe in eternal conscious torment.

I think that's what the Bible talks about when it talks about hell. Just in case there's no I don't make it be unclear. No, hell is eternal conscious punishment. The Apostle Paul tells us that because of the work of Christ we need not fear death.

You realize that. What's the greatest enemy of man? Death. What are we always fighting against death? We we we we we spend time nourishing our bodies exercising our bodies. Well some of us and we do a lot of work to try to make ourselves Healthy.

And and and and then we go and we get medicine and earlier.

What did we do?

We prayed for people who are sick and who need medicine who need help because we know that death is an enemy. What does the Bible say about that enemy first Corinthians 15 when the perishable puts on imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality?

Then shall come to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death. Where is there your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have victory over death through him. Amen, I'm glad I was didn't have to ask for it. Thank you. Amen, so that's the first accusation your demon you have a Samaritan.

Jesus said I'm not a demon. I'm of my father. I glorify my father. If you keep my word you will live. Now they respond to that the second accusation verse 52 then the Jews said to him now we know that you have a demon.

Abraham is dead. The prophets are dead and you say if anyone keeps my word, he shall not taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead and the prophets who are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be?

Now for the Jews, there's no spiritual. It's no ability to spiritualize this term. Death for them means death and they look at Jesus. He says if you keep my words, you will not taste death. They look at him and they say wait a minute now Abraham died.

The prophets they died. You're telling us that if we keep your word We're not gonna die. That means you're better or greater than Abraham. Yep, I Mean, yeah, I mean, yeah. That's the answer. Yes. Jesus is greater than Abraham.

Now that's an amen. Jesus is greater than the prophets. Jesus is greater than Moses. Every one of them would agree with me and every one of them would say yes, and what we said pointed to him. He is the great one.

And so they say what?

Now we know you have a demon. Now we know.

Because only a demon-possessed person would ever say he's greater than Abraham or the prophets and You know what in one sense? They're right now. Clarify that I don't mean they're at all right about Jesus but what I am saying is that if anybody else said what Jesus said he would be absolutely blasphemy.

If Any other person said what Jesus said who wasn't Jesus he'd wrong. How many of you know CS Lewis's? Yeah wrote the line the witch in the wardrobe, you know Narnia and all that stuff. Now I understand.

CS Lewis has some some theology. That's a little out there, but he said some good things. One of the things that he said in his book near Christianity when defining The the idea of who Christ is he said Christ made great claims and he claimed to be The Lord of all.

If anyone else made that claim he'd either be a liar or a lunatic. He'd either know he was lying if he said it or he'd be a lunatic who thought it was true. But it wasn't and we know what that means. So when we come to Jesus Christ, we have to have to ask ourselves is Jesus Christ a liar a lunatic or the Lord.

He is the Lord.

There's no other answer. Some people who come along and say well Jesus isn't God in the flesh, but he's a good teacher. No, he's not if he's not God in the flesh. He's not a good teacher. If he's not God in the flesh, he's not a good rabbi.

Jesus isn't like Buddhist Buddha Confucius or any of the rest. He's not like Muhammad. He's not like any of the rest. Because Jesus made claims That if they were not true They were too outlandish To be good.

So they must be true. He is Lord and that's what they're saying here. They're saying are you saying you're greater than Abraham? Yep. Because I am. So Jesus a second response. Jesus answered and said if I honor myself my honor is nothing.

It is my father who honors me of whom you say 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. Yeah, I know that's great in it, but I do know him and keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and saw it and was glad. Their accusation was Jesus. You are a liar. You're making yourself out to be greater than Abraham. So Jesus said no if I were lying, I'd be like you.

If I were lying I'd be like you. Because you're a liar you say Abraham's your father. You're not. It's the it's the devil. I Mean just think of the response.

Very bold and.

Jesus points them to a sublime reality. He said Abraham Knew that I was coming. Abraham longed to see my day. Now here's the thing about that text verse 56 your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad.

That's a pretty powerful statement because The text doesn't explain What it's saying it just says it and the things that it says simply one Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus's day. To he did see Jesus's day and three he was glad.

That's the three things Jesus said he rejoiced to see the day. He saw the day and he was glad now. Here's I think translating it slightly different helps. I think the phrase my day here could be translated the time of my coming and so if you think of it that way your father Abraham rejoiced to see the time of my coming and he saw the time of my coming and was glad.

I think that Fits a little better with what Jesus is saying because we know that Abraham didn't live to see Jesus. That's the whole point right is there's not a physical connection in just a minute. They're gonna say you're not even 50 years old.

Well, of course they didn't have a physical sight of one another. But Abraham rejoiced at the coming of Jesus and he saw it in types and shadows. In fact, I would give you the probably the most significant type and shadow in the life of Abraham was the day That he took his son up on the mountain.

Remember when he took his son up on the mountain as a father of five. I I Try to read that passage. Existentially, you know as if I were Abraham and try to understand it as Abraham. I can't. Take thou son thy only son whom thou lovest and make a sacrifice of him.

I I don't understand. Abraham arose early in the morning and that amazing. I always think about the fact that I think I would have slept till lunch. I Wouldn't or I would have died wouldn't it got up early.

I wouldn't wanted to get he was he got up and went and his son said father. Where is the lamb? Jehovah Jireh the Lord Will provide. I was the answer the Lord will provide the lamb. They get there. He binds his son.

He's laying in there. His hand comes up. He's ready to plunge the dagger into his son and behold the angel says stop now. I know that you trust me and he looked and behold there was a ram caught in a thicket and The ram became the substitute for Isaac.

2 ,000 years later the substitute for our sins would be nailed to a cross as The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Abraham rejoiced when he saw that ram because he knew God had provided.

How much did Abraham really understand about Jesus? I think he knew that there was a Savior coming. I think he knew that ram pointed forward to that Savior how he understood it and what he understood.

I don't know, but Jesus said he saw my day coming and he rejoiced and was glad. So now the accusation the third accusation verse 57 then the Jews said to him you are not yet 50 years old and yet you have Seen Abraham notice they turn his words around.

Jesus didn't say he saw Abraham. He said Abraham Saw me he saw my day, right? So that's a sort of turn that around a little bit. But the point of it is is you're not 50 years old. How could this be true?

But Jesus wasn't saying they saw each other in the flesh. He wasn't making some type of a crass literal understanding. He was saying that Abraham knew he was coming and was glad that he was coming. Because he was the fulfillment of the promise by the way You know the Abrahamic Covenant is that God is going to bless the nations.

You know what how the Apostle Paul translates that and in his writings He talks about the Abrahamic Covenant is fulfilled in Christ because through Christ all the nations of the world shall be blessed.

Not just Israel, but the gospel goes out to every tribe every tongue and every nation. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham and thus Abraham looked forward to Jesus and rejoiced in him.

So now we have the final response of Christ verse 58 Jesus said to them most assuredly I say to you before Abraham was. I.

Am.

This is the apex of the conversation. This is the grand conclusion of the argument. Are you saying you're greater than Abraham? Yes. Are you saying that you existed before Abraham?

Yes.

There is no ambiguity here. Abraham was that is Abraham existed. That's not in dispute. There was a time before Abraham existed and Jesus was there before Abraham was. But notice Jesus didn't say before Abraham was I was.

By the way, that's the that's sort of the understanding that you get when you talk to somebody from the Jehovah Witnesses. Because they you know, they don't believe Jesus is eternal, but they do believe he he was at creation, right?

They believe he was part of creation. They believe is that Archangel Michael that he that he helped create the world, but that he's a creation of God. Right. And so when they look at this passage, they'll say well what Jesus meant was before Abraham was I?

Was.

You know, I was just I was there before Abraham. Ain't what it says. Eggo, Amy and Greek. I.

Am.

Now I think you probably know why that's significant, but just in case maybe you don't. In Exodus chapter 3 verses 13 and 14 when Moses meets the Lord It says this. Then Moses said to God if I come to the people of Israel and say to them the God of your fathers Has sent me to you and they asked me what is his name?

What shall I say to them God said to Moses? I am who I am and he said say to the people of Israel. I am Has sent me to you. God defines himself as I am. You understand why. Because that phrase is a statement of self.

Existence.

It's a statement of absolute independence if I say I Am I. Always have to qualify that with something like I am I. By the way, the word and there's a is a present tense of the idea to be its existence.

And so if I say I exist I have to add the qualifier. Well, I exist because I have enough air. I Exist because I have enough food. I exist because I have enough water. I exist because I'm in the right atmosphere.

I'm just far enough away from the Sun where it's nice and warm not too close from you know. Not too far away that I'm freezing to death, you know, I am because of so many factors that keep me.

Existing.

God says I am.

Period I.

Need nothing. I am. And. It's a statement of his own self.

Existence.

Jesus says before Abraham was I Am and I got to tell you the Jews Did not miss What he said. And by the way, this isn't the only time Jesus said this just to point this out to you the terms I am. Jesus often said I am this or I am that I'm the bread of life.

I'm the bread come down from heaven. I am the Sheep Gate, you know those he uses that term. But there's also other times where he simply says I am. You remember when Jesus walked out on the water and It says behold it is I.

It's not what he said. The original language behold I am and here he says before Abraham was I Am. Jews didn't miss for a second what he meant. Because as soon as he said it there their answer was a get a stone boys.

And why would they do that. Verse 59 says then they picked up stir. They took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hit himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by.

Why did he do that? Because it wasn't his time. But why did they do that? Because of Leviticus 24. Leviticus 24 says this. Whosoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him.