WWUTT 888 Before Abraham Was, I Am?

In John 8, 51, Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

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Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We strive to complete our study of John chapter 8 today.

I'm going to begin reading in verse 48 to the end of the chapter. The Apostle John wrote,

The Jews answered Jesus, Are we not right in saying 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.

Yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.

Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

The Jews said to him, Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets.

Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father

Abraham, who died? And the prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?

Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me.

Of whom you say, He is our God. But you have not known Him. I know

Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you.

But I do know Him, and I keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.

He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old.

And have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was,

I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Now once again, all of this is happening at the Feast of Booths. Remember that there is not a day break at the start of chapter 8.

Since we do not include John chapter 7 verse 53 through chapter 8 verse 11.

That was a later edition. It was not written by the Apostle John. And once again, in case you missed the study of that particular section of the chapter.

Your Bible will say that. It will indicate that the earliest manuscripts do not include chapter 7 verse 53 through chapter 8 verse 11.

And it's there in chapter 8 verse 2 where it says, Early in the morning he came again to the temple.

So it's saying there in chapter 8 that a day has transpired. But all of this is still taking place at the

Feast of Booths, which we had read about in chapter 7. And here now, even in chapter 8, this is still that same conversation going on in the temple at the end of the feast.

So the Jews are continuing to debate with Jesus here. These are the same Jews that believed in him in verse 30.

As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So that in verse 31, Jesus said to the

Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.

So he is pressing on them that their belief in Jesus is not some more momentary thing or some passing opinion.

Is it genuine or not? And if they abide in his word, if they believe the words that Jesus has said, abiding in it means they live in it.

They are constantly striving after this word, desiring to know more of the word, obeying the word.

It has changed and transformed them, and they will continue to walk in it, not just a momentary thing.

But as we see here, as Jesus continues to press on them with these words that he says to them, their belief is not genuine.

It's just a passing opinion. It was just something that they thought for a moment, but they were not going to continue to live in it because the deeper the truths go, the more they hate what it is that Jesus says.

So therefore they reveal that they are not children of God, but rather they are children of Satan.

So back to verse 48 here, the Jews answered him, Are we not right in saying that you are a

Samaritan and you have a demon? And I love Jesus' answer here, verse 49. Jesus answered,

I do not have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me. Notice that Jesus does not say that he's not a

Samaritan because the Jews were using that as an insult. Jesus was from Galilee, which was past Samaria, on the northern end of Israel.

So since it was so close to Samaria, the Jews were going, Oh, wait a minute, because remember, they made the accusation earlier that Jesus did not know who his biological father was.

Mary got pregnant before she got married to Joseph. We know there's another man in there. At least that's what the Jews are saying.

We know that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, that he was virgin born.

But here the Jews, since they are not children of God, since they're wicked and evil men, they're thinking as naturally minded men.

So they're going, hey, maybe that biological father of yours, maybe he was a Samaritan.

So are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? And when

Jesus responds, he does not say that he's not a Samaritan because he's not going to entertain their insulting another group of people by insulting

Jesus, by using that as an insult, a slander of a group of people. So they're they're using it with this racially loaded term saying to Jesus, are we not right in saying that you are a

Samaritan? The reason why you say such crazy things is you must be a Samaritan. You must be descended from a

Samaritan. That's who you are. That's who your biological father was. But Jesus doesn't entertain that insult by saying that he's not a

Samaritan and therefore would it would equally insult the Samaritans. Rather, he just denies being a demon.

Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me.

So, again, making that statement that my father is in heaven. And since you dishonor me, you dishonor

God whom you say you're from. You you say that you have one father, even

God, but you do not know him or else you would not be dishonoring me like this. So verse 50, yet I do not seek my own glory.

There is one who seeks it and he is the judge. That's referring to his father in heaven.

And we know that God, the father, gives all judgment to the son, according to what

Jesus says at the end of Matthew, chapter 28. Jesus goes on here in verse 51 to say, truly, truly,

I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

And this is just another way of him saying what he said back in verse 31. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever.

The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Jesus is just unfolding this theology all the more here in verse 51, where he says, truly, truly,

I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

Jesus will say to his disciples later on in John 14, 15, you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments.

And I will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth.

So that's what is given to the one who loves Jesus and listens to his word and obeys what he says.

Anyone who keeps his word will never see death. We have the

Holy Spirit living within us who will be with us forever. And we with God forever in heaven, in glory.

Verse 52, the Jews said to him, now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophet.

So here's what they're saying here. Jesus is saying, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. So he is saying the word that he speaks comes from God.

If anyone keeps it, they will never see death. But the prophets are all dead. Abraham's dead.

The prophets are all dead. So that can't possibly be true that anyone who keeps your word will never see death.

Are you therefore saying that Abraham and the prophets did not keep the word of God, the prophets to whom were given the word of God.

And now, since they're dead, therefore, they didn't keep it. But you're saying whoever keeps your word will never will never taste death.

They think they've got him. They think they're like, ha ha, you have undone yourself, sir.

And that's what they're firing back with. Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets.

They're all dead. Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.

Are you greater than our father Abraham? He's dead.

Here you are still alive. So you say that through your word, they can live forever. So you're saying you're greater than our father

Abraham, who died and the prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?

And Jesus answered, verse 54, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.

It is my father who glorifies me. So once again, as I've as I said yesterday and on Monday as well, the salvation that we receive from God is a

Trinitarian work. It is from the father and the son and the Holy Spirit.

So Jesus here saying that he is doing nothing on his own accord. He does not act according to his own will, but he does everything to the will of the father.

And what the father does, the son does. And likewise, the Holy Spirit does. So all of this is in agreement in the

Godhead, father, son and Holy Spirit. Jesus does not glorify himself contrary to the father or separate from the father.

He says if he were to do that, his glory would be nothing. It would not be from God. For God cannot go against the will of God.

So if I were to glorify myself contrary to the will of God, then my glory would be nothing.

So it is my father who glorifies me. So the glory that Christ has is given to him by the father, the father of whom you say he is our

God. So I'm glorified by the father. You say he's your God. And yet you hate me and the words that I say and you want to try to kill me.

But you have not known him. Jesus goes on to say, verse 55, you have not known

God. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him,

I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word.

I was in a political discussion one time. I think that I think the three of us in this political discussion had three different opinions, all things considered.

But I remember one guy being extremely literal, extremely liberal. I'm sorry. And the other one being more middle of the road in the middle of the road guy, probably a libertarian arguing with the liberal.

And he said to him, you know what? I could agree with you. But if I were to do that, then we would both be wrong.

I got a pretty good chuckle out of that, I must admit. That's a similar sort of a thing is what

Jesus is saying here to the Jews. He's saying, I know God. But if I were to say that I do not know the father, well, then

I would be lying. I would be a liar like you. You say you know God, but you don't because you're a liar.

I know God. And if I were to go with what you guys are saying and I were to agree with you that I have a demon, well, then

I would be a liar like you. And remember that through their lies, they have revealed that they are not from the father who is in heaven, but rather they are children of the devil.

And their will is to do their father's desires. So he who was a liar from the beginning and is the father of lies, they do what they've seen their father do, which is lie.

So Jesus says, I speak truth. I speak from the father. I speak what the father has shown to me, what he has given to me.

I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you.

But I do know him. And I keep his word. Remember, once again,

Jesus said, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

And the word that Jesus speaks comes from the father. So Jesus says, I keep his word.

But yet Jesus does see death. Well, that's because Jesus lays down his life of his own accord and he takes it back up again.

So he conquers death. He does not die forever, but rather his body goes into the grave.

And three days later, he takes it back up again, all according to the will of the father, because he keeps the word of the father.

The father shows that he has received the sacrifice. The son has made on behalf of sinful man by raising him from the dead.

So, therefore, Jesus conquers death and does not stay in death.

And anyone who knows Jesus likewise will never see death, will never taste death.

The body will indeed die, but they will not experience the death of the soul.

The soul will be resurrected forever to be with God. And ultimately, the day will come when Christ returns and the bodies will likewise be resurrected from the grave.

And Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself.

So Jesus says that if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.

And then says, I know the father and I keep his word. Your father,

Abraham, verse 56, rejoiced that he would see my day.

He saw it and was glad. Now, this is this is pretty difficult to understand.

And I'm going to just say straight up here that I don't know that I fully understand this statement. This is something I'm still studying, trying to understand a little bit.

So so Jesus saying that Abraham saw my day and was glad.

Well, he died. So how did Abraham see the day of Christ? Well, there's a couple of possibilities here.

Either is because Abraham had faith in the day of Christ. So he saw it with hope. He saw it by faith.

Hebrews 11, one faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen.

So he is believing in something that he has not seen. And by faith, he saw it. Abraham had faith.

And as we read about in Romans four, five, whoever does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

And so by faith, Abraham believed in Jesus and believed in the day of Christ.

And he saw that day through his mind's eye, so to speak, and was therefore glad.

That's one possibility as to what that means. The other possibility is that this is in a spiritual sense that Abraham's body has died, but his spirit has gone to be with God and now lives with God in glory where he can see the will of the father actualized.

We're on Earth. We cannot see except that which God has revealed to us in his word and what we have seen in the moments that pass by us.

But we can't see the future. Well, Abraham now living with the father is able to see the will of the father done on Earth as well as in heaven.

And so he has seen, therefore, the day of Christ and has rejoiced in it and is glad.

So that's the other possibility. Here's a third possibility is that this is in reference to the birth of Isaac.

So God had promised Abraham that he would have a son and that this son would be born of Sarah.

And once Sarah had that son, she named the son.

Abraham and Sarah named their son Isaac, which means laughter. Because when God first told them that Sarah was going to have a son, she laughed.

She laughed at the idea because she was beyond childbearing years. But here she has a son. And their laughter that at one point had been ridiculous turned to joy.

Abraham in that moment understood the promises of God. And what God said was going to happen,

Abraham knew would happen. And so, therefore, where there's this promise of this future child of promise, this future fulfillment, this became a realization and an understanding to Abraham when he held the child that God promised him in his arms and rejoiced that he could see once again by faith that day that God would bring about for the salvation of his people.

Remember that before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, he said, you know, Abraham is the one who

I've made this covenant with. Am I going to hide from him what it is that I'm going to do? So there are things that God revealed to Abraham.

And maybe one of those was what that day of the Lord was going to be like 2 ,000 years into the future.

Another possibility. So a fourth possibility as to what this means is that Jesus did meet with Abraham face to face.

Remember, in Genesis chapter 18, by the Oaks of Mamre, God came to him in the form of three persons.

Now, this wasn't God incarnate. Rather, this was a Christophany. It was an appearance of God before his incarnation, an appearance of God in the

Old Testament. And so Jesus came to Abraham, visited with him face by face to face there at the

Oaks of Mamre. And so this could be also a reference to Abraham saw my day and was glad his heart was filled with joy to know the promises of God.

These things that had been given to Abraham by God filled him with extreme joy.

And indeed, we truly know pleasure and the love of God and satisfaction and fulfillment whenever we know

Christ. Once we know Christ, we have full fulfillment and joy, which is why a person who comes to Christ and then leaves it never could truly have known

Christ. Because you don't find the greatest joy in the universe that there is to know and then walk away from it.

Nobody would do that. Which is why we describe the grace of God as irresistible grace.

Once you know that wonderful, terrific grace, how could you possibly resist it? It is the wonderful grace of God.

And so Abraham knew this, and he was glad to know God in this way and to see the promises of God fulfilled.

So the Jews said to Jesus, verse 57, you are not yet 50 years old.

And have you seen Abraham? That's the way they understand this statement that Jesus has made that that Abraham and I, we saw one another.

Abraham saw my day and he was glad. And so Jesus responds to them.

Verse 58. Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

Bam. That is a divine claim right there. Jesus Christ claiming to be

God. And look at the reaction that the disciples or that the Jews make. Verse 59. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

This is the same reaction that they had back in John five after Jesus healed the man at the pool.

And and he said to the Jews there that my father is working until now and I am working.

And so that he would refer to God as his father. The Jews interpreted as Jesus claiming to be

God. So verse 18, this is John 518. This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the

Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

And so here Jesus has done it again, which he does so rightly because he is God. He says before Abraham was,

I am. So they pick up stones to throw him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple because his time had not yet come to lay down his life for his people.

We who are in Christ, who are now likewise children of Abraham, as Paul illustrates in in the book of Galatians, by the way, that's the conclusion of our study today.

Let's pray our wonderful God and father. We thank you that we can call upon you as father.

The adoption that we've received through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And if we keep his word, if we abide in his word, then we will have eternal life.

We will see Christ on the last day and our hearts will be overflowing with joy and be glad as we desire.

They would be overflowing with joy. Even now, we have seen Christ, the glory of the father through your only son,

Jesus Christ. And so fill us with joy that we have meaning and purpose in this life.

Looking forward, holding on with hope to that day when we will be with you in glory.

And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. You've been listening to when we understand the text of Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an

Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an