John, Pt. 47 | John 8:21-30

John 8:21-30 and the Theme of Dying in Your Sins

You will at this time take your copy of the Scriptures and join me in the eighth chapter of John. John chapter 8, we will consider verses 21 through 30. John chapter 8, verses 21 through 30. And this is our 47th message in this book.

Let's pray.

O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Lord, we come to you asking you, Lord, to feed us. We have gathered together this day to learn, Lord, to be under the teachings of the apostles, to break bread and to fellowship and to pray and to speak with one another with psalm hymns and spiritual songs and make melody in our heart to you.

Lord, please, in Jesus name, use my study and preparation. And Lord, allow me this weak vessel to speak forth your truth with boldness. In Christ's name I pray.

Amen.

All right, so let's begin with the text. It's John chapter 8, beginning in verse 21, and we will read to verse 30. Then again, he said to them, I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sins.

Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews were saying, surely he will not kill himself since he says, where I am going, you cannot come. And he was saying to them, you are from below. I am from above.

You are of this world. I am not of this world. Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. So they were saying to him, who are you?

Jesus said to them, what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you. But he who sent me is true. And these things which I heard from him, these I am saying to the world.

They did not know that he had been speaking to them about the father. So Jesus said, when you lift up the son of man, then you will know that I am he. And I do nothing for myself but speak these things as the father taught me.

And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him. And as he was speaking these things, many believed in him. Our theme for this Lord's Day is how to die in your sins.

How to die in your sins. Over the commentary and those that I've listened to this past week, they all mentioned this theme. They didn't use this as a theme, but they mentioned this. And some of them said, if I was bold, I would probably say that this is the theme of the book.

And I said, well, I'm bold enough to use it. So how to die in your sins. I believe that this is what the text is teaching us. And as Christians, we know and understand. So he's not speaking to Christians at this moment.

He's speaking to the Pharisees. But as Christians, we know and understand that reconciliation with God is found in the God-man, Jesus Christ. We're speaking this in hindsight. The Jews of old were speaking this as something that was going to happen.

The Jews at the present time did not understand what was taking place right before their eyes. I believe on this subject that reconciliation is found in the God-man, Jesus Christ. The word of God couldn't be any more clear.

I don't believe anyone can come in to the scriptures and rephrase something to make it more clear of what Jesus has been saying about himself in the book of John. And in our text, Jesus is going to say something.

He's going to say some things. Let's just say like he's going to say some things that are unpopular today, whether it be in our culture or the church. Imagine that. Imagine Jesus saying something that's unpopular with the culture.

You say, well, I don't have to imagine that. It's always been that way. But it's not just the culture the words of Jesus are not popular in. It's also unpopular in so-called churches today. And that is why you and I should give ear to this message, to give ear to what Jesus is saying here.

As followers of Jesus, we should want to echo the words of Jesus. Well, Jesus said it. So I should be able to say it. Jesus said it.

So it's true.

He is the way, the truth and the life, right? No one comes to the father except through him. He is the Christ. He is the long awaited Messiah. And so if Jesus says something, we as followers of Jesus should want to echo the words of Jesus and even to stand upon it as truth.

Even though there's some things in here that's not so easily understood. We should want to echo what's being said and stand on it as truth and be willing to dive deeper into the text. In our outline today, we're going to see three ways to die in your sins and how all three ways go hand in hand.

And we will also see the resolution to this problem. So point number one, from the earth. Point number two, unbelief. Point number three, willful ignorance. Point number four, the resolution. And as we transition, this dispute that is going on in our text is still over what Jesus said in verse 12.

Look with me at verse 12. Jesus says, well, begins, then Jesus again spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. But we'll have the light of life.

When the Israelites were in the wilderness, if they follow the bright cloud by day and the fire by night, then they, the Israelites, would never walk in darkness. Just get a visual, right? There's something about the cloud by day that's distinguished from the other clouds in the sky.

On a cloudy day, they wasn't thinking, oh, I wonder, I wonder which one is Yahweh. There was something different about this cloud from all other clouds. And then when night fell, this cloud that was different from all other clouds was a fire.

And so as long as they were under this cloud, under this fire, they were never in darkness. Jesus making a comparison in our text is saying that he is who they, the Jews then, are now to follow in order to not walk in darkness.

And I mentioned last week that Jesus was not walking around glorified, right? He was not radiant with glory. His skin was not glowing. There was nothing about him in appearance that we should desire, Isaiah chapter 52.

He just looks like a man. Which is one of the ways I believe God uses to harden the hearts of the Jews at this time. But he is saying just like those who were in the wilderness, as they follow this cloud by day that was different from all the other clouds, and by night this cloud would turn into a fire that they never walked in darkness.

Those who are following him will never walk in darkness. But if you don't follow him, if you profess faith in Christ and you don't follow him, you're walking in darkness. Just like the Israelites, those who are in that community.

If they know that Yahweh is in the cloud and Yahweh is in the fire, and if they didn't follow when this fire left, when this cloud was leading them, that was picking up from this certain area and was going somewhere else.

If they didn't follow him, then they were left in darkness. And I would say even in the daytime, even whenever the sun was shining, there wasn't no clouds in the sky. These people were in darkness spiritually and physically in darkness at night.

Jesus was that bright cloud that the Israelites followed in the wilderness as well as the fire. That's ultimately what Jesus is saying, that he is God in this statement. Those who were their ancestors, who they would pattern these events after the Feast of Booths.

The Feast of Booths was a pattern that was being placed after the wilderness wandering. So they were always looking back. And Jesus is saying, I am who they were following. And if you want to be like them truly, you must follow me.

From the Earth: We Die in Our Sins Because We Are From Below

So point number one, from the earth, we will die in our sins because we are from the earth. Verse 21 through 23. Then he said to them again, I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sins.

Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews were saying, surely he will not kill himself since he says where I am going, you cannot come. And he was saying to them, you are from below. I am from above.

You are of this world. I am not of this world. So this is the second time Jesus tells this group of Jews that he is going away. The first time he told them this was in chapter seven. So if you turn over one chapter, chapter seven, look at verse 33 and 34.

Therefore, Jesus said, for a little while longer, I am with you. And then I go to him who sent me. You will seek me and will not find me. And where I am going, you cannot come. And if you remember, my interpretation of this was that he was going back to be with the father.

They thought that he was just going to go to the Gentile cities and to preach among the Jews there as well as the Gentiles. We see this in verses 35 and 36. And the Jews said to one another, where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?

Is he intending to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and to teach the Greeks? Look at verse 36. What is this statement that he said? You will seek me and you will not find me in where I am. You can not come.

And my interpretation was that it's clear he's speaking about going back to heaven to be with the father. And in chapter eight, they are now thinking that Jesus is speaking about killing himself. No longer are they thinking that he's going away to the dispersion among the Greeks.

But they're thinking, is he talking about killing himself? Surely he's not speaking about killing himself. If you read Flavius Josephus, Josephus talks about the actual sin of suicide. And how it was a Jewish belief that if someone was to kill themselves, they would go into the lowest of pits of hell.

They will be the furthest that you could be separated from God and separated from the other Jews that have passed away. If you remember as we were in Sunday school and we were looking at the prophet Jonah, and how when Jonah was awakened and he was told about the ocean and how it was roaring and how these other people were trying to please their God in order to get the storm to stop, Jonah says to them, throw me over.

Notice he didn't say, watch out, I'll jump over. He says, throw me over. Kill me. He doesn't say, I'll get out of the way, I'll sacrifice myself, I'll jump into the waters myself. Because it was a belief at this time that if a Jew was to kill themselves, they would be separated as far as you can be separated from God and from the other Jews.

They had this interpretation because Jesus said to them, where I am going, you cannot come. And if they're not going to kill themselves, they're not going to be where Jesus is going. Again, this belief was held by those who were Jews and did not want to be separated in that way.

So you can kind of see if you have that background, why they're thinking what they're thinking. Kind to see. Also notice Jesus says to them that they would die in their sins. So if you go back to chapter 8, look at verse 21.

And then he said to them, excuse me. And then he said again to them, I am going away. And you, speaking to those Jews, the religious leaders, the Pharisees, you will seek me and you will die in your sins.

Where I am going, you cannot come. So he tells these Jews, these religious leaders, that they will seek him, but they will die in their sins because they cannot come, go where he is going. To die in your sins means to die without a sacrifice made for you.

I want you to get your mind around this. We need to take our mind and not think about Christianity in our day and time. We're not thinking in terms of sacrifice for the most part. And I'm not speaking about Reformed folks or people in here, but Christians today are not thinking about a sacrifice being made for sins.

Jesus is telling them to die in your sins means that you are going to die without a sacrifice. He's speaking to religious leaders who ritually, every day, make sacrifices for sins. Now a part of me wants to go into the L of Tulip here, but I will spare you my Calvinism for right now.

But just a side note to my Calvinism, I'm sorry, I have to say something about it. The sacrifice was only made for those in covenant with God. Never was a sacrifice made for someone who wasn't in covenant with God.

Now you can do with that what you want, and I may develop that much later. But let's leave it there. I'm trying not to build it around Calvinism. We have that Calvinism conference coming up, and so I'm trying to save all my shooters for then.

So anyways, let's get back to it. In last week's message, I touched on the baptism of John and also the week before that and how baptism replaced the sacrificial system. So let's look back at that verse again, Mark chapter 1.

This week, I'm trying to navigate through my Bible without having all my markers in there. So we'll see how that works. Mark chapter 1, beginning in verse 4. We'll just read verse 4. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

So why did he appear? It's very clear. He appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. I also mentioned that Christian baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit is also for the forgiveness of sins.

Look with me in Acts chapter 2. We'll read verses. It's found in verse 38, but let's read verse 37 with 38. Acts chapter 2, beginning in verse 37. Now when they heard this, so stop right there. Heard what?

Heard Peter preaching about Jesus Christ and how they, the Jews, had put him to death by the hands of lawless men and that this Jesus has resurrected and it's through what he has done that what's taking place in Acts, meaning the Holy Spirit coming upon them, that they are able to do what they're doing.

And so it says, now when they heard this, the gospel, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men, brothers, what should we do? And Peter said to them, repent. Now right here, repent is two sides.

Repent is one side of a coin. You cannot, if you watch my interview, well not my interview, but the small debate I did, a two hour debate that I did with Lutheran, I pointed out in this verse where it just says repent, that it has to be speaking about faith as well.

You cannot turn from something to nothing. In order to turn from something, that's what the repentance is here speaking about, turn from what you are trusting to something else to trust. And so we turn from what we are trusting, turn to God, and what is it that we are to trust?

Jesus.

And so Peter said to them, repent. So this is repentance and faith, I would add. Each one of you, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, right here, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Sadly, most Baptists and Presbyterians no longer speak this way. Both Second London and Westminster Confessions of Faith state that baptism is for the remission of sins. Let's read that real quick from R.

I didn't have a really good physical copy of the Westminster, I brought it as well. The copy that I had, the words were so small I couldn't deal with it. We're just going to read from the 1689, chapter 21, paragraph 1.

It says,.

Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to those baptized. It is a sign of their fellowship with Him in His death and resurrection. And they're being grafted into Him of remission of sins.

And of submitting themselves to God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in the newness of life. Over and over in the scriptures it tells us how you put Christ on. You put Him on in baptism. Now baptism has nothing to do with you being born again.

It's not salvific, but it is what those who are born again do. Remember earlier I said that the sacrificial system, a sacrifice is made for those that are in the covenant. And although baptism represents the forgiveness of sins, who is that sacrifice made for?

Those that are in the covenant. This is where our Churches of Christ brothers get it wrong. Well, excuse me, my Churches of Christ friends get it wrong. And our Lutheran brothers get it wrong. They elevate the forgiveness of sins with the new birth.

And it's not true. Those that have been born again are those that receive the sacrifice of Christ. It's represented in our baptism. A definition, the definition for remission is this. The counselation of a debt, charge, or penalty.

The biblical definition is forgiveness of sins. And we will pick back up on that in our next point. But first, let's look at why they cannot go where Jesus is going and why they need forgiveness in the first place.

So look back with us. In John chapter 8, look at verse 23. He was saying to them, you are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. Jesus is saying to them that he is from above.

And we can assume in hindsight, right, that he's speaking of heaven. Jesus is speaking of heaven and where he was. And that where he is going is back to heaven. And you really don't need hindsight if you've been keeping up with the messages.

Because if you just look in chapter 3 of John, verse 13, it tells you where he was. Chapter 3, verse 13. Jesus speaking says, The Son of Man, and I would add, who is in heaven. They, the Jews, as well as you and I, are from below.

Meaning earth. We're not from heaven. We're from earth. You and I are of this world, meaning them, as well as you and I, are a part of the world. Now, either that is speaking that we are born here on the earth, depending on the commentary you read, there's different arguments made.

Or if it's speaking about we are part of the world's system, meaning the evil that's coming against the good. You can take either one of those interpretations. I'm fine with it. I personally believe that it's just speaking that we are from the world.

This is where we come from versus the good and evil. But either interpretation, I'm fine with. Jesus, being God, is not a part of the world. He only entered into the world. Speaking of the hypostatic union, how God became man, the infinite become finite, we saw it today in our creed, how the God-man took on flesh.

So he entered into the world. He entered into the world from being in heaven. And those that are a part of the world, we are born in Adam. The same way that Jesus is from heaven, you and I are from Adam.

Adam is the representation of the earth. He was created from the earth, created from the dust. Jesus, however, was not born in Adam. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. Jesus did not have an actual earthly father who consummated with Mary in order to produce Jesus.

The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and Jesus Christ was born. But you and I, we are born in Adam, and we have sinned in Adam. If you look with me real quick at Romans 5. Romans 5. Look at verse 12. And we'll also look at verse 15.

Romans 5, verse 12. It says, Therefore, just as through one man, sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned. This is speaking of Adam, that death and sin entered into the world through Adam.

Look at verse 15. But the gracious gift, which is faith, is not like the transgression. For as by the transgression of the one man, the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Because of Adam's sin, we sin. And because of the sin of Adam, as well as our own sin, we are going to die. But Jesus comes to give us a gift, and that gift is faith. And since we are going to die, this is where the faith comes in, we need a sacrifice.

When the Jews would make these sacrifices on the altar, they had to have faith that that sacrifice counted for them. You and I, when we're given faith, that faith is that the sacrifice of Jesus is counted to us.

We, meaning you and I, our only way of escape from this world, whether it's the system or whether it's just from the dust of the ground,.

Adam,.

The only way for us to escape is for someone who is not of this world, not from earth, to come and to redeem us from the world. And if you will again, turn with me to 1 Corinthians. I think here in chapter 15, Paul really explains the difference between the earth and heaven.

So look at verse 45, and we'll read to verse 49. Paul says,. So also it is written,. The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam, speaking of Christ, became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

The first man, remember the first man is Adam, is from the earth, earthly. The second man is from heaven, and as is the earthly, so are those who are earthly. And as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

And just as we have been born,.

I mean, excuse me,.

Just as we have born the image of the earthly, remember we're created, we're the broken image of God because of Adam's sin. We will also bear the image of the heavenly. Who will bear that image? Those that have been given the gift of faith.

Those who are being sanctified right now on earth. Those that the Lord is conforming to the image of his son. We cannot just go where Jesus is because we are from the earth. And because of our sin, we need a sacrifice.

We need something to put our faith in. And as we transition without a sacrifice, no one will go and be with Jesus.

Unbelief and the Need for Faith in Christ

So point number two, unbelief.

We will die in our sins because of unbelief. Look at verse 24. Therefore, I say to you that you will die in your sins for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. So the I am he here is pointing us back to verse 12, the proclamation made in verse 12 was that Jesus is the light of the world.

He is Yahweh.

He is that cloud by day and the fire by night that if you're following him, you will not walk in darkness. And we looked at the I am for the last several weeks and how it's ego I me and it's pointing back to when God spoke to Moses in the bush.

Now right here where it says he, the word he here is not in the Greek. Translators add this word and I believe they do so to point us back to the antecedent. The antecedent being verse 12. He is the light of the world.

Theologians have also connected verse 24 with Isaiah chapter 43. You can turn there with me. Isaiah 43 and and in Isaiah, this is where the false cult Jehovah's Witnesses get their name. So if you look right here, what says beginning of verse 10, it says you are my witnesses, declares Yahweh, their scriptures will say declares Jehovah.

And so they take this and say they are Jehovah Witnesses. But theologians have connected what Jesus says in verse 24 with Isaiah chapter 43 verse 10, which says this is God speaking. You are my witnesses declares Yahweh.

Now right here pay attention and my servant whom I have chosen so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he before me. There was no God formed and there will be none after me. So right here where it says and understand that I am he.

Yahweh speaking of the servant proclaims that he is the servant. Yahweh is saying I am sending you a servant. He says that y 'all are my witnesses and I am sending you a servant and you need to understand that I am the servant.

That's what Yahweh is saying speaking of the Messiah. Jesus the Messiah says this in reverse that he the Messiah is Yahweh. We have Yahweh saying that he's sending a servant and he is the servant and Jesus is saying that he is the servant and he is Yahweh.

And if you do not believe that you will die in your sins. You will die in your sins without you will die without a sacrifice made for you. Ladies and gentlemen that's what Jesus is telling the Jews that unless you believe that he is the light of the world he is Yahweh you will die in your sins and that is what I am forced to tell people that I speak with.

Whether it be in this congregation or outside on the streets. If you do not believe that Jesus is Yahweh you will die in your sins. In our text Jesus is speaking to a group of people who are trusting in their own religious works as well as the sacrificial system and this is exactly what the book of Hebrews is talking about.

The book of Hebrews is condemning the sacrificial system the continuing sacrifice after the once and for all sacrifice has been made. Jesus as this once and for all sacrifice is telling them as well as unbelievers today that if you do not believe that he is the light of the world that light that you should follow that when you die you will die in your sins because his sacrifice is only for those that are in the kingdom.

Again my Calvinism wants to blow up at this moment right? The whole L is wanting to come out. If you are not in the covenant if you are not a part of the kingdom and we know that this is predetermined before the foundation of the world clearly was bringing that out earlier then the sacrifice is not for you.

Willful Ignorance and Refusal to Hear Christ

Point number three willful ignorance. We will die in our sins because of willful ignorance. Look back at our text. We are going to be reading verses 25 through 27. So that we are saying to him who are you?

And Jesus said to them what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you but he who sent me is true and the things which I heard from him these things I say to the world.

Right here look at this. They did not know that he had been speaking to them about the father. Now I want to address something that I said last week. Most of y 'all know last week my study last week it was pretty tough after some news that I got and I didn't get to read ahead like I normally do.

So I said something in gesture in a way that I shouldn't have said. And so I want to apologize right now in front of you. I mentioned that could they have thought that he could have been speaking of the father.

And I said yeah they could have thought that but this right here tells us that they had no clue that he was speaking of the father. But the reason why I made that suggestion is because over and over Jesus has been saying that he's come down from heaven and that the God of heaven is his father and he's only doing what he sees the father doing.

And so we see the willful ignorance that's taking place here when they ask him who are you? The definition for willful ignorance is this a decision in bad faith to avoid becoming informed about something so as to avoid having make understandable decisions that such information might promote.

They don't really want to know who he is. So after Jesus tells them for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins they respond by saying who are you? Willful ignorance. He's been telling them.

How many times have we walked kind of like the same pattern in this book? Over and over he keeps saying the same things. There's no way to explain it to explain what's taking place here in the text. Jesus responds what have I been saying to you from the beginning?

Jesus has been teaching that he is God that he is the son of God that he came down from heaven and that belief in him is eternal life. What do you mean who are you? He's been saying it over and over. And as I mentioned earlier I don't think that you can restate it and say it any clearer.

It's willful ignorance. They are unwilling to hear him much less check the claims that Jesus is making. All they have to do is go to the temple records. That's it. Go to the temple records. He's born in Bethlehem.

Go to temple records. Find out when Zacharias saw the angels. Like everything is there. They knew.

They were looking for him.

They were searching for him.

They knew that the prophet was coming to ask Elijah are you the prophet? They knew that the Messiah was coming to ask Elijah are you the Messiah? They knew that the time of their visitation had come. All they have to do is read the book of Daniel.

The years are there. The 483 years the Messiah would show up. They were waiting for him. They knew it was the time of visitation. He's healing the sick. He's undeafening ears. He's causing blind men to see.

He's making people.

Who are crippled.

Who are lame from birth get up and walk. He's forgiving sins.

He's doing things.

That no one from this earth is able to do. And all they have to do is check the claims. It's willful ignorance. And now because of their willful ignorance they will die and there will be no sacrifice for them.

The sacrificial system is over. It doesn't count. John the Baptist has come. And they will die in their sins because they did not believe that Jesus was the light.

Of the world.

The Crucified Son of Man as the Resolution

Point number four,.

The resolution.

Resolution is taken from verses 28 through 30. And in our last point we will see how it is that believers in Jesus have, I would say that's present tense, have a sacrifice. We don't need another sacrifice.

We have a sacrifice. So look with me at those verses. Beginning in verse 28. And Jesus said, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He. And I do nothing for myself, but I speak the things as the Father has taught me.

And He said to me,.

I mean, excuse me,.

And He who sent me is with me and He has not left me alone for I always do the things which are pleasing to Him. And as He was speaking these things, many believed in Him.

All right.

So Jesus being lifted up is speaking about Him crucified. And this is actually the second time Jesus speaks this way in this gospel. So if you will go back to chapter three. Earlier I read verse 13. Look at verse 14.

John chapter three, verse 14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. So at this time Jesus is pointing back to the wilderness where they were grumbling, they were complaining about food.

And God sent snakes to bite them. And the only way that they could be healed from being snake bitten was God tells Moses to hang a bronze serpent, a bronze snake up on a pole. And so Jesus points to it.

So the same way that that snake is hanging on a pole, that it's being lifted from the earth. And when you lift me from the earth, speaking of the crucifixion,.

He says,.

Then you will know that I am He. Jesus here is telling them that when they nail Him hands and feet to a Roman cross, that they're going to know who He is. At this time, the religious leaders did not know, whether it be that they're from the earth, they're refusing to believe or willful ignorance.

But guess who knew who He was?

Demons.

The demons knew who He was. The religious leaders, those who believed themselves to be followers of Yahweh, did not have a clue. But the demons, every time a demon saw Him, they said, what are you doing here before your appointed time?

Jesus points to them, the Pharisees. And He's pointing to them, the Pharisees, and He's making the statement. And you might say, well, but the Pharisees didn't believe. Well, some of them did. Nicodemus ends up a believer, according to church history.

And many more. I know I've touched on several of them. Right now their names are escaping me. Joseph of Arimathea was a Pharisee. He believed in Jesus. Paul was a Pharisee. Believed in Jesus. Many Pharisees ended up believing and following after Jesus.

Believing that Jesus is He,.