Like Father, Like Sons - [John 8:39-47]

Would invite you to open your Bibles this morning to John chapter 8 as I was studying this week for the message kind of Trying to sort out exactly how I would present it. I heard a plaintiff voice Coming into the house from a garage and It was my granddaughter grandpa.

Grandpa, I'm hurt. I went running and sure enough I had a skin knee. And you know to me, I mean, I mean, you know your first thought is oh, come on, but I just thought right back. I mean it took me back literally to being a little kid and just thinking about how my dad.

You know if he put a band-aid on everything was okay. If he held my brother over the toilet and knocked him senseless until all those lifesavers came out of his throat. Everything was okay. My dad could just make everything right and so I just thought what a blessing I have, you know to be able to to do this and you know, so I took her upstairs and Got some cotton.

Reassured her, you know, you have to reassure the patient. I Cleaned her wound. I put some neosporin the kind that helps it not hurt so much on there and then I put the band-aids on and I thought This is I mean I was substituting.

But this is kind of what fathers do for their children and I thought about how important fathers are and by the way I think the word father is like in our text this morning, maybe seven times. So watch for that.

Thought about how important fathers are. There are fathers earthly fathers who seek to live their lives through their children. Mindful of one Young man who was raised up by his father who was a professional football player to be The perfect quarterback.

In fact, he became known as Robo quarterback, that's what they called him while he's growing up in high school and in college. His whole life was structured around this and all of his training. You know as dad would say do this and don't do that and everything was designed to make him a quarterback.

In fact one national publication called him America's first test tube athlete. He was well drilled all this was driven by the father's ambition his desire to see his son. Live the life of a professional football player quarterback.

He was even drafted by the NFL. But drug addiction derailed his career and he wound up not playing much football at all at least professionally. There are fathers who live life Without their children apart from their children without paying any attention to their children.

They're completely irresponsible and indifferent to the consequences of their neglect. And of course children suffer for this as well. There are fathers who live their lives abusing their children. Harming them.

Treating them as objects of disdain or even worse. Then there are fathers who live their lives for their children. These are the men who teach their children sacrifice for their children and protect their children.

Fathers are very important and they certainly leave a mark on your life for good or ill. But as important as our earthly fathers are. Our spiritual father means everything. It's infinitely more Important and I thought as I was preparing this I thought I should have done this a couple weeks ago on Father's Day, but Let's go to our text.

Abraham’s Children and the Works of Abraham

John chapter 8 verses 39 to 47. They answered him. They being the Pharisees they answered him. Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them if you were Abraham's children You would be doing the works Abraham did.

But now you seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. That is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did. They said to him we were not born of sexual immorality.

We have one father even God. Jesus said to them if God were your father you would love me. For I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say it is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

You are of your father the devil and Your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth. Because there is no truth in him. When he lies He speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies.

But because I tell you the truth. You do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin if I tell the truth? Why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not God.

I love the gospel of John. Even a cursory reading of the gospel even just a quick reading of it Exalts the Lord Jesus Christ and as you study it as you get deeper and deeper into the gospel. You will become more and more convinced that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God the Messiah.

The once-for-all sacrifice on behalf of sinners and you will have eternal life in his name and that's the purpose of the gospel. That's the reason John wrote his gospel now this morning. We're going to see the two claims of the Pharisees two claims of the Pharisees and the sad reality when Jesus strips away the thin veneer of holiness from them and shows their true parentage.

They're going to claim two fathers, but he's going to show their true father and in the world in which we live. There is no more timely message than this one. Not everyone who claims to be a child of God is in fact a child of God.

Their first claim the first claim of the Pharisees is they claim to be? Abraham's children look at verse 39. They answered him. Abraham is our father. Now the last time we were in John a couple weeks ago we looked at verses 31 to 38 a number of people.

In that text if you'll call when fact we're gonna look at it here in a minute. We're said to have believed in Jesus. But as he explained what following him meant what it really meant to believe in him.

The Pharisees that is the people he's interacting with we're up on the temple Mount this is following the festival of booze the festival of tabernacles and Jesus is up really the temple court may be right outside the Where the Sanhedrin would meet in the court of the women is what it was called.

He's interacting with these Pharisees and they have this long discussion here. And if you recall two weeks ago We read this so the Jews said or so Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him if you abide my word.

You are truly my disciples and he will know the truth. Then the truth will set you free. They answered him. We are offspring of Abraham. So they make this claim and have never been enslaved to anyone.

How is it that you say you will become free? Jesus answered them truly truly. I say to you everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Just as a an aside. There is no More enslaving sin than that of homosexuality and I'll address that more as I close here later.

Freedom slavery sin. Verse 35 the slave does not remain in the house forever. The Sun remains forever. As you recall or you may recall we talked about what it meant to be a slave in those days and how a lot of Times you just moved on it was more More like a job than we would typically think of slavery.

But you would be sold then you would remain in a house for a while and then you would move on to another house. But the Sun remains forever. So if the Sun set you free you will be free. Indeed, I know that you are offspring of Abraham.

Yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my father and you do what you have heard from your father. So that's their response. Their response is wait a minute.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute our father. Back up a here a second. Our father is Abraham. Now it's a little bit odd because Jesus already acknowledged that right he already said Your offspring of Abraham.

That's not the point but it's as if they're compelled to defend themselves they want to underline the fact that they have this lineage that traces back to Abraham because Abraham is the father of Judaism.

That's somebody that you can really look up to. So Jesus examines their claim. First notice they don't act like Abraham did. Jesus said to them if you were Abraham's children You would be doing the works Abraham did.

But now you seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. That is not what Abraham did. Well, what did Abraham do? What did Abraham do? You know from Romans chapter 4 that Abraham believed God and it was Counted to him as righteousness, but let's turn to Genesis chapter 12 we're gonna be spending a fair amount of time in Genesis going back and forth to different chapters this morning because When you talk about fathers when you talk about origins You almost inevitably have to go back to Genesis.

Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 to just the beginning of verse 4. Abraham was nobody of note to this point. I mean, he's nobody special except he's mentioned in the Bible, you know not everybody gets mentioned in the Bible and You'll notice his name is Abram because the Lord has not yet changed it.

Verse 1 in Genesis chapter 12. Now the Lord said to Abram Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great.

So that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you. I will curse and In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Here's Abrams response verse 4. So Abram went as the Lord had told him.

In fact, you could really summarize Abram or Abraham's life this way he heard God. He acted in obedience without seeing him and Then during his life things went up and down. Abraham's life was not perfection.

And in that sense, he's Pretty good. He's pretty easy for us to kind of relate to. Abraham is up and down like a yo-yo. I mean Some of the things he does we don't have time to go in at all it but you just go.

I would not do that. Well, yeah, you probably would in worse, but the overall direction Showed that he loved God and desired to obey him. And isn't that a good model for us? It's not the perfection of our life.

It is the direction of our life, but on the other hand by contrast. The Pharisees were in the presence of God in the flesh they were interacting they were discoursing with Jesus. Did they obey his words?

They heard God speak to them and they Rejected the words of God. They hated him and they wanted to put him to death. That's not what Abraham did in Genesis 18. And I'm not gonna read here. I'm just gonna kind of summarize because it's too long to read after Abraham's sin with Hagar.

Which by the way was approved of by his wife. I mean you just look at I mean you go. Abraham's really not a role model, you know, he's somebody that we can relate to but he's not a role model after his sin with Hagar that reserted or resulted in the birth of Ishmael.

God sends three men to him. One of the three is the pre-incarnate Christ the Lord Christophany theophany if you want to call it that but I think it's pretty obvious. It's the pre-incarnate Christ Abraham what does he do when he sees these men?

He knows that they're heavenly messengers because the Lord's told him that he runs to meet them and Then he quick, you know get some some water and make sure that there's food ready for them. Jesus a man from God sent to the Pharisees.

Do they eagerly run to meet him? Are they anxious to hear what he has to say? Do they tend to his needs? No, they plot his murder. They reject what he has to say and they plot his murder. These men these Pharisees were physical descendants of Abraham, but their spiritual father was nothing like Abraham.

They didn't have the same mindset that Abraham did. And we know that based on what they did how they responded to God their claim to be children of Abraham was false. Physically true spiritually false.

In our text we see Jesus summary of it in 41 he says you are doing the works of your or the works your father did and He is foreshadowing what he's about to say about their relationship with Satan. So their first claim that they are Abraham's children goes by the wayside.

It is false. Claim number two they claim to be God's children. Verse 41 the second part of it. They said to him they said to Jesus. We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one father even God. Listen even if you don't want to take our claim about Abraham seriously, we are children of God.

We are the true chosen Children of God and some see in their retort in their reply some kind of slight at Jesus. We were not born of sexual immorality. Maybe you were because your father. Little dicey they're not really clear on.

You know the conception of Jesus. I I don't really think that's in play here. I mean we can read that and maybe it is in play, but I don't. I don't think so I think it's better to understand that they're really Just as Jesus is after their spiritual pedigree.

They're going to defend themselves and just think about this way in the Old Testament. What is equated most often with? Sexual immorality or what comes into play with sexual immorality it is Idolatry right when you when they're accused of when the nation is accused of of Fornication of all these things what the the inference is is that they're worshiping false gods that they're involved in idolatry.

And so really what we see in the second part of this is Kind of an echo of Deuteronomy 6 for the Shema. Kind of the motto of Israel. Deuteronomy 6 4 says here. Oh Israel the Lord our God the Lord is One and where they say we have one father even God we're not out worshiping false gods.

We are true disciples. We are true followers of the one God of Yahweh. They have had their religious purity questioned in their minds, and there's no one more pure than they are there. You know 100 pure they don't have any 99 .44 pure they are 100 pure.

They're the cream of the crop. They're the most most righteous people they know. And once again, they've made the claim and Jesus examines their claim and there are three. I Don't even want to say little problems.

There are three gigantic holes in their argument. This is like really kind of a dissection of their arguments. Three gigantic holes in their argument. Number one They reject the person of Jesus Christ.

Number two They reject the mission of Jesus Christ and number three they reject the teaching of Jesus Christ. First they reject the person of Jesus. Look at verse 42 Jesus said to them if God were your father.

In other words if what you were saying is true You would love me. For I came from God and I am here. The conditional phrase that begins with if Indicates both propositions are false. In other words, if God were your father, he's not.

Continuing on you would love me and you don't. God is not their father and they don't love Jesus. And we can't really move on here without just noticing one more little illusion Jesus makes of his deity of the fact that he is God.

When it says there that I came from God. That verb is indefinite. I came and it's often used of a claim of Eternality or divinity in the Greek language? And so this the idea here what he's telling them is much like in John 1 the same thing happens.

He's basically claiming to be God. The Jews are not rejecting Jesus because he lacks credibility or for any reason other than this their professed faith in God Is fraudulent. They do not love the father.

They are enemies of God heavily involved in a system of works. They're prideful arrogant lovers of self lovers of money power position. They hate the God of grace. They hate the gospel of grace and Therefore they cannot do anything but hate the Son.

They profess with their mouths, but their hearts are far from him. Well the psalmist right rejects the Son. You reject the Father. You risk your great risk if you reject the Son you anger the Father in addition to rejecting the person of Jesus.

Just Going after him with hatred and trying to kill him. They reject his mission. He's he's the father's ambassador. He says in verse 42 I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Listen, I'm obedient.

It was the father's idea that I came here and I came. I obeyed. The Pharisee saw him as self-promoting. Uneducated as they've said in other places, you know, who are you? They saw him as basically an unauthorized fraud a false prophet and Jesus says Basically I was with the father.

He told me to come to earth and I obeyed. I submitted to his will. As Jesus was commissioned by the father. He represents the father in every way. When he speaks the father speaks. And the implication of Jesus words are clear.

Rejecting the work of the Son is rejecting the father and It still holds true today. Can somebody say that they love God we hear this all the time? Well, I love God. I'm not so crazy about Christianity and I don't think you have to have any specific religion.

I'm a spiritual person, but I reject the message of the cross. I Don't really agree with his standards. No, you don't get to pick and choose what you will believe about God or about Jesus. They reject this person.

They reject his work. They reject his teaching. It's not that they don't understand is. Well, they do not understand his teaching but we'll talk more about that. They don't really understand it, but they do they understand the words.

But they rejected look at verse 43 he says Jesus says why do you understand what I or why do you not understand what I say. Why don't you get it? This is a rhetorical question. He's not really asking or expecting a response as.

One commentator noted they've asked a lot of stupid questions. So it's pretty obvious that that is not getting through. They asked him. Where's your father? When they asked rhetorically is he's not going to kill himself.

Is he. They did challenge him to on his qualifications. You who are you? They have misinterpreted him assigned wrong motives to him and failed to Grasp or to believe what he said. Why is that? One part it's because they don't have the ability to understand his teaching.

Looking at verse 43. It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. Now the ESV really tries here and it in some ways it does better than other translations. It really tries to catch the nuance. Because it that word there bear is not really there.

So some other translations. You cannot hear my word will say. But they understand the implication of this word. It's important to notice that they do not have the ability the power to hear Jesus teaching.

When it says you cannot it literally means they don't have the power. They don't have the capacity. It's the same word dynamite dunamis. It just means they don't have the power the ability the capability of understanding what he is saying.

And We certainly know that it's not about their physical hearing they're interacting with him they're responding to what he says. It's not that they don't hear it. It's just that it comes in their ear.

It makes it all the way to the brain and Then they give it the boots. They drop kick it they reject it. Why? Why it's because they are not children of the father. They have not been born again. Again they hear what he says.

But their spiritually dead minds and hearts cannot receive it. It cannot penetrates. It makes no sense to them. They reject it. The Pharisees first claimed to be children of Abraham. Jesus debunked that claim then they claimed to be children of God.

Step by step Jesus rejects that and rebuts that. Why. Because Children of God love Jesus. They don't hate him. They love that he sent from God and they love his words. Every step of the way the attitude of the Pharisees was exactly the opposite.

Now Jesus explains their true nature. Their true nature in reality. They are Satan's children and he is the father the true father of all unsaved people. Look at verse 44. You are of your father the devil and your will your desire is to do your father's desires.

To do his will like father like son their spiritual DNA Was in conflict with their physical DNA by physical DNA. They should have been obedient sons of Abraham. But their spiritual DNA was dead in sins and trespasses.

They had no capacity to grasp his spiritual truth. Outwardly they were God's elect. They were God's chosen people and certainly outwardly they Made great pains to show themselves to be righteous. But inwardly their attitude towards Jesus.

And the father Was hatred. They hated God just as their father Satan does they rejected salvation by faith alone and we're trying to establish their righteousness by their own works as The opponents of Jesus they were out to undermine him unto death all the way to the cross exactly as Satan desired.

What did he do? Satan tried to Intercept the mission of Jesus from the beginning. Tried to tempt him to sin from the beginning. He he wanted to end it. What is the nature of Satan? Well Jesus tells us two truths about Satan here.

First. He's a murderer and secondly, he's a liar. First murder. Verse 44 again. He was a murderer from the beginning. You think well, wait a minute wasn't Satan's first sin pride. Did he then lie and Isn't the first murder.

When Cain killed Abel, isn't the first murder? Was it his first sin was desire to be? God and he then set about trying to thwart God's plan even in the Garden of Eden. So, how did he set about doing that?

Well, he distorted The Word of God, but let's turn. Let's look at Genesis 2 verses 16 and 17. Genesis 2 verse 16 and 17 and the Lord God commanded the man Adam saying you may surely eat of every tree of the garden.

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it. Note this you shall surely die. Listen. There's a loaded gun in the Garden of Eden that loaded gun is One tree you can't eat from that tree without Doing what's not getting hurt?

But dying and by deceiving Eve and triumphing over both Adam and Eve. Satan did what? Well, he lied to them, right? He murdered them. How can you say that. Well look at the again at Genesis 2. The day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Don't play with that gun. He murdered them. He knew he knew what the end result was gonna be. He killed them and he didn't just kill Adam and Eve. Because they eventually would die right. God told them that and he kicked them out of the Garden of Eden and eventually they would die.

The truth is Satan effectively murdered the entire human race. Without this Mankind does not die. He was a murderer from the beginning. The first thing he did was setting about or setting he set about.

Making sure that Adam and Eve and all of mankind would die. He's also a liar back in our text in verse 44 and Does not. Satan does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Now it's not like you or I should expect or hope To have a conversation with Satan. I'm confident frankly that he's got better people to mess with. Certainly than me and I'm here to tell you he is not omnipresent.

Satan is not attacking everybody. He can't One person at a time. He can only be in one place at a time however. If you were to find yourself in that position just know that he's lying. It's his character.

Jesus said that it's his nature. He is a liar and the father of lies. Does that mean everything he says will be false. No. He'll speak the truth for a while, but eventually he's going to distort the truth.

He's going to mislead you because that's his nature. Believing anything good or Positive about Satan. Well, I I mean it's like believing I People are amazing to me, you know the whole idea of I'm gonna have a pet alligator.

I'm gonna have a pet lion. I'm gonna have a pitch pet chimpanzee. You can't do it. Because eventually they act according to their nature. Now, you might think well I'm just gonna examine everything Satan tells me and I'm gonna be very careful.

Well, you wouldn't want to do that. One man said his habitat is falsehood and that about sums it up it is his nature. To lie now, how about the title father of lies? Again back to Genesis. Let's look at Genesis chapter 3.

I Alluded to it earlier, but let's just read it for ourselves. Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden.

No, he didn't say that. What do you say he said you can. God said you may surely eat of every tree of the garden but one. Everything's safe for you. So Satan comes up and says you guys aren't allowed to eat of any of these trees.

What's the story there? Satan went on of course to say Basically to challenge them, you know, hey if you do that tree you're what's you're gonna be like God. Satan invented lying, you know, what would we call the father?

You know, who's the father of airplanes, you know? That the Wright brothers the fathers of flight or whatever, you know. Everybody who invents something or who does something first is called the father of this.

I don't know. Who's the father of the slam-dunk whoever that is. The first person to do something is the the father of it. Satan is the inventor of lying and it is his character. How much under the control of Satan were the Pharisees.

Look at verse 45. But because I tell the truth you do not believe me. That's it. That's an amazing statement. It is a direct result of Jesus telling the truth that they reject what he has to say. There is an Impassable chasm a huge gap something that we we cannot even measure between two parties in this world between those who believe the Word of God and those who don't.

And here we see it. Jesus says I tell you the truth and you reject it because it is the truth. You had that experience over the last few days. Tell somebody the truth and they reject it. We live in a time where truth is what?

Hate speech. Hate speech. How dare you say that? I'm offended. That's exactly what they were that's that was their attitude towards Jesus. How dare you say that we are offended by what you say. Jesus presents the Pharisees with a golden opportunity to claim victory over him.

A golden opportunity, I would never give you this opportunity. Look at verse 46. Which one of you convicts me of sin? I'd never ask you that. It would take probably about Two seconds and somebody would you know, say I I've got some.

You have to have a lot of confidence in your sinlessness. To say something like this, you know what? The text doesn't indicate this here. Because there's no way it could but you have to presume that there's just a little bit of a pause.

Which one of you convicts me of sin then wait. Go ahead. I'm waiting. After whatever time passes Jesus goes for the rhetorical jugular. Look again at the text if I tell the truth Why do you not believe me?

In other words if I don't have any sin if you can't convict me. Which means to first bring the charge and then secondly provide the evidence if you can't do that. Then why are you rejecting what I'm saying?

I am sinless. Why don't you believe me? I'm telling the truth. I am NOT a liar. You can't convict me of a lie. Why don't you believe me? They ought to believe him. They ought to want to be his disciples that have followed his feet they ask his forgiveness and Instead their desire remains on one thing seeing him dead again.

They offer no answer to the question of Jesus. Why do you not believe me? They don't answer. But he provides the answer and the final verdict they are not God's children. Verse 47. Whoever is of God whoever belongs to God.

Here's the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. Believing God's Word is something only believers do. God's children the ones he has caused to be born again the ones he has adopted believe his word.

It's as natural for the child of God to believe the Word of God as it is for a baby to long for his mother's milk. We hear it and we believe it. We know it's true because the Spirit of God testifies to our spirit of its truth.

We hear that we go. That's right. I May not even like it. It may cut. It may cause me to change my life, but it's true. I believe it. These Pharisees who have been plotting to arrest and execute Jesus Have not been drawn by the father.

They have not been born by the Spirit of God. They are spiritually dead. So the words of Jesus have only one effect it makes their hearts harder. It makes them desire to kill Jesus all the more. They are in effect becoming more and more like their father the first murderer and the first liar.

They claim to be God's children. They claim to be Abraham's children. The reality is the Pharisees for all their outward piety for all their outward acts of righteousness they were loyal children of Satan.

Loving what he loves and hating what he hates. Namely the Lord Jesus Christ. And you'll often hear at a funeral. You know that God is the father of all and that's true in the sense that he is the creator and sustainer of all life.

You could make that argument. He's the father of all mankind, but spiritually his children hear the Bible and know That it is true and right and to be obeyed friends if there has ever been a week when the divide Between the children of God and the children of Satan has been more evident than this one.

I can't remember when it is. The rebellion against the Word of God and against even reason and common sense and nature Has reached new heights in our nation's history. I Don't know how many of you saw it, but the other night after that Supreme Court decision.

They lit up the White House in rainbow lights to celebrate to celebrate not God's promise never to flood the world again, but they were excited about the approval of so-called homosexual marriage. God is still on his throne.

The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon and He is going to make everything right that America like Nebuchadnezzar has lost its senses and put its judgment in the place of God is not overlooked. Thankfully, this is still true this verse.

Psalm 103 verse 8 the Lord is merciful and gracious. Slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love. Why am I thankful that's still true? Because I am mindful that but for the grace of God I would have been celebrating too.

Brothers and sisters our sins are enough to send us to hell, too. But the Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding and steadfast love and we ought to want that for others. He opened our ears permitting us to hear and believe his word and we need to preach forgiveness.

We need to preach His mercy his grace and his steadfast love. We need to preach. That forgiveness for all sins is available. To all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fully God he came to earth. Took on an additional nature as a man then lived a perfect life died a sacrificial death then was raised on the third day and Seated at the right hand these same Pharisees would eventually turn them over to the Romans.

And they would see that he was put to death even death on a cross even though he was completely innocent. Thanks be to God that he was pleased the father was pleased with the substitutionary a sacrificial death of Jesus on behalf of all who would ever believe.

That's our message. May our father use it to lead many to faith before his son returns. Let's pray Father in heaven, what a great Savior we have in Jesus Christ. Even as he interacts with these Pharisees He's direct but loving.

Telling them the truth telling them what they don't want to hear but what they need to hear Lord even in the face of difficulty and even being laughed at mocked Father if the Lord Jesus Christ suffered He suffered more than anyone.

What right did we have? To expect it to be easy make us willing to suffer Lord. It may initially be laughter. Ridicule kind of perverse joy that we could believe something so Archaic, but it will surely increase.

Drive us again and again to your word. Keep us focused on the hope in front of us. Not the circumstances around us let us offer the hope with grace and with love. And with great patience knowing That we have been objects of your grace and your love and your patience.

We pray in Jesus name.