This portion of scripture is full of wonder, wisdom, instructions and Jesus’ usual (what would be referred to as scandalous mic-drop statements to shock people. He emphasized several themes in his discussions and actions.
In John 8:21-59, the themes his discussion centered around on include:
1. Fatherhood and sonship
This theme is first introduced in Chapter 1 of the book of John in verses 11 to 13
JOHN 1: 11-13 (AMP)
He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own – His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–
Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]
In verse 29 of John 8, we see Jesus get personal again: My Father
Dear Father, I thank You that You are MyFather!
a) Nature
In verse 23, Jesus was declaring to the people that His nature; essence was different from and more superior to what was known to them: earthly nature. He told them this so they would understand and see that someone from the earthly order could not save them from their sins; only someone from above and so in the next verse, the states that if they do not believe in Him, they will die in their sins. This is Him pointedly declaring that He was the Lamb of God!
John 1:29 – The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:36 – And he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God!
But as was His usual manner, He said it proverbially.
Jesus disclosed 2 types of nature in the verses that ensued: spiritual and earthly. Most of the things He said and did were scandalous to them because they didn’t have understanding of the very 2 distinct natures. This is why when he said in verse 51 that the one who observes His teaching will never see or experience death! And this statement sure did rile them up and drew out the religious nature in them.
b) Belonging to God
These people had heard Jesus, watched and observed Him but they were seeing but never perceiving and hearing but never understanding (Mark 4:12); didn’t recognize, receive, acknowledge or welcome Him (John 8:27), hence they kept asking Him who He was but He had expressly declared Himself to be many things in previous chapters – The light of life; The Son who is one with the Father; The One sent by the Father; The one whom the Father testifies and witnesses of/ for, and just in the previous verse; The Lamb of God.
Jesus explains in later verses the reason for their deafness and blindness and lack of understanding. Verse 47 details it.
“Whoever is of God listens to God. [Those who belong to God hear the word of God.] This is the reason that you do not listen [to those words, to Me]: because you do not belong to God and are not of God or in harmony with Him.”
The author of John expressed in chapter 1 verse 14 that Christ is full of grace and in 1: 16 expresses that we all receive of this grace. This is the only way we can belong to Him ad in right standing with Him. Through His divine grace and mercy, He makes us receptive to Him so that we hear Him, receive Him and become in harmony with Him. It is important to know that it is not something of our making.
Dear Father, I thank you for the gift of salvation faith. I thank you for your grace and mercy which I have received and through which I belong to You, are of You and in harmony with You!
c) Following the Father
In prior chapters, Jesus had expressed that He did not His own will but The Father’s. Here He is in verse 26 expressing the very same thing again. This was very important and this explains His emphasis on it several times.
Sons are obedient to their Fathers and follow Him always.
Sons must live yielded and surrendered lives always.
He had His opinions of these people; He was probably expressing that the human nature in Him had thoughts and opinions but He subjected all of these to Truth and only says what The Father tells Him. The Father was the impartial judge and True at all times. He subjected all human opinions and thoughts because if He led with only what He could observe in the physical, His condemnation and judgement wouldn’t be right.
Essentially, He was one with The Father; opinions, thoughts and feelings all subject to the reliable and true One; no deviation or variation.
He expresses this in verse 28 also- …and that I do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught Me.
Dear Father, You are the True and Reliable One, help me to never rely on my own judgment or opinions or feelings or wisdom. Help me to always yield them to You and follow You always!
d) Pleasing The Father
John 8: 29
And He Who sent Me is ever with Me; My Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.
My Father: Listen to Jesus get personal. I believe The Father wants me to know that even though He is the Father of all mankind, He is My Father! Titilayomi’s Father!
Ever with Me: the consciousness of the Father’s presence and acknowledgement and daily living of that reality. Moses understood the importance and reality of God’s presence.
Exodus 33:15 – 16
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.
How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
He is with Me. He who sent Me is ever with Me; gives an assignment and goes with me; not an emissary but His very self. #Aranmonisefayati#
Jesus’ use of ‘for’ expresses that the Father’s presence with me is conditional. The Father dwells or abides where He is welcome, desired and honored. Therefore, if I please My Father, He knows that He is welcome and He will abide with me.
I must therefore pose these questions to myself and my readers:
- Do I know what pleases My Father?
- Do I do what always pleases My Father?
Also in verses 50 & 54, Jesus expresses that self-praise and self-glory and self-honor is worthless. His goal was to glorify the Father and then The Father would glorify Him.
John 8:54
Jesus answered, If I were to glorify Myself (magnify, praise, and honor Myself), I would have no real glory, for My glory would be nothing and worthless. [My honor must come to Me from My Father.] It is My Father Who glorifies Me [Who extols Me, magnifies, and praises Me], of Whom you say that He is your God.
God-praise and God- honor and glory is what I should strive for; it is of greatest worth!!
O! To hear the Father say that He is pleased with me!!
Dear Father, help me to seek to please You alone; not myself or others!
e) Representing The Father
John 8:38 &39
I tell the things which I have seen and learned at My Father’s side, and your actions also reflect what you have heard and learned from your father.
They retorted, Abraham is our father. Jesus said, if you were [truly] Abraham’s children, then you would do the works of Abraham [follow his example, do as Abraham did].
Jesus means that children’s actions are a reflection of their parents. This means that parents; the father in particular teach their children: consciously or otherwise. That is why in Genesis, God said of Abraham that He was sure he will command his children in the way of The LORD. Fathers are therefore necessary to guide children on the path to life.
We must learn that our actions are a reflection of who we spend time with. We consciously or unconsciously absorb language, mannerisms and way of thinking from the people we interact with. This was the reasoning behind the famous saying “show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”. We must therefore carry this consciousness into our daily lives.
Interaction with the Father i.e spending time with Him; hearing and learning from Him will ultimately bear fruits in my actions.
I must also pose these questions to myself and dear readers alike:
- Since I am to reflect the Father, do I spend time with the Father, seeing what He sees, hearing and learning from Him?
- As of today; who does my life show that I have spent time with and learned from?
- Do my actions show that I spend time with My Father?
This is also echoed in Verse 44.
Jesus talked about fatherhood and the nature of who one is fathered by and how our deeds show who we are fathered by. Taking after the very nature or characteristics of one’s source is one of the unbreakable laws of creation.
That is why in John 1: 14, it is expressed that the ones who believe have a changed nature.
Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]
Born of God: made in His image and likeness!
I, Titilayomi, I am born of God!
Dear Father, teach me to abide in Your presence, hearing and learning from You so that I accurately represent You!
f) Freedom
In verse 34, Jesus talks about enslavement to sin. This means that sin is a master. It is not the act of it but the nature of it. That is why He expressed it as “whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin.” One cannot escape one’s very nature.
It is however more worthy of note that The Son; Lord Jesus; The Way and Truth and Life is also a Master and He has the power to liberate the one enslaved. He liberates one of that sinful nature and we become really and unquestionably free!
And you shall know Jesus and Jesus will set you free! Only Knowledge of the Truth and faith in the Truth ca make one free!
This reality of freedom cannot be changed.
Feelings cannot dictate otherwise!
An error or stumble cannot make it otherwise!
Dear Lord, I thank You for liberating me unquestionably from sin. I acknowledge You as my LORD!
g) Authority
A delegate is a person sent and empowered to act for another. This comes with some form of authority: delegated authority. A delegate has no authority outside of the particular role or representation they are sent to make.
This is what Jesus expressed in verse 42. To accept a delegate, you must acknowledge, respect and welcome the person whom the delegate was sent instead of. Faith in and love for God must command our love for Jesus, His sent One- “I did not even come on My own authority or of My own accord (as self-appointed); but He sent Me” because “I proceeded (came forth) from God [out of His very presence].”
The delegate must speak what he/she is sent to speak and do as instructed; not their own bidding. It is therefore very important that the delegate makes no commitments prior to discussing with the person he/she represents; hence quick to listening and slow to speak.
Delegated authorities have the backing of the One who sent them. Resources are also appointed to the delegate for his/her mission. There is backing; power made available for me when the Father sends me to do something!
The delegate must never be independent of who sent them because all the resources needed for the mission is taken away when there will be misrepresentation of the One who sent a representative.
Dependency is key: #aranmonisefayati#
2. Discipleship
a) Questions for the Teacher
The Jewish people had a recurrent habit of throwing questions about what Jesus had said to the congregation amongst themselves. They rarely ever went to Him to ask the meaning of what He had said. We see this in John 8:21-22 and even in chapter 7. The only person we see doing that was Nicodemus who even when he did, came at night when he couldn’t be spotted.
It begs to question why this happened frequently because I think if I had questions about that someone had said, I’d ask the person to make his/her statement clear so that I’d understand it. I believe it was fear that made these people refrain from asking him questions; fear of religious leaders. I draw this conclusion from Nicodemus’ experience.
Now I posed the questioned to myself because I have gotten prophetic words given to me but I found when reading this portion of scripture that it has been difficult for me to go back to The Lord with these words spoken to me to ask Him for understanding and clarity. Is it that I understand? – No! Is it pride that I should know what it means? – Maybe.
Apostle Peter and Thomas do prove to us that there are no stupid questions; the Teacher embraces all questions so we must be bold to ask. This is a child-like mindset that I must cultivate. Children aren’t afraid to ask questions; even though our Father takes the role of the Teacher.
Dear Father, may I never be shy, smart or afraid to come to You with questions. You have made me Your child, give me a child-like mindset about You!
b) Obedience
Verse 31 of John 8 spells out Jesus’ true mark for those He refers to as disciples.
Abide in My word: stay; remain in My word means living in conformity to the word; not straying from or twisting/ manipulating it to suit one’s needs.
True discipleship is expressed through obedience to the Master’s/Teacher’s words.
Dear Father, You are my Teacher. I thank You for empowering me to abide in Your word always!
3. The Father’s mercy and grace
The entire interaction in verses 1 to 41 of chapter 9 speaks of the Father’s love and mercy.
The leaders were unyielded in their opinions of who Jesus was and even when the former blind men spoke otherwise, it was like having the power to hear but not hearing (Matthew 13:13)
They didn’t know where Jesus came from; but the former blind man reminding them that God only listens to holy people, I believe was God’s mercy and grace to confirm and tell them that this is who He had promised to send. I believe it was God speaking to them at this time but they didn’t listen.
They didn’t recognize nor acknowledge Him; John 1 again.
And now I question myself: what holds me back from recognizing God’s word and hand spoken and shown to me?
Their bristling response to this man came from a place of anger; pride in their knowledge of the scriptures. they esteemed their position; seeking glory, honor and praise for themselves
Dear LORD, please deal with the little foxes that ruin the Vine of my heart. May I never hold anything dear that will hinder me from recognizing and acknowledging You.