seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 8:21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
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Here is the link to the commentary I read.
I am going away... Where I go you cannot come: Jesus knew He was going to heaven. Because of their hatred against Him, Jesus could say that His accusers were not going to heaven. Where He was going, they could not follow.
If we follow Jesus on earth, we will follow Him to heaven. If we express no desire to follow Him on earth, what would make us think we would follow Him to heaven?
Will He kill Himself? This was another insult against Jesus. The Jews of Jesus’ time taught that the lowest levels of Hades were for those who committed suicide. Here the Pharisees tried to twist Jesus’ words to imply that He will commit suicide and therefore be damned.
“According to Jewish thought, the depths of hell were reserved for those who took their own lives.” (Barclay)
You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world: The Pharisees opposing Jesus implied that He would go to hell as a suicide (according to their teaching). Jesus answered that they did have different destinies, just not as they thought.
If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins: These men were religious leaders, yet lived in darkness that filled their mind and their deeds. The darkness remained because they rejected (do not believe) the light. Jesus gave them a serious warning; the day of grace would not last forever. Death would make their sinful darkness permanent.
If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins: Jesus called them to believe that I am. The “He” is rightly in italics and added by the translators. The title “I am” is a claim to deity, and if the Pharisees will be saved from dying in their sins, they must believe in Jesus and in who He really is — God the Son.
Who are You? This is a wonderful question to ask with a sincere heart. Yet this question of the Pharisees came from a combination of willful confusion and contempt. Though Jesus told them again and again who He was, they continued to ask, always hoping for an answer they could use to trap and condemn Him.
Some questions aren’t used to discover the truth; they are used to resist the truth and justify a refusal to believe. The religious leaders asked many hostile questions:
“The question ‘Who are you, anyway?’ shows the Pharisees’ exasperation with Jesus’ hints and seeming extravagant claims.” (Tenney)
Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning: Jesus didn’t have a new answer for them. He would repeat the truths and themes He spoke to them many times before.
I have many things to say and to judge concerning you: “I could speedily expose all your iniquities-your pride and ambition, your hypocrisy and irreligion, your hatred to the light, and your malice against the truth, together with the present obstinate unbelief of your hearts, and show that these are the reasons why I say you will die in your sins.” (Clarke)
I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him: Jesus emphasized the point again, that His words were from God the Father. Therefore if the Pharisees opposed Jesus, they really opposed God the Father.
When you lift up the Son of Man: The “lifting up” Jesus described had nothing to do with “exalting” Jesus in ways we normally think. It wasn’t about getting Him applause and celebrity. Instead, it had to do with “lifting up” Jesus off the ground on a cross. When Jesus was crucified, they would see the perfect obedience of the Son to the Father. They would see that truly, I do nothing of Myself.
“His ‘lifting up’ would be his vindication: then it would be manifest that he had acted and spoken throughout by the Father’s authority.” (Bruce)
The Father has not left Me alone: The unity between the Father and the Son continued and will continue. Despite the accusations of the Pharisees, Jesus was as close to His Father as ever.
I always to the things that please Him: Jesus was bold enough to say these words to His adversaries — essentially challenging His enemies to find some thing the He did or does that is not pleasing to God the Father. In response, His enemies were silent. This was a remarkable testimony to the sinlessness of Jesus.
As He spoke these words, many believed in Him: When the Pharisees heard Jesus speak they became more opposed to Him. Yet there were many who heard the same words and believed in Him. They believed despite the evident opposition of the religious leaders.
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So, day before yesterday, the Pharisees drug a whore into the street and threatened to stone her to death. Jesus reminded them that they had done things in their past that could be used against them. The Pharisees, one by one, left the scene... not wanting anyone rifling through their skeleton closets.
Yesterday, the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a "Bastard" and threatened to drag Mary into the street and stone her to death because she had unwed sex.
Today, I think what the Pharisees are saying is, "OK, if you know who your father is, and if your father will claim you, then tell us just who this man is!"
To that Jesus replied, "I've been telling you. I am the Son of God, Himself."
Now let's stop and think for a moment. Didn't Jesus Walk on water? Didn't Jesus heal a man who had been lying beside the pool at Bethesda waiting for someone to cure him for 38 years?
They witnessed His Miracles and still they could not wrap their heads around the fact Jesus is the Son of God.
The Pharisees are trying their best to get the people to turn on Jesus. He was making them look bad. He could not go into a Temple Courtyard and destroy the vendors market and get away with it. He could not work on the Sabbath. That was their thing. He just could not break their laws and scoff at them.
Jesus told the Pharisees and the Sadducees that He had to leave and come back. I bet they knew about Daniel's Prophecy, but they didn't have a clue that they were arguing with the Messiah that Daniel's Prophecy was all about.
After all, God hadn't announced it to them first. After all, God didn't send them instructions for the coronation. After all, Jesus was a "Bastard". A "Bastard" could not be the Son of God... Could He????
There were crosses for men like Jesus. He took the shine off of the Pharisees and Sadducees and they could not have that.
There were crosses made for men like Jesus.
Jesus said, "When you do get me on one of your crosses, then you will indeed know who My Father is."
The Pharisees and the Sadducees would lose their jobs if they allowed this "Bastard" to claim to be the Son of God and survive.
Meanwhile, regular humans were watching and listening. In spite of the best efforts of the Pharisees and Sadducees, many of the regular humans Believed Jesus.
That "Bastard" Jesus was drawing such huge crowds they could not arrest Him. They had to take control of the message. They had to take that "Bastard" Jesus out.
There were crosses made for "Bastards" like Jesus.
