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.
So far in John's Gospel, this chapter, we've seen the Pharisees throw a woman in the street and threaten to stone her to death. Then we read how Jesus dealt with the topic. John told us that everyone who was accusing her, dropped their rock [their charges] and left. Jesus told her to go on.... warning her "sin no more" before she departed.Then yesterday I discussed how Jesus had two dads. He was [is] the Son of God. He also had an earthly dad. Joseph was the head of the household where Jesus grew up. I haven't read a whole lot about Joseph and how he felt about raising a boy that was not his. In those days, engagements lasted a long, long time. This was to ensure that a Jewish man didn't wind up raising a child that was not his. Joseph elected not to follow the norm and accuse Mary. He elected to follow the instructions given by God.
Joseph was the stepdad. No doubt they didn't discuss that very often. In the narrow minds of the people back then, the only way Joseph would be raising a boy that is not his own, would be if there had been an adulterous affair. We saw what happened to women who were accused of adultery. Mary would been in grave danger. So no one talked about it.
Verse 24 is the big deal today. Jesus said, "if you do not believe that I am He, you will indeed die in your sins."
There it is. Follow Jesus and go to Heaven. Follow your gut, and well, it won't be a heavenly experience.
Now let's talk about suicide. Yep... it's in these verses. Check out verse 22. The Pharisees suggested that Jesus might be suicidal. Suicide, according to the commentaries, was the worst sin of all. I don't see it in the 10 Commandments, but they thought it was the biggest of deals. Now, I don't think the Pharisees believed in Hell. I know the Sadducees didn't believe in Heaven, so of course, they wouldn't believe in Hell either. So, they weren't talking about going to Hell for taking a suicidal course.
Maybe, the Pharisees heard that Jesus had discussed death with His disciples. Maybe they were being sarcastic again.... "Oh you're going to die and come back? That's a double suicide, first you will end you life and then you won't get to come back". It's really understandable, considering how ignorant the people were in the day. Most people today don't understand. No one says Jesus was suicidal.... but He spent His whole life preparing for death on a Roman Cross.
Now look at verse 28 "when you are lifted up". Now don't go throwing your hands in the air and start singing the words to "We Lift You Up" like it's a good thing. It's a horrifying thing. The Pharisees were not talking about praising His Name.... they were talking about getting Him on the Cross. In today's language it would be "when we shoot that poison in your system" or "when we flip the switch" ..... see.... it's "when we execute you".... not when we all sing your praises.
The Pharisees were "implying" ... if Jesus didn't stop, they were going to see to it that He was executed.
Jesus responded to their sarcastic threats.
"You'll be sorry".
