Sermon Tone Analysis

*John 8:48-58*

*Jesus, the Great “I Am”: The Eternal God*

“The Jews answered [Jesus], ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’

Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon, but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me.

Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.

Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.’

The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon!

Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.”

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

And the prophets died!

Who do you make yourself out to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.

It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, “He is our God.”

But you have not known him.

I know him.

If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.

He saw it and was glad.’

So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’”[1]

Jesus was not crucified because He was a good man; He was crucified because He claimed to be God.

Unlike many of His current apologists, Jesus’ Jewish antagonists understood quite well what Jesus claimed about Himself.

Christians worship Jesus as very God in human flesh.

If He is not God, our practise is in grave error, and we are guilty of perpetuating a gross deception.

However, since the Word of God presents Him as very God, and since He presented Himself as God, then we sin grievously against Him if we fail to receive Him as God.

The text before us records Jesus’ own words concerning His eternal nature.

Both Christians and non-Christians will benefit from reviewing His words.

Surely His Words will encourage us in our faith and give us strength in the face of a fallen world to stand firm in the Faith.

Undoubtedly, His teaching will rebuke our timid response to the denial of those who denigrate Him as God.

Above all, knowing the Saviour more completely will glorify His Name.

*The Setting for the Account* — It seems that every time Jesus spoke, there was a religious “Truth Squad” present that attempted to discredit whatever He said.

This time was no different.

This encounter took place during the Feast of Booths.

In earlier sermons we explored two earlier pronouncements Jesus made during this Festival that was observed near the end of His ministry.[2] Following these statements concerning His Person and His ministry, Jesus taught those present of the freedom that is found in knowing Him.

The “Truth Squad” took exception to His teaching and accused Him of being born as result of an immoral relationship [*John 8:41*].

Jesus responded, not with vitriol and vituperation, but with reason.

He exposed their ignorance concerning His words because of their lack of relationship to the True and Living God [*John 8:42-45*]; and He exposed their inability to demonstrate that He was either imprecise or errant [*John** 8:46*].

Above all, their failure to heed His words was because they had no vital relationship to the Father of Lights [*John** 8:47*].

Jesus spoke a significant truth when He said, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God” [*John** 8:47a*].

That day was now drawing to a close; the Master was still in the Temple.

It seems reasonable to conclude that He was still in the Treasury.

He had been teaching the crowds, and it is almost certain that many present had deliberately elected to linger in the Treasury because they wanted to hear what this Galilean would say.

Some were undoubtedly curious, but others sought to know what was pleasing to the Lord, and therefore they wanted to hear what Jesus might say.

When the “Truth Squad” increased the level of invective, and Jesus failed to rise to the bait, rather than driving people away, we can imagine that many were drawn to hear Him.

Whenever Jesus spoke, those who heard were not permitted the luxury of remaining neutral.

Either they were stirred by the majestic glory unveiled in His words, or they were repelled by because He exposed their perfidy.

In a similar manner, whenever His Word is declared in purity and power today, people are compelled to make a choice to either accept what is said as truth, or to reject it as unsuitable—too difficult or inconvenient—for their lives.

Neutrality is not an option when the Word of the Lord is delivered.

Before moving deeper into the message, I want to draw your attention to a truth that is neglected, perhaps even ignored, within many evangelical churches in this day.

The religious establishment—the Jewish theologians and those who were intimidated by them—were aggressively hostile to the message Jesus brought.

Tragically, the same remains true even in this day.

Many theologians, and far too many pastors, are more concerned with being “liked” or “accepted” than with being true to the message of life that is found in Christ the Lord.

Throughout the exchange during this feast, Jesus repeatedly claimed to possess “life” which He offered to all who were willing to come to Him.

The theologians were utterly opposed to that message, rejecting it each time He brought the subject up.

When you review the claims Jesus made about Himself—“Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” [*John 7:38*], “I am the light of the world” [*John 8:12*], “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sin” [*John 8:21*], “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” [*John 8:36*], “if anyone keeps My Word, he will never see death” [*John 8:51*]—you will realise His words have a quality that brooks no appeal.

It is not that Jesus provides these desirable aspects of life—He possesses them in Himself.

He is the refreshment we need, the light, the life, the freedom that each individual seeks.

To embrace Him, submitting to Him as Master of life, ensures that these qualities of life are acquired because we are in Him.

Because of these claims, the Jewish theologians present that day were incensed, reacting with hostility to His Words.

I believe the reason they were hostile was that He threatened beloved institutions; and they were more committed to those institutions than to the Living God.

Blinded to His claims and to Who stood in their presence, they reacted instinctively.

Before you condemn the Jewish leaders who rejected the Master, ask yourself, If Jesus appeared in your church today, making these claims about Himself, how would He be received?

If He challenged our use of a beloved religious symbol—an altar cloth, a communion set, a cross, a hymnal—as He did during the Feast of Booths, would we be enthusiastic about His words, or would we be inclined to fight?

Put on the defensive to defend Christendom, our denomination, or our own congregation, instead of the Christian Faith, would we respond to Him with choler, outrage or vehemence?

Would we be able to explain the meaning of beloved forms of worship—the hymns and choruses, or the liturgies that mean so much to us? Would we thoughtfully consider the claims that He made, or would we react instinctively to reject His teaching?

If Jesus persisted in challenging our beloved institutions, we would be forced either to yield to His claim or argue and resist Him.

This was the situation in which the Jewish theologians found themselves; and they responded much as we would respond, I fear.

Unable to answer His logic, they resorted to ad hominem arguments.

They first used a racial slur—Jesus was a Samaritan; the second, that Jesus was demonised, required a response.

Since Jesus is Lord of all, He did not accept the slander implied when they called Him a Samaritan.

In an earlier chapter, He made it evident that He was lord even for the Samaritans [*John 4:1-42*].

He answered the second charge, which would have been more serious were He to ignore it, by pointing out that if He were demonised He would not seek the Father’s glory.

However, since He consistently sought honour for the Living God, how could He be demonised?

They, on the other hand, by dishonouring Him dishonoured the Father!

To dishonour one representing the Father was to dishonour the Father.

Jesus draws an emphatic contrast between the two in the original language.

What we accomplish through inflection of our voice is performed through the location of the pronouns in the text.

Jesus calmly asserted that He never sought glory for Himself.

In fact, He attested that if glory were to be ascribed to Him, it would be because God chose to confer such glory—and He is ultimately the Judge of every action [*John 8:50*].

Here is a significant truth that we do well to ponder—Jesus sought humility for Himself, leaving glory up to the Father.

This is the theme of the hymn Paul cited in his letter to the Philippians.

Jesus, “in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” [*Philippians 2:6-11*].

Jesus instructed the disciples, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave” [*Matthew 20:26, 27*].

This accords with His commentary, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” [*Matthew 20:28*].

The threats of the theologians, and the fact that they endeavoured to kill Jesus [*John 7:1; 8:37, 40*], meant nothing—all the mattered was God’s assessment of His service.

If Jesus did not seek His own glory, and God honoured Him, then His claim would be upheld.

On the other hand, there is an implied warning to the theologians who were accusing Him, for if they promote themselves and God does not agree with their assessment of their own work, then when God judges they will stand condemned.

Jesus’ statement is that when the Father Judges, He will be vindicated and they will be rejected—He, because He glorified the Father; and they, because they sought their own glory and failed to honour the One whom the Father sent.

*Jesus, the Saviour of All Who Receive His Word* — “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

This is the Good News that we present: All who believe on Jesus have eternal life.

The Master continued by turning immediately, as do all who declare the glorious message of life, to eternal life through knowledge of the Living God.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” [*John 8:51*].

This raises an issue that is vital for anyone who claims to follow the Master—belief that fails to transform cannot be saving faith.

Moments before the events of our text, in *John 8:30*, we read, “As He was saying these things, many believed in Him.”

Yet, when the theologians attacked, many of these “believers” reverted to “wild type,” taking sides with the Jewish leaders.

Underscore in your mind the truth that */faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone/*.

In other words, those who believe and are saved reveal the perfect work of the Master through a righteous life.

Those that are unrighteous demonstrate that they have never believed.

Perhaps you will recall the teaching that is presented in John’s first Letter.

He writes, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.