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JOHN CHAPTER 8 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Jn 8,1-11 (17m) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Judging the sins of others that you practice – Jesus never answered their question because they didn’t deserve an answer or any words at all, but they persisted. Finally He told them approximately, ‘You people have used her services, and do you accuse her of sin?’ The Scripture says that she was caught in the very act of adultery, so why didn’t they bring the man to Jesus and stand him next to the woman and discuss their sin together (Leviticus 20-10)? The Pharisees exempted the man probably because he was one of their cronies. It says they all left one at a time from the oldest to the youngest, suggesting that the oldest were more convicted, probably having had her and other women more often than the younger men. (31l) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Forgiveness is a function of God’s grace (38g) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Resurrection of freedom (62d) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Answer with wisdom (68k) Authority >> Discernment >> Judging truth and error >> Perceiving wicked plans – The story of the woman caught in adultery was about the religious leaders of Israel testing Jesus so they might have grounds for accusing Him, and it was this motive that Jesus discerned. There are two imperatives that the spirit of discernment perceives: the truth of God and the motives of men. The skill of discernment is to trust it; God wants us to rely on Him. Jesus was able to discern in this woman the fact that if he offered her salvation, she would probably take it. Most prostitutes don’t like their profession and would accept another way of life if they had the chance, and so Jesus introduced her to the grace of God. She suddenly realized she didn’t need to do this, that it would be better to go hungry than to be a prostitute. Since Jesus told her to sin no more, it meant God would find her a better way of life without resorting to selling herself. Once the Church got established, she could be a part of it, which would give her guidance and hope as a respectable member of the body of Christ. Had Jesus discerned that this woman was not open to the gospel, He probably would not have offered her any hope. People try to offer the gospel of Christ to prostitutes today, and sometimes there are positive stories, but often they find it very difficult to leave the lifestyle, usually because of drugs. Having a good sense of discernment can lead us to help the right people who are open to the gospel, instead of wasting our time and resources on those who have no interest in the things of God, who are users of everything and everyone. (89d) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Answers of wisdom (134j) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Immorality >> Adultery >> Physical adultery (178k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for accusing Jesus of Sin (183j) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Truth is the enemy of the spirit of error >> Spirit of error interrogates the truth Jn 8,1-9 (174f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Comparing yourself with sinners -- In the Old Testament the Bible said that stoning should be the right consequence of adultery, so the Jews were correct in their interpretation of the law, but Jesus considered love and mercy to be above the law. This woman’s accusers were bigger sinners than her, so according to the law, they should be stoned along with the woman. Jesus thought the person who was innocent of evil should be the one to judge her, but that person was Himself, and He didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it. Therefore, He judged her forgiven, according to God’s vengeance that He would impose on Jesus while ruthless sinners killed Him. He didn’t come to impose the law, but to establish a new law of the spirit of life through faith in the work of the cross to perfect righteousness in His believers. Instead of using the law to get there, Jesus used the new covenant law of faith through grace. Jn 8-2 (143h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Popularity >> Sought commendably >> Seeking Jesus for His favor (239h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers are construction workers >> Jesus is a teacher Jn 8,4-9 (175i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Dodging the issue (willful ignorance) >> Dodging the issue to get out of trouble (241c) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Asking with wrong motives Jn 8-11 (120a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of God is broken >> Curse of God’s Judgment is broken – The Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus whom they caught in sexual intercourse with a man who was not her husband and asked Jesus what they should do with her, testing Him and comparing His response with the Law of Moses. Jesus told them that the one who is without sin may cast the first stone, referring to Himself, but He was unwilling to stone the woman for the same reason. The fact that the Pharisees were full of sin was why they wanted to stone her and wanted to trap Jesus in a statement. Notice what Jesus said after He forgave her, “Go and sin no more.” Many Christians today are tickled that we are saved by grace through faith, “not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” In Eph 2-8,9 some people think Paul has given them a license to sin, believing that if works do not save us, then neither do they condemned us. Therefore, they continue on their way, their lifestyle unfazed by the gospel. They believe in a set of doctrines, and for that they consider themselves right with God. Why did Jesus command this woman to repent? If good works don’t save us and sin doesn’t condemn us, then why do our works matter at all? The Bible teaches that it is impossible to be saved without faith, and it is impossible to have faith without good works, in that sin deteriorates our faith, and faith is the basis of our salvation. Although salvation is not based on works, faith is indeed based on works; we must live for God in order to believe in Him, for how can we believe in Him without modeling our lives after Him? We are just fooling ourselves to think we can compartmentalize our faith apart from our sins and still be saved. Without works faith is dead, and without faith salvation is dead. After His forgiveness Jesus told the woman to sin no more as a token of her faith. In essence He was telling her, ‘Now that I have forgiven you, I presume you will believe in Me; therefore, “go and sin no more.”’ (120i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> Forgiveness sets you free (192j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Stop practicing sin >> Stop sinning KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,12-59 (6l) Responsibility >> Protecting the Gospel >> Expose hypocrisy in the Church Jn 8-12 (91m) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> The trail that Jesus walked – Jesus was talking about the truth when He said, “I am the light of the world.” The truth enlightens our minds and makes us understand the thoughts of God. None of this would mean anything if we didn’t walk on God’s ordained trail that He illumined for us by the Spirit. If we knew the truth but didn’t walk in it, before long our reality of God would warp and fray and eventually fizzle into the background of our lives, and the truth would slip away. The only place we can understand and maintain the truth is on the trail that Jesus dubbed the narrow way. We should adopt His trail that He has designated for us and not seek to blaze our own trail. If we think we will blaze a trail and find the truth in a world of darkness, the devil himself will see to it that we find his truth, which is the false light of deception. If the only place that is lit for us is our trail that Jesus plotted for us and the rest of the world is in darkness, then let’s find that trial and stay on it, for it leads to eternal life. (108k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Revelation of the glory of God – When Jesus said He was the light of the world, He meant He was like the sun that lights the whole earth, only He said “the world” which is different from the earth. The earth is the physical round ball of rock and water revolving around the sun, whereas the world consists of attitudes, values and belief systems that make up our understanding of reality that is often under control of Satan. Man owns the earth, but the devil owns the world. Satan didn't need to take the earth from man; he only needed to take the covenant that God made with man regarding the earth. One of Jesus’ many contributions to man is His attitudes, values and beliefs that assemble to create a reality that is acceptable to God, known as the “Truth”, which is probably the most misused word in the English language. There is my truth and your truth and Joe’s truth and Sally’s truth; everybody has a sense of reality he calls truth, and so God has His truth, only His is the only Truth that counts. None of our ideas about reality are true if they contradict God’s Truth. So we see that light and truth are the same. (112a) Light (Key verse) (112f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Obeying the truth in broad daylight >> Church’s deeds in the light – Jesus on a number of occasions said, “follow me” and if we do, we have a trail that sparkles. The beauty of the analogy of light representing truth is that it also represents our good works. Along this narrow way is a host of good works that God has prepared for us, and in doing them will materialize our enlightenment that others may see the light in us. This narrow way that leads to the knowledge of God refers to the works of light. Not everything we do is of the light, only the that which God has destined for us. The things we do that are of the light and the things we do that are not of the light are obvious: one produces fruit for life while the other produces fruit for death. Jesus said that those who walk in Him would have the light of life. The New Testament relates “life” to the Holy Spirit, so “the light of life” refers to Jesus’ followers walking in the Spirit. The light of life balances the believer to keep him walking in the Spirit of truth, for truth without the Spirit is dead religion, and Spirit without the truth establishes cults. (184e) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >> God controls darkness >> Darkness is the absence of light (255a) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Spirit of the word >> Words of His Spirit are life -- This verse goes with verse 51 Jn 8,13-18 (144g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Trinity bears witness of Jesus >> Father bears witness of His Son -- These verses go with verse 29. In their hearts the religious establishment knew better than anyone that Jesus was the Son of God, because they knew the prophecies about Him better than anyone. A chapter earlier, at the feast of booths, He raised His voice in the temple for all to hear and said, “You both know Me and know where I am from” (Jn 7-28), so Jesus exclaimed that the Jews knew His true identity. Then, in the very next chapter He said just the opposite, “You do not know where I come from or where I am going” (v14), so did the Pharisees know or not know that Jesus was the Christ? The answer is both yes and no, because of their willful ignorance! The religious establishment partitioned Jesus in their minds and hid the truth about Him from themselves, so they both knew and didn’t know Him at the same time. Jesus used against them the fact that they refused to confess that He was the Christ, though in their hearts they knew Jesus had come from heaven and that His Father was Almighty God. Jn 8-13,14 (37e) Judgment >> Jesus’ humanity >> He was part of the lineage of David – Jesus would not involve His mother in His skirmishes with the Jews. She knew His true identity, yet she couldn’t provide any proof of His origin, such as the census when Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem to be counted among his relatives in the days of her late pregnancy, having given birth to her first-born son, who became a citizen of Bethlehem, the village of Joseph's father, David. Ask Mary to testify in court under penalty of perjury would only prove that Jesus was illegitimate, for Joseph was not His Father, and they would never find His real Father anywhere in this world. Therefore, Jesus simply told them that He knew His Father, whereas His enemies lied when they said their father was god. See also: Jesus' Father was God; Jn 8,18-24; 209b (85g) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Testify of God’s works – Almost everything the religious establishment said came from the Law of Moses; they basically taught themselves to think along these terms, so when they accused Jesus of testifying about Himself with no witnesses, they were referring to the commandment in Deuteronomy 19-15, “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.” The Pharisees were saying that He didn’t have any witnesses to verify what He was saying, but Jesus essentially summoned His Father to the stand by referring to the works He did through Him. Their argument was that His Father could not literally appear in court and so His testimony was inadmissible, but Jesus argument was that He could not perform miracles if His Father were not God, thus proving to be the Son of God. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,15-18 (40c) Judgment >> Father gave authority to the son to judge the world through His blood -- These verses go with verse 26. Jesus spoke these things to the Pharisees, but He never imposed sentence on them; He just told them the truth rebuking them and then walking away, but the Pharisees passed sentence against Him and hung Him on a cross. Jesus was the judge of all creation, yet He suspended His judgment, whereas the Pharisees who lived and worked for the devil had a place reserved for them in hell. There will be a day when God will judge the world in righteousness, using a Man “whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Act 17-31). God will give the unrepentant dead a new body and send them back to the abyss, so that the spiritual hell they had previously suffered will become physical with bodies that cannot die. Jn 8-15,16 (69i) Authority >> Righteous judgment (Outcome of Discernment) >> Passing judgment by the authority of God -- Jesus rebuked the Jews for judging Him according to the flesh. Another word for judgment is discernment. A person who can discern the truth about a person has properly judged his motives. Herein lies the problem: we too quickly judge people according to the flesh and arrive far short of understanding each other. It would behoove us to suspend judgment as Jesus did to His enemies so we can ascertain all the facts of the case before making a verdict. The fact that He withheld judgment will result in a much harsher sentence at the White Throne Judgment. Likewise, if we withhold judgment on our enemies, it could result in their salvation, or else it will result in a stiffer sentence at their final judgment. Jn 8-15 (17c) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Judging in the flesh >> Evaluating circumstances by the carnal mind – Jesus condemned judging in the flesh, but He condoned judging in the Spirit (discernment). Just one chapter earlier Jesus said in Jn 7-24, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." Basically, the Bible teaches to judge with your spirit, not with your flesh. The world does not understand spiritual matters; for this reason the natural man will reject this statement from ignorance. This is why the world will tell you not to judge at all, because they don’t have the Spirit of God, and so they don’t have the potential to righteously judge. Jn 8-17,18 (80a) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To oppose religion – This is an example of Jesus being both the Son of God and the son of man, Jesus spoke about the law, saying, "Even in your law it has been written...." He called it "Your law" (saying this also in Jn 10-34); why didn't He say 'Our law', since Jesus technically was a Jew? It wasn't His law; He was the Son of God; it was their law; God had given it to them. Technically, Jesus was born under the law (Gal 4-4), but He did not live under the law but walked according to the Spirit, and He has called us to walk by the Spirit too as His beloved children, making us His sons and daughters. Jn 8,18-24 (209b) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Counterfeit relationship through religion >> Knowing about God, but not knowing God -- These verses go with verses 41&42. Jesus told the Pharisees that the cause of them not knowing Him was that they did not know His Father. What did the apostle John say about loving our brother versus loving God? How can we say that we love God whom we have not seen if we do not love our brother whom we have seen (1Jn 4-19)? The same applies here; if the Pharisees did not know Jesus whom they had seen, much less did they love His Father whom they had not seen. They may have known Jesus on His mother's side; they could identify His siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, but they could not trace His Father's side, and in that sense they did not know Him at all. Jesus said in other passages that to know Him was to know His Father (Jn 14,7-11), but Jesus was saying just the opposite to the Pharisees; He told them that the reason they didn’t know Him was that they didn’t know the Father. In other words, He expected them to know the Father in advance through their Old Testament writings, so when Jesus came, they could add flesh and blood to their understanding of God, but they learned nothing from their Old Testament manuscripts, and they were the teachers of Israel. Religiosity is a misguided attempt to cover our lack of intimacy with God. See also: Jesus' Father was God; Jn 8-13,14; 37e Jn 8-18,19 (253d) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the exact representation of the Father -- Jesus and His father were identical to each other, except they held different roles in the godhead. The Spirit communicating between them was identical to both Father and Son, except He too played His own unique role, making all three members identical to each other, yet having separate offices in the trinity. Jn 8-18 (231c) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> God’s grace is the mystery of godliness >> God working in you is a mystery – To His disciples Jesus said that to know Him was to know His Father, but to His enemies He said the opposite, that the reason they didn’t know Him was that they didn’t know His Father (v19). The reason the disciples were coming to know Jesus was that they were coming to know the Father on some basic level. Jesus said in Jn 6-45, “It is written in the prophets, 'and they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me” They obeyed the Father before they even met Jesus; they communed with Him in their hearts; they had a deep desire to know God, and for this reason Jesus chose them as His disciples. Even Levi the tax collector meditated on God. He was a tax gatherer but sought a way to escape that life, so when Jesus came, He immediately left His place and grafted onto Him. He found the person who would lead Him into a closer relationship with God, which is what he really wanted. Those who love God come to know Jesus, but those who don’t seek God cannot come to know Him. Everything Jesus taught was about the heart; He knows all our thoughts and intensions, though He promised to judge us based on what we do, using our actions to prove what we were thinking in case we wanted to argue with Him. Jn 8-19 (217i) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> I never knew you >> Because you never knew Him – Jesus considered His Father to be a viable witness, though He was invisible; for all intents and purposes He was absent to testify; that is, He was unavailable to the Pharisees. However, Jesus was not about to exclude His Father as a witness just because He was unavailable to them. He figured that if they did not have access to Him, it was their fault, for they had every opportunity to come to know God through their Old Testament writings. He was available to Jesus, but the Pharisees would never come to know Him or His Son. He named the Father as His primary witness because there was no one else who could directly testify about Him, not even His mother. She could give the account of what happened to her, that she was visited by an angel who said she would conceive without ever knowing a man, and the result would be the Son of God, but that would require them to believe Mary’s story. Jesus was not about to involve His mother in His squabbles with the Jews and bring up the fact that Mary conceived out of wedlock. Those who believe Mary’s story also believe in God, but that excluded the Pharisees. Jn 8-20 (28l) Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> Father protects His Son (122i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Boldness in adverse circumstances >> Speak the truth in the face of adversity – Boldness is doing what we know God wants us to do. Jesus lived in obedience to His Father, and some things He said and did were incomprehensible to His friends, His enemies and even to His own disciples. Jesus and His Father had a very close relationship; He always knew what His Father wanted of Him. He went into the treasury of the temple, which was like a bug walking on a spider’s web into its den, and there He rebuked the Pharisees in their own haunt, like a burglar breaking into a man’s home and complaining to the owner about his house keeping, or like going into the lions’ den and picking a fight with its inhabitants. Jesus verbally flogged the Pharisees and left scratch-free. He did this to intentionally incense them, so when they finally put their hands on Him for crucifixion, they would show no mercy, so the Lamb of God would be sacrificed properly according to the will of God, flaying Him to ribbons by two men wielding a cat-o-nine-tales across His back until his organs showed. He was unrecognizable after nearly every drop of blood had drained from His body, thus He allowed sinners to lay their hands on Him for the sins of the people. Besides, they deserved to be rebuked; they were a vexation to Jesus, and He wanted them to know what God thought of them. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,21-24 (20cb) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Having a mind that is unable to receive >> Religion doesn't know how to believe in God -- These verses go with verses 45-47 (47e) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of the dead – Jesus told the Pharisees pointblank that they were going to die in their sin, meaning that they had no hope of salvation. Paul said that Jesus is the “Savior of all men, especially of believers” (1Tim 4-10). Everyone has an opportunity to be saved, but the Pharisees were an exception; they had forfeited their right to be the children of God for the passing pleasures of sin. With the Pharisees only the mechanics remained of God’s judgment to run its course. After He paid for the sins of the world and rose from the dead, He ascended back to heaven, and since hell was so sure to be the Pharisees’ final resting place, Jesus said to them, “Where I’m going you cannot come.” Jesus was saying that His destiny was to be the embodiment God’s life to the world, while their destiny was to be thrown into hell, which is the second death. (95a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective >> False perspective in the world (154f) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is godless >> Witness that the world is of the devil -- These verses go with verses 32-47. Anybody who is of this world walks by a spirit that is from below. Secular, worldly people who integrate into the world system share in a satanic spirit that is destined for hell. They partake of a spirit that is demonic in nature, not to mean they are possessed, but they are highly influenced by demons. (217j) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> I never knew you >> Because you are not of His sheep -- These verses go with verses 37-59 (221c) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from man’s ignorance >> God denies His kingdom to those who cannot find Him (222h) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> God does not let dogs in His house (231g) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Body of Christ is the organism of God’s kingdom >> Jesus is the head of His body’s kingdom >> The Kingdom of Heaven is where Jesus is Jn 8,21-23 (26g) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is Satan’s nature – Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in ways they would never understand, yet they did understand in ways that His disciples didn’t seem to understand Jesus. What Jesus said was not complicated, but the Pharisees were self-deceived, considered the epitome of both spiritual blindness and willful ignorance. They were dead to the truth of God. Whatever Jesus said to them, they would misinterpret, because they were of a spirit that opposed Christ that resisted the knowledge of God. Jesus and the Pharisees were like two magnets of similar poles; their probability of naturally coming together was zero. Jn 8-21,22 (177h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding Jesus -- These verses go with verses 48-59 Jn 8-21 (26a) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death >> Dead to God through sin (157i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a reprobate mind -- This verse goes with verse 55. It is amazing how perceptive the Pharisees were in their thinking, though wrong, yet close to the truth when they suspected he would kill himself. The part they didn't mention was that they would order His death. The part that is so revealing about the true nature of reprobates is that they already had it planned in their hearts to kill Him, but they had the fact conveniently partitioned in a separate compartment in their minds that they used as a restricted area, and then reasoned whether He would commit suicide. They knew He was referring to His death, but how did they get that from the statement, “Where I’m going you cannot come”? One of the main characteristics of a reprobate is that they tell stories to themselves, knowing they are not true but believing them anyway. They partition sections of their mind from other sections, enabling them to lead a double life. This method of self-deception doesn’t work very well, since the conscious mind is in charge of managing all the different compartments, and information tends to bleed into other sections, such as in this case when they knew He was referring to His death by an insufficient hint had they not intended to kill Him. Supposedly there was no place He could go that they couldn’t go, except death, ignoring the fact that they too would die someday, so they seemed to have partitioned their own death, as though they had made themselves immortal, while they stood beside the embodiment of immortality. (186j) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> God’s role in forming a reprobate >> Marked out for destruction (190da) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Spiritual suicide – When He said that the Pharisees would seek Him, He was not talking about in this life, but seeking Him in their death. In this life they only concerned themselves with whether He remained in the tomb, but after they learned His body was absent, they never went looking for Him, because in their hearts they knew God had raised Him from the dead. Instead, they concerned themselves only with concocting a story about the disciples stealing His body. Jesus never mentioned that He was going to die, but He did mention they were going to die, yet they brought up His death and ignored their own. The implication, then, is that after their own death they will seek Him and will not find Him, because they will have died in their sin, and He said, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” God raised Him from the dead, and He ascended to heaven, and this is where the Pharisees could not come. They didn’t seek Jesus in their life, but they sought Him in their death, meaning they knew He was the Son of God and that He was the only person who could help them in the afterlife. They sought Him for mercy after they showed Him no mercy. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8-23,24 (156l) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >> Associating with the world (164c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> The world is his kingdom -- These verses go with verses 37-47 (168h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world listens to itself >> The world hears it’s own words (210d) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >> Jesus is the savior of the world – Jesus was careful not to confess to the Jews that He had come from heaven, because they would have stoned Him for that, charging Him as a false messiah. They were supposed to have criminals prosecuted and sentenced under Roman authority, which overruled Jewish law, but in cases of their religion when they were so vehement and their rage surfaced, the Jews had been known to pick up stones and take matters into their own hands and execute people, as they did to Steven (Act 7,54-60). They picked up stones to throw at Jesus but He eluded them (Vs 57-59). The Pharisees confronted Him; otherwise, He never showed an interest in them; He never went looking for trouble. Jn 8,26-29 (114ha) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Jesus does God’s work >> All his works are done through the father >> Jesus gives voice to His Father – Jesus did nothing on His own initiative, but spoke the things that His Father taught Him. It was imperative to Jesus that we understood that the Father sent Him. This fact is crucial to our salvation, for what good would it do if Jesus invited us to heaven without the Father’s consent? As it stands, we have confidence in the Father’s love who sent the Son (Jn 12-50; Jn 3-16). Jesus obeyed the Father, following the lead of the Holy Spirit. For those who need to know that God loves them, Jesus said in Jn 14-10, “The Father abiding in Me does His works.” This can hopefully lead to a better understanding that Jesus was in fact the Son of God. He wanted to give us hope that God loves us, and the only way He could do that was to confess that the Father sent Him. Jn 8-26 (40c) Judgment >> Father gave authority to the son to judge the world through His blood -- This verse goes with verses 15-18 (109e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of the word of God >> Revelation of the meaning of God’s word -- This verse goes with verses 31&32 (149j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Authority of the rhema given to evangelism >> Being prepared by God personally Jn 8-28,29 (253l) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is subject to the Father >> Jesus is subject to the will of God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8-28 (12n) Servant >> Jesus serves mankind >> Jesus is the son of man (153b) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Jesus bears witness of the Father – The Father’s love is so great that when Jesus spoke to His disciples in His High Priestly Prayer (John chapter 17), He plainly told them that it was not He who loves the world but His Father. Jesus’ only claim was to have love (prayer) for those whom His Father had given Him, “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours” (Jn 17-9). Jesus basically said in His High Priestly Prayer, ‘I only love those who demonstrate their love for Me by keeping My commandments by loving one another, being born-again and obeying the Holy Spirit.’ The Father’s love is far greater than Jesus’ love, for the Father interceded for the entire world, sending His Son to die for the sins of all mankind (Jn 3-16), whereas Jesus intercedes only for those who believe in Him. Not everybody will be accepted into heaven, only those who belong to Christ. Many claim to believe in Jesus but are not his disciples. They believe in the doctrines of salvation but refuse to do His will. They live how they feel and expect God to accommodate them. (241i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus by the predetermined plan of God >> The apostles taught about His death – Jesus told the religious establishment who verbally attacked Him that once they had Him nailed to the cross, “Then you will know that I am He” (Mat 27,41-54). This means they knew they hung their Messiah on a cross even while, “the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him, saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him.’” They crucified Him as the Passover Lamb, unconsciously performing the will of God that was planned from eternity past. Basically, they were tricked into crucifying Him; it was necessary they inadvertently murdered their own Messiah, for it would have done no good to kill Him from obedience, for then they would not have executed Him from their hatred of God, and it was this that Jesus was sent to forgive. With the cross we see sin performing the will of God, very bizarre circumstances indeed. Jn 8-29 (11e) Servant >> Jesus is our standard – There are people in the world who do not know God, who walk in unbelief, who live to a ripe old age, have everything they ever wanted and die wealthy, yet none of these things are signs of God's favor on their lives. The Bible teaches that worldly wealth is more of a curse than it is a blessing, in terms of it being an obstacle in the way of seeking the Kingdom of God. Jesus by anyone’s standard was a poor man, yet he never committed a sin, which made Him the wealthiest man in the eyes of God, and testified against those who blame poverty for their sins. Jesus is our example of the perfect Christian, and we should measure ourselves by Him only. (41c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Jesus presented Himself to God without sin for us – Jesus claimed not to be a sinner like the rest of us when he said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” He was able so say this with great confidence; anybody else would have been lying. Our goal is therefore to emulate Christ, who always pleased the Father. Jesus had a soul that was perfect; He had no will to commit sin, but He had a body like ours that had no interest in pleasing God, yet He consistently steered His body into the will of His Father. Jesus struggled His whole life against sin and won, so when it came time to pay for the sins of the world, He offered his body that was perfected through suffering to the Father, perfection being the only acceptable sacrifice, otherwise, how could He have made propitiation for the sins of the world as a sinner Himself? (92a) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> The good works that He prepared for us – As Christians we should strive against sin, because sin has an eroding effect on both our faith and our lives. By His Spirit we strive, but we never come close to approaching perfection that Jesus achieved in His flesh. For this reason, serving God by the flesh is unacceptable to Him, since our flesh does not know Christ. Instead, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us, who desires to overcome sin, especially our addictions, which is a breeding ground for unbelief. God has not redeemed our flesh; instead, He will give us a whole new body at the resurrection, one that cannot die, one that seeks to please Him. God will also perfect our souls to always want what He desires. The end product will be a person who is perfect in body, soul and Spirit. (144g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Trinity bears witness of Jesus >> Father bears witness of His Son -- This verse goes with verses 13-18 Jn 8,30-59 (186g) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> After they reject God’s faith how can they believe? KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,31-59 (19j) Sin >> Self righteousness will twist your mind – The Jews were blaspheming when they said Jesus had a demon. Somewhere in their screwed-up minds they knew He was speaking the truth from God; they even knew He was the Son of God. They had twisted their minds to such a extent that they were unable to unravel the tangled mess of their conscience, and for this reason they were unable to believe the truth from God. A person who is so enslaved to the devil and to the sinful nature always comes to the same conclusion about Jesus. The reprobate mind thinks only one way, the opposite of God. (185b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of lawlessness >> Having no grounds for your hate >> Hating Christ without a cause (201a) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever does not receive God’s word is against Christ Jn 8,31-47 (16aa) Sin >> The sin nature is instinctively evil >> Man’s flesh is related to the devil >> Unregenerate man is the son of Satan – In this passage Jesus really opens up a can of worms, and reveals man’s evil nature in a way that is almost spooky. He was talking to those bad Pharisees, but sadly what he said to them also applies to us, for we are sinners too. Jesus not only told them the origins of their sin but also proved His point by the fact that Abraham was a good man and would not have done what they were doing. He also used His own origins, having come from God, to prove that He was the essence of good. They hated Him (proving their unbelief); they were not just evil; they were of the devil, whom we know hates God. After Jesus finished talking to the Jews, everyone knew they were ruled by the underworld. No one ever spoke to them that way, or even dared. He wanted nothing they had and had nothing to lose, except His life, which He planned to give anyway. (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil (174g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Believing you don’t have a sinful nature Jn 8,31-36 (119c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Freedom from satanic influence >> Free from sin – Verse 32 is arguably the least understood verse in the Bible, though it is possibly also the most popular, "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." The means of attaining freedom is through the knowledge of the truth, and obedience (repentance) expresses that freedom. We have all heard people quoting this verse in social/political settings, using a definition of freedom that is vastly different from the one Jesus had in mind. Their definition of freedom refers to the power given by their government to live however they want without any municipal restraints or social interference, but Jesus’ definition of freedom was in regard to sin. The angel said to Mary in Mat 1-21, “He will save His people from their sins.” Many people don’t like Jesus’ definition of freedom but prefer their own. It shouldn't surprise us that the Jews in Jesus day had this same definition of freedom (from Roman rule), which means that much of what Jesus said to the Jews in this chapter also applies to us in the 21st century, who hold to a distorted version of freedom. See also: Freedom; Jn 8,31-33; 174k / Freedom from addiction (bondage); Heb 11-29; 246c (208d) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The expectations of God >> God expects us to follow Him Jn 8,31-33 (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service -- Jesus had been talking to the Jews who had believed in Him about freedom, and they became indignant, so Jesus talked them out of their faith. He proved to the Jews that they were not Abraham’s offspring, genealogically yes but spiritually no, in that they didn’t have the heart of Abraham, who is the father of the Jewish faith and of the Christian walk. See also: Freedom; Jn 8-32; 6f Jn 8-31,32 (109e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of the word of God >> Revelation of the meaning of God’s word -- These verses go with verse 26. Jesus said that abiding in His word is how we come to know the truth. The word “abide” means to remain, meaning not straying from the Scriptures in study, prayer and practice. If we study and obey the Scriptures, we will know about the truth, and if we add prayer to the mix, we will come to know the truth as revealed by the Spirit. The Scriptures are a different kind of knowledge. We can study history or science, but there is nothing to obey about these disciplines, but there is with the Scriptures. We can read the Bible for years, but if we never do what it says, we will not understand its true meaning. There are many disobedient Christians in the Church today and Jesus would say to them that they do not understand His word, and if the word of God is incomprehensible to them, then they are not really Christians. (110l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spiritual substance and truth >> Spiritual substance follows the truth Jn 8-31 (99n) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to keep in motion) >> Persevere in faith KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,32-47 (154f) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is godless >> Witness that the world is of the devil -- These verses go with verses 21-24. Jesus was referring to the world’s rejection of God, which accounts for all the blood that has been shed on the earth since the fall of man. If people acknowledged God in their lives, there would be no wars. We would still find fault with each other, and there would still be confrontations, but the fact that we acknowledge God would act as a deterrent against war and some of the other more grievous sins. There is nothing innocent about rejecting God; it is the very basis of sin and the essence of idolatry and the perfect will of Satan. We need a vision of God, and if we don’t have one, we will do the devil's bidding. No one in heaven denies the existence of God or even ignores Him; therefore, neither should we (Mat 6-10). Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mat 5-8). The way to opening our eyes is to, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (Jm 4,8-10). It is really up to us; we don’t just ask God for a pure heart, we must pursue it, and God will purify us along the way. Once our heart becomes distilled, our vision will become clear, and we will be able to see God in our lives, and so will others. Jn 8-32 (6f) Responsibility >> Being spiritual >> Ministering to God by obeying His word – This is one of the most frequently quoted verses in the Bible, yet the vast majority of the human race doesn’t know what it means, because they don't have the slightest interest in being free from sin. Based on this verse, we know that without the truth freedom is impossible, being that truth is the premise of freedom. The truth that Jesus is God and died for us is so much greater than freedom that we don’t need to do anything to become free, for the truth has power in itself to set us free. This means that if we do not pursue the truth, we will lose our freedom, because there are opposing currents flowing in our flesh that doesn't care about the truth. This brings us to the next statement: it is equally true that it is impossible to know the truth without obeying it! That is, human fortitude is also involved. Most people think they already know the truth, and the rest think the truth doesn't exist. Man is lost in an ocean of ideas, which makes the Bible all the more relevant to society today. There is something else happening that the truth incorporates: the Holy Spirit. One of the most profound statements of the Bible was actually something the Catholics seemed to comprehend. Jesus said to Peter, “Whom do you say that I am?” His answer, “You are the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father in heaven” (Mat 16,13-17). Peter may have been a screw-up, but he knew Jesus was the Son of God, and to know Him on this level was to posses the truth in its entirety. A person can live in a free country and think he knows something about freedom, but countries and politicians cannot make us free, not even Jesus was capable of revealing the truth to Peter, and He was the embodiment of Truth; only the Holy Spirit can do this. See also: Freedom; 80b / Value freedom or lose your soul; 2Cor 6,11-13; 196d (80b) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word in spiritual warfare >> To deliver yourself from bondage – Jesus said that the way to freedom is through the truth. If Jesus’ definition of freedom is in regard to sin, then how do we use the truth to become free? It goes back to renewing our minds; that is, we reprogram our minds in the word of God and prayer, and in the process we are slowly transformed from the inside-out to the image of Christ. God doesn't want us committing the sins we once did or to remain in bondage to our emotions. For example, He wants to break the connection between what people do to us and our reaction to them. We replace our negative emotions with faith that God has designed to trump our feelings. See also: Freedom; 118j (118j) Freedom (Key verse) – Def: Freedom is the absence of restraints on our ability to think, speak and act. We are not bodies, though we have bodies, yet essentially we are spirits, and this is the truth to which Jesus was referring. The world, the flesh and the devil work 24/7 in attempt to convince us that our essence is physical, diminishing the importance of the soul and in some cases eliminating it altogether, such as the case with atheists, who deny the creation and consider the physical aspect of life the sum total of all things. Jesus was saying that we are a spirit, and to focus on our spiritual side instead of our flesh is therefore what will set us free. (119b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >> Law of the Spirit of truth – Freedom is hinged on knowing the truth, and it works with repentance to establish our freedom in the real world, in that mere theological freedom is useless. When Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free," what is the truth of freedom? The Bible teaches that man is a spirit and has a body and that God set our spirit free in Christ and commands us to subject our flesh to our spirit's freedom. The beauty of repentance is that it eliminates condemnation when we stop sinning. One of the devil's biggest lies is that when we are tempted, we think we are sinning, but just the opposite is true. When we are tempted, it proves we are not sinning, and if we fall to temptation, we just repent again. Freedom requires vision. Freedom is not a tool to achieve something else but is the goal of faith (Gal 5-1), yet since it is a prerequisite for doing the will of God, it can also be seen as a tool. This introduces a limitation to freedom, that if there is no freedom in the church (that is, if there is no unity), it discourages freedom in the individual. Freedom is like buying a cruise ship, if no one books a trip on it, there is no point in owning one. Nevertheless, we should seek freedom as a personal goal. See also: Freedom; 187ha (187ha) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Spirit versus the flesh >> Deny the flesh to walk in the Spirit >> Deny bondage to walk in freedom – If we allow our emotions to get the best of us, how can we live for Jesus? We all know that life can get away from us, things can go wrong creating a downward spiral, losing control of the circumstances, and before long we lose control of our actions and start doing things based on our emotions without thinking. Now we are in bondage to our flesh, and Jesus wants us free of these things. He wants to make us so it doesn’t matter if the government oppresses us or if people of a different color think less of us or slap us in the face. It doesn’t matter what happens to us, because we are in God’s care; it only matters what we do. The world is dominated by their motions. If we could subtract our emotions from the rest of our lives, people say there would be no reason to live. We would still have thoughts and actions, but without emotions, none of them would really matter. God doesn’t want to take our emotions from us; He wants to replace them with His emotions. Compassion is the emotion of the Spirit. Anybody who is ruled by the power of the Holy Spirit is compassionate. See also: Freedom; 233b (233b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Seeking the goals of the kingdom >> Seek the goal of freedom – The freedom of Christ gets to the very root of man's problem and offers a solution that is in no way popular with the world, but those who love Jesus apply His solution to produce the will of God in their lives. When someone slaps our face, we turn the other cheek. When someone takes our shirt, we give him our coat also. This goes across the grain of the world and of our own flesh. Moreover, we have emotions that are reactive (automatic), so that when someone slaps us or takes our possessions, we don’t have to think about it; we just get angry. The apostle Paul taught to renew our minds so when things happen, the emotions don’t emerge so fiercely. When we renew our minds, it doesn’t change our flesh, and when we die to self, it has no effect on our sinful nature. Instead, we program our minds to respond by the Spirit who dwells in us rather than by the sinful passions and desires that reside in our flesh. See also: Freedom; Jn 8,31-36; 119c KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,33-59 (180g) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves steal, kill and destroy >> Wolves have a killer instinct Jn 8,33-47 (178l) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for having no love for God Jn 8,33-40 (33c) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Believers are children of promise – Jesus told the Jews that slaves of sin do not remain in the house forever, but the Son does remain forever, along with all those who love and obey Him, the sons and daughters of God. What Jesus meant by the phrase “in the house” was the house of Israel. The Jews who stood in front of Jesus were children of Israel in the flesh, yet according to Jesus they were slaves of sin, and the slave does not remain in the house forever. In other words, they were not the children of God though they were physical descendents of Abraham. There will be a day when their life in the flesh will end, and then they will be given to eternal darkness, being the condition of their minds regarding the word of God, and they will lose their place in the house of Israel. No longer an Israelite, they will lose their identity and another will take their place who will bear the fruit of His Kingdom. The stipulation of eternal damnation, they will be no one, not a Jew not a descendent of Abraham, just phantoms of the damned because of their rejection of the truth and all that is good and right. When God created Israel through Abraham he created an eternal kingdom through him that Israel might exist forever in the heavenly New Jerusalem. See also: New heavens and a new earth (New Jerusalem); New Garden of Eden; Rev 3-12; 140g Jn 8,34-39 (157k) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a murder spirit Jn 8,34-36 (162g) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> Addicted to sin >> Being a slave to the sinful nature Jn 8-34 (162c) Bondage (Key verse) Jn 8-35 (170g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Temporary >> This life is temporary Jn 8,37-59 (217j) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> I never knew you >> Because you are not of His sheep -- These verses go with verses 21-24 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,37-47 (164c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan rules the world >> The world is his kingdom -- These verses go with verses 23&24. To define "faith" we would quote Heb 11-1, but faith is indescribable, suggesting that it is different from believing. We are familiar with believing something; people have given their opinions about the origins of life and the universe with a myriad religions, each believing differently about God, but no religion is based on faith, except one: the truth (2The 2-13), and truth is not a religion. Most people don’t know what they believe, yet by definition they live by their beliefs. This is a scary thing, like admitting we don’t know what is influencing us. It is common for people to live in ways they don't understand. Jesus said in Jn 14-30, “The ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me,” referring to Satan. The fact that Satan is ruler of the world without anyone realizing it suggests that people think and act mostly on a subliminal level. Satanic forces make them live in ways they do not understand, and for this reason every nation that has ever risen has also fallen, except Israel (but that is another commentary). The world criticizes those who “live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal 2-20), saying that Christianity is too simplistic for their taste, but the beauty of dedicating our lives to faith in Jesus is that it takes all the loose ends and undefined forces and exposes them to the scrutiny of God’s word. This way we can kick out all extraneous influences until all that remains is the truth. (168k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world has deaf ears to God >> You cannot hear God while you listen to the devil -- The Jews were worldly people who hated God, who held places of honor in society and were fully accepted by the world that have been in bed with these antichrist personalities since time began, who have integrated their philosophies into social consciousness. They believe and perpetuate the mainstream ideals of secularism to this day, but Jesus followed a Spirit that was different from the world, and for this reason they persecuted Him. There is a consciousness of soul that plays within the individual and there is a collective consciousness of society that plays within the group, controlled by forces far greater than themselves. Demons have tapped into these social forums and have used them to broadcast their messages on a subliminal level via a satanic broadcasting system called memetics (memes). No one is in control of what people believe; hence demons have easily access to the pansophical nature of man, where they pipe in their brand of truth and dictate what people believe. Jesus made the statement many times throughout the book of Revelation, “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The Jews couldn’t hear what Jesus was saying, though the embodiment of the Holy Spirit was standing in front of them in the flesh. Jesus was talking, His lips were moving, but no sound was reaching their ears, who tuned Jesus out and were listening to a different frequency that spoke to them what the wanted to hear. (217d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God gives up on you >> When you give yourself over to sin Jn 8,37-45 (167i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil (Conspiracy) >> Carnality/Secularism (Mindset of the World) >> The carnal mind does not receive the things of God >> It rejects God – There is a sin that has persisted throughout the ages. God has belabored speaking against it since the days of Moses. This commandment residing at the top of the list: idolatry, the worship of other gods, has been the downfall of mankind since Adam ate the forbidden fruit. We don’t need to bend our knee to other gods to commit idolatry; refusing to worship the God of heaven is the most egregious form of all. The world has always been based on the simple premise of excluding God from the affairs of men. The word that stands for denying any notion of a spiritual realm is “secularism”, which says that the natural realm is all that exists. “Secular humanism”, though it is a popular term, is redundant, for humanism is secular on its face. A more accurate term is “atheism”, denying the existence of God. The humanist is generally agnostic (undecided/apathetic), but an atheist closes the door on God’s existence altogether, being a secular purist. To deny there is a God is to deny there is a spiritual realm. Atheism is Satan’s favorite doctrine, because it completely stamps out any acknowledgement of a spiritual realm, making his job, hiding in darkness, that much easier. The agnostic who is indifferent to any spiritual realm might change his mind and become a Christian, but the atheist if he changes his mind and becomes agnostic, is still light-years from salvation. Satan’s original objective, when he came into possession of the keys of death and hell at the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, was that everyone should go to hell with him. After Adam sinned, there was no hope for mankind, but when Jesus died for our sins, making a way for us to be pardoned and live with God in heaven, He threw a wrench into Satan's plans to take everyone to hell with him. Jn 8,37-44 (65b) Paradox >> Anomalies >> God helps Satan >> God gives people over to Satan -- These verses go with verse 31. Jesus never doused their faith. They may have believed in Him for a season (v31), but their faith would not remain, and then they would turn against Him almost as fast as they believed in Him. He never got in the way of their faith or made a self-fulfilled prophecy; when they turned against Him, it was no one’s fault but their own. Jesus never questioned their assertion that they were Abraham’s offspring according to the flesh, but He did question whether they were his offspring according to the Spirit. After telling them they were of their father the devil, it was like throwing down the proverbial medieval glove. Their situation was hopeless. (135d) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Sins of the body >> Abortion >> Consequences of abortion >> People have abortions for the same reason they crucified Jesus Christ Jn 8,37-41 (241j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus because of what He said -- These verses go with verses 56-59 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,38-47 (163k) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Entertaining demons >> Disciplined by the devil as a son Jn 8-38 (118a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Making spiritual observations (246i) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Demonstration of God’s kingdom >> God demonstrates His glory >> Demonstration of His words – Jesus was contrasting Himself with sinners, saying that He is opposite them, in that Jesus sees the Father and speaks accordingly, while sinners hear from the devil and speak what they hear. If sinners do the will of the devil, how much more do they speak his language? We look on TV and hear Satanic messaging almost 24/7, his words echoing in our ears, yet what we see does not always appear evil. What do we see but sophisticated, happy people enjoying their lives in front of the camera as celebrities, giving us tips on how to live, so what’s wrong with that? There is a direct connection between sweet acting, smiley people who have ejected God from every aspect of their lives and gory scenes of blood gushing from wounds: the first causes the second. Jn 8-41,42 (209b) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Counterfeit relationship through religion >> Knowing about God, but not knowing God -- These verses go with verses 54&55 Jn 8-41 (16a) Sin – Key verse for the entire chapter – The Bible depicts sin as the essence of the human condition and the cause of all suffering in the world. This chapter addresses the issues head-on, exposing the roots and consequences of sin by putting familiar words like: "Greed", "Lust", and "Pride" into proper Biblical perspective, showing how negative an impact they have on our lives when we fall prey to their destructive influences. The reader after studying this chapter will better understand how the effect of sin eats away at the spiritual and moral fabric of society. (159a) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Love sickening sweet >> Mask over the real self Jn 8-42 (13b) Servant >> Jesus serves His Father >> Jesus is under His authority – A pivotal truth that makes the difference between understanding God’s purpose for redemption and completely misunderstanding the gospel, is that Jesus did not come on His own initiative but was sent by His Father. The fact that He came in obedience to His Father shows the hierarchy of authority within the trinity—Jesus submitted to His Father and did His will. Another highly significant implication of the Father sending the Son is that it shows God’s love for the world originating from the top-down. Jesus never claimed to love the world, but gave that virtue to His Father, while Jesus loves the Church, those whom the Father has given Him from the world, who believe in Him through their word (Jn 17-20). (156c) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Expressing your feelings toward Him Jn 8,43-47 (183h) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of unbelief KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,44-47 (183k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ/Anti-Semitism) >> Truth is the enemy of the spirit of error >> Spirit of error rejects the truth – The Jews were not deaf; they could physically hear Jesus speaking to them, but they could not hear the meaning of the words, as though He spoke in Swahili or something. What He said was incomprehensible to them, as though He were explaining a complex math problem. God could have physically descended and stood in their presence and talked with them face to face, and it wouldn’t have helped, which is exactly what He did. They might just as well have been deaf; it was the same as never auditorily hearing the words, except that God could judge them for being in His hearing and rejecting what He said. Keep in mind that Jesus just finished telling them that they were of their father the devil, which explains why they were unable to hear the word of God. There were satanic influences in their lives keeping them from hearing the truth, enslaving them in their sins, causing their deafness. Indirectly, they worshipped the devil by obeying his voice, up to and including making arrangements to have the Son of God crucified. They never actually heard the devil’s voice, but in their carnality communications were complete, having habituated to his nonverbal cues reverberating off their sinful nature, instinctively always knowing what to do. (221f) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from the mind of man >> He hides behind man’s slowness of heart Jn 8-44 (25f) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Satan and his children are murderers -- The Jews could hear the devil just fine and they obeyed him to the letter and were happy to do it, but when it came to doing the will of God, they could not even hear Jesus speaking to them. He told them point blank that they were the children of the devil. They were murders and liars and obeyed the father of lies, prompting Jesus to tell them, “But because I speak the truth you do not believe Me.” (74h) Thy kingdom come >> Heart is central value system >> The heart is what drives man’s desire Jn 8,45-47 (20cb) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Having a mind that is unable to receive >> Religion doesn't know how to believe in God -- These verses go with verses 21-24 Jn 8,46-49 (186b) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Cursing the Holy Spirit >> Consider the work of the Holy Spirit to be sin -- "Which one of you convicts Me of sin?" Only Jesus could ask this question and not get a hundred answers from His critics. The Jews spent every waking hour trying to pin evil on Him but found nothing; instead, at His mock trial they had to invent an excuse to pin Him to the cross. Jesus was so holy and righteous that to accuse Him of sin was blasphemy, in that to accuse Him was to also accuse the works He performed of sin, including the Spirit through which He performed them. Jesus taught in other passages that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was an eternal sin that had no forgiveness. He then asked that if He had never sinned and had always spoken the truth, why they didn’t believe Him? Even the Jews knew He was the Christ, yet they talked back to Him, accusing Him of the most outrageous sin imaginable, being demon possessed. The Jews had developed a reprobate mind, claiming that Jesus performed His works through an unclean spirit, and in so doing automatically rejected anything the Holy Spirit would tell them, because they had previously decided He was evil. They couldn’t admit fault, so they had to make Jesus look wrong by attributing a wrong spirit to His works. They didn’t just say these things to win an argument, the devil gave them a revelation of Jesus, having seared it into their conscience as with a hot branding iron, believing their own lies. There were many proofs that Jesus was the Messiah; their Scriptures said that a man like Him would come, and when He came, they condemned Him through a satanic spirit of deception. Jn 8-46 (41e) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Jesus knew no sin – Had anybody else offered an open-ended question like the one Jesus handed the Jews, people would have gotten out their pad and pencil and started writing a bulleted list, but with Jesus they had nothing on Him. No doubt His enemies went to Nazareth and the regions of Galilee, and contacted friends and relatives researching His life, looking for dirt on Him from His earlier days, but returned empty-handed. This man never did anything wrong his whole life. They claimed He spoke words as against the Law of Moses, but in fact He fulfilled the law. Jn 8-47 (106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,48-59 (126i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> The patience of God >> God is patient (176f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Fire without faithfulness (177h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding Jesus -- These verses go with verses 21&22 Jn 8,48-50 (203c) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by not receiving Him Jn 8-49 (25a) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Hate the truth (27a) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Curse >> Deeds that return to the doer >> Blasphemy (181c) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebellion >> Rebelling against God >> Rebelling against the men of God (184k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s Grace Through The Mud >> Dishonoring the grace of God – The Pharisees accused Jesus of being demon-possessed, and Jesus was accusing them of not being able to hear His word. It may seem like tit-for-tat, but it was not a fair trade. The playing field was uneven in all the signs, wonders and miracles that Jesus performed. People recognized Jesus as a miracle worker and a healer, and the Pharisees knew this was true of Him, yet they accused Him of being demon possessed, knowing in their heart that He wasn’t. (203a) Dishonor God (Key verse) Jn 8-50 (77d) Thy kingdom come >> Humility >> Refusing the glory of man >> Refusing to exalt yourself -- This verse goes with verse 54. Jesus lived in eternity past without ever seeking His own glory, seeking only to glorify His Father, doing all things for His sake and not for His own, and as a result the Father glorified the Son (Jn 17-1). This has always been the relationship with His Father, and it will always remain that way. Seeking our own glory is to deny it from the one who is greater than us, yet people seek their own glory all the time, and it is always a compromise. That is, to seek our own glory is to settle for something less than what God is willing to give. The Father seeks to glorify His Son, and He glorifies Himself through judgment. For this reason He gave judgment to the Son that the Father may be glorified through Him as the judge of all creation. (170b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Pursuing the glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> It’s the reason we don’t die to self -- This verse goes with verse 54 Jn 8-51 (85l) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >> Believing the Son by obeying the Father >> Obeying the law by faith in the cross >> Obedience represents our faith – This is one of many statements Jesus made that gives so much hope, yet there is a terrible heresy in the Church today that teaches all we must do is believe in a certain set of doctrines to enter heaven. This is contrary to the teachings of Christ, who said, “He who believes in Me” seven times in the gospel of John. The contemporary interpretation of this is that "believing " involves nothing more than mental ascent, but that flies in the face of so many other things the Bible says. It suggests that so long as we believe in these doctrines, we can live any way we want, and our beliefs will protect us from hell. None of this reflects the Scriptures. Therefore, when Jesus said, “He who believes in Me” He meant, “If anyone keeps My word,” as it says in this verse. Who believes in Jesus, the one who keeps His word or the one who doesn't? If we use the entirety of Scripture to help interpret the Bible, it will lead to the truth, but if we single out a certain verse and ascribe our own meaning to it, we will never come to the right conclusions. (205aa) Salvation >> Verses useful in evangelism (206h) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to the gifts of God >> Conditions to salvation – The Pharisees argued with Jesus in the same way that many people in the Church today argue against sound doctrine and would have argued with Jesus if they lived in His time, only on a slightly different point. The Pharisees argued about His authority, whereas the Church’s complaint today is that He said we must keep His word. Christians today think that going to heaven is a simple matter of believing in a certain set of doctrines, making obedience unnecessary. In fact, some “Christians” condemn the teachings of obedience, claiming it to be heretical. The fact that many in the Church today would argue with Jesus about the same passage that the Pharisees argued with Him is very telling; it indicates that they are pharisaical at heart too. Basically the Pharisees have taken over the Church today. If we search very carefully we can find churches that still preach the truth and walk with God, but they are far and few between. (207k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The generosity of God’s salvation >> Salvation is eternal life -- After suffering the dishonor of the Jews, Jesus said something beautiful, “Anyone who keeps my word will never see death.” He wasn’t speaking to the Jews but to those of us who would later believe in Him for eternal life. Although our flesh may die, our spirit will live forever through faith in Christ, and later He will give us a new body that cannot die. (255a) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Spirit of the word >> Words of His Spirit are life -- This verse goes with verse 12 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8,54-56 (164h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world does not know God – We have a living example of what John meant in his first epistle when he wrote about being unable to hear the word of God. In 1Jn 4-5,6 it says, “They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” The Pharisees audibly heard Jesus, but they didn’t believe what He said, and because of that they could not hear His word. If we don’t believe the word of God, the Bible says we can’t even hear it. The Bible teaches that anyone who can hear the word of God is prepared to do what it says. Jn 8-54,55 (182b) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Believing you know God when you don’t (209b) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Counterfeit relationship through religion >> Knowing about God, but not knowing God -- These verses go with verses 18-24 Jn 8-54 (32m) Gift of God >> Father will honor you >> Father honors His Son – Jesus was a miracle worker and a healer, and went preaching the gospel in attendance of thousands who followed Him, having quickly become a celebrity, but He held his celebrity status in contempt, saying, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing.” If Jesus’ glory was nothing without His Father, then the glory of celebrity status in the world is meaningless. If it weren’t for His Father, Jesus couldn’t have been a miracle worker or a healer or attracted thousands. God was the origin of His works, and Jesus gave Him the credit. The Jews served the God of the Old Testament, yet Jesus testified that He was not their god. Instead, they served the god of this world, Satan, as earlier Jesus said to them, “You are of your father the devil” (Jn 8-44). Therefore, it is not whom we say is our god, but whom we serve. (77d) Thy kingdom come >> Humility >> Refusing the glory of man >> Refusing to exalt yourself -- This verse goes with verse 50. Jesus bluntly said in Jn 5-41, “I do not receive glory from men.” Instead, He wanted His Father to glorify Him; He sought His approval. To seek glory from men is to seek our own glory. There are many opportunities to take the last place in this world, since they are usually unoccupied, and to do so, God will be the one to escort us to a better seat (Lk 14,7-11). This is how Jesus sought glory from His Father, being willingly humiliated by men after taking the last place as the son of man, the servant of all, and at the end of His life was slapped in the face, spit upon, scourged, and then nailed to a cross until dead. That is surely the last place, especially in light of His former position in heaven as the prince of angels. Jesus took that place for us, so when the Father raised Him from the dead, He escorted Him to a better seat at His right-hand. (170b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Pursuing the glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> It’s the reason we don’t die to self -- This verse goes with verse 50 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 8-55 (86h) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Obey the truth (157i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a reprobate mind -- This verse goes with verse 21 Jn 8,56-59 (241j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus because of what He said -- These verses go with verses 37-41 Jn 8,56-58 (253b) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the external qualities of the Father >> Son is infinite and eternal like the Father -- The Jews found fault with Jesus, complaining that Abraham died and the prophets died also, asking, ‘Who do you think you are?’ Jesus answered that Abraham met Him. The Jews didn’t know how Abraham could have met Jesus, since He appeared less than fifty years old. Then Jesus confessed, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” The Jews wanted to stone Him for using the phrase “I AM”, which is a statement only God could make. It was the statement that God made to Moses to tell pharaoh when he asked, 'Who sent you.' God’s reply to Moses, “Tell him I AM has sent you” (Exodus chapter 3). This phrase: I AM is one of the names of God that was extremely familiar to the Jews, being highly educated to their Old Testament writings. Claiming to be the I AM was blasphemous in their ears, but Jesus was simply telling the truth like He always did. This statement angered the Jews more than anything He could have said. Jesus had the attitude that if you want to be mad at Me, I will give you reason. God gave Himself the name I AM to mean I am present in every moment: ‘I always have been, I always will be, and I AM right now’ (Rev 1-8). The name that God gave Himself to Moses in the presence of the burning bush indicates the significance of God’s eternal nature, being the most prominent attribute of his person. Hence, the fact that He always has been and always will be is more significant to God than His power as the creator of the universe. Jesus took this most significant trait of God and attributed it to Himself. Jesus showed them that they didn’t have the slightest clue about God, and they hated Him for it. They bent down to pick up stones to throw at Him, but their target ran from them because His hour had not yet come. The truth of Jesus is often difficult to believe, because He made such enormous claims. Nevertheless, they should have known He was telling the truth, based on the sheer volume of miracles He performed. They didn’t want to believe in Jesus, because they wanted to remain in charge of what they considered the truth. Their version of truth came at a price to Israel, and Jesus was getting in the way of their business of religion. They were far more convinced about their own interpretation of the Scriptures than what Jesus was telling them. These are problems we face today. (253ed) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is God of the Old Testament Jn 8-59 (29b) Gift of God >> God delivers us from those who want to silence the word See next page