John 8:21-30

FATAL UNBELIEF

Text 8:21-30

21

He said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin: whither I go, ye cannot come.

22

The Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself, that he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come?

23

And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

24

I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

25

They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning.

26

I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you; howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these speak I unto the world.

27

They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father.

28

Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things.

29

And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him.

30

As he spake these things, many believed on him.

Queries

a.

What is the consequence of dying in sin?

b.

Why say I am from above. ye are from beneath?

c.

How would the Jews know that Jesus was the Christ after they had lifted Him up?

Paraphrase

So He said again to them, I am going away, and in your hour of death you will search for the Messiah and His salvation, but you will die in and under the sentence of your sin. Where I am going it is not possible for you as an unforgiven sinner to come. At these words the Jews began to ask among themselves, He is not going to kill Himself and be cast into hell, is He? Is that why He says, Where I am going it is not possible for you to come?

Jesus replied, You are from below; I am from above. You in your unregenerate nature, are of this condemned world. My nature is divine and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in and under the sentence of your sins. For if you do not trust and believe in Me as the Messiah and obey my words and become spiritually regenerate, you will die condemned in your sins.

The Jews said to Him, Just who are you anyway? Jesus replied, I am exactly the One of whom I have been telling you all along. I have many things to say and many judgments to bring concerning this nation. But, in spite of your rejection and unbelief, what I say is true and shall come to pass because He who sent Me is true and whatsoever I have heard from Him these things only do I speak to the world. They did not perceive that He was speaking to them of the Father so Jesus added, When you have crucified the Son of Man, then you will have evidence that I am the One sent from God and that of my own authority I do nothing but I say exactly that which My Father Jehovah has taught Me. And Jehovah who sent Me is with Me constantly. He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing unto Him.
As He said these things many believed on Him.

Summary

Jesus patiently warns these Jews again that their rejection of Him will be fatal for them. By their unbelief and disobedience they remain unregenerate and unable to follow Him into the presence of God. They will die with the wrath of God abiding upon them. When they shall have crucified the Man of Nazareth they will realize they have slain God's Son, but too late for many of them.

Comment

Behold the longsuffering and patience of the Son of God! He had been pleading with this nation and these people for over two years. He gave them signs and wonders to substantiate His claims. But again and again they blatantly repudiated them. Especially was this true here at the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. John 7:27; John 7:30; John 7:32; John 7:35-36; John 8:13; John 8:19). So He patiently explains to them once more concerning His divine nature and the absolute necessity of believing in Him, In John 8:21 the Lord looks forward to His exodus from this world and His return to the right hand of the Father, There will come a time when many of the Jews now standing about Him will cry out in the hour of their death for the Messiah and the prophesied deliverance of the Messiah, Such a time actually came in 70 A.D. at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman legions. Millions of Jews were besieged within the walls of that city at Passover-time and suffered indescribable torments. Josephus, a Jewish general then captive of the Roman army, wrote a history of this terrible conflict, and said the lamentations of the people within the city exceeded even the noise of the battle! He also relates that there were many false Christs in the city at that time. People followed them in desperation, hoping until the terrible end for a Messiah to deliver them from the Romans. But many thousands died in their sin. His words would be applicable, of course, to any of these Jews who, having come by any manner or at any time to their hour of death seeking the Messiah, had rejected Jesus as the Christ. Christ's warning here is for all mankind. There is only one end for men who deny Christ. They shall die in their sin.

What a fearful alternative to choose! To die in one's sin is to enter into eternity with the wrath of God abiding upon one (cf. John 3:36). It is to be called before the Righteous Judge of all the earth to pay the penalty decreed by this Judge for one's own sin. Sin must be paid for (cf. Romans 2:3-16). The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews illustrates from the reality of history that punishment for sin is inevitable if we neglect so great a salvation as may be found by faith and obedience to Christ (Hebrews 2:1-4). Those men and women who are even now rejecting the Son of God are judged already (cf. John 3:18) and are dead [separated eternally] in their sins (cf. Ephesians 2:1-2). When Christ returns, all the unrepentant and disobedient shall be sent away into everlasting punishment (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

And so these self-satisfied, unregenerate Jews would die in their sins and suffer the second death because of their sins. They would be eternally separated from the God whom they professed to worship. Jesus said plainly enough that they would not be able to go where He was goingnamely, to the Father. Why, then, could they not understand? Why the sarcastic answer, Will he kill himself, that he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come?

Jesus both explains His warning and the reason for their misunderstanding in John 8:23-24. They could never follow Him into heaven and the presence of Jehovah God because they were unregenerate. They were at enmity with Godrebellious and unrepentant. They were, in fact, children of the devilsons of disobedience (cf. John 8:44). Christ plainly told a Judean Pharisee many months before this that a new birth was necessary for every man who wished to become a part of Jehovah's kingdom (cf. John 3:1-21). They were degenerate and their hearts, minds, desires, goals and actions had not been changed; they had not the love of God in them (cf. John 5:42) and thus they deliberately misunderstood and misrepresented every great spiritual truth uttered by Jesus. They were so wise they were foolish. What they needed to do was to become fools in order to partake innocently and open-mindedly of the wisdom of God (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; 1 Corinthians 3:18-21). If men are to understand the wisdom of God they must have honest and good hearts (cf. Luke 8:15); they must seek the things that are above (cf. Colossians 3:1-4; Philippians 4:8); they must will to do the will of Christ and then they will begin to understand (cf. John 7:17); and they must accept and rely upon the infallibly inspired revelation of God as the only true source of wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:1-16; John 8:31-32). Such men these Pharisees refused to be and thus their ludicrous question, Will he kill himself. etc.

They are actually mocking Jesus, for the Jews the deepest and darkest recesses of the regions of Gehenna claimed all those who committed suicide. Trusting in their religious heritage as sons of Abraham, they were positive they would not be able to follow this Nazarene to Gehenna. According to certain Jewish traditions, father Abraham will sit at Hell's gates and will not permit one son of Abraham to fall into its pits.

Hendriksen seems to have caught the spirit of the Jews in their question of John 8:25 when he writes that they were probably thinking that the best defense is an offense; they attack Him with the scornful, You, just who are you? They are not interested in knowing who He is, for they have already settled that matter in their hearts, but they sneeringly demand, How do you come to assume a role like this? The Lord's answer to this jeer is not easy to interpret and is discussed at length by the various commentators. Essentially there are two conflicting interpretations: (a) I am altogether, essentially or exactly, that which I am telling you from the beginning; or, (b) How is it that I should even speak to you at all! We are inclined to favor the first because it seems to be a better rendering of the original language. The second interpretation does not take proper account of ten archen (from the beginning).

By their ad hominem argument they hoped to put Jesus on the defensive and thus dispose of His penetrating judgments. If they can successfully attack His character and reject His authority, they will salve their consciences and justify their unbelief. This has been the point of attack by infidelity through the centuries. Christ's claims and His soul-searching doctrines are mocked and attacked as being those of a deluded Jewish Rabbi.

Jesus will not be side-tracked in His aim to reveal to these Jews their necessity for conversion. As the Messiah, it was His prophetic duty to be the arm of Jehovah's judgment (cf. Isaiah 11:3; Isaiah 51:5; Micah 4:3). He had many piercing judgments to make concerning this nation and these men. And in spite of their attacks upon Himin spite of their rejections and unbeliefthey could not change the truth of His pronouncements. For He came forth from Jehovah who is Truth and Son and Father are One. Both the Son and the Father agree in word, will and deed (cf. John 5:19). The judgments made and the sentences pronounced by the Son are exactly the same as those of God the Father (cf. John 3:11; John 5:30; John 5:32, John 5:37; John 7:16).

Again the Jews must have given evidence in some manner that what Jesus was speaking was beyond their carnal comprehension. They had already prejudged Jesus as a demon because He spoke of suicide. If what Jesus said before was beyond their comprehension, certainly His statement concerning the lifting up of the Son of man would present an incomprehensible enigma to their hardened hearts.

By the statement in John 8:28, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, Jesus looks forward to His crucifixion. Not merely the crucifixion only, but the resurrection, the appearances and the manifestation of His ascension on the day of Pentecost is also included. Some scholars reject the idea that Jesus may be referring to the crucifixion as the motivating power behind the conversion of three thousand on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:36). We believe, to the contrary, that His passion did offer testimony which caused some of the Jews to turn to Him and become followers of the Way. Even the Roman centurion was touched in the very depths of his soul as he witnessed the crucifixion of the Nazarene (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39). We quote here the comments of R. C. Foster in his Syllabus of the Life of Christ concerning John 8:28 :

Jesus refers to His crucifixion and how His divine personality and God's spiritual program will become plain to them in His death. Some in the crowd are earnestly trying to understand and believe; some are maliciously determined not to believe, but Jesus is sympathetic and kind. He realizes how hard it is for them to understand the mysterious program of God and patiently explains that they will be able to see clearly later that which seems beyond comprehension now.

When Jesus said, lifted up, etc.. He meant not only the crucifixion, but all the culminating works of God in His Son. Naturally, the crucifixion without the resurrection would be powerless to convict and convince these people of Christ's deity. Just as the crucifixion without the resurrection would not be able to draw all men unto Him (cf. John 12:32). Thus we believe Jesus means the entire process of the glorification of the Son (death, resurrection, ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost), when He says, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he. Yes, after these things many would come to know Jesus as the Christthe One from the very bosom of Jehovah-God. Some would cry out in faith and repentance, Men and brethren, what shall we do? These would be told the gospel plan of salvation (Acts 2:38). But many others, unable to deny the facts (Acts 4:15-16), would still reject Jesus as the Messiah because they loved the glory that is of men rather than the glory that is of God (cf. John 12:42).

John 8:29 is a beautiful lesson on how we may have God with us. We need only follow the example of Jesus and attempt always to do the things pleasing to God. If we keep His commandments we abide in the love of Christ even as He kept His Father's commandments and dwelt in the Father's continual love and presence (cf. John 15:10).

We remember the man David, a man after God's own heart, that he attempted always to do that which pleased God. God's presence was always very near to DavidGod was an ever-present help to him.

John 8:30 tells us that many believed on Him, and John 8:31 indicates that He addressed His next discourse to those who believed. But how sincere was their belief? Read ahead in the text, John 8:31 through John 8:59, and it is singularly evident that their faith was not one of surrender and change of heart. As Hendriksen says, whether the faith here indicated is genuine or not will have to be indicated by the following verses [the context]. The context certainly indicates that it was not genuine, There are other instances where people were said to have believed on Jesus, but their faith was far from that which changes men's hearts (cf. John 2:23; John 7:31; John 12:42). There were many who thought they believed in Him as the Messiah. Perhaps they professed their beliefs aloudor perhaps Jesus looked upon their hearts and saw a superficial faith which they dared not express. At any rate, He begins, in John 8:31, addressing these people and showing them that their faith was short of the mark. It did not even measure up to the faith of the one they claimed as their father, Abraham (cf. John 8:39-40).

Quiz

1.

When did the Jews seek the Messiah most fervently? At what other time would they seek a Saviour, but die in their sins?

2.

What is meant by die in your sins?

3.

Why could the Jews not follow Jesus when He should go away?

4.

Why the sarcastic question, Will he kill himself. etc.?

5.

Of what does Jesus speak when He says, When ye have lifted up the Son of man. etc.?

6.

How may we be sure of God's presence with us?

7.

How did these Jews believe in Jesus?