John - Week 24

Blind Spot 

READ 

John 8:19-20 

Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” 20 Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come. 

Jesus said the religious leaders didn’t know Him because they did not know His Father. The reference to His heavenly Father mystified the unbelievers. The Treasury was in the Women’s Court, where the woman caught in adultery had been brought. The unbelieving religious leaders would have loved to have Jesus arrested right then but it didn’t occur. “His time had not yet come” refers to the time appointed in God’s program that Jesus would die on Calvary. 

REFLECT 

Have you been under the impression that all religious leaders personally know God and His Son Jesus Christ? From this chapter in John’s gospel it is evident this is not so. Does this caution you to listen with more discernment to those who stand behind pulpits? 

RESPOND 

Read 2 Peter 2:1-3 and think about how you can apply it to religious leaders today. 

Where Is He Going 

READ 

John 8:21-22 

21 Later Jesus said to them again, “I am going away. You will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.” 22 The people asked, “Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?” 

You may labor under the impression you need to learn a lot more about the Scriptures. Think, however, what a serious charge it was when Jesus told these leaders trained in the rabbinic schools that they would die in their sin. Their education would not count for anything. Nor would it matter how many good works the religious leaders did; if they did not believe in Jesus as Savior they would die in their sin. Even His disciples didn’t understand His talk about going away until after His resurrection when He went up to heaven. 

REFLECT 

Think about how nothing else matters except believing in Jesus when you want to be in right relation with God. Many other things can be good but good is not enough. 

RESPOND 

Read Ezekiel 3:16-19 to see what God told Ezekiel about warning others and how to free himself from any responsibility. 

This World and Above 

READ 

John 8:23-24 

23 Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.” 

The religious leaders had a mindset that came from the earthly world system. Jesus told them He was from above. It is significant that in John 3:3 when Jesus told Nicodemus of the need to be “born again” the expression literally meant “born from above.” These religious leaders had a physical birth that was from below; what they needed was a spiritual birth that was from above. Refusal to believe the claims of Jesus about Himself assures people of dying in their sins. 

REFLECT 

Consider those you may know you would consider “good people,” yet they do not believe the claims of Jesus about Himself. How sad that they will die in their sins if they don’t trust in Jesus as their Savior. 

RESPOND 

Ask God to give you an even greater burden to tell your friends about the Lord Jesus. Then pray that God will open their hearts to hear the gospel, whether from you or from someone else. 

Talking About His Father 

READ 

John 8:25-27 

25 “Who are you?” they demanded. Jesus replied, “The one I have always claimed to be. 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.” 27 But they still didn’t understand that he was talking about his Father. 

The religious leaders asked Jesus, “Who are you.” Jesus let them know it was no secret who He was, but they were rejecters of anything He said. One time Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Then He made His question more specific by asking them, “Who do you say that I am? These religious leaders had no idea how to answer such a question. 

REFLECT 

What if Jesus asked you, “Who do you say I am” What would you say? 

RESPOND 

Read Matthew 16:13-20 for the background about the questions Jesus asked. Think of how you could adapt these questions as you witness to others about your relationship with Jesus. 

Many Believed 

READ 

John 8:28-30 

28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” 30 Then many who heard him say these things believed in him. 

Even though the religious leaders did not know Jesus was talking about His heavenly Father, He now makes it clear to them. Notice that He told them they wouldn’t understand this until they crucified Him. Just as Christ-followers today can be confident that God will never leave or forsake them (see Hebrews 13:5), Jesus was confident of this even as He knew He was headed to the cross. Because Jesus spoke of the cross and wanted to do whatever pleased His heavenly Father, many believed in Him. But were they truly believers? The rest of the passage will reveal the answer. 

REFLECT 

What words or comments were used by God to bring you into a right relation with Himself? How did these words come to your attention? 

RESPOND 

Who will you tell about how you came to see your need to trust in Jesus Christ? God may have prepared someone to hear such comments from you and they will be spiritually encouraged.