I’d like to share with you from John 8.

But first, let us pray.

Father, use me to reveal the truth of Your Word, and prepare the hearts of all who hear to understand, so You would receive all the credit and glory. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

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[Gospel of John 8] 

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[Outline of John 8 

John 8 deals with:

[(1) The woman taken in adultery (8:1-11).

(2) Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the World (8:12-30).

(3) The Truth will set you free (8:31-38).

(4) You are of your father the Devil (8:39-47).

(5) Before Abraham was born, I am (8:48-59).] 

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[The whole purpose of the Gospel of John is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31 NIV).]

God presented Jesus in the wisest possible way as the Jewish Messiah, the Son of God that they would believe and have Eternal Life through His name, but still many resisted and opposed Jesus.

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[Key to their opposition was Jesus’ claim that God was His Father.] Jesus had previously healed a lame man on the Sabbath, telling him to take up his mat and walk (John 5:8-9). Instead of praising God for that wonderful work, they condemned Jesus for healing on the Sabbath (5:10). When Jesus responded, 

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[“My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working” (5:17), they further condemned Him of blasphemy, since He was claiming an equality of authority and power with the Father in the healing.] Just so, the remainder of John 5 clearly depicts why the Jews wanted to kill Jesus for His apparent blasphemy. “For this reason they tried all the more to kill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (5:18). 

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[The difference between a disciple being called a child of God, making God our Father, is Jesus is the Eternally Begotten Son of God, and we only have received spiritual “adoption to sonship” (Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5) and do not claim the authority and power of God, as naturally our own, when God acts.]

What I hope to present in this eighth chapter of John is a revelation of the character of God to draw us to greater devotion to the God who loves us and has assembled all of life to bring about a demonstration of His glory in accomplishing His purposes in the Earth.

Let us examine the incident of

The Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8:1-11) 

After Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem on the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles (John 7:2), about 2 1/2 years into His earthly ministry, He came to the Temple Courts, and sat down to teach (8:2).

Sitting was a sign of authority, as Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1). 

Since the teachers of the law and the Pharisees already were seeking to put Jesus to death for healing on the Sabbath and making Himself equal to God (5:18), they devised a plot to catch Jesus, and, just as important, to convince even the rabble “who knows nothing of the law” (7:49) that Jesus is not the Messiah. 

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[“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do You say?” (John 8:4-5).]

(1) They caught a woman in the act of adultery (8:3), but hypocritically, what about the man? This was simply a set-up to entrap Jesus. Obviously, they were not interested in God’s righteousness, but only the justification of their own righteousness.

(2) If Jesus did not condemn her worthy of death (Leviticus 20:10), then He did not support the Law of Moses.

(3) But, if He correctly applied the Law of Moses, then He would be interfering with Roman Law, which at that time alone had the right of Capital Punishment (John 18:31).

Dramatically and calmly,

Jesus stooped down and wrote something on the ground with His finger (8:6). 

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[And remember, this was the same “finger of God” (Exodus 31:18), which inscribed, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14 KJV) on tables of stone for Moses. How would Jesus harmonize the mind of Almighty Justice with the need of Desperately Seeking Mercy, not just for the terrified woman, but for all the rest of us, who also yearn for deliverance?] 

Undoubtedly, she had broken the Law of Moses, but rescuing her would only be icing on the cake of confounding her accusers, and demonstrating He was the Messiah, whom He claimed to be.

(1) Most likely, Jesus was writing the names of her accusers and their sins in the dirt, for they knew their secret conduct was no better than the adulterous woman.

(2) Not unexpectedly, the Holy Spirit put them to shame, as prophesied by Jeremiah. 

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[“Lord, You are the hope of Israel; all who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13 NIV).] 

“When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them” (John 8:7) 

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7), using the guilt  

from their own secret sins against them. The Holy Spirit had set them up for Jesus to masterfully outmaneuver them.

Jehovah fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy, and the Holy Spirit’s convicting power did its work, so her accusers melted away. 

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[We  also should be more concerned about the Holy Spirit’s influence upon our actions and circumstances than striving to have no human peer to our intellect or experience.] 

Jesus was left with only the woman, to whom He asked, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” (8:10).

“No one, sir, she said. Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. Go now and leave your life of sin” (8:11).

Makes one think, she must have repented, for “mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13 KJV). 

Jesus may not have gained a convert from her accusers, but Jesus most probably gained the undying devotion of the rescued woman.

The veracity of the ancient manuscripts, which describe this incident of the woman taken in adultery are upheld by Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine. Modern translations, such as the NIV, disclaimed the authenticity of the story, with the note that “the most reliable manuscripts” do not include John 7:53-8:11, and chose to include the text only in italics, because the numbering system of the verses was intact long before their scholarship disagreed with the Majority Text, such as used by the KJV. 

I believe the text is authentic. 

The convicting power of the Holy Spirit in this incident dramatically sets up Jesus’ declaration in the following verse, “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12 NIV). 

We are now to examine the second of the seven “I Am” Statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. 

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[Jesus Claimed, “I Am the Light of the World” (John 8:12-30).]

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[What an exalted title, The Light of the World! This was God’s announcement to humankind that Jesus is just that Unique One!] 

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[And, we, His children are His reflection! “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).] 

Remember Simeon’s prophecy to Joseph and Mary at the presentation of the infant Jesus at the Jerusalem Temple (Luke 2)? 

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[(1) Simeon said about Jesus, “A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:32).] 

(2) This reached back to a reference about David, “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong” (1Kings 15:4). 

(3) Simeon was verbalizing the oft repeated idea and phrase from the OT, associated with the Son of David, identifying the Messiah as the one who would dispel the darkness and bring light. 

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[“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness; I will take hold of Your hand. I will keep You and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6).] 

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[This event in the Temple was the fulfillment of all the OT prophecies longing for release from the prison of darkness for Israel, but even more significantly, for the world, Messiah was declaring Himself available to the Gentiles.]

Jesus began to clearly declare, as in an official announcement, his identity in the wisest possible way.  

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

And, like reading from a script, the Jews immediately condemned Jesus’ claim to be the Light of the World, since the Mosaic Law demanded the testimony of two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6), and self-testimony was inadmissible. 

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[Jesus countered, since He knew where He came from and where He was going, self-testimony was acceptable from God, which He is. And, since the Father testified of the Son that He was well pleased (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22), then He was consistent with Moses.] 

“You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, My decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me” (John 8:15-16).

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[Jesus consulted whether He was right, not whether He would win the argument. So, He let the Holy Spirit work out the results. As, should we.] 

As God, Jesus always had the advantage over the objections of His opponents. Their objections would be valid, if He was not God, and they were honest. He simply had to declare the truth about Himself and not apologize for being who He knew He was.

When He prophesied, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come” (8:21). He spoke of His upcoming death.

The significance of the special relationship between Jesus and His Father depicts what our relationship should be to our Father.

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[(1) We are somewhat like Jesus, “I know where I came from and where I am going” (John 8:14), we are not looking for man’s permission or approval to do God’s will. “Because the Sovereign Lord helps Me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set My face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:7).] 

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[(2) Like Jesus, in His First Coming, we are not sent into the world to condemn the adulterous woman, but when the Spirit of God grants us spiritual discernment, “My decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me” (John 8:16). “The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one” (1Corinthians 2:15 NET).] 

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[(3) By spiritual regeneration, we, like Jesus, can call God our Father. “To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NIV).] 

In this John 8 narrative, Jesus warned His hearers, 

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[“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe [Greek, pisteuō, commit] that I am He, you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:24). Commit entirely to Jesus or perish.] All have been warned. It will be useless to begin with Jesus, tire of our efforts, and find other pursuits more lucrative or praiseworthy in the world. 

Jesus warned them that killing Him would result in some of them coming to realize He is who He said He was. The Son of Man. The Messiah. The Son of God. 

“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing on My own but speak just what the Father has taught Me” (John 8:28). 

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[“Even as He spoke, many believed [Greek, pisteuō, commit] in Him” (John 8:30).

Getting people to believe in Jesus is not as hard as it may sound, but getting them to commit to Jesus requires the Holy Spirit to enlighten, persuade, and fasten the truth in their hearts. We need more expectation of His intervention and outpouring. Then, when the Spirit works, God gets the glory.] 

Now, let us consider the significance of

The Truth Will Set You Free (John 8:31-38)

Jesus called upon His followers, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). 

He explained more fully, a disciple is one who holds to His teachings.

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[“To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples” (John 8:31).]

Christian is merely a name given to the Church of Jesus Christ by those outside the Body of Christ. “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:2). 

Our heart is what we supply to God. “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways” (Proverbs 23:26).

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[The Holy Spirit uses our Heartfelt Pisteuō Total Commitment to inspire us to obey Him — and this is most often overlooked or minimized. “And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws” (Ezekiel 36:27).] 

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[We fail to obey, when we are trusting in ourselves to be obedient. We need to be trusting in Jesus to make us obedient. When this tender distinction is observed, then it can truly be said, “It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).]

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[“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).  

Being set free from selfish addictions is founded upon knowing the truth. And, knowing the truth comes from our commitment to Jesus. That commitment is the pisteuō of heartfelt believing in Jesus.] 

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[“Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34).] 

But, Jesus, who doesn’t sin? 

We’re no better than anyone else. 

So, how can we be in the bondage of sin, just by sinning? 

What are You proposing? 

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[“Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever” (John 8:35). 

Anyone who is still sinning is in bondage to sin and is a slave to sin.  

Anyone who is set free from sinning joins with the Son in the family of God forever. 

We are to look to God for the forgiveness of our sins, as well as His grace not to sin.] 

This is an area of Christian Living that must be developed both for the individual victory of every disciple, but most of all for the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father over Lucifer and His angels in the Final Conflict in the Unseen Realm. We are justifying God’s design in making us in His image and giving us the ability to Pisteuō Commit ourselves to Him now and forever, which the Adversary seeks to disprove through our defeat. 

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[Jesus Was Promoting Spiritual Freedom]

(It is all here in these handful of verses in John 8, and Jesus presented this while engaged in a public exchange with antagonists, who were seeking to kill Him.) 

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[If we can trust Him to guide us to do His will, can we not trust Him to guide and keep us from not sinning? 

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to Your word. I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:9-11 NIV).]

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[First, True Discipleship is freedom. “31 To the Jews who had believed [Greek, pisteuō, commit] Him, Jesus said, If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). True Pisteuō is holding to Jesus’ teachings. Make sure you are practicing it!] 

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[Second, Spiritual Slavery is the act of sinning. “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). If this is true, then Jesus must be able to keep us from sinning.] 

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Third, Spiritual Emancipation from sinning comes only from our Heartfelt, Pisteuō Commitment to Christ (cf. verse 31.) “35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:35-36). When we abide in the Son, we are as free as He is. 

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[Fourth, Present Trusting in Christ is Spiritual Freedom, and Present Withholding of Trust is Spiritual Slavery. Everything hinges on our Heartfelt, Pisteuō Commitment to Christ. Our abiding or resting in Christ is at the same time our commitment to Jesus.] 

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[Fifth, Jesus claimed to deliver His followers from the darkness of sin, a bold claim for His work on the Cross, or for any other time. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). All true freedom flows from the light of Jesus Christ. Any attempt to liberate humankind from slavery of any kind, cannot truly succeed without Christ.] 

Hallelujah! Jesus, You are our Great Emancipator from sinning! Cause us to constantly look to You and trust You to free us from any necessity to sin. 

True freedom is not based upon the lack of physical chains or the enfranchisement to vote, for the child of God is more free than one who has been emancipated or enfranchised by man. 

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[“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).] 

True freedom is spiritual deliverance, the kind of deliverance which draws the conclusion made by King Nebuchadnezzar, 

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[“There is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (Daniel 3:29 KJV).] 

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[The focus is upon a committed, sustainable, present relationship of trust with Jesus. Not a past relationship, which assures us of what we think has happened, or a future relationship, which assures us of what must happen to fix the current mess. 

If Christ’s directions are not immediate, then they are not effective. 

If Christ’s directions do not depend upon Him as the answer, then they are not real.] 

We need to say and constantly remind ourself: Our expectation is in God, who has delivered us, is delivering us, and will deliver us. So, when He does deliver us, He alone gets the glory. No other expectation among humankind is capable of explaining or anticipating how the stalemates and logjams of human circumstances can be obliterated to achieve a better day. We need only to keep our eyes on God, remaining steadfast in faith, and keeping our hand on the plow. 

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[“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11 NIV).] 

Freedom is already ours, when we abide in Christ. 

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[“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).] 

Don’t allow the enemy to control your thoughts, or you will be back into bondage. What may appear only as reframing our thinking to allow ourselves to declare Spiritual Victory becomes more sharply focused, when Paul later warns us that the little foxes of Thought Warfare are actually the tip of the iceberg of the greater warfare presently waged in the Unseen Realm. 

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[“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2Corinthians 10:4-5).] 

Which brings us to 

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You Are of Your Father the Devil (John 8:39-47) 

Jesus unavoidably launched into a discussion with the Jews about their parentage. 

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[“Abraham is our father, they answered. If you were Abraham’s children, said Jesus, then you would do what Abraham did” (John 8:39). 

Why did Jesus have to bring up this discussion with the Jews? 

Because this was the foundation of their hope of Heaven. 

Abraham was their father, or they were going to Heaven because they were born to be Jews. And, Jews go to Heaven.] 

Then, Jesus brought up again the obvious elephant in the room, “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father” (John 8:39-41). 

What else would the Jews be forced to do? “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God Himself” (8:41).

And, Jesus responded to them in all sincerity, as clearly as you should expect. “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own; God sent Me” (8:42). 

Of course, Jesus knew that their rebellious hearts were already committed against the truth, so they were not receptive to hearing Him. “Why is My language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say” (8:42-43).

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[Either you are a Child of God or a Child of the Devil. “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (1:12). [Faith makes you a child of God, and unbelief makes you a child of the devil.] “Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me” (8:45). 

“Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (8:47).]

Which brings us to 

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[Before Abraham Was, I Am (John 8:48-59)  

Jesus’ discussion with the Jews caused them to conclude He was crazy.  “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” (John 8:48).] 

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[Honor is foreign to much of our modern mindset, but it is common for athletes to taunt opposing players, much like Goliath disrespected the Israelites before David slew him (1Samuel 17).] 

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[Honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7), does not mean the opponent is to be elevated, but to be recognized with the position God has allowed them. Today, athletes would call this “Trash Talk.” “But even when Michael the archangel was arguing with the devil and debating with him concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, May the Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9 NET).] 

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[We are to honor our parents (Exodus 20:12) and to honor God with the expectation: “Those who honor Me I will honor, but those who despise Me will be disdained” (1Samuel 2:30).]

“I am not possessed by a demon, said Jesus, but I honor My Father and you dishonor Me” (John 8:49). 

Jesus countered that He was seeking glory for God, who is the True Judge in these matters (8:50). 

“Whoever obeys My Word, Jesus said, will never see death” (8:51), referring to Eternal Life. “Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). 

The Jews responded. You’re crazy. Who do you think you are? (8:53) 

This is critical. 

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[Do not waste time attempting to defend yourself, such as Jesus before Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:14). This is difficult because we do not want to look bad. Our job is to look out for and promote God’s glory. It is God’s job to defend us, until we reach our journey’s end. “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).] 

“Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; He saw it and was glad” (8:56). 

“You are not yet fifty years old, they said to Him, and you have seen Abraham!” (8:57). 

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[Jesus then made the most incredible statement of His earthly ministry. 

“Before Abraham was born, I am!” (8:58). This of course was Jehovah’s statement to Moses concerning the identity of who sent him to the enslaved children of Jacob. “God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). Jesus is Jehovah God!] 

If Jesus did not have a prior appointment to die on a Roman cross at a later time, He would have died that day. “At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” (8:59).

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[Like Jesus, we are immortal until God is ready to take us Home. “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in Thy word” (Psalm 119:114 KJV).] 

We end this chapter with Jesus in a precarious position; but, just as there are 14 more chapters in the Gospel of John and at least another year of Jesus’ earthly ministry left, we learn to navigate our not always easy circumstances, trusting God to preserve us, and showing us how to be abased and how to abound. 

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[“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1John 3:2).] 

Let us pray. 

Heavenly Father, we have only a small idea of what You have done throughout the ages for our benefit. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for us, and we pray that we would be as committed to You, as You are to us. In Jesus’ name, return quickly. Amen and amen. 

 

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