Jesus: The Light of the World Part 6 - The Light Upon the Light - John 8:48-59

1:22And yet, all of it's set in the context of heaven's joy. Well, this morning, Title of my message is The Light Upon the Light. And we find ourselves in John chapter 8, beginning in verse 48, all the way to the end of the chapter. We have this growing climax, this growing confrontation, a crescendo that's reaching its peak. And we will finish the chapter today. And what comes out of this is that we're going to see the light. And I mean, there's going to be light cast upon the light himself. Truth and revelation is going to be disclosed about Christ himself. Last week we spent some time looking at the devil and his children. This time we'll look at Christ. This is all about Christ and inevitably characteristics that will characterize those who follow him. But this is about Christ. This is the light upon the light. And so I am excited about where the text is going to take us this morning. So I want to remember where we're setting. Where we are in John chapter 8. We've been in John chapter 7. We've been looking at this Feast of Tabernacles. We've been at the Feast of Tabernacles for quite some time. And just to refresh your memory, one of the biggest parts of this celebration was. The lighting of these great golden lamps. And one Jewish source from antiquity describes this as follows: that these huge lamps were erected up in the women's court, and it was to illuminate the whole part of the festival of the water libation that has been drawn from the pool of Siloam and has been poured out on the altar. And one source says that there was not a single courtyard in all of Jerusalem that was not illuminated by the festival.

3:42Now, what was interesting about the festival is that the actual participants were not the common folks, but the greatest scholars and the most pious men in all of Israel. They were the generation, they were the heads of the Sanhedrin, the sages, and the academies and the elders. And so, in the presence of all of those, these men would get out and sing and they would dance. Now, that was a beautiful sight to see a bunch of old men out singing and dancing. And so, this was an expression of joy.

4:19But they were singing and dancing for the wrong reason. As this source from antiquity clarifies, this is what they would say. While the great men danced before the people of Israel, they sang and recited these words. The very pious men, you have two categories, the very pious men declared, Happy is our youth, that it has not embarrassed us in our old age. So these are the saints that have never experienced the taste of sin. So they're celebrating because they've never sinned. Okay? Then there's this other category of people who had sinned called the penitents. They had been led wayward in their youth, but this is the song that they sing: Happy is our old age, for it has atoned for our youth.

5:14In other words, you've got two classes of pious men dancing around and singing with exceeding joy. We've never sinned, and if we have, we have atoned for our sin. They were singing and dancing for the wrong reasons. I'm afraid oftentimes we do the same thing. So you can imagine Jesus's words were very shocking when at this feast of tabernacles, as the sky is being lit up, Jesus would have the audacity to say, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Yeah, follow me. If you're not following me, you're going to be in darkness. And then he goes on in verse 21. We've already Looked at this, I go away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin, because where I am going, you cannot come. And then again, in verse 24, he says, I say to you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. And then in verse 42, he says, If God were your father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, and I have not come on my own initiative, but come because he sent me. And then he says these words in verse 44, you are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your devil. Now, that'd be pretty hard to take for a bunch of men out dancing around. We've never sinned, or we've atoned for our sin, and yet you can imagine just how, what an impact these words would have.

6:55They were singing and dancing for the wrong reasons. Many professing Christians today do the same thing. I mean, imagine if Jesus were to come into our churches and our denominational gatherings today and say to the greater masses of professing superficial Christianity, and he said things like, You are servants of sin, you are children of the devil, and you delight in his lustful passions. How do you think he'd be received? Well, very much like he was received there. Listen. Superficial profession is not age-specific.

7:40You see, light exposes what's really there. If we turned out all the lights and we were able to get every ray of light out of here, we'd still be here. The light is just that medium that lets us see what's really here. And so, when Christ comes and he starts revealing who the children of the devil are, he's only showing what's already there. Well, they rejected him. The honest heart will listen to him. They rejected him. You know, today there are many Christless religions that are just chock full of their demonic politicking for power, their self-promotion, protection of pet sins.

8:27And the one thing, as we come to this, it would be a tragedy if we left here without being honest with our own souls. That if we left this great section of scripture, not being humble in heart and being taught, let God teach us. See, we need to agree with God. We need to confess our sins. We need to know that even though we are sinners, that He still calls us. So let us hear Him. And let us be taught by him.

9:07Look back where we left off last time in chapter 8 and verse 47. We left off with these words: He who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason, you do not hear them because you are not of God. Now, he had already equated his words with God's words in verse 43. He's saying, The reason you're not getting what I'm saying is because you are not of God. You need a new father, you need a new desire that can only come from the father. So, the response at this point is, You need a new father, cry out for a new father, come to me, and he will give you a relationship with your heavenly father. So, now let's begin working our way through where we left off. Look at verse 48. I won't read it all, we'll just walk through it. Well, in response to all of this, you can imagine the Jews aren't very pleased, right? Those fighting words, as we'd say down here, them fighting words. You say we're children of the devil. Well, look at their response in verse 48. The Jews answered and said to him, Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

10:28So, okay, you can see where they're coming from. Right, you're a Samaritan. If this were college football, that'd be like saying you are a longhorn. Oh, well, I think that's so OOs. We're in the SEC now. Yeah, you are the LSE. Yeah, you're a tiger, right? Well, so they say you are a Samaritan, you are a traitor, you are a liberal in obeying God's laws, you are you have compromised religion. I think that's where he's going with that whole Samaritan, you're not legitimate to our Jewish religion here.

11:11And so, when you can't win the argument by reason, what do you have to do? You've got to discredit the speaker, right? You've got to take him out, or you've got to humble yourself and admit you're wrong. But if you don't want to do that, then you've got to discredit him if you can't win the argument, right? So, but then they say, you have a demon. So, they take this a step further, and I think they're going beyond just you're out of your mind. I think they're saying you are possessing an arrogant and lying spirit that is characteristic of the devil himself. That's who you are. You say, We're children of the devil, we say you're in league with the devil, and that's where this is going. So, they fire back. And so, what happens in our text this morning is that Jesus is going to defend himself from the accusation. Of having a demon. And in the process, what he does is he shines light upon himself. Tells us a little bit more about who he is and his relationship with the Father. And that's why I've entitled this message, Light upon the Light, because Jesus will reveal six glorious characteristics of himself. I mean, this is all about Him and very appropriate this time of year. So, this morning, what I want you to see is six characteristics of Jesus so that you will joyfully love Him as your Heavenly Father loves Him. I want you to get caught up in the joy of heaven as it has spilled over unto earth, and that you would really be able to embrace and understand that Christ is God's choicest gift to you. So, that's where I want to go this morning. Six characteristics of Jesus. First of all, Jesus gives honor where honor is due. Look at verse 49. Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. He's calm, he doesn't blow a gasket. He just, I love his demeanor here. And he's saying, Look, let me tell you something. No, I don't have a demon. Far from it. The words that I have spoken to you do not come out of personal experience. Arrogance. They do not come out of a deranged mind. They don't come out of my allegiance to Samaria. It doesn't come out of demonic influence. The words I spoke come out of that which most honor my father.

13:49You see, Jesus always treats his father as the person of greatest value or the person of greatest magnitude in his life. Ask ourselves this question: who is the person that you most honor or in your life? Who do you give the greatest magnitude? Is it yourself? Is it others? Is it God? Well, Jesus always gives honor where honor is due. But look at those who opposed him. They don't give honor where honor is due. He says, I do not have a demon. I honor my father. I'm always doing that, which is in deference to him. And you dishonor me.

14:33Now, why in the world would you not honor a person who could do the miracles that Jesus did? I mean, Nicodemus himself came and said, Look, we know you're from God. And you see him coming giving some honor to Christ, some deference to Christ. We know. I don't know what you're all about, but I know you've come from God. And that's what Nicodemus in his honesty would profess. And they knew that the miracles were genuine, and yet they treated him shamefully. They treated him as a person of little magnitude. Why?

15:13Because they were of their father, the devil. Jesus has already gone over that. You don't belong to God, so you do not recognize who is from God. You see, by not responding positively to Jesus' words, they were dishonoring Jesus. But not only were they dishonoring Jesus, they were dishonoring the Father who sent them. And the same can be true of us. By not responding positively to Jesus' words, we dishonor Christ and we dishonor the one who sent him.

15:44So Jesus gives honor where honor is due, and so should we. Giving honor where honor is due is a Christ-like characteristic. And we should give honor to God's word. What these words that we have in our Bibles say, we should give honor. We should treat them as words of weight. We should give honor to God's word, his Son. We should give honor to the people in our lives that deserve honor. We should give honor to the institutions that God has established and placed in your life. Give honor. That is a Christ-like characteristic. And if you're following Christ, you're going to be growing. In this discipline of giving honor where honor is due. That is who he is. And of course, he loves his father, and that is expressed by giving him honor.

16:46Second characteristic of Jesus comes out of this portion of God's word: Jesus values the right kind of glory. He values the right kind of glory. Look back at verse 50. But I do not seek my glory. There is one who seeks and judges. You see, and this is a continuation of the last, because Jesus honored his father, guess what? He naturally valued the glory that his father gave him. And I believe in this context, the glory is simply just talking about a good opinion. Glory. He is seeking the good opinion of his father. That is what he's after. I do not seek my own, I don't seek a good opinion of myself. You know, the self-esteem movement, you need, well, it's time for you to really start thinking very highly of yourself now. You know, I think the scripture is very clear that that's not our real problem. Our real problem is we don't think highly of God.

17:47We don't seek his good opinion. We seek our own good opinion, or we seek a good opinion from others. He didn't value his own self. He wasn't trying to get man. Highest opinion or man's glory. He wasn't trying to make himself feel good about himself. That's not what he was about. He was all about seeking the good opinion of his father. And he notices: look, if you jump down to verse 54, he makes it very clear that if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. In other words, he has absolutely no value, places no value in the kind of glory that doesn't come from his father.

18:33He says, if I did, it would be worthless anyway. You see, but look back at verse 50. It says, I do not seek my own glory, but there is one who seeks and judges. There is one who seeks and judges. There is one who is seeking his glory. There is one who is judging. You see, the Father loves the Son, and the Father is seeking the glory for the Son. The Father wants every creature on earth to know that the Son is worthy of their highest opinion. And so Jesus thought he's not worried about his own image. He's letting someone else take care of that. And God is the one who judges people. And he judges them according to how they respond to Christ.

19:24Those who put Jesus to shame, God will put to shame. Those who Glorify Jesus, God will glorify. You see, if Christ's word has no place in you, guess what? You will be given no place in heaven where he is king. It's that simple. Who are you making room for in your life? What does your routine say? Do you make room for Christ's words in your life? That's the believer. Be honest in soul. God is the one who judges people.

20:04Now, look at just the thought here: let us value the good opinion. Let's be like Christ. Let's value the good opinion of the Father. Let's value the good opinion of Christ. Let's value the right kind of glory. I've got three good reasons here. Because, number one, only the good opinion of God is lasting. Everything else is nothing. Jesus Himself says that. Second, there is freedom and rest in letting God glorify you the way He sees fit.

20:44And third, this is just simply the way we honor King Jesus. Let's seek His good opinion. Why do you think we have so many shepherds and wise men on their face this time of year because they wanted good opinion? And they wanted his glory towards them. Look at verse 51 and the third characteristic of Jesus. First characteristic is Jesus gives honor where honor is due. Second characteristic, Jesus values the right kind of glory. And the third characteristic, Jesus loves people. Look at verse 51. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. You know what we have in this one sentence? We have Jesus telling us the motivation behind his whole teaching ministry.

21:39Look back there. His whole purpose, his whole teaching ministry, what was it geared to? To save his hearers. He's not in league with the devil. Remember, the devil is the man-killer. That's what the devil is all about. He's a murderer, has been from the beginning. He still is. His weapons are lies, and he speaks lies so that he can lead you to your harm. And that's what Jesus is saying about the devil. Now, him, about himself, he's saying the opposite. Look, I came. If anyone will keep my word, he will never see death. My whole teaching ministry is geared to saving people by turning them back from the curse of death. I mean, this is why you can put joy and you can put the cross in its background, and you can say, This is what it's about. One has come on the scene who will turn back death. Turn back the curse.

22:40Because he really loves people. And this promise is truly remarkable. Look at verse 51. He says, they will not see death. Truly, truly, strong words of affirmation. So it becomes very important. Two questions really become important for us. What does keeping His Word involve? Right? If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. Well, keeping His Word is not just approve of or like a cent, like, okay, yeah, that looks pretty good. You can go with the Bible, you know, that kind of thing. But it involves a deeper sense of treasuring by keeping His Word, by paying attention. It implies belief, attention, meditation, obeying, guarding. And what we've been saying all along, making room for His words in your life.

23:39That's what keeping, making room for Jesus' words, for the words of Scripture in your own routine. So that's the first question. What does keeping involve? Treasuring. Second, what does never seeing death mean? Well, certainly he's. He's not speaking about physical death here. He's speaking about spiritual death. And he's speaking about the kind of life that physical death cannot kill. And this is why he says, don't be afraid of the ones who can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. Be afraid of the one who can kill both body and soul, right? You see, there's a kind of life that physical death cannot kill. And what Jesus is saying is: look, the one who keeps my word will never, will not, will certainly not see death.

24:40They will not see a, they will not be separated from God. And in the future, they will be resurrected to life because death cannot eclipse the life that God has given. And so there will be resurrection. But that's just an expression of the life that's already there. And if you are a believer, you will never experience separation from God. So keep. Be keeping. Receive him. If anyone keeps, receive, believe, treasure, pay attention, receive his teaching, keep his teaching, believe him to be the one for you. God, believe, and then imitate his example. Love people. This is what he's about. This is why you can put joy and the cross in the same line of sight because he loves people. Well, look back at verse 52, so we get this interruption, okay? Look at verse 52. The Jews said to him, Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also, and you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. So this is how their logic is going. It goes something like this. They knew that Abraham had heard and obeyed God, right? They knew that Abraham had heard and obeyed God's word, and yet Abraham died. Likewise, they knew that the prophets had heard and obeyed the words of God, and yet they died.

26:29And so they rightly conclude that for Jesus to declare his words to be of such life-giving caliber that who would ever keep Jesus' words would never die, they rightfully conclude that he is speaking of himself being greater than Abraham and the prophets. But instead of embracing that, what they do is they say, okay, there's only two options. One Believe you. I don't want to do that. So they respond: You are an arrogant liar of demonic proportions. That's what's going on here. Now we know you have a demon. Nobody would talk like this unless they had a demon. No way.

27:22Now look at what verse 53 says. Surely you were not greater than Abraham, who died. The prophets died too. Who do you make yourself out to be? Who do you think you are talking like this? I mean, it has these tones of being flabbergasted, right? Big word, right? But just unbelief. I can't believe you'd say that. Who do you think you are? And there's a vicious antagonism in their words. But Jesus' response is still very calm, very matter-of-fact. He came to speak the truth, and that's what he's going to do. He's going to continue speaking the truth. So the fourth characteristic of Jesus is that Jesus treasures communion with his heavenly Father. He treasures communion with his heavenly Father.

28:27And this communion is expressed. In verses 54 to 55. It's expressed by the way the Father relates to the Son. And then this communion is also expressed in the way the Son relates to the Father. And I just want to look at each of those. First of all, look at how this communion expresses itself by the way the Father glorifies the Son. Look at verse 55. Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God.

29:08He's saying, You say that you are of God, yet you pay no attention to the way God is glorifying me in your midst. Now, certainly, in the near context here, he's speaking about miracles that he has done, the pool of Bethesda, they're still mad about how he healed that paralytic. As he leaves here and goes into chapter 9, he's going to heal a blind man. But there's unquestionably, they are aware of his miracles. They are also aware of the genuineness of them. He's saying, You say you're of God, and God is glorifying me through these, but you're not connecting. You're not being honest.

30:00But there's a greater context, and just take a moment to think about this. The Father loves to glorify the Son. Let this settle in your mind. Let this communion be forever cemented in who you are. The Father loves, is overjoyed, is excited about, loves to exalt and glorify the Son. And in the greater context of Scripture, boy, you see that. And I would love to invite you to come to our Sunday school classes. We're looking through that even now in the Old Testament. But just think about the narratives of how God the Father glorified Jesus at his birth. You remember in Luke chapter 2, you remember in verse 7, Mary lays him, wraps him in cloths, lays him in the manger. And then in verse 8, the narrative says, And in the same region, there were shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel, the Lord, suddenly stood before him, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy. Heaven's joy is spilling over, and the angel has been sent to come. And say to the shepherds, look at what's going on. You need to know what's happening over here in this manger. And then, and then, if that weren't enough, he doesn't just send one, then all of a sudden, verse 11: for today, the city of David, there's been born to you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

31:50And then suddenly, verse 13, there appeared with the angel a multitude, a multitude. You see, heaven's joy is spilling over. I mean, it's announced. I mean, what other truth have you seen in Scripture revealed like this? I mean, the Father is excited in heaven, and that heavenly joy is spilling over to earth, and it fills the countryside. A multitude, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God, saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among men with whom he is pleased. You just keep going on. You come to Simeon, just a few days later, right? And Simeon, for some reason, he's led by the Spirit into the temple, and in comes Jesus, his parents, bringing Jesus to carry out the custom of the law. And then in verse 28, Simeon took him in his arms, and he blessed God and said, Now, Lord, you are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation. Which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel. It's like God's like, I'm going to announce it in the temple, too. I mean, I just can't be quiet. So he sends him in there. And then, if that weren't enough, then all of a sudden, wise men come from the east, right? Matthew 2:1. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, Magi from the East arrive in Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. And their presence rattled everyone in Jerusalem. It's like I'm going to send it, it's going to be heaven's joy again.

33:53Magi are going to come and worship him, and it's going to just rattle Herod. And then they saw the star, went over the place where the child was, and when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Now we see heaven's joy expressed in these wise men. After coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshipped him. And then, opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were exceedingly joyful.

34:31This is the Father glorifying the Son. Jesus isn't doing any of this stuff. He's a little baby. All right? The Father is doing this because the Father loves to glorify the Son. And you can just go on through the gospel records. You remember at His baptism, you remember the Father's joy was expressed there as Jesus was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove. And then a voice out of heaven said, This is my beloved Son. I am very pleased with this one.

35:09As if to say, Look, here he is. You see heaven's joy coming down? It's throughout the whole the Father's joy is in the Son. You remember at his death, oh, and I would love to just walk through all these, but just think about his death. Heaven's joy would say, This is King of the Jews. He did it by inscription. This is Jesus, King of the Jews. And then in Matthew 27:50, Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And how does the Father honor him?

35:47As if to say, Amen. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Oh, yeah, it's done. The earth shook, rocks were split. Tombs were open, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now, the centurion and those who were keeping guard over him, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightening and said, Truly, this is the Son of God.

36:22You just see it throughout. And, oh, and his resurrection, right? Matthew, you think the Father's done with that? In Matthew 28, Mary Magdalene comes to the grave, and behold, a severe earthquake had occurred. Why? Because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. Why was there an earthquake? Boom. That's an angel. I'm going to take this. Come on. Yeah. And what does he say? Do not be afraid. I mean, the guards were like dead men, right? Do not be afraid, for I know you're looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here. He is risen. Just as he said, I believe there's a smile, an angelic smile of excitement. And you see this show up. And as they left the tomb, they quickly went with fear and great joy. You see, they're like frightened, but there was within them this pounding of heaven's joy. He's alive. He's alive. And heaven. Heaven's joy just spills over again and doesn't end there. It goes on. He glorified him in the preaching ministry. I mean, think about it. Those who were once sinners, those who were defeated, those who were broken, those who were buried in the guilt of their sin, what does he do? He revives them. He revives them. And it is these that he then sends to testify and to proclaim his glory to the nations. And on and on through the preaching ministry, it is through broken vessels whom he has redeemed and he has made whole. And through them, they speak the utterances of God's word and what he has done. And it's an overflow of joy that continues to this day.

38:21Yeah, the Father glorifies the Son. He glorifies the Son. So much so that in Philippians 2:9, it says, For this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

38:53Oh, the Father is taken with the Son. And that is why those who glorify the Son. The Father will glorify. Those who shame the Son, the Father will shame. That is why you are to be listening to Him and hearing Him. Oh, yes. Oh, yes, the Father glorifies the Son. But this intimate communion between Father and Son is not only seen in the way the Father glorifies the Son, but it's also seen in the way the Son relates to the Father.

39:32The Son knows the Father and he keeps His Word. Look back. Verse 55. And you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I said that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His Word. It says, I am keeping His Word. They don't know Jesus, they don't know the Father. Jesus knows they don't know the Father. Jesus does know the Father, and this is the truth. He says, I perfectly know him.

40:06I know Him. And that is why I keep His Word. I am keeping His Word. Jesus keeps the Father's Word, as well as promising life to those who keep His Word. You see, the communion is so intimate between the two that Christ's Word is the Father's Word. To hear the one is to hear the other. So let us be like Christ. Let us treasure the communion with our heavenly Father. This is what he enjoyed, coming to earth and giving to us his communion. That was his joy through the cross to give us communion with his Father.

40:50That's Jesus' delight. He treasures communion with his heavenly Father. Well, all this is building up to a point. As I said, it's building up to this shocking surprise. And he shifts gears here. Verse 5, or I mean, point number 5. Jesus is the source of Abraham's joy. Fifth characteristic of Jesus is that Jesus is the source of Abraham's joy. Look at verse 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.

41:27Now, when and where, it's not clear, but that Abraham saw Jesus' day and rejoiced exceedingly is clear. Maybe it was in the promise that in his seed, all the nations would be blessed. Maybe it was when they ate together at the oaks of Mamre in Genesis 18. Maybe it was at the birth of Isaac. Maybe it was at the binding of Isaac, but somewhere. It happened that Abraham saw from a far distance the Redeemer who would come and whose advent would make all the earth rejoice. And in this, Abraham greatly rejoiced, because what would cause the whole world to rejoice would be the source of Abraham's rejoicing as well.

42:27And then the grand finale: sixth characteristic about the light upon the light, sixth characteristic of Jesus is that Jesus is the eternal God. Look back at verse 57. So the Jews said to him, You are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am. And here's the comparison. They're saying, okay, look, you're not yet 50. He's just making a comparison. Okay, you're no way over 50, and Abraham approximately two millennia ago, and you're telling me, you're telling us that you have seen Abraham. Actually, that's not what he was saying exactly. He said, Abraham saw my day, but they rightly understood, well, how do you know this?

43:30And what Jesus' response is, he says, look, I am not only the source of Abraham's joy, I am the cause of his very existence. I am the I am. I am the continual being. I am the continuous being one. And this statement that when Jesus says, I am, I, the I am, this is the boldest statement that Jesus could make about himself. This is the same name that God gave to Moses. And what Jesus was saying is, he didn't say that he was just simply predated Abraham, but that he is the continually existent one. No beginning, no end. So any school of thought that puts the Son of God having a beginning point does not believe Jesus' words here. And Jesus is not saying that there is no distinction between him and the Father. He is saying that the same expression that is used of the Father can be used of himself. The Father is the continually existing one, and the Son is the continually existing one as well. And what he is saying is, where I am, God is.

44:51Where God, where I live, God lives. Where I dwell, God dwells. Where I speak, God speaks. Where I speak. Call, God calls. Where I act, God acts. Where I judge, God judges. Where I forgive, God forgives. Where I reject, God rejects. Where I suffer, God suffers. And where I promise, God promises. I am He. That's what He's saying. And this is the great rest for our souls as Christians. We have, as Christians, the reality that Jesus is God Himself, the very God who met Moses, the very God who gave Moses the law with all of its righteous requirements, the one who also gave the sacrificial system that went along with it. This is the same one who calls us to come with our sins and to believe in Him for forgiveness of our sins. Our confidence is that this calling does not come from a mere man, but from God Himself. That is the foundation of our lives. That is the foundation of Christianity. That is the foundation of true life as Jesus wants to give it.

46:15So, how are we to respond? We're to be coming to Him in confidence and continue with Him without fear. Well, Jesus gives honor where honor is due. Jesus values the right kind of glory. Jesus loves people. Jesus treasures communion with his heavenly Father. Jesus is the source of Abraham's joy. And Jesus is the eternal God. So, how do you respond? Well, not, that's the way they did. Look back at verse 59. What do you do when you can't win the argument by reasoning, and then you can't discredit your opponent? You're really left with two options: you can believe or you can remove your opponent. And the Jews opted for the latter. Look at verse 59.

47:13Therefore, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. You see, the Jews recognized Jesus' claim to be God, and they rejected him with decisiveness. They were too overcome with their own desires to be taught by Jesus. And so, you know what? He left the temple, he left them to themselves to go on with their demonic politicking, their demonic self-promotion, their demonic protection of their own sins. And he left them. You know, as I think, if I were A preacher at that moment, what would my message be to those that day?

48:13What would my message be to those who would be content to let Jesus pass by them and go right out? What would my message be? Well, I'll tell you what my hope my message would be. I would run to them and I would tell them, run to him. Run to him. Catch him. Catch up with him. Do not let this be your last interaction with him. Ezekiel saw the glory of God leaving the temple. Don't let this be you. Run after him. And don't let this be you this morning. The gift of the new covenant in Christ is a new heart. Ask him for it. Run to him. Don't let him slip out of your existence.

49:06Run after him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for these glorious truths, this glorious self-revelation of yourself. Thank you. Help us to respond rightly and in a way that gives honor to you. Him. Will you help us do that this morning? In Jesus' name.