John 8:48-59 “Jesus: The Great I AM”

1:05But I thought it would be appropriate just to begin this passage just by getting on our knees and confessing who Christ is, our King, our Lord, and our Savior. I know lots of you guys have kids. Maybe you can't kneel where you're at. And so if you can't make it, that's totally fine. But if you would just join me if you can on your knees, I just want to spend a moment praying to our King. Lord Jesus, you are God. You are, as we just read, the great I am.

1:42You are our King. You are our Savior. Holy Spirit, would you just help us to have ears to hear? Because we know from the Pharisees that if we don't have ears to hear by your Spirit, we will miss what you are saying this morning. And it is incredibly significant, Jesus. So please, Holy Spirit, just help us to understand and help us to revolve our lives around what you have done, Jesus, and what you've said. For your glory. Amen.

2:17I think Jesus' words this morning are actually very, very clear to us this morning. And there's really two main things that I think Jesus wants us to both understand and to respond to this morning. There's two claims. One, Jesus is God. And two, those who trust and obey Him have life. And I want you to notice something very significant. I said have life, not will have life. I want to echo what Mark shared last week: that perseverance is not a prerequisite to become a disciple, but it's an indicator of what Christ and the Spirit has done in your heart and in your life. So those who trust, Trust and obey Jesus have life. They have been made a disciple. It's an important thing to point out.

3:08But before jumping into our passage this morning, I thought it would be appropriate. Once again, I know many of you, it's the summer, maybe you haven't been here, but we're jumping into the end of a long dialogue Jesus has been having with some Jewish people and Jewish religious leaders. And the key to kind of this back and forth interaction in chapter 8 has been identity. To whom do you belong? The Jews thought because they were physically descended from Abraham, that that made them the people of God. However, what Jesus is revealing to them is that physical descent does not make you a part of God's people, but whom you serve with your life reveals who your father truly is.

3:52And he argues that it's those that listen to and abide in his word that are truly God's people. And he actually makes the really bold claim that the Pharisees' father is Satan. Jesus argues that if God was truly their father, they would love him and they would listen to him because God himself sent him into the world. So that's an extremely quick recap of getting to where we're at this morning. But just to provide one more time, a bigger context of the passage of John and why John decided to write this.

4:25This is the thing I just personally love about John is he tells you flat out, this is why I'm writing this. To you. And so I'm sure you guys have heard this many times, but it bears repeating. I think it'll be on the screen. John 20, verses 30 through 31 say this. It's John's statement of why he's writing this. Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

5:03So John tells us that what he records in his gospel is but a sliver of what Jesus did. And I love, this is just a side note, but the end of John, John says, if I were to write down everything that Jesus did, the books of the world cannot contain. That's just one of the most amazing statements, I think, in the Bible. But what he has recorded for us, the interactions, the signs, the miracles that John's recorded for us, is very specific purpose. This is what he wants us to know: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we would have life in his name.

5:38And I want to make a couple of quick notes on this phrase because there's lots of big names and Christian terminology that I think can get conflated and not really understood. So let's just look at this. First off, this is a claim that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah and King of Israel. This is what John meant by that word Christ. It literally means anointing. One. It's not Jesus' last name. John is presenting Jesus as the Savior to believe, but also as the King of the world. As Psalm 2 says it, all allegiance and every knee will bow before Him.

6:16Secondly, John's calling us to believe that Jesus is this Messiah and the King of the world. However, this is not simply a call just to believe intellectually the facts about who Jesus is. I think we typically tend to divorce what we believe from what we do in our culture. But this is not what John and other biblical writers write of when they speak of belief. What you love and what you truly believe will drive how you live your life.

6:50And this is a consistent theme throughout all of Scripture. So I think a better definition of what John meant by belief is a deep and abiding trust that leads you to center your entire life upon Jesus and what he commands. So what you truly believe will be made manifest by how you live your life. And for those that don't know, I think it's been stated already this morning, but I work for a missionary organization called To Every Tribe. And our head of member care there has this phrase that's just stuck with me, and it really convicted me when I first heard it. But he said, people don't live what they live. They profess, they live what they believe.

7:35They don't live what they profess, they live what they believe. And I want to be clear that we all in this room struggle with unbelief. None of us is perfect. None of us perfectly believes and trusts in Jesus. We are all on a journey of trusting Christ more and more every day. But if you are truly a disciple, if you truly love and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and the King of the world, then you will increasingly submit more and more of your life to the rule and the reign of Christ.

8:10Your heart and your life will increasingly be more aligned to Christ and to his kingdom and to the heart of the Father. Imperfectly, yes. Totally by the grace of God and the Spirit, absolutely. But nonetheless, how we live our life will either give evidence that you are truly a son of the Father or you're a son of Satan. And I think this is the main point that Jesus is trying to help these Pharisees, these religious leaders to understand that He is God and those that trust and obey Him have life.

8:51So now to get into our passage, large preface there, but the two main statements that Jesus authoritatively claims in this Passage reveals this main point, these two main things that he's saying. And in verse 51, he says, To repeat it, truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. If you've noticed, there's many of these kind of truly, truly statements, which I never understood growing up. But Jesus says these kind of throughout John's gospel and really throughout the other gospels.

9:27And what truly means is literally amen, or this is the truth, or as the young kids say today, facts. But by leading off with two amens, Jesus is not simply saying, hey, believe me, this is true. He is authoritatively claiming this to be personal. He has personal knowledge that this is the truth. It's an authoritative claim. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is true. So obviously, the Pharisees, once again, are offended by this as they understand the weight of this authoritative claim. And they continue to kind of resort to personally attacking Jesus and questioning his authority. So let's look at what Jesus actually says before we get into why he alone has the authority to make such a claim. Again, Jesus says, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

10:21So what does Jesus mean by this statement? I thought John's been all about belief. I thought it was those who only believe that have life and they'll never see death. So, what does Jesus mean here? Well, the word that Jesus uses here for keep is actually incredibly significant to understand what he means. It's the Greek word tereo, and it's a rich word that the New Testament authors kind of translate differently: either observe or keep or obey, which kind of reveals that it's kind of hard to translate because it's a very rich word. And in reality, it's a statement about our identity. It's much more than simply to obey something or someone, it's to own it, to make it yours, to revolve your entire life around.

11:11So, in other words, Jesus is saying here: if anyone believes me and centers their entire life around all that I have done, that person has life. And remember the words to the Pharisees from last week. They centered their entire life around the law, around rules and regulations. Don't touch this, don't eat that, don't hang out with this person. But at the end of the day, what was in their heart? Hatred, anger, death. They wanted to murder Jesus, and they love the praise of man rather than God.

11:52As disciples of Jesus who believe that He is the Messiah and the Savior, our lives should be marked by His kingdom value. Of love and humility. So, while it is true that we are saved utterly by the perfect grace and sacrifice of Christ Jesus, it is also true that as disciples and sons and daughters of the king, our entire life has been radically changed. Our fundamental identity has changed from son and daughter of Satan to son and daughter of the Lord. And that should radically change our entire lives. We're no longer slaves to sin, but as Mark said last week, we have freedom now to pursue the right things for the right reasons by the power of the Spirit. We now have true meaning and purpose in life to live for the glory of our King and our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are now ambassadors and are constantly to be seeking to bring our life under the submission and rule of our King Jesus.

13:00And as the church, we exist now as sojourners and exiles awaiting a better country that Jesus will establish one day when he returns. Now, how can we know that all of this is true? Who is Jesus that he can make such a bold claim? Well, the Pharisees are baffled by this statement, and they point out that Abraham and the prophets of Israel all died. So they essentially ask, like, dude, who are you? Like, who are you? Make such a claim.

13:33What they fail to understand, sadly, is that Jesus is not speaking literally here, but spiritually. He's not saying that those that trust and obey Him will never see death. But that word see that's used here literally means to experience or to look with understanding. So, what Jesus is saying is that those that trust and obey Him will forever be restored to God, so that even though we all physically will die, that end will no longer be forever, but we will be restored to God upon death. That's our hope. So, physical death is a horrible evil that's a result of the fall. But as believers, our glorious hope is that we will be reunited with God upon death.

14:24However, the Pharisees don't get this because all they can see and hear is what's right in front of them. Their father is not God, as Jesus said, but is actually Satan. So, Jesus gives this epic response about their question to his identity. He essentially tells them that the God that they say they worship actually glorifies him. And that even Abraham looked forward to his day and rejoiced. And once again, the Pharisees, only hearing and seeing what's right in front of them, say, You're not even 50 years old, bro. Like, how can you? You possibly say that you have seen our father Abraham?

15:05And this is where Jesus has the true kind of mic drop moment. Notice what he says. Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Wow. I don't know if y'all caught that, but that is a significant statement. I think it's probably been talked about, but when Moses was revealed, when Yahweh revealed himself to Moses, do you remember what he said in the burning bush? When they asked, who shall I say sent me? And God says, I am sent you.

15:46Jesus is kind of hinted at, I am the light of the world. He's had all these statements, but it could not get more clear right here. He is saying, the God that revealed himself to Moses is standing right in front of you. That's a bold claim. The Pharisees knew exactly what he meant by this statement, as evidenced by them going to pick up the rocks to stone him, who they believe has just committed blasphemy, this man claiming to be God.

16:19But what they fail to understand is that Jesus is and was God. That all things were created in and through and by and for him. And this will ultimately, this misunderstanding will lead to his death on the cross as we're getting there in John. However, true to the upside-down nature of the kingdom of God, it's actually Jesus' cross that becomes his enthronement ceremony. The irony of it all is that what looked like Jesus' moment of greatest weakness and defeat ends up becoming the very means through which he defeats all evil and hell and sin and death. This is the glorious news of the gospel: that Jesus is the king of the world, that he defeated all evil and sin, and that those that believe and follow him truly have life.

17:22And I want to be clear, though, about what the actual call of Jesus is this morning to us. Jesus doesn't want us to simply walk away this morning agreeing with everything that was said and just continuing on our way. He is calling us to center our entire lives, our Monday through Sunday, upon what He has done and who He has made us. To serve as His ambassadors in whatever sphere you're in, school, work, in your home. He wants you to be an ambassador in those spaces to Him and to His glory. This is life.

18:01And as followers of Jesus and sons and daughters of the king, we get to actually take part in the new life that God created us for. We get to know and personally behold the glory of God. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, which is another key theme in John, I think you guys will get to later on, we get to walk in that newness of life. So, obedience is no longer a drudgery to be done or else, but it's a joyous overflow of who Christ has made us and our newfound identity in Him.

18:40And this is another great quote. It's a super short quote. I think I even shared this last time I was here, but it's just really stuck with me, and I think it's really significant. Being proceeds doing. You notice this in all Paul's letters. Because of what Christ has done, therefore we obey. It's not obey or else, it is this is what Christ has done for us, friends. Now let's respond and live lives worthy of the gospel for God's glory and for our thriving and good.

19:16And let me give an example that I think both children in the room and parents can understand. And I think I heard this from Francis Chen one time just to give him props for this. But he gave this illustration of as a parent, say, you went to your child and said, All right. I want you to clean your room by the end of the day. And I said, okay. So you went on your day. And you got there at the end of the day and you came up and said, okay, did you clean your room? And they responded in this way, well, I got together with my friends and we did this Bible study. And we talked about how great it would be to obey our parents and how that's what God wants for us to do. And we're really excited about obeying and doing this. I said, that's great. Did you clean your room? They said, well, no. Parents and children in the room, would this be acceptable?

20:07I don't know about you guys. No. But that came out. That would not be acceptable. Why? Because God, and as parents, we don't want our kids simply to think the right things. We want them to think the right things and to have the right motivations and do them. And so I think it's the same way. And I think sometimes we can think it's just thinking the right thoughts. It's just having the right tools, having the right Bible study that makes us holy. It's both belief, friends, and obedience to tie together. What we truly believe will drive how we live our lives.

20:46And to be totally honest, this is not something I would have said years ago. I would have only emphasized that it's belief and set up good works and obedience to be the antithesis of what it means to be a believer. But as I've conversed, Continue to read and to be conformed to God's word. I've seen how instrumental this reality of belief with obedience is to what Jesus is truly calling us to. And this became very clear to me when I realized that that same Greek word that he uses, tereo, which is keep in this passage, is the same word that Jesus uses in the Great Commission. So look at the screen with me at Matthew 28, 18 through 20.

21:28And Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe, tereo, observe, keep, obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. So as you guys can see, keeping, observing, obeying all that Jesus has commanded us is actually a critical part of the mission that Christ left his church. We're not simply called to proclaim the gospel and get everybody saved, though obviously that's a key aspect of it. But as people come into the kingdom, we are to teach them to own their faith, to live lives worthy of the gospel, and to walk in obedience to King Jesus in every aspect of their life for the glory of his name.

22:32The entire book of James points out this key reality as well. If you say you have faith, but you don't control your tongue, you show partiality towards the rich, you don't care for the poor and the marginalized in society, you are deceiving yourself. Because God Himself is love, and as His children, we ought to imitate Him with our lives. Now, you may be wondering: all right, I believe Jesus is God, I believe He's the Messiah, but what does it look like to keep or to Terreo His word? Well, that's a great question, and one that I think John makes abundantly clear both in His gospel and in the book of 1 John later on. There's a clear identifying marker of Jesus' disciples, and that mark is love.

23:31It's not obedience to rules, regulations, and man-made traditions. This is legalism. Obedience to Jesus leads to life and to thriving. But obedience to traditions and to men, while it may have an appearance of wisdom, ultimately leads to pride and to death, as you can see from the Pharisees. Jesus, on the other hand, sums up all the commands of the Old Testament with two. Commands, love God and love your neighbor. We're not called to simply obey a bunch of rules, but we're actually called to love our brothers and sisters who are sinners just like us.

24:15We are called to be God's family and renewed humanity on earth and to care for one another like Jesus cared for us. And look at what Jesus will say later on in John 13, verses 34 through 35. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

24:53So, how are we to love as Jesus' disciples? Like Jesus loved us, sacrificially, selflessly, and thinking more highly of one another than we think of ourselves. In God's kingdom economy, greatness is not measured how the world measures greatness. Our culture measures greatness by how much money you have, how much success you have, how powerful you are, the way you can use words. But the greatest in God's kingdom are the meek, the mild, the peacemakers. And don't Miss the magnitude of what Jesus said at the end of that. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples.

25:41When I got this, this hit me like a ton of bricks. The way in which I love or show a lack of love, brothers and sisters in Christ, is either proving that Jesus is the Messiah and is worthy of your trust, or that everything I'm saying means nothing. The way in which we love one another in the body of Christ is absolutely essential. Jesus didn't come simply to restore us to the Father, but he also came to make us one with one another.

26:17Unity with God, think of the cross, unity with God and unity with each other was accomplished on Jesus' cross. And this includes brothers and sisters in Christ that are not in this building, that think and look and act differently than us. And John says that if we don't love one another, then the world actually has the right to say that we are not true disciples and the claims that we make about him mean nothing. It's a powerful and a weighty reality.

26:53And to be honest, I think I miss this essential reality of the gospel for a lot of my Christian life. I thought growing as a disciple meant accumulating a lot of knowledge, getting all the right theology, going to church every Sunday, and while obviously these things are important realities, I thought that these things themselves would make me a mature Christian. Yet at the end of the day, when I evaluated my heart, it was full of pride and arrogance. And I looked down upon others who didn't share my views theologically, or politically, or socially.

27:31But the reality is, Jesus is calling us to something much deeper than religious observance and simply growth in our head knowledge of who He is. He is calling us as His church to be His representatives on earth, to be representatives of truth both in word and in deed. And we can say that we all believe the right things about Jesus all that we want, but if we don't love one another, brothers and sisters, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 that we are nothing.

28:08So, how do we love one another like Christ loved us? I don't know about you guys, but I don't wake up naturally eager to serve and lay down my life for people. That's just maybe y'all are different than me, but that's just not where I wake up at, even after a cup of coffee. And these disciples actually were the exact same as they're about to go to the cross. Cross. They are fighting over who will be the greatest in the kingdom.

28:35But what changed everything for them and for us was the coming of the Holy Spirit. And you all will get into the spirit here in later chapters in John. But the power of the Holy Spirit residing in all of us is the only thing that will enable us to truly imitate Christ and love like He loved us. We must daily walk by the Spirit and abide in Christ's love for us, that we may be able to truly love one another as Christ has called us to.

29:08And I know that I desperately need God's Word. I desperately need the Holy Spirit. And I desperately need brothers and sisters in Christ to remind me that love at the end of the day is the aim of our charge, as Paul says to Timothy and 1 Timothy. We need to remind ourselves of what Christ has done for us and seek to be equipped to make disciples of Jesus for the glory of his name. This is the key reason why we gather every Sunday.

29:39So, church, I invite you, join me in seeking to live out our identity as ambassadors of Jesus, our King. And before we pray, I wanted to just share a poem actually that I wrote at the end of my time. I went through two years of training, missionary training with Two Every Tribe, and I wrote this poem, and it's honestly. A poem of repentance for me. It's based off of 1 Corinthians 13 and just the centrality of love. And so let me read it, and I hope you're encouraged and challenged by it.

30:13Faith, hope, love are three important things. But the greatest of these is love, according to 1 Corinthians 13. You can have great faith and even a lot of hope, but if you have not love, Paul says you are spiritually broke. The Pharisees probably had great faith and probably a lot of hope, but inwardly they were full of pride, and all they wanted to do was gloat. I know God. I know all the answers. Come to me, my children, and see. If you want to know what God is like, just come to me and I'll reveal all his mysteries. They talked as if they fully knew him, as if the God of the universe could be contained. But don't we do the exact same thing when we laugh at social media posts that were only meant to shame? I say this as the foremost. I'm not innocent of this sin, but I fear for the Church of America that being right is what's seen as a win. We need the Holy Spirit to come teach us afresh again. That faith, hope, and truth are important, but these Without love is a sin. So please, God, come help us. Give us humility and love. Yes, even for our brothers who think differently than us. Help us to see Jesus, the perfectly loving one, who bled and died and rose again, so all God's enemies could become his daughters and sons. Let's pray.

32:06Lord Jesus, you are God. You are the great I am. And Lord, we are your people. We exist to proclaim your glory and to live out your glory, God. Would you help us, Holy Spirit, to not just leave this morning unchanged, but Lord, would you be pleased to use us in our love for one another to bring glory to your name, to have people in our community wonder why we care so radically for one another, why we don't take part in the social media shaming and hatred that's going on and get caught up in all these argumentations. And Lord, would you just help us to be a people that are marked by love and humility and a command. Concern and a care for justice.

33:03Help us to see Jesus as he truly is, that we may truly reflect him with how we live our lives. We thank you, Jesus, and we thank you for your words to us this morning. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.