Who is Your Father? John 8:33-47

Review Jesus had told the Jews that He was the Light of the world –And those who followed Him could leave the darkness of sin Jesus backed up His claim, by His own witness as well as the Father’s witness –His life, teachings, and miracles all bore witness to His pleasing the Father As Jesus spoke, many listeners weighed the evidence and believed in Jesus (Jn 8:30-32) –Those who believed still needed to abide in His words to know the truth and be set free from sin

Free? John 8:33 –A ridiculous claim for the Jews to make Enslaved by Egypt Conquered by various nations during the period of the Judges Enslaved by Assyria (for the northern tribes) Enslaved by Babylon (for Judah) Controlled by the Medo-Persian Empre Conquered by Greece under Alexander the Great Controlled by Seleucids and Ptolemies Conquered by Rome –Ruled by Idumeans and Roman governors

Free? So why did they make such a laughable claim? –Some people will say anything (false and/or ridiculous) to oppose the truth –Some people refuse to recognize their burdens and oppression, no matter how great Like gamblers and alcoholics who refuse to acknowledge their addiction Easier to pretend there is no problem and get angry at those who point out the problem –Pride (in self, heritage, country, etc) is often a barrier to acknowledging one’s need

Free? But who was it that said this to Jesus? –The last group mentioned (v31) were the Jews who believed Perhaps this demonstrates how shallow their faith was Perhaps shows why Jesus told them to abide in His words, know the truth and let the truth set them free –Of course He was talking to a larger group of Jews (many of whom believed, but not all) So could be the non-believing Jews “grasping at straws” to keep from believing

Slaves John 8:34-36 –Makes clear the freedom Jesus was speaking of (v32) was freedom from sin Jesus ignores claim to national freedom (until later) and points out their enslavement to sin –To be a slave to sin only requires committing a sin –A slave is merely a piece of property without any rights to the house »They were claiming rights based on being Abraham’s descendants »Since they were slaves, they had no rights –Only a son had rights, and those whom the son set free

Who is your father? John 8:37-38 –Physically, they were, without doubt, descended from Abraham –But because they were trying to kill Jesus (sinning), they could not abide in Jesus’ word Therefore, they could not be set free by the Son –And a son behaves like his father Jesus, as already pointed out (vv28-29), taught and acted in ways that pleased His Father So they (by their sins) were acting like their father –He leaves it there, not identifying their father

Our father is Abraham! John 8:39-41a –Their first claim is their father is Abraham The one they physically descended from –Jesus tells them, “NO” Abraham did not try to kill people who told him the truth, esp. truth from God Abraham believed God and obeyed God So spiritually the Jews could not claim to be Abraham’s sons since they did not behave like Abraham But He tells them, they are behaving like their father –Again, he doesn’t identify their father

Our Father is God! John 8:41b-43 –Not children of fornication Not physically of mixed blood (like Samaritans) Not spiritually worshippers of idols (Isa 57:1-3) –Jesus again says, “NO” God loves Jesus and sent Jesus –John 3:2, 16; 5:36-42 You can’t love God and not love One sent by God –Not only did they not love Jesus, they would not even listen to Him A “genetic” disability based on who their father truly was...

Your father is the devil John 8:44-45 –Proof that their father was the devil The devil was a murderer and liar from the beginning –Lying to Eve in the garden with no regard to the truth –Causing all to die (spiritual murder) –Influencing Cain to bring about the first murder They were now seeking to murder Jesus (v40) They had openly lied (v33) They refused to give regard to the truth –Since their behavior was the same as the devil’s, then the devil was their father

Who is God’s child? John 8:46-47 –Before they could rally to try to turn the argument back to Jesus, he preempts them –They could not accuse Jesus of being a son of the devil unless they could prove He had sinned No one could think of a single sin He had committed –Another proof He was God’s Son Since He never sinned, then what He was saying was true –Since what He said was true, they should believe Since they refused to believe or listen to the truth, they were not God’s children

Conclusion Who is your father? –Who do we imitate? –Who do we obey? –Who do we seek to please in all we do and say? –Who do you tell people about? –Whose company do you seek? –Whose word do we listen to? If you are not yet God’s child, then you are the devil’s child and a slave to sin –But the Son of God offers to make you free from sin so you can be a child of God (Jn 8:36)