Read John 8:21-30. Jesus continues teaching the crowds. He is preparing everyone for the main event that will be taking place in John 19-20. He is doing everything possible to make sure people are understanding who He is and what it means to believe.
QUESTION: What does Jesus say in verse 21 that will probably confuse people instead of helping them understand?
QUESTION: How do people rationalize what He said in verse 22?
Jesus’ words confused His listeners. He continued to explain who He is. He tells them how He is from above, meaning heaven. They are from below, meaning this world. He reiterates what He said in verse 21 again in verse 24 to help them to see.
over knowing and exploring God. We are to live our days looking up at our Heavenly
Father and down into His Word where we meet the Lover of our souls, Jesus Christ.
INSIGHT: God wants us to learn how to see with our hearts. When we see with our physical eyes and use our human reasoning, we will miss Jesus. It is like wearing blinders. Read 2 Corinthians 4:4.
We know that this world is tainted with sin. We know that sin leads to death. When Jesus states that we will die in our sins, He is speaking of our reality while living in this world. This means we need a way of escape.
QUESTION: What “magic” word does Jesus say in verse 24 that reveals that He knows the way to escape?
Unless what? Unless we believe. Unless we believe that Jesus is who He says He is, we will die in our sins. Sin cost man everything. Sin destroyed the unity and harmony that God intended yet our sin has never deterred His love. Since Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden until this very day, God has never stopped pursuing us and loving us.
the horizon so we have a better view of life. There he removes the fog that
blinds our sight. He clears it away so we can see what is important.
QUESTION: How did the people reveal that they couldn’t see beyond themselves, see verse 25? How did they speak to Jesus? What does that say about them?
We can learn much from how Jesus responds to their demanding question. He answers their question in a straight-forward manner. We need to realize that He did not come to entertain. His days on earth were for one reason, to save man. Even 2,000 years later, His mission is the same.
QUESTION: What do we learn about Jesus in verse 26? What do we learn about the Father?
People still had a hard time understanding. Thankfully, our unbelief never deters God’s love from pursuing us. Never. He simply keeps on wooing us in ways that we each will understand, hoping we will choose to take hold of His amazing grace and love. A day will be coming, though, when it will be too late.
QUESTION: How do we come to understand Jesus? Look at verse 28a.
Jesus is saying that we need to “see” that our sins have caused Him to be lifted up on a cross. He paid the penalty for our transgressions. When we truly “see“, by faith, then we will come to understand. The Holy Spirit will guide us into knowing the things of heaven. John 14:26 says, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 16:13 says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.”
Like Lola here, she is all in with her ice cream!
QUESTION: From the second part of verse 28, what do we learn about Jesus?
This is a learning lesson for us. Jesus relied 100% on His Father. This means we are to rely on Jesus 100% too. Jesus followed what His Father taught Him. We are to follow what Jesus teaches us.
QUESTION: How do we know what to do and follow? I will give you a hint: what are you doing as you read through this blog?
Jesus reassures the crowd that He is not alone. His Father has never left His side while He was on earth. Guess what? He doesn’t leave us either! Look at Deuteronomy 31:6. It says, “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
the fire burning. We need to let God into our lives. We need to let Him
have the say in what we do. We learn this by agreeing and following the Bible.
QUESTION: What was the result of Jesus’ words in verse 30?
This, my friends, is why Jesus made Himself available and spoke personally with people. Many came to believe that day. Want to know something awesome? He is available today, for each of us. He will walk with us in an intimate way. We will know that He is the Messiah, the Son of God! And by knowing, our lives will be changed forever more!
Carol J German 