53
John 8:25 Who
Jesus Is
Introduction:
In our
previous text, Jesus told the Pharisees that if
they would not believe in Him they would die in their
sins.
That means they would never make it to heaven.
In our text
the Pharisees ask Him to tell them who He is
and He gives them an answer to their question.
I. The frame of
mind in which the question was asked
V. 25,
"Then said they unto him, Who art thou?..." As
far as we can tell just by the words themselves, this was
a
legitimate question.
The question itself is simply, "Who
are you?"
However, judging from what we know about the
Pharisees and about their dealings with Jesus, this
question
was not at all asked in sincerity. The Pharisees never
asked Jesus anything out of a sincere desire to know the
truth. Rather they
always had an ulterior motive. They
asked out of a desire to trap Him. They were hoping that He
would say something that they could use against Him. Either
that or else, they sought to ridicule Him.
I would not at
all doubt that in asking this particular
question they were hoping that Jesus would say something
that they could use against Him. However, I strongly
suspect that they asked this question chiefly in
ridicule.
Jesus had just told them that unless they would believe
in
Him, they would die in their sins.
Now
technically, He did not say that they should believe
in Him as the Christ.
Rather, the word is "he" and even
that is in italics.
Yet the idea of the verse is very
clear. Jesus is telling
them that unless they believe in
Him as the Christ, they will die in their sins and would
never make it to
heaven. But since He did not
specifically
say that He is the Christ, they ask Him who He is. It was
as if they were saying in ridicule, "Now just who
are you to
tell us that we will not go to heaven? Just who do you
think you are, anyway?"
II. The answer
which Jesus gave
(V. 24),
"...And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same
that I said unto you from the beginning." If we look back
to John 5:17, 23, 43 to the very early part of the
ministry
of Jesus and to His first trip to Jerusalem after
starting
His ministry, Jesus informed the Jewish leaders even then
that He is the Son of God and that the Father had sent
Him
into the world.
In that
statement He did not specifically say, "I am the
Christ." He
did tell them that God the Father had sent Him
and that He is, therefore, the Son of God. At this state of
time, when all of Israel was looking for the coming of
the
Christ, special consideration should be given by them to
the
possibility that this man who claims to be the Son of God
really is the Christ.
Then later in
Galilee after Jesus had fed a multitude
with only five loaves of bread and two fishes, Jesus told
them that He is the Bread of Life. He told them that the
manna in the wilderness was not the true Bread From
Heaven.
In John 6:51 He said, "I the living bread which came
down
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live
forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh,
which I
will give for the life of the world." Once again we have to
acknowledge that He did not come right out and say,
"I am
the Christ."
But from what He did say, they surely should
have understood that He was claiming to be the
Christ. How
could He give everlasting life to the His followers if He
is
not the Christ?
Then just a
few days ago when He came to Jerusalem to
observe the Feast of Tabernacles, on the very first day
of
His arrival He appeared in the temple and spoke to a
large
crowd of people.
He reaffirmed that He had not come to the
world all on His own.
He again informs them that He had
been sent to this world on a special mission. John 7:28,
"Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught,
saying, Ye
both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come
of
myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know
not." Even
then He did not outright say, "I am the Christ. I am the
Son of God. I am
the Savior of the world." But by
this
time they should have begun to get the idea that He does
claim to be the Christ.
He is most certainly claiming that
He is no ordinary man.
It was then on
the last day of the feast that Jesus
announced that He is The Water of Life. Every day of the
feast a priest had gone to the Well of Siloam and dipped
water from that well in a golden bowl. This water was then
carried to the Brazen Altar to be poured out upon the
altar.
It was on that last day of the feast when the water was
dipped from that well that Jesus cried out to the whole
multitude who were present claiming to be The Water of
Life.
John 7:37, "In the last day, that great day of the
feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him
come unto me, and drink." He went on to explain in the next
verse. John 7:38,
"He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of
living water."
He meant by
this that if one would believe in Him as the
Christ they would have everlasting life. Now He still did
not say specifically, "I am the Christ." But what He did
say certainly made it evident that He was claiming to be
the
Christ.
Then after a
full week in which the city of Jerusalem
was lit up ever night by four huge candelabra which
burned
in the courtyard of the temple, Jesus announced to them
that
He is the Light of World.
John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus
again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he
that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have
the light of life."
In this statement Jesus announced to
them that He is the Spiritual Light of the World. All who
believe in Him walk in light. Only those who believe in Him
walk in Light. All
others continue to walk in spiritual
darkness. Note
once more that, Jesus did not say, "I am the
Christ." But what He did say was surely to be
understood to
mean that He claims to be the Christ.
In John 8:16
Jesus said that His judgments are in
perfect harmony with the judgment that God the Father
would
make. John 8:16,
"And yet if I judge, my judgment is true:
for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent
me."
Again, He did not say, "I am the Christ." But He was most
certainly claiming to be the Christ. Otherwise how could
His thoughts and His judgments always be just exactly the
same as those of God the Father?
In John 8:18
Jesus had said to them that God the Father
bore witness of His ministry that He had sent Jesus to
the
world. He was
talking about the mighty miracles which He
had performed.
John 8:18, "I am one that bear witness of
myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of
me."
Those miracles which Jesus performed surely gave
testimony
to all who saw them or heard about them that Jesus is the
Christ. God had
sent Him. He worked miracles by the
power
of God. He is the
Christ of God.
In John 8:23
we read, "And he said unto them, Ye are
from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am
not of this world."
He informed them again that He was not
of this world --- that He had come down from heaven
above.
Now it's true that even in this He did not say, "I
am the
Christ." But He was most certainly making it clear
to all
that He claimed to be the Christ.
They really
knew that He was claiming to be the Christ.
That is what made them so angry at Him. They simply refused
to believe that He is the Christ and it angered them that
He
persisted in claiming to be the Christ. So when Jesus said,
"...if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in
your
sins" they became angrier than ever and they lashed
out at
Him by saying in effect, "Just who do you think you
are to
tell us that we cannot go to heaven?" And Jesus responded
by telling them that He is just exactly who He had been
telling them from the beginning that He is.
III. A broader
search for the answer to the question
But let us get
back to the question which the Pharisees
asked. They asked,
"Who art thou?" That is,
"Who are you?"
Now let us look beyond this immediate passage of
scripture
and the things which Jesus had been telling them from the
beginning of His ministry. Let us take a look at other
Bible passages and see just who the Bible teaches that
Jesus
is.
The Gospel
According To Matthew tells us that He was
conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Ghost or Holy
Spirit. Matthew
1:18 says that Jesus is the virgin born
One. In Matthew
1:21 Joseph was told, "And thou shalt call
His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their
sins." In Matthew 17:5 God the Father spoke from
heaven and
said about Him, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am
well
pleased; hear ye Him."
In John
chapter one we are told that He was in the
beginning with God the Father and that He is the One who
created all things, John 1:1-2. In John 3:16 we are told
that God the Father sent Jesus into the world so that all
who will place their faith in Him will be saved and have
everlasting life.
In John 5:22 we are told that God the
Father has committed all judgment into His hands.
In all four of
the gospels we are told that He went to
Calvary's cross and suffered there in order to pay the
sin
debt for sinful man.
That is, He suffered the penalty of
sin for the guilty sinner so that those who trust in Him
for
salvation will not have to suffer in torment for their
sins.
Jesus has suffered for them so that they will go free and
not have to suffer in hell for their sin.
The Scripture
repeatedly testifies that He arose from
the grave and after that He arose from the earth and
ascended into heaven.
The Scripture also repeatedly informs
us that some day He will return to this world and sit
upon
the throne of David in Jerusalem and will rule the world
during the millennium.
After the millennium He will bring
forth a new heaven and new earth and will sit upon the
throne of God in the New Jerusalem.
IV. The need of
people of our day
In spite of
all that Jesus had already told them about
Himself, and in spite of the witness that God the Father
had
given in His behalf, most of the Pharisees had made up
their
minds and nothing Jesus or God in heaven could say would
change their minds.
They rejected Jesus as their Savior.
It is too late for them.
They will face Him in judgment
some day and they will find out who He is. But it will be
too late to do them any good.
But today it
is not too late for men, women, boys and
girls who will repent of sin and trust in Jesus for
salvation. Let me
appeal to you to acknowledge that God
sent Jesus into the world to be the Savior of men. Let me
also appeal to you to put your own personal faith in Him
and
ask Him to be your Savior. Talk to Him.
He can hear you.
He can see you. He
can save you.
Just believing
that Jesus is the Savior is not enough to
get you into heaven.
You need to call on Jesus and ask Him
to save you. You
need to trust Him to save you. Romans
10:13 reads, "For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the
Lord shall be saved." Have you ever called on Him and asked
Him to save you?
Conclusion:
If not, then I
am going to ask you to call on Him right
now this morning.
You to not have to speak out loud so that
all of us can hear you.
You can talk to Him silently in
your heart. You
can acknowledge to Him that you are a
sinner and that you need to be saved. You can ask Him to
cleanse you from all your sin and to prepare you for
heaven.
Will you do that this morning. We are going to have and
invitation hymn. I
am going to ask all to stand and while
the congregation sings, would you come and get
right with God?