a) It is an honest assessment of the true state of the human heart
b) It is most revealing, especially with reference to the Devil
c) It offers hope and help to those who desire them
THE ISSUE OF BEING ABRAHAM’S DESCENDANTS
1. Acknowledgement
“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants” John 8:37a
a) The Lord Jesus acknowledged their ethnic descent
b) They were Abraham’s descendants indeed
2. How should the descendants of Abraham behave?
Genesis 18:17-19
‘And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”’
a) Commendation of Abraham
i) He shall become a great and mighty nation
ii) All nations of the earth shall be blessed in him
b) Explanation of why God had revealed Himself to Abraham
i) That he may command His children and household after him
ii) That they keep the way of the LORD
iii) To do righteousness and justice
3. The reality of the spiritual state of the Jews in the days of the Lord Jesus
a) Their wicked desire exposed
“Why do you seek to kill Me?” John 7:19b
“You seek to kill Me” John 8:37b
Was this what Abraham taught his descendants?
b) Denial of the Jews
“You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” John 7:20
THE WORD OF THE LORD JESUS
“But you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you”John 8:37b
1. An analysis of why the Jews wanted to kill the Lord Jesus
a) But
i) Strong adversative conjunction
ii) To indicate definite negativity on the part of the Jews
b) You seek to kill Me
i) Premeditated Killing
ii) Purposeful
iii) Planned
c) Motivation/ Reason
i) Because
ii) My word has no place in you
iii) They made no room for the Lord’s Word to lodge in their hearts
AN EXPLANATION OF THE SOURCE OF THE WORDS OF THE LORD JESUS
“I speak what I have seen with My Father” John 8:38a
1. The testimony of John the Baptiser
John 3:27-36
27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
a) The Lord Jesus is the Christ
i) I have been sent before Him (John 3:28)
ii) He is the Bridegroom (John 3:29)
b) The words of the Lord Jesus
i) What He has seen and heard
“And what He has seen and heard,that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony” John 3:32
ii) Speaking the word of God
“For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure” John 3:34
2. The testimony of the Lord Jesus
John 5:19-20
19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.
a) Observing what the Father is doing
“What He sees the Father do;”
b) Emulating what the Father does
“For whatever He does, the Son does in like manner”
c) The Father reveals (shows) Him all things
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does;”
A CANDID APPRAISAL
“And you do what you have seen with your father” John 8:38b
1. The Jews must have found this word hard to accept
2. Who was the father of these Jews?
REACTION OF THE JEWS
1. They reacted to what the Lord Jesus had said
2. Their reply
“Abraham is our father” John 8:39a
a) They held fast to this claim
b) They insist that they were descendants of Abraham
i) They were not Gentiles
ii) They came from Abraham
TWO CONFLICTING VIEWS
1. The Claim of the Lord Jesus
“You do what you have seen with your father” John 8:38b
2. The Claim of the Jews
“Abraham is our father” John 8:39
CONCLUSION
Romans 2:25-29
25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.