Everybody Should Worship The Lord Jesus Christ! Series

Everybody Should Worship the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Gospel of John

John 8:53-59; 31-36

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - February 1, 2017

(Revised September 20, 2019)

BACKGROUND:

*Here in John 8, Jesus was preaching to a crowd of people at the Temple in Jerusalem. Some of them believed in the Lord. But Jesus was also preaching to Jewish religious rulers who viciously hated Him and had been trying to kill Him.

*In vs. 21 and 24, Jesus warned them that that they would die in their sins, if they didn't believe in Him. So the hard-hearted Jews began to argue with Jesus, and part of their argument went back to the Old Testament patriarch Abraham. He lived 2,000 years before Christ was born, and the Bible calls Abraham "the Friend of God." That's because, by faith, Abraham left his home and followed the Lord to the land that would eventually become Israel.

*Genesis 12:1-3 says:

1. Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.

2. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.

3. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.''

*Those last words were a prophecy and a promise from God that one of Abraham's descendants would be the Savior of all who believe in Him. And Jesus Christ is that promised Savior.

*But the scribes and Pharisees used "Father Abraham" to argue with Jesus, and they started in vs. 31-33. Jesus had been talking about the spiritual freedom only He can give:

31. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.''

33. They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?''

*Then starting in vs. 37, Jesus said:

37. "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.

38. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.''

39. They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father.'' Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.

40. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

41. You do the deeds of your father.'' Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father God.''

42. Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."

*In vs. 51, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.''

*And in vs. 52-53, those hate-filled unbelievers replied:

52. . . "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'

53. Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?''

*With this background in let's read vs. 53-59, and as we read we will see some crucial reasons why everybody should worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

MESSAGE:

*How far would you go to worship Jesus? Matthew 2 tells the story of the Wise Men who worshiped the baby Jesus. Verses 1-2 say:

1. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

2. saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.''

*Those men had probably been traveling for two years. They had ridden camels and walked four to five hundred miles to see Jesus. All of that effort: Why did they do it?

*From a human point of view, the Wise Men already had everything they could have wanted: Education, wealth, power, and prestige. They certainly had prestige, because they were ushered in to see King Herod, and the King didn't see just anybody you know. The Wise Men also must have had great wealth, because they were able to give great treasures to Jesus.