I Am Says It All

I AM SAYS IT ALL

John 8:48-59

S: Jesus

Th: Deity

Pr: WE MUST EITHER ACCEPT OR REJECT JESUS.

?: What? What must be either accepted or rejected?

KW: Claims

TS: We will find in our study of John 8:48-59 four claims made by Jesus in regard to His identity.

The _____ claim Jesus made was in regard to…

I. EXALTATION (48-50)

II. ETERNITY (51-53)

III. EXPECTATION (54-56)

IV. ESSENCE (57-58)

Version: ESV

RMBC 01 Jun 03 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Rejection (just visiting)

The tall, handsome, confident gentleman walked over to the girl and made a disparaging remark about the men who had been chatting her up. She laughed cheerfully, "When I don’t want a man’s attentions," she confided, "and he asks where I live, I just say, ’I’m visiting here’."

"Ha-ha," he laughed, relishing her humor. "Where do you really live?"

"I’m just visiting here."

No one enjoys rejection.

Yet, it is a fact of life.

At one time or another we all face it.

Today, though, our time is not to be spent considering the rejection we have felt.

Rather, our attention is on whom we might accept or reject.

TRANSITION:

As we come to our final study in John 8, we learn this…

1. WE MUST EITHER ACCEPT OR REJECT JESUS.

Jesus demands that we respond.

And as we will see, there is no middle ground when it comes to Him.

ILL Notebook: Jesus (Overwhelming Influence)

Historian Philip Schaff described the overwhelming influence which Jesus had on subsequent history and culture of the world:

“This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science…he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.”

The success of Jesus through history did not come easy.

As we have studied chapter 8, the Jewish leaders and Jesus have been in considerable disagreement.

2. We have observed conflict in…

2.1 “The woman caught in adultery”

It was quite the scene that started this chapter.

The Jewish leaders have sought to pit Jesus against the Law of Moses.

So they created a set-up with a woman that is caught in the act of adultery (we know this is a set-up because the man is nowhere to be seen).

If Jesus chooses to let her go, they will charge Him with going against the Law.

If He goes along with them, then they can get Him in trouble with Rome.

Their trap was flawed, though.

Instead, it was the Jewish leaders that were caught.

They were the ones that were found guilty.

As they pointed at the woman, they discovered that the fingers were pointed right back at them.

And, Jesus made sure that they all walked away, convicted of their own sin.

In the next study, we studied the familiar proclamation by Jesus…

2.2 “I am the Light of the World”

This was a truth that the Jewish leaders certainly had difficulty facing.

When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” he insinuated that they were lost.

They were in darkness.

Therefore, they needed Jesus.

Not only that, and even more importantly, when He said, “I am,” they were confronted with His claim of deity.

He kept them off guard.

They had to be wondering, “Did He really mean to say that?”

In the following study, we considered another familiar saying of Jesus…

2.3 “The truth shall set you free”

When Jesus spoke about the truth that is so freeing, He was speaking about more than just knowing what was true and what was not.

He was talking about the true freedom that comes in knowing the One that embodies truth.

Just knowing facts wasn’t enough.

What really matters is that you know the One who is the truth.

Last week, we understood that Jesus does not hold in His criticism of them…

2.4 “You are doing what your father did.”

Jesus made it clear that He knew what the Jewish leaders’ problem was.

Their father was neither Abraham nor God.

Instead, they had a devil of a problem.

They were following the Father of lies who was a murderer from the beginning.

As we come to today’s passage, we see that…

3. Jesus has been establishing, without compromise, His identity.

While the setting of this passage was 2000 years ago, the identity of Jesus is still an issue that we face today.