I certainly do not want to imply any disrespect for one of the greatest hymn writers of the church; Charles Wesley, who gave us, among many others, such grand tributes to the majesty of God as “And Can it Be”, and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” and “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”.
But I do have to object to the overemphasized picture of a neatly coiffed, sad-eyed pathetic and subdued ‘Jesus’ that has for so many generations been fostered by the church on an otherwise largely ignorant public, as found in the words of one of Wesley’s oldest, “Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild”, which begins,
“Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to thee”
Not that I do not understand that what he had in mind was the tender love of Jesus who cares for His children, but when I read the Gospels I see very little of this kind of Jesus and in fact I think I would go so far as to say I do not see this sort of Jesus at all.
Because in His most tender of moments there is an underlying strength and absolute confidence in His words and His actions that belies the foppish, almost feminine, non-confrontational image that has come down from the Renaissance and hung on the walls of so many churches throughout the years.
If there has been any time in history when Christ ought to be demonstrated to society not as a lamb but a lion, it is today and for more than just one reason.
People in the church and out of the church are living in paralyzing fear of both real threats and perceived threats to their lives and their well-being, and these fears and uncertainties cannot be addressed and dealt with by anyone less than a powerful and courageous Savior.
The flipside of that coin is that these same folks, and by that I do not mean some particular segment of society, but all of society, here and across the seas, need to know that there is a God who will come in judgment, and He is described more accurately in the 19th chapter of Revelation, and it is He to whom they will ultimately give account.
And while a solitary overemphasis on His tenderness and mercy will diminish Him in the minds of the disobedient, an emphasis on His power and might and His imminent coming in glory to judge and to reign can only open the door to speak of and be exposed also to His mercy and compassion.
Any fop can extend a limp-wristed show of amity and will be seen as nothing more than what is on the surface. But when a powerful and physically imposing man holds out a hand in friendship and in help he is immediately recognized for his kindness and gentleness.
Melville had some insight that I think is applicable for us here, in the midst of his very detailed and lengthy description of Moby Dick (he had an entire chapter on the tail). Here is what he wrote:
“Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic. Take away the tied tendons that all over seem bursting from the marble in the carved Hercules, and its charm would be gone…When Angelo paints even God the Father in human form, mark what robustness is there. And whatever they may reveal of the divine love in the Son, the soft, curled, hermaphroditical Italian pictures, in which his idea has been most successfully embodied; these pictures, so destitute as they are of all brawniness, hint nothing of any power, but the mere negative, feminine one of submission and endurance…” Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”, chapter 86, The Tail
There is a striking example of this magical combination of strength and tenderness in the words we did not read this morning, that immediately precede our text. It is the well known account of the woman accused of adultery and the calm control in which Jesus masters the situation and saves her from harm and introduces her to grace.
Now at this point you may be beginning to wonder, if you paid any attention to the sermon title at all, what all this has to do with the testimony of fathers.
It is only this. Jesus, who was day after day confronted by the leaders of the Jews who challenged His authority, challenged His teaching, and finally began to insult Him openly and even threaten His life, met these people head on as the Lion of Judah. He said the things, not that they wanted to hear, but that they needed to hear.
In verse 51 of our text He said, “…if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” and knowing above anyone the eternal implication of that truth He, as God, could do no less than cut right through to the marrow and splay evil and ungodliness wide open for all to see so that some might repent and obey in faith.
So as we go, I want you to just be cognizant of the demonstration of Manly courage and Godly power that is displayed in the words and the demeanor of this Son of Man as He is confronted by the very ones who would later have Him on Calvary’s hill.
FATHER: ABRAHAM
These Pharisees who stood before Jesus labored under a fatal misunderstanding. Not only they, but all of that nation who put their faith in being physically descended from Abraham for acceptance with Jehovah God.
In point of fact, this is the error of the religious in any nation and any time. Not that all who are religious are putting their faith in Abraham, but that they are trusting in some physical thing – some personal claim – some interior or exterior frame upon which they build their personal religious structure and then stand back and admire what they have.
See verse 33 of John 8? “They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?”
Empty religion gives a false sense of freedom to those bound by it. They declared that they had never been enslaved to anyone, but was this true?
Well, our own recent studies have certainly shown that as a nation they could not legitimately make that claim. The Lord had brought them up out of Egypt where their ancestors had been enslaved for 400 years. Then following generations of idolatry in the land God had given them they were once again taken away into exile and not allowed to return for many years.
If they were simply speaking of their own generation, they may not have been pressed into service as slaves of the Roman government, but I think it would be safe to say they were not free, don’t you?
There was a form of slavery, though, that they seemed blind to. They were slaves to an emphasis on the laborious keeping of the Law of Moses and the traditions that had been built up around the original law over the years that bound them to chains of legalism and condemnation.
So they were in error on two counts. They were indeed enslaved, and being physical descendants of Abraham was not going to help them at all.
That word ‘offspring’ in verse 33, which is ‘descendants’ in other versions and ‘seed’ in some, is sperma. So it is a very specific reference of physical descent.
But they weren’t descended from Abraham in the sense that would have been a help to them.
Some years after the confrontation here in John 8 the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, but this portion of his argument was to answer this very error of the Jews in their claim to justification by descent.
“Now how does all this affect the position of our ancestor Abraham? Well, if justification were by achievement he could quite fairly be proud of what he achieved - but not, I am sure, proud before God. For what does scripture say about him? ’Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’.
Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith, believing that he would become "the father of many nations". He relied on the word of God which definitely referred to ’your descendants’. With undaunted faith he looked at the facts - his own impotence (he was practically a hundred years old at the time) and his wife Sarah’s apparent barrenness. Yet he refused to allow any distrust of a definite pronouncement of God to make him waver. He drew strength from his faith, and while giving the glory to God, remained absolutely convinced that God was able to implement his own promise. This was the "faith" which ’was accounted to him for righteousness’. Now this counting of faith for righteousness was not recorded simply for Abraham’s credit, but as a divine principle which should apply to us as well. Faith is to be reckoned as righteousness to us also, who believe in him who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, who was delivered to death for our sins and raised again to secure our justification. Romans 4:1-3, 18-25 J.B. Phillips
So what am I saying? I am saying that whether the object of our focus be a venerated person, or a document, or some form of worship within the context of the assembly of believers, or whatever, while it may have value, and while it may have a rightful place in our religious belief and practice, we have placed an idolatrous emphasis on that person or paper or activity when we have lifted it to the position of that which justifies before God.
Abraham was their father by physical descent, but he was not their father in the faith, for they did not practice the faith that their father had.
The testimony of Father Abraham was that what God had promised He was well able to perform, because He gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist – and for his faithful testimony he was declared right with God. Justified.
Jesus countered their claim with this:
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.”
Generally speaking, a son follows in his father’s footsteps. He learns his values from his father and those values order his ways. In many cases a son closely resembles his father physically. So let’s go on to see who they resembled and who they got their values from.
FATHER: THE DEVIL
Verses 41- 45
“You are doing the deeds of your father.” 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 have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.”
Can you imagine this? These are the big kahunas. These are the guys that everyone has been listening to and trusting in for proper teaching of the Law and interpretation of the Prophets.
Jesus is an itinerate preacher with no place to lay His head.
Word on the street is that Joseph wasn’t really his father and no one is quite sure who impregnated Mary or how she got away with it.
So, again in error, they insinuate that he’s illegitimate. “We weren’t born of fornication, we have one Father; God”
Now here’s where you or I would have gotten defensive. “Hey, watch what yer sayin’ about my mom!
She was an innocent virgin and I was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and there’s a whole bunch of shepherds over in Bethlehem who will be happy to tell you about the night I was born and all the angels and stuff.”
Not Jesus. As usual He refuses to respond to idiocy and He just gets to the point. If God were your Father you would act like your Father, and since I came from Him at His direction we wouldn’t be having this debate.
The fact is, you are clueless, and you don’t hear my word.
Now let’s just pause here for a moment. Were they hearing His words? Well if we’re speaking of hearing with physical ears we’d have to say unequivocally, yes. Of course they were. They had been following Him all over Galilee and in Jerusalem listening to Him very intently, for they were intent on finding some heresy they could use to justify putting Him to death.
There is no doubt that they were hearing Jesus.
But you and I today know what Jesus meant, don’t we? I hope?
They weren’t hearing with faith. In this they were very much like their ancestors who came out of Egypt but whose bodies perished in the wilderness. The writer to the Hebrews, speaking of them, said,
“For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” Heb 4:2
Now folks I want you to observe that it’s not the words, it’s the ears. I mean, Jesus was saying things here that a lot of people were listening to, but some believed and some didn’t, and that difference had eternal implications.
Go back in our text and look at verse 30. “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.” Yet we get to the end of the chapter and we read, “Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him;”
Y’think these were the same group? Nope. They were two different groups. Those who believed, to whom Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” and those who did not hear with faith, from whom He hid Himself for a time and left the temple.
They wouldn’t hear His words, so they didn’t get to see Him either.
Christians and non-Christians. Believers and non-believers. Sinners saved and lost. That is really the only significant difference between men, and I use the word ‘men’ generically; you have heard His words with ears of faith and been declared right with Him or you have heard His words with ears of unbelief and you are still in your sin. In fact, Jesus says your father is the devil.
The testimony of the devil is that he is a murderer from the beginning and does not stand for the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
Now this may not measure up these days on the scales of political correctness, but my friends and enemies, here is the truth of the Bible.
If you do not belong to God through faith in the shed blood and resurrection of Christ, then you are of your father the devil, and you will resemble your father in life, in values, in action, and eventually in appearance.
In appearance? What’choo talkin’ ‘bout, Clark?
C.S. Lewis had this in mind when he said the following.
“Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live forever, and this must be either true or false. Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live forever. Perhaps my bad temper or my jealousy are gradually getting worse – so gradually that the increase in seventy years will not be very noticeable. But it might be absolute hell in a millions years; in fact, if Christianity is true, hell is the precisely correct technical term for what it would be.” Mere Christianity, bk III, chap. 1 para. 9, pg 73
Now I need to point out to you that in saying what He did to the Pharisees Jesus was not just trying to be insulting in return for their insult about His origins. He was telling them a truth that applied not only to the group before Him, but applies to anyone who is not born from above by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
Their father is the devil, they will be like their father, and when they enter into eternity as they are they will simply continue to be more and more what they have been as they go through eternity. Ugly now will be absolutely demonic later.
On what side of this equation do you stand?
FATHER: GOD
Well, we have a third testimony represented in this confrontation Jesus had with the Pharisees, and His testimony is true.
26 “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
Jesus had basically three things to say to these men in John 8 and He says them to all who refuse to believe.
You don’t hear My words.
You don’t know where I am from or where I am going.
You can’t go where I am going.
He had basically three things to say to those who believe.
He who follows Me shall have the light of life.
He who abides in My word is truly a disciple of Mine.
He who keeps My word shall never see death.
Now here is what is important to know about these declarations He has made.
The scriptures, the very scriptures the Pharisees claimed to have a handle on and that they even quoted here as a part of their indictment against Him, provide that a person must not act as his own defense or his own witness, but that the testimony of two men is true.
“On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” Deut 17:6
Incidentally, just a side note here for your interest and later reflection; at his trial before Caiaphas this is one of the many directives of scripture that the Jews would violate in order to put Jesus to death. An accused party could not be forced to testify against or for himself, yet they asked Jesus to defend Himself. The reason He remained silent, which was also a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that said “As a lamb before his shearers he remained silent” (Isa 53:7), was because even in the throws of His torture and mistreatment He was keeping the Law, while they were not. And when they did bring in two witnesses to testify, they were false witnesses who were being paid to do so.
But here is the significance of this truth for us today.
Jesus said, “Even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and He who sent Me. … I am He who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me”.
Two witnesses! The Son testifies of the Father, and the Father testifies of the Son.
Believer, here is the testimony of the Father concerning you! And He says it to you through the Son so that there may be two witnesses so that you may know the witness is true.
“I speak the things the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
The testimony of three fathers. Father Abraham, who by faith and looking down the corridors of time saw the coming of the Redeemer and rejoiced, and who, for his faith became the spiritual father of all who believe with the same kind of faith.
The devil, father of all who embrace the lie and who will not accept the witness of the Two but have ears only for the one who hissed in the Garden.
The Father in Heaven, glorious and reigning from His holy mountain, who testifies of the Son that He is pleasing to Him, and testifies through the Son that all who believe will be justified, will be sanctified, will be glorified, will sit with Him on His throne, will be just like Jesus.
“He who is of God hears the words of God”
Are you hearing?
