THE CLIMAX OF THE CONVERSATION: The more they understood Jesus, the more they thought He was crazy.
- John 8:48, 52a, 55-57, 59.
- This is the climax of a long conversation in John 8 that we’ve handled in several sermons because there is so much content there. The further the conversation went, the sharper the disagreement.
- Sometimes we say, “If people could just understand where the other person was coming from, everything would work out.” And no doubt that often is true. There are many situations where miscommunication (whether a failure to speak plainly or to listen closely) leads to problems.
- Sometimes, though, the issue is not communication. We understand each other clearly. The issue is that we believe diametrically opposed things. That’s the case here with Jesus and the religious leaders.
- Unpack verses.
WHAT WAS JESUS PROCLAIMING HERE?
1. JESUS BELIEVED HE WAS HONORING THE FATHER.
- John 8:49-50, 54.
- There is a lot of talk about the glory of God in these verses.
- Unpack verses.
- Jesus is living His life to honor the Father, which will bring glory to Him. Rather than the Pharisees’ desire to horde honor and glory for themselves, Jesus lives to honor the Father. And doing that will in turn bring glory to Christ as well.
2. JESUS BELIEVED HE WAS OVERCOMING DEATH.
- John 8:51-53.
- Unpack verses.
- These claims by Jesus are stunning. He believes He will be able to solve the problem of death.
- People often say that you’ll meet God when you hit bottom and this claim is where many people meet God. We are often at our darkest when we face the death of a loved one. We are despondent and hopeless. Jesus makes a claim here that is incredible. He claims to have conquered the greatest problem of all time.
3. JESUS BELIEVED HE WAS GOD.
- John 8:55-58.
- The end of this chapter definitely peaks right there.
- Unpack verses.
- I’ve talked earlier in this sermon series about C.S. Lewis’ “liar, lunatic, or Lord” argument.
- It’s always worth pressing the point again: Jesus was not just a good teacher or a nice man.
- The religious leaders in this moment are not suffering from a misunderstanding. They are suffering from their accurate understanding of Jesus’ claims.
IF ONLY PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD WHAT JESUS IS OFFERING: Some people reject Jesus because they don’t understand what He’s offering; some people reject Jesus because they do.
- John 8:53b (“Who do You think You are?”).
- There is a lot going on in this passage, but the question at the end of v. 53 serves as a good summation of the whole thing.
- Unpack verse.
- This goes back to the opening point of this sermon. The problem isn’t always bad communication. The ultimate hatred that the religious leaders have toward Jesus arises from them understanding what He is saying, most dramatically in His claim to be equal with God (v. 58-59).
- I have heard many people down through the years say something like, “If only people understood what Jesus is offering, they’d all say yes.” I can sympathize with the sentiment because I do think Jesus is great, but I don’t think that’s ultimately true.
- Some people reject Jesus because they understand exactly what He’s about.
- One way that manifests itself today is people who want to be in charge of their own lives. They want to call the shots. They want to set the direction. They hear a preacher talk about letting Christ be Lord of your life and they think, “No, thanks.” In that situation, they’re not rejecting Christ because they don’t understand Him; they’re rejecting Him because they do understand what Him . . . and they don’t want that.
- The religious leaders pointedly asked Jesus, “Who do You think You are?”
- We might ask ourselves a related question this evening: “Who do You think He is?”
- This passage makes it clear who Jesus thought He was. He was here to bring glory to the Father. He was here to overcome death. He was here as God Incarnate.
- Who do you think He is?
