"The Jews answered him, 'Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?' Jesus answered, 'I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.' The Jews said to him, 'Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death." Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?' Jesus answered, 'If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, "He is our God." But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple" (John 8:48-59, ESV).
When a volcano erupts, we expect that lava, gas, fiery rocks would come out from its mouth. We do not expect for fountain of cold water, or big chunks of ice!
Also, we do not expect for a heart surgeon to overhaul the car engine. We expect the car mechanic to fix the trouble of the car.
Now, what do you think Jesus would expect from us? Not any Jesus, but the One preached by Paul and other apostles. For even during the time of Paul, others were preaching another Jesus. As we read in 2 Cor. 11:3-4A, " I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ - in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies. For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; ..." (Good News Translation.)
Let's not allow, then, our minds to be corrupted and be deceived. Let's consider the Biblical Jesus and proceed to discuss our topic, WHAT JESUS EXPECTS FROM US, as we focus on our text (John 8:48-59).
If we really know Him and have faith in Him, we could demonstrate many positive reactions. What are some of those He expects from us?
Of course, the Gospel of John was written by the Apostle John. He described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He mentioned it repeatedly. Five times!
Just before our text, in verses 31-47, John wrote that Jesus pointed out that not all who claimed to believe Him were liberated from sin, not all were children of God, not all were lovers of Jesus, not all were appreciative of God's Word. In short, they were not genuine believers. They did not really believe the Word.
On the other hand, true believers acknowledged that Jesus is the Liberator. He is Lovable. And He is the Truth.
As we proceed, we could deduce that when we become familiar of Jesus, we would demonstrate other positive reactions. We would be able to display in our life more distinctiveness from others, who do not really know Jesus.
What are those distinctive, positive reactions that Jesus expects from us?
First, WE HONOR HIM (vv. 48-50).
We read verses 48-50, "The Jews answered him, 'Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?' Jesus answered, 'I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.'"
In the previous verse, Jesus told the Jews, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
As Jesus revealed the true color of those who posed as believers (actually, they were not), they retaliated by throwing accusation against Jesus. What they did or said only highlighted their "dark" color. They dishonor Jesus. They told Him, "you are a Samaritan and have a demon."
Conversely, those people who are of God, those who really know Jesus, honor Him. Jesus expected the true believers to honor Him. Because He Himself showed His honor to God the Father.
And we could have an idea how Jesus honored His Father. He did not seek His own glory. Also, He left to His Father to give the verdict on the Jews who accused Him.
One of the police trainees I ministered before in Camp Simeon Ola in Legazpi City showed how he honored his mother. He was already working in Japan. However, his mother told him just to find work here in the Philippines. Giving up his "glorious" earning job, he returned and applied to become a policeman.
Remember an instance when Abraham showed his honor to God? God told him, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you" (Gen. 22:2).
What was his reaction? We read, "So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him" (v. 3).
Abraham did not protest. He did not offer an excuse. He complied. He obeyed willing, readily, and "early" (promptly). He "rose early in the morning..." to honor God by his obedience.
Believers or lovers of Christ, in what way you honor Christ?
We honor His as we come to worship together, as we also encourage one another. And better, if we come early. We honor Him as we offer our tithe and offering and even prepare for it before we come to church. We honor Him daily as we go to our knees in prayer. We honor Him as we go in reading His Word -- reading it early in the morning, or early at night, or day and night!
We honor Him, when we don't seek or insist our own interest or convenience. But we honor and submit to His Will.
We honor Him, when we honor those who are in authority. We honor Him, when we honor others, especially our fellow believers. For what we do to others, we do it to Jesus.
What else Jesus would expect from us?
Second, WE KEEP HIS WORD (vv. 51-55).
We read verses 51-55, "'Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.' The Jews said to him, 'Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death." Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?' Jesus answered, 'If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, "He is our God." But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.'"
We notice many things in these verses. First, Jesus pointed out the result when one keeps His Word. He will never taste death.
Next, the Jews protested against Jesus' declaration of the power of His Word. After He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death," they retorted, "Who do you make yourself out to be?"
For them, Jesus was trying to elevate Himself more than any great person they knew. But instead of directly telling them that He was not an ordinary human person, he told them He was not concerned how evil they thought or labeled Him to be. He was after how God the Father would regard Him.
For Jesus, what was important is He knew the Father and He kept His word. And He did not expect them to keep His Word, for they did not know the Father.
Like Jesus, His followers who really know God are also expected by Him to keep His Word.
When the word "keep" was used in Greek, it literally means in English: "to guard." Because Jesus knew His Father, He also kept His Word. For Him it is supremely valuable. So, He guarded it. He didn't allow it to be lost, to be tarnished, to be twisted, to be diluted. He kept it. He protected it.
Not everyone will desire to keep God's Word. For they do not really know God. They may not express their hostility against Him. They may not even think telling Him, "Who do you make yourself out to be?" But enmity against Him is the tendency of every human heart-defying-authority. So they do not value what He said. Thus, they would not keep His testimony.
They will not also keep it, not only they do not see its value but they could entertain the idea that it was not for them. To a certain extent, that's true. When Jesus said, "... all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15B), He was speaking to His true disciples. He called them His friends. And in John 17, Jesus said to His Father, "I have given them your word" (v. 14) -- He gave His Word not to everyone in the world, but to all whom the Father had given to Him. In the early verses, He was referring to the believers and, according to Christ, they kept it (v. 6).
So, believers or lovers of Christ, He expects us to keep His Word.
Do we really know this Jesus taught by the Apostles? Are we aware of His Holiness and Great Love for the elect? If so, we will certainly value His Word and keep it.
Do we really acknowledge that His Word is really for us -- not just for anybody else? Then, we will regard the great privilege to have it. We will really keep it.
In one of my messages before, I mentioned that I received two big brown envelopes from the Office of the President of the Philippines. One from the out-going president and another one from the incoming new president.
Not everyone received written communications from the President. Would I regard them like electric bills, or any ordinary letters? I really kept them. And I was not contented to read it just once.
As I stated then, you are the recipient of the written Divine Message from the Heavenly Palace. Keep it. Keep it not in a bookshelf, but in the vault of your heart. Guard it. Watch over it. Do not allow to slip it away. Memorize it. So, when you need it, you can easily remember to act on it.
Colossians 3:16 states, "Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly..." The Psalmist said, "I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Ps. 119:11).
Keep the Word. Jesus, the King of kings, expect you to do it.
What else He would expect from us?
And third, WE REJOICE IN HIM (vv. 56-59).
We read verses 56-59, "'Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.' So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple."
In contrast with the reaction of those who claimed to be descendants of Abraham, Jesus told them that Abraham himself rejoiced, which included the idea of desire, as he saw in he eyes of faith the coming of the Messiah.
The Jews understood it to be physical seeing. So, they told Jesus, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" And Jesus boldly declared that He was not just a physical human being. He was more than that. He was God. He declared, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
Jesus did not merely mean He existed before Abraham. If so, He would have said, "... before Abraham was, I was." He used the words, "I am." He quoted it from the Old Testament. It was the name of God, meaning "Self-Existent One." When Moses asked God of His Name that he would tell to the Israelites, God responded in Exodus 3:14, "I AM has sent me to you."
And Jesus expects those who know Him, like Abraham, would rejoice in Him.
There was a time in the City Government that yearly inter-office bowling tournament was held. For three consecutive years, the team that represented our office won the championship. During the competition, whenever a member of the team made a strike -- when the first ball thrown would strike down all the ten pins -- all the members of the team, even some of those who belonged to another team would really rejoice! Almost all would shout with joy! Not only they would strongly clap their and hands, but some would even jump up and down repeatedly.
Especially during the championship round, you could just imagine how they expressed their jubilation. But, during the final round when some pins would determine the champion and the final player a strike, the hall would almost explode with shouts or noise of joy!
Actually, people in this world can rejoice in many ways, even just to make a strike.
Believers or lovers of Christ, when was the last time you have that feeling of great happiness?
Was it when you have your own car, or house? When you are employed in a good paying job?
Of course, we are thankful and we rejoice, if we are healed of death threatening disease. And we would certainly rejoice, if we could have our own church building.
And who would not rejoice, if our personal problem -- whatever it is -- that burdens us for many years is solved?
Whatever favor we receive from God, we ought to thank Him and rejoice. However, as we rejoice for His gifts, let us more rejoice just for the Giver. In fact, Jesus Himself is the best "Gift" we received from God the Father.
So, rejoice in Jesus. Rejoice in God. The Psalmist declared, "Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" (Psalm 32:11.)
In Psalm 97:12, we read: "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!"
In the New Testament, Paul wrote to the Philippians, "...my brothers. rejoice in the Lord" (Phil. 3:1A). How often should they rejoice? In another verse, he qualified: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4). Our rejoicing in the Lord ought to be always. Whether the situation does not warrant, we can rejoice. That was what the Prophet Habakkuk did (Hab. 3:17-18).
Jesus expects you to rejoice -- always! For He is always with you. So, you can rejoice in whatever situation.
CONCLUSION:
The Lord expects us to honor Him, to keep His Word, and to rejoice in Him. He made known Himself to us how Great and Wonderful He is through His Word. His Supreme Goodness transcends all the different versions of Jesus portrayed by men.
Be more familiar with the Biblical Jesus. As our Senior Pastor said, know Jesus intimately. So, hear, read, study, meditate and think more of Him in His written Word. Then, we would be motivated more to honor Him, to keep His Word and to rejoice in Him.
