GROUNDED IN TRUTH
JOHN 8:31-41
INTRODUCTION... Was Popeye Right? By Karl Kruszelnicki’s abc.net.au/science 5-24-2001
The cartoon character Popeye is famous for eating spinach. Whenever he breaks open a can of spinach and eats it he gains enormous strength. Popeye was employed by the US Government during World War 2 to promote the idea of eating spinach. Meat was a rarity during war, but spinach appeared to be a great substitute. In the 1890’s German scientists had shown that spinach contains the same amount of iron as meat. And iron of course is one of the essential vitamins in building strength.
But the facts are wrong. The German researchers did prove that spinach contains iron, but when they wrote down their results they put the decimal point in the wrong place. They overestimated the amount of iron in spinach by a factor of 10! Unfortunately, the correction didn’t get across the ocean until after WW2. This episode shows how easily false ideas can quickly become accepted truth.
The world was under the mistaken impression that spinach would build muscle and strength. If you did not
know the truth, I apologize for all the spinach you have had to eat over your lifetime. I also must apologize and say that you are no stronger for it! Sometimes the truth can be skewed or we can be misled. Sometimes we can have a wrong world view. This was definitely the case of the Jews in John 8:31-41.
READ JOHN 8:31-41
This passage centers around a conversation between Jesus and some Jews that were following Him. The conversation began after the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law brought Jesus the woman caught in the act of adultery. He did not fall into their trap and then began to question the testimony He was giving. Jesus tries to explain to the Jews that He came from God and was going about doing the work of God. Some did not know what He was talking about. Some did not believe. Some did believe... verse 30 tells us that. We pick up in verse 31 in the middle of the conversation.
I. THE MISTAKEN WORLD VIEW OF THE JEWS
This passage contains several areas where the Jews were not thinking correctly. I do think that Jesus could have been talking to any group and this subject would have come up. He could have talked to the disciples and perhaps they would have said the same things.
One of the first errors we see occurs in verse 33. They state matter of factly that they are the descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves. They do not need Jesus to make them free. Is that true? Is it true that Abraham’s descendants have always been a free people? We know this to be false. Exodus 1:8-14 tells us what the facts are.
READ EXODUS 1:8-14
We know that it is a fact that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Yet, these people talking with Jesus seem to forget all about Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Not only that, ifg one keeps reading you find that all throughout Israel’s history some nation has been oppressing them because of their faithlessness to God.
We might think to ourselves, well, they mean themselves only. They personally have not been slaves to anyone and are a totally free people. Was that true? We know that in Jesus’ day that the whole area of Judea was under control of the Romans. There was a garrison in every town and they lived in the shadow of the Roman Empire. They were not free people.
Another error that we see occurs in verse 39. The Jews speaking to Jesus tell Him plainly that Abraham is their father. This is a fact that Jesus agrees with them on in verse 37 and is true. They people standing before Him and even Jesus Himself were all descendants of Abraham. None of that is in dispute. So where is the error?
The error comes because of the way that they are using the word ’father.’ A father is someone who children pattern themselves after. I do not think it is a stretch to say that as a definition of a father. The Jews Jesus is speaking to are claiming that their attitudes and actions are all patterned after Abraham. Is that true? Are the Jews standing before Jesus patterns of Abraham?
Well, I suppose we need to find out what Abraham was like to make a judgment. Hebrews 11:8-19 gives us a wonderful picture of this man Abraham. As we read, look for a pattern in the life of Abraham that would characterize him. It might come in the form of a phrase that is repeated over and over through the verses. Let’s look.
READ HEBREWS 11:8-19
I think we see clearly that the pattern in the life of Abraham was faith. That is actually the point of the entire 11th chapter of Hebrews... to point out the faith of those who had come before. Abraham was a man of faith who obeyed his God and looked forward to the Promises of God to be fulfilled. Are the Jews Jesus (Christ the Promised Messiah) is speaking to patterns of Abraham? I do not believe so. If they were, they would have seen the Messiah standing before them instead of a troublesome rabbi. If they were, they would have seen how He fulfilled the Old Testament promises and prophecies so perfectly. If they were, they would not try and trap Him on so many occasions. They were not faithful people.
The last error we see in this passage is spoken in verse 41. Jesus has been challenging these religious leaders and people in their beliefs about themselves and the world that they live in. The Jews declare in verse 41 that God is their Father. In fact, they say that the only father they have is God. As I look at this statement, it makes no sense to me. They just finished saying that they were descended from Abraham and he was their father. Now, confronted with the truth, they boast that God is their Father.
This error is the same as the last. The Jews are claiming that they pattern themselves after God and are in the right. Jesus again takes issue with them.
READ JOHN 8:42-44
Jesus speaks plainly to these people and tells them that if they truly patterned themselves after God, that they would recognize Him. They would recognize the One standing in front of them as being from God and the Messiah. They did not. In fact, their desire is from Satan to trap, kill, and destroy Jesus in any way they can. Are those the actions of Godly people? No! Their lives contradict what their mouths are confessing. They do not have God as their Father and they do not pattern themselves after Him.
So, we have seen the errors the Jews are making in their thinking. The Jews stated that they did not need Jesus to be free. They stated that they had Abraham as their pattern, but were indeed not faithful people. They also were bold and stated that God was their Father, but they clearly contradicted this with their lives.
II. THE MISTAKEN WORLD VIEW WE CARRY
Do you know what? We do the same thing. We say the same erroneous things to ourselves that the Jews did and we do not even realize it. As Christians, we are to be people grounded in truth, just as we are grounded in grace, provision, love, and all the others that we have and will talk about. We need to be grounded in truth with ourselves and with God.
We accept the same errors as truth that the Jews did:
1. We think that we do not need Jesus to set us free. Now, I am not talking about people who are not Christians and think they can live their lives on their own. Jesus was speaking to believers in God and so am I. We, those who already know Christ, sometimes live our lives the way we want and forget that we do not steer the boat. We need Jesus to set us free from this life and give us direction. We need Jesus to set us free from sin and forgive us and remove the guilt.
2. We do not follow the pattern of our Father. The Jews believed that their attitudes were the same as Abraham and their faith was the same as his as well. What about our attitudes? Are our attitudes as they should be? Are our priorities as they should be... with Christ as number one.
3. We contradict our faith with our lives. The Jews were claiming to live like God and yet they were not. This I think is the hardest hitting of all the lies we might tell ourselves. We who claim to be Godly, are we? Do our lives match the words that are coming out of our mouths? Do we spend our money the way God would have us to or do we support our sinful desires? Where is our time spent? Most of us claim to know Jesus Christ and have Him as Lord and Savior and yet we never share our faith with anyone outside of church. Our lives sometimes do not match what we claim.
III. JESUS’ TRUTH
Jesus stands before these Jews and knows that what they are thinking is wrong. They had the choice to accept or reject the Truth that He was telling them. They could accept the truth: learn and grow or they could reject it and stay as they were. We find that most of them rejected what Jesus was saying. How do we know that? John 8:48 records for us that they accused Him of being demon-possessed! My prayer for you today as you stand before Jesus is that you will accept the truth He teaches us.
Jesus teaches us that the only way to be free is though Him. Jesus says that if He sets you free, that you are indeed free. The only way we will truly be free of guilt of our sin is if we trust in Jesus Christ for our forgiveness. The only way we will be free from the pain of feeling our life has been wasted is to follow Christ and do His will. The only way to break the power of sin in your life is to have the presence of God in your life through Christ. When Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed!
* Are you free from the guilt of your sin?
* Are you guided by God and His will in your life... making you free?
* Do you know the truth about your relationship with God?
Jesus also teaches us that if we truly believe in Him then we would do the things He has done and have the attitudes He expressed. Jesus came and lived life on this earth as an example for us. We need to be doing the same things He did and rid ourselves of all that distracts us from God. Where do you start? Try the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus explains to us over and over how to deal with our neighbors, our temptations, and all aspects of our lives.
* Do you truly love your neighbor as yourself?
* Does your heart break for those who do not know Christ?
* Do your attitudes about all things reflect God?
* Do you know the truth about your relationship with God?
Jesus also teaches us, and this teaching is a precious treasure, that if we call God our Heavenly Father, that we would follow Christ and live like it. We will understand the language of God and His desires for us. We will make our relationship with Him important each and every day.
* Are you honest with yourself about how you conduct your life?
* Do you find yourself justifying yourself to God and the way that you are?
* Do you know the truth about your relationship with God?
CONCLUSION... The Matrix (http://www.ozsermonillustrations.com/frames/truth_&_error_frameset.htm)
One of the great films of 1999 was The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves. It’s a futuristic sci-fi movie, where the world has been taken over by computers. The computers need the energy that comes from human bodies, so they keep a supply of genetically engineered humans in a permanently anaesthetized state. They then create an imaginary world for these comatose humans, The Matrix, in which people think themselves alive and conscious, going to work, living normal everyday lives. The Matrix is the world that has been literally over everyone’s eyes to blind them from the truth, a world that keeps them in bondage to acceptance of the way things are.
But there is a group of rebels who have broken free of the Matrix. Led by Morpheus they lead a shadow life committed to an alternate reality and hunted by cybercops. Then they discover Keanu Reeves character, Neo, the prophesied One who will break people free from the Matrix.
Early in the film we find Neo awakening to the truth. Part of the Matrix, the computer created illusion, he experiences unexplainable doubts about the ways things are, doubts which act like a splinter in his mind, making him feel uncomfortable. Then he is introduced to the rebels, led by Morpheus. Morpheus offers Neo a chance to see the truth. He holds out two pills. The blue pill is a pleasant analgesic which will blur over the pain his honest enquiry is creating. Swallow the blue pill and he’ll be comfortably back in the Matrix. Or he can take the red pill, which will open his eyes to see new possibilities, to carve out a place in the alternate reality.
At the heart of the gospel is the idea that we are all caught in The Matrix, in a false view of reality. We fail to see the world as it truly is, fail to see it as God sees it Jesus calls us to a new way of seeing reality, to swallow his red pill rather than society’s blue pill, and to forever be changed.
John 8:32: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
