You Will Never See Death Series

A journalist and a father of a three -year-old boy came home in 2019. The young boy saw his dad working on his iPad while he was at the house. So, while the dad was at work, the three-year-old boy picked up the iPad and tried to use it when his dad was away. Only the iPad was password protected. The little boy entered the wrong passcode. The little boy was persistent and continued to enter the wrong passcode. When the dad came home, the screen to his iPad looked like this: Yes, by the time his dad returned home, the iPad had been locked out for over twenty-five million minutes – that’s just shy of fifty years. The dad reached out to Apple to find out how to reboot the device. One person said he should try to reboot the toddler ?.1 Eventually, Apple provided a fix.

Jesus specializes in fixing problems that seem to have no solution. Tension has been mounting in chapters 7 and 8 like a thundercloud swelling in the sky. The opponents of Jesus’ day would not be stuck with Jesus for anywhere near 25 million minutes. Or so they thought.

We come to the end of a story that really begins all the way back in John 7:1. Today, Jesus debates who is the legitimate son of Abraham while promising us how to never taste death.

Today’s Scripture

“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.’ 55 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).

There is a little question at the end of verse 53 that I don’t want you to miss. Because really, it’s this question that everything turns on. The Jews asked Jesus, “Who do you make yourself out to be?” (John 8:53b). Just who does He think He is?

Sermon Preview

1. Don’t You Blink – the stakes are eternally and cosmically high at a showdown that beats the OK Corral

2. Don’t You Sleep – Jesus speaks of eternal life

3. Don’t be Shocked – Jesus’ claims to exist longer will knock you sideways

1. Don’t You Blink

“Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me’” (John 8:49).

Again, pressure is building. Things are coming to a head in our story.

1.1 Don’t Blink

Some moments are so tense you just CANNOT blink. The action is too fast, and the consequences are too big for you to even blink. You may miss something significant in just the nanosecond it takes to blink.

An NFL coach was asked a couple of years ago, “What’s your final message to your team,” just minutes before the game. The coach looked right in the camera and said that he told his team, “Don’t blink. If you’re a blinker, cut your eyelids off.” He continued, “This will not be for the faint of heart. We understand what type of game we're in. It’s going to take a ridiculous effort, and 60 minutes of it.” Now, if an NFL playoff game is a “No Blink” moment, how much more is the Son of God going against the forces of evil for the souls of men?

Watch Jesus take on the forces of evil and not blink. And He didn’t even need to cut off His eyelids as He is steady under tremendous pressure. Listen carefully to Jesus: “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me” (John 8:49).