Continues from: John 8:1-11 The Adulteress woman Joh 8:12 Then Jesus spoke again to them, saying, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Joh 8:13 Therefore the Pharisees said to Him, You bear record concerning yourself; your witness is not true.
Joh 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, Though I bear record concerning Myself, My witness is true. For I know from where I came, and where I go. But you do not know from where I came, and where I go.
I am the Light of the World. What I see is the darkness that existed was as a result of the religion of the day, the law had hidden the truth of the Father and here Jesus, with full revelation of who the Father is, proclaims himself as Light and that His followers shall not walk in darkness.
So many interpretations of this and usually goes on a bit before any commentary. Jesus here proclaims His witness of Himself is True before He goes onto discuss the 2nd witness. For I know from where I came, and where I go. But you do not know from where I came, and where I go. Jesus knew His calling, He knew the Father, He knew where He came from and He knew where He was going. What we need to see here is the confidence Jesus had in who the Father was, there was absolutely no doubt in His mind. Joh 8:15 You judge after the flesh, I judge no one.
Joh 8:16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me.
Joh 8:17 It is also written in your Law that the testimony of two men is true.
Joh 8:18 I am one who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness concerning Me. Notice He say you judge after the flesh, I JUDGE NO ONE. Yet we know He judged those in the temple and even here Jesus takes their law and turns it against them. When He says "I am one who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness concerning Me" at a first glance it makes no sense. That would be equal to anyone of saying "I am who I am and My father agrees" There are not two independent witnesses yet. So what does it mean?
In the previous chapter we have: Joh 7:52 They answered and said to him, Are you also from Galilee? Search the scriptures and see that a prophet has not been raised out of Galilee. We glaze over this and miss the importance. Now we know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem but his parents fled to Nazareth, Galilee. Mat 2:21 And he arose and took the child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.
Mat 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in his father Herod's place, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.
Mat 2:23 And he came and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene." Prior to this they were in Egypt: Mat 2:14 And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. By all accounts it was not know that Jesus came from Bethlehem, if you study a bit more of the Nazareth you will see, the accounts of Him were Jesus of Nazareth. I am told but have no proof, this was a dejected people by the Jews of the day, it is also said that the Nazarenes were not Caucasian. Somehow or other, they were not part of the "elect" or "chosen".
Jesus was only born in Bethlehem, His parents did not come from there. Remember they went to be taxed and that is when Jesus was born. This would be the same as you being born in another country, you birth in that country gives you citizenship even though your parents are not from there. (In most countries anyway) Joh 8:19 Then they said to Him, Where is your father? Jesus said to them, You neither know Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. I want to render this verse slightly differently. Joh 8:19 Then they said to Him, Where is your father? Jesus said to them, You neither know My Father nor Me. If you had known My Father, you would have known Me also. It has the same overall meaning but place the focus slightly differently. I do not know how the Greek renders it so anyone that is fluent can correct me here.
What I want to show, the witness of the Father was in that which prophesied of Jesus. I have shown that the Pharisees did not believe that a Nazarene could be a Prophet yet the prophesy is there. They obviously focused only of the Davidic prophesies. In the swapped Father and Me this is apparent. For those that believe in the trinity it will make no difference. Let us stay with the original rendition.
If you had known Me. How was that possible? Jesus was the Father personified. He exuded the unconditional Love of the Father, He understood the unconditional Love of the Father so even if Jesus was merely a Prophet, He had what no other before Him had, this revelation. I saying what he said, literally could be summed up as:
You have no clue who I am as you have never known the Father.
Jesus still did not fulfil the law of two witnesses. Notice what Jesus said: It is also written in your Law that the testimony of two men is true. He ascribes ownership of the law to those of the Pharisees. This indicates to me that Jesus although we have accounts where He observed their law, Jesus did not live by that law. He says "your law" Had He said "the LAW" that would be different.
Jesus said (my rendition), "Had you understood the law and the Prophets, you would have no doubt as to who I am. Thus, I stand here before you fulfilling your law but you cannot see it as you do not even know the Father. All you have is a religion of rites and practices which a dead" Joh 8:20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as He taught in the temple. And no man laid hands upon Him, for His hour had not yet come.
Joh 8:21 Then Jesus said again to them, I go away, and you shall seek Me and shall die in your sins. Where I go, you cannot come.
Joh 8:22 Then the Jews said, Will he kill himself? Because he says, Where I go you cannot come.
Joh 8:23 And He said to them, You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Joh 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you shall die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins. Here Jesus say to them they shall die in their sins and it is commonly taught that unless we acknowledge Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Saviour......(fill in the blank) you shall perish and add on eternal torment. Is that true?
I do not think so. you shall seek Me and shall die in your sins. Where I go, you cannot come Here Jesus is saying they will seek Him (the Christ) looking toward someone else that would fulfil their law as they saw it but they will die in their sins. To me He is saying, they would die and their sin focus would prevent them from coming after Him. Where I go you cannot come confirms this. Jesus was introducing the Father and this was void of the law practices. They would want to hold onto their traditions and that would not work with the Liberty Christ was proclaiming. Joh 8:25 Then they said to Him, Who are you? And Jesus said to them, Even the same which I also say to you. Ever considered this verse? What does this mean?
Even the same which I also say to you. Jesus had just told them they would die in their sins so Jesus would also die in His sins? At minimum it means that Jesus would die too. Where Jesus was going, He knew. For His belief that sin was not an issue for the Father, He would die for that. Jesus died for the sin of blasphemy according to their laws.
Sin as we know it is not what Jesus had. See now the focus on sin that Jesus did not have would be His undoing, He had in fact sinned according to the law of the Pharisees. Sin focus requires judgement and atonement. What did Jesus say?
You judge after the flesh, I judge no one. By the flesh laws, Jesus was guilty, hence He died in those sins, even though He did not sin perse.
How does Paul put it? Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;
Rom 8:4 so that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. See this portion now takes on a whole new meaning when you have seen it the way I have tried to show here. Joh 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge of you, but He who sent Me is true, and I speak to the world those things what I heard of Him.
Joh 8:27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. In Christ Jesus means we have the Father heart in us just as Jesus did. There is no condemnation of sin, not because Jesus died for our sins but because sin was never an issue with the Father. Does that make sin OK? No!
We know that sin separates us from God through our guilt not visa versa. Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, "For Your sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep of slaughter."
Rom 8:37 But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing folks, not even the worst sin you can think of. I am sure it saddens the Lord when we sin not because it robs Him in any way, it only robs us from victorious living in Him.
You see folk, we like sheep have been led astray by doctrines of man and led to believe the death of Jesus was a penalty for sin in all the while, God the Father, the true God, has no requirement for atonement. Tradition hides the truth from us. While we hold to tradition like the Jews did, the truth of the Heart of the Father remains hidden.
Next study:John 8:28-59 - The truth shall make you free
Blessings
All references to MKJV quoted NKJV linked
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