I AM
March 25, 2018

Scripture: John 8:48-59

I. Jesus is greater than father Abraham.

A. In John chapter 8 the Pharisees have an argument with Jesus. The Pharisees argue in vs. 39 that they are children of Abraham. But Jesus said to them in vs. 44, “Abraham is not your father. Satan is your Father!” In response the Pharisees insulted Jesus in vs. 48 by saying that Jesus was a Samaritan and demon-possessed. By calling Jesus a Samaritan, the Pharisees were insulting Jesus in calling Him both a traitor and a heretic. And in addition to these other insults the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of lying about them.

B. Jesus had hope that the crowds who were listening to their argument might believe in Him. So Jesus says in vs. 51, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Obviously, Jesus wasn’t talking about physical death. But Jesus was promising that if we have faith in Jesus and keep His commands, we will never die spiritually. But the Pharisees asked Jesus in vs. 53, “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?” Later in John 8 Jesus would tell the Pharisees, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am greater than Abraham.”

II. Jesus has God for His Father.

A. The Pharisees accused Jesus of being demon possessed in vs. 48. But Jesus rejected their accusation by simply speaking the truth in vs. 49: “I do not have a demon.” Then he went on to say, “But I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.” So, who does Jesus tell the Pharisees is His Father? God is His Father. The Pharisees made a big deal out of saying that Abraham was their father. God called Abraham his friend. That’s pretty special. But Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Do you know how close I am to God? God is not just my friend. God is my Father.”

B. Throughout Christ’s entire life God the Father acted to bring glory to His Son Jesus (vs. 50). Matthew 3:16-17: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” If you want to honor God the Father, you must honor God the Son. You must honor Jesus.

III. Jesus is God.

A. Abraham knew about the Messiah coming in the future (vs. 56) because of promises God had made to him. We see one such promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” One of those descendants from the nation of Israel, the Messiah, would make God’s blessing of salvation available to all people on earth. For Jesus to say “before Abraham was, I am” (vs. 58) is to make a claim to be God. When God told Moses in Exodus 3:14 what His name is, He said His name is I am. Jesus then is the eternal God who has existed forever.

Application:
Worship Jesus for who He is and what He has done and invite others to worship with you.

Sources:
The Gospel of John
Commentaries on John by D.A. Carson and Richard Phillips