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The Joy of Abraham in the Day of Christ — John 8:54-59

Jim Butler · 2023-02-12 · John 8:54–59 · 9,442 words · 55 min

Sermons on John

At a glance

What does it mean to claim divinity in front of those who would stone you for it? When Jesus declares "before Abraham was, I am" to hostile religious leaders, He reveals not only His eternal nature but also His unwavering commitment to truth regardless of the cost. This sermon examines Christ's defense of His divine identity and His intimate relationship with the Father, demonstrating how His unity with God validates His promise of eternal life to all who believe. The message calls listeners to embrace rather than resist the Savior who receives sinners and offers them rest.

The Joy of Abraham in the Day of Christ

Opening Prayer

Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank You for the Word, we thank You for the Gospel of our salvation, the words of eternal life that our blessed Savior speaks. We ask that You would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things now. We pray for the edification, the sanctification, growth of Your people, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, And for any and all who've come here this morning, dead in their trespasses and sins, may they hear those life-giving words of the Savior Himself. And may, by grace, they believe on Him as the Son of the living and true God, that they confess Him as Lord and Savior. And may you be glorified in this, as sinners pass from death and darkness into life.

As well, God, we pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to that end. We know that this is a spiritual book. It is spiritually discerned. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit who gave us this Word, we will read it as if it's a dead letter. So guide and illumine our minds and hearts even now.

Forgive us for all of our sin and everything that does darken our understanding. And be glorified in this glad hour. For we confess that You are God Most High, from everlasting to everlasting, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God who made the world, the God who governs the world, and the God who has redeemed His elect out of the world. To You be glory and honor and praise and adoration. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Well, as we come to this final section, we've seen again the enmity of the unbelieving Jews directed at our Lord Jesus Christ, and it's all come down to basically their claim of paternity. They have made two claims concerning their father. First, they have claimed that Abraham is their father, and then they've claimed that God the Father is their father. Of course, Jesus rejects both their claims, obviously, and then he tells them who their father really is.

Verse 44, one of those pointed statements in the gospel narrative where our Lord Jesus does not hold back. We saw this in Matthew 23 where he condemns them as hypocrites, as brood of vipers. Well, here he does the same thing in verse 44. You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Now, intriguingly, he makes that claim, he makes that assertion, and then they validate it. They corroborate it by their own activity. So in this latter section from 48 to 59, we saw the accusation of the Jews in verses 48 to 51. Then we saw the questions posed by the Jews in verses 52 and 53. Now this morning we're going to look at the revelation of the Savior's glory in verses 54 and 56, and then the attempted murder by the Jews. So again, the enmity, the animosity, the hatred that they have for him is on full display as they take up stones to throw at him. And again, confirming that they are of their father the devil, they're liars and they're murderers just like their father.

Christ's Relation to the Father

Now notice, in terms of the revelation of the Savior's glory in verses 54 to 56, this hinges on two things. First, His relation to the Father in verses 54 and 55, and then His relation to Abraham. So it all kind of comes back here. They had asserted that Abraham was their father and that God was their father. He rejects that claim, he tells them who their real father is, and now in a manifestation, a revelation of his glory, he wants to underscore his relation to the father and his relation to Abraham.

Notice in terms of his relation to the Father, specifically in verses 54 and 55, it has to do with the unity he has and with the knowledge that he has of the Father. So notice in verse 54, Jesus answered, if I honor myself, and this is to their doubling down. Go back to verse 48, the Jews answered and said to him, do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? You're a heretic. You're outside the true religion. And not only are you a heretic and outside the true religion, but you also have a demon.

Jesus refutes that claim in verses 49 to 51. Of course, they're still not listening. They're still not tracking. They still don't pay attention. So they double down in verse 52, and they said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham is dead and the prophets, and you say, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead and the prophets are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be?

So it comes down to his identity. Again, his relation to the father is seen in this unity that he has with the father. Verse 54, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. In verse 50, he said essentially the same thing. I do not seek my own glory, there is one who seeks and judges. So he duplicates that here. He says, it is my father who honors me, of whom you say that he is your God.

So again, the relation that he bears with the father is that it's the father who honors him. It isn't these unbelieving Jews. It isn't the rabble in Israel at this particular time. It is God Most High who honors Him. And there's not two honors. The Godhead possesses one honor. The Athanasian Creed says, for there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit is all one. The glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

So again, the answer may seem a bit odd to us when he gets to this point and says, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing, to the question, who are you? He is again ascribing to himself unity with the Father. Go back to John chapter 5. He's already mentioned this very important point. And he's not only defending who he is here, but he's also condemning them. Because in their rejection of the Son, they're rejecting the Father whom they claim is their God.

So in 5:23, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. So back to 8:54, Jesus is not shaken, Jesus is not off kilter, Jesus is not put in a position of disadvantage. Though these men claim, and though these men double down, that he is a Samaritan, and that he has a demon, he knows what is true. He knows what is correct, He knows what is accurate, and He knows that He has a unity with the Father that they know nothing of.

The Knowledge of the Father

So when it comes to the identification of the Son of God, we only really know Him as we know the Father. We only really know the Father as we know the Son of God, and this is what Jesus is giving to them. The unbelieving Jews dishonor the Son, which puts them at odds with both the Son and the Father. And the unbelieving Jews continue to insist that God is their God, that He is their Father. So notice again His language in verse 54. If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father who honors me. that statement concerning the intimacy that he bears to the father, my father. And then he goes on to say, of whom you say that he is your God.

So Jesus is still defending himself against the claim that he's got a demon, but he's also showing that their paternity is not Abraham and their paternity is not God the father. Their father is the devil, the liar, the accuser, the one who makes statements and claims like this that are absolutely incorrect. Christ is not a Samaritan. Christ does not have a demon. Christ, rather, is one with the Father.

And then notice what he goes on to say. He underscores his knowledge of the Father, and by so doing, once again, he indicts them. So in verse 55, he says, Yet you have not known him, but I know him. This is a truism. This is because of the relation that he bears with the Father. Go back to the prologue in John 1, specifically at verse 18. We read that no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

There is an intimate relation between the Father and the Son and the Spirit. We see that trinity of persons in the one Godhead. And so Christ appeals to this now as he's being asked about his identification. He is one with the Father and he has a knowledge of the Father that transcends anything that these men may ever think in terms of their knowledge of God.

So he says, yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, look at what he says, I shall be a liar like you. So this is not an inaccurate statement when he says you're of your father, the devil. The devil is a liar. The devil says things of godly men that you're a Samaritan and you have a demon. You do not know the one that you are claiming to know. You do not know the one that you are rejecting, His only begotten Son. You do not know the one that you say is the very God of Israel that gives you your meaning and gives you your being. You don't know Him. And if I say that I don't know Him, then I will be a liar like you.

Now again, as we read through this passage, it's tough to discern tone, but I can't imagine they're doing this with big grins on their faces. This is come to a place of a fever pitch. The Lord Jesus does not back down. The Lord Jesus does not renege on his claims. The Lord Jesus is not going to say, well, I'll tell you whatever it is that you wanna hear so we can just make this easy on all of us and we can go our own ways. We'll just agree to disagree on this very important point of the Christian religion. No, as far as who God is, as far as who the Son is, as far as what he speaks is true, is concerned, then Christ now is doubling down.

The Intimacy Between Father and Son

So they go from 48 to 52 to that place where they know that he is a Samaritan and has a demon. But Christ himself is doubling down. He doesn't do it with lawless ignorance. He doesn't do it with the lawless arrogance of these men. But he is not shrinking back from declaring to them the truth as it is in Jesus. We learn something from this. Just because men don't receive the truth doesn't mean we don't preach the truth. Just because men might block their ears to a reception concerning the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, that doesn't mean we renege. It doesn't mean we leave off. It means rather we press even harder, because the truth as it is in Jesus is everything. And Christ speaks the words of eternal life. And if you resist or reject those words of eternal life, then you consign yourself to that place where the devil and his angels ultimately land.

And so the Lord Jesus not only is answering the question, the Lord Jesus is doing so in a way that is very offensive to these people. They don't like this. They don't want to hear this. They are probably gnashing their teeth at him and they're getting hot and bothered under the collar as he continues to double down relative to his relationship to the father.

So in verse 54, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my father who honors me. The father who you say is your father is the father who honors me. So when you reject me and dishonor me, you're rejecting and dishonoring the father who honors me. And then in verse 55, yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I say I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.

Turn back to Matthew's gospel for just a second to see that intimate knowledge the son has of the father. Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11. specifically at verse 27, gives us a bit of a window into John 1:18. No one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

What's that language of having or being in the bosom of the Father? It's the language of intimacy. The only begotten Son is in the bosom of the Father. We're adopted sons by grace, for sure, and we praise God for that. But our relation to the Father isn't being in the bosom of the Father. That's the intimate relation that obtains between the persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So notice in 11:25 in Matthew's gospel at that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. In the context, the hiding of things, the things hidden are the things that lead to everlasting life.

Think about what Jesus is saying there. I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. You know what godless men say when they hear that? They say, well, that's not fair. That's simply not fair. How is it the case that the Lord Jesus Christ can praise the Father for hiding gospel truth from the wise and prudent so they don't see it and end up in hell? That's not fair.

It's not fair. It's justice. It's righteousness. God is not obliged to any man ever to give him everlasting life. In the particular context, Jesus upbraids the cities of His day because He does mighty miracles, and yet they don't repent. He says it's going to be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for those cities that did not repent. And so, of course, He praises His Father that He hides these things from the wise and prudent. It's not saying there's a class of wise and prudent men out there that deem themselves, that do not need that revelation of God. No, they're wise in their own eyes. They're prudent in their own eyes. They're the kinds of people that walk around and parade themselves. They're not like other men. They're not like this publican. They're not like adulterers. They're not like extortionists. They are self-righteous in their eyes.

But he doesn't stop there. He praises the Father for revealing them unto babes, for giving babes the sight to see the glorious gospel of free and sovereign grace. Notice what he says in verse 26, "'Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight.'" It's the good pleasure of God Most High that is primary. Salvation is of the Lord, Jonah the prophet confessed from the belly of the whale in 2:9. This is the reality of Holy Scripture. It does not depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. Should any sinner ever come out of darkness into marvelous light, the praise doesn't go to the sinner. The praise goes to God Most High. The praise goes to the one who is able to give that eternal life. And Jesus says it's according to the good pleasure of God Almighty that this obtains.

Notice what he says in verse 27. All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. So there's this intimate knowledge between the Father and the Son, and in that intimate knowledge, the Lord Jesus brings sinners. Again, not to the bosom of the Father, because that's unique to the only begotten of the Father. But relative to our knowledge of God, it comes as a result of this one who stands against these unbelieving Jews in the temple compound in this day after the Feast of Tabernacles and doubles down on his relation between the Father and the Son. his relation to the Father. It's the Father who honors him. It's the Father that he knows. It's the Father that has sent him into this world, sinners, to save.

Christ's Gracious Invitation

And then it's on this basis, there is this openness, if you will, to access to the Father. It is through the Son. So that shouldn't surprise us that in verse 28, he makes this beautiful statement, come to me. What if you are those dead in your trespasses and sins apart from the Father? What's the response, or what's the answer, or what's the remedy? It's to come to Jesus.

If you want the Father, you must come through the Son, and that's the emphasis by the Savior. He says, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Now it's just at this point that some that might fit this particular bill of goods are saying, well wait a minute, didn't you just say that God is sovereign? Didn't you just say that Jesus praises the Father, hiding this information from some and revealing it to others?

You don't need to be thinking about that. It's true, it's biblical, you can think about that in a bit, but right now you need to think about the words of the Savior in Matthew 11:28. Come to me. All you who weary and are heavy laden. All those who are bound down by sin.

In this context, the heaviness, the burden isn't physical activity. It isn't you've had a 70 or an 80 or a 90 hour work week. It isn't the reality that there's a bunch of problems going on in the civil government. There's a bunch of problems in our families. There's a bunch of problems here and there and everywhere. The problem is that we have sinned against a holy God. The problem is, is that he is at odds with us because we are dead in our trespasses and sins. The reality is, is that we will side with those men in Revelation 6 and call for the mountains to fall on us to hide us from the wrath of the Lamb. Not because of problems with the government or problems in our family, but the problems in our own heart. or rebellion and transgression against God Most High.

What's the way of access? What's the way of approach? It's through the one who knows the Father intimately. It's through the one who's in the bosom of the Father who has declared Him. And what has He declared about Him? He has declared that He's large-hearted. He has declared that He runs to prodigals. He has declared that he comes and falls upon returning sinners, and kisses them, and clothes them with robes, and puts rings on their fingers, and kills the fatted calf for them. This Lord Jesus is the means of access to the Father.

He says, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in art, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

In the very context we're in, John 8:51, he says in the midst of his opponents, Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death. What an amazing statement.

Yes, he's defending himself against the charges that he's a Samaritan and that he has a demon. Yes, he wants to underscore his special relation to the Father. And yes, in a moment he's going to underscore his relation to Abraham. But in the midst of all that, he says to these Jerusalem sinners, these men that are going to pick up stones to cast at him, he says to them, if you believe my word, if you keep my word, you will never see death.

This is the promise from the Son of Man. This is the promise that is abiding and true for us today. This is the promise, by God's grace, many of us have believed. This is the promise of life eternal, salvation, world without end, amen. A life contrary to what you see there in Revelation 6.

Have you ever pondered those words? Hide us from what? The wrath of the Lamb. We don't typically associate the wrath of God with the Lamb of God, but we should. When the Lamb of God goes to the cross, he is there not simply as an example to us about love and kindness. He is there bearing the wrath of God Most High for us men and for our salvation. And so the sinners that oppose, the sinners that resist, the sinners that reject would rather have Mount Shem fall on them to protect them from the wrath of the Lamb Most High.

Do not get to that point. You're in a church right now. You have Bibles in your immediate access. They're all over our phones. They're all over our lives. You need to come to the Savior. He says, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden. And I will what? I'll throw you out. I'll kick you to the curb. I'll castigate you. No, I'll give you rest.

And in that context, back in Matthew 11, These people were operating under the heavy burden of Pharisaism, under the heavy burden of this self-righteous Pharisaic sect that loaded things upon these people. And he says, in the midst of that, come to me and I will give you rest.

Christ's Relation to Abraham

And so back in our context, the Lord Jesus maintains His relation to the Father is one of unity and it's one of knowledge. Now notice His relation to Abraham. This has been a significant part of the interchange because they've claimed that Abraham is their father. He doesn't deny that in the physical sense. He knows that they're Abraham's physical descendants. He knows that they're of that lineage, but the particular emphasis is upon the spirituality.

The New Testament tells us that all those who believe in Jesus Christ are sons of Abraham. Galatians 3:26-29. Doesn't matter if you're Jew, doesn't matter if you're Gentile, doesn't matter if you're Scythian, doesn't matter if you're a man, doesn't matter if you're a woman, doesn't matter if you're from Canada, doesn't matter if you're in Honduras. It doesn't matter. If you believe by grace the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, then you are sons of Abraham.

In other words, when Abraham was given the promise of God that in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed, he didn't just mean at the physical level, he meant spiritually. When Abraham was told to look up into that sky and see those stars and was unable to count that, what's the point? So shall your descendants be. When Abraham's told to look at the sand on the seashore, Well, obviously you can't count all those grains of sand. Well, obviously you can't count that great multitude that no man can number. Revelation chapter 7.

When Abraham was told to look north and to look south and to look east and to look west, it wasn't just Palestine. It wasn't just the geographical boundaries that would be secured by Solomon. It was the world, is what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 4 at verse 13. He received the promise to inherit the world as a result of God's grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so Abraham is very important in this particular context. So notice what Jesus says in verse 56. He's dealt with his relation to the father, 54 and 55, and now his relation to Abraham. Why? because they've asked him, verse 53, are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead and the prophets are dead? Who do you make yourself out to be?

So look at his response in verse 56, your father Abraham, again, your being physical, You descended from him. Not your spiritual father. These are not people that have that pedigree. These are not people that have believed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. They're rather physically descended from Abraham. He's already had mentioned that. Verse 37, I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill me.

So he says the same thing here in verse 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.

Abraham's Vision of the Messiah

Now, before we proceed and see their response, can you kind of imagine how their response might be? I mean, we've read it over and over and over again. We've spent several weeks in John's gospel, but how do you think they're going to respond to this? What do you mean your father rejoiced to see your day? Are you nuts? Well, the response that they engaged tells us that that's precisely what they're thinking.

But what does Jesus mean when he says, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day? He saw it and he was glad. What's Christ talking about in that particular statement? It is a bit enigmatic. It is a bit of a conundrum. Let's seek to unfold it.

Well, in terms of connection, they've claimed Abraham is their father, so he says that now. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. the language, your father, according to the flesh, but no spiritual connection, and then the specific declaration that your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

I take my day there as a reference to the first advent of the Lord Jesus. I don't think he means this particular day, the day after the Feast of Tabernacles, when he returns early to the temple to teach to them during that day. I don't think that's the day he's referring to. I think he's talking about the messianic era, the messianic reign, that promised time anticipated in the Old Testament when the Messiah would come to Israel. So I think that's what he's talking about. Abraham rejoiced to see my day.

Well, how did Abraham know about this day? Well, let's just go back to something that Abraham would have known. Go back to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. Now, you might say, well, Abraham didn't have a Cambridge wide margin, you know, binded Bible that would have given him Genesis chapter 3. No, he would have had oral tradition. They would have probably had written records. The people of God were maintaining these things.

Adam's sons knew to come to worship at the end of the days of the week. How would Adam's sons know to do that unless Adam instructed them? So Moses wrote the Pentateuch to be sure, but it does not mean or does not follow. There weren't some written records that were already precursors to that. And as we look at the Old Testament, I think James Hamilton is absolutely right. The Old Testament is messianic to the core. It is a book intended to feed the hope of God's people with the coming of Jesus Christ.

And Genesis 3:15 is that first promise concerning Jesus and his coming into the world. God says, I will put enmity between you and the woman. He's talking to the serpent. And between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. The first promise concerning Messiah. The deliverer would be a man born of a woman. The deliverer would accomplish redemption through suffering and death. And the deliverer would accomplish victory. Triumph. Absolute. With reference to the crushing of the devil himself. Abraham had that promise.

And then turn over to Genesis chapter 15. Genesis chapter 15. Well, before that, Genesis chapter 13. Genesis 13 at verse 14. And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward. For all the land which you give, or see, I give to you and your seed forever.

Seed is a much better translation there than descendants. Seed refers to the seed, which is Jesus Christ our Lord, according to Galatians 3:16. So Abraham was given this promise that in his seed, the nations of the earth would be blessed. You have to understand, the Abrahamic promise was about Jesus Christ our Lord. In your seed, singular, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. So Galatians 3:16 tells us it's the seed singular, it's the Lord Christ.

This is the passage I referenced earlier that according to Paul in Romans 4:13 is fulfilled in terms of the entirety of the earth. It's not just geographical Israel. It's the entirety of the world under Messiah, under Christ. This is why He says, go, make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He's been given all this stuff.

And then verse 16, And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your seed also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.

And then notice in Genesis 15. Genesis 15, God again tells Abraham, there's going to be an abundance of seed that flows from you. Of course, Abraham's a bit, you know, interested or curious about this, and he asks for a sign. He asks for sort of a rationale. How do I know this is going to happen, God? And God answers. God says, get animals, cut them in two pieces, put them on either side, and we'll march between them in covenant. That's an ancient Near Eastern ratification ceremony for covenant.

You take the animals and you cut them. That means you kill them. They don't do this willingly. They don't just separate in the torso and get on either side of the aisle there. You kill them. And then you pile up their body parts on either side, and then the parties to the covenant walk through those animals. The significance is simple. If I renege on this covenant, then may what happens to these animals happen to me.

Intriguingly, in terms of Genesis 15, Abraham doesn't march between the animals. It's God alone. It is God alone that marches through those animals to promise that in Abraham all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Abraham was rejoicing to see my day.

Genesis chapter 22. We saw this working our way up to the in the Christmas season, one of the passages that were prophetical concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when Abraham is told to take Isaac, his son, his only son, the son that he loves, take him up to Mount Moriah and there offer him up as a sacrifice.

Remember, Isaac comes to that realization, we've got the wood, we've got the fire, but we don't have the sacrifice. What does Abraham say? He says that the Lord will provide for us. The Lord will provide a sacrifice. When he goes to kill his son, the angel of the Lord stops him. They turn and they see a ram caught in the thicket. Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Jesus Christ, brethren.

Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. He's the Genesis 3:15 seed. He's the Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17, 22 seed. He is the promise of God concerning the healing of the nations. And Abraham looked forward to that in faith.

Look at Genesis 15, specifically in verse 6. I bypassed that. It says, "...he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness." Well, what does he believe? In some vague notion of a possible Savior to come? No, he's believing in the seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent.

How do we know that? Because when Paul comes to deal with justification by faith alone in Romans 3 and 4, guess to whom he appeals? He appeals to Abraham. He appeals to David. These old covenant saints were redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's James do when he wants to teach what true and saving faith looks like? He looks at a patriarch and a prostitute, and he says it was the patriarch and the prostitute who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ that had life eternal as a result.

Turn to the book of Hebrews, where you see the redemptive work of Jesus Christ with its retrospective aim. Hebrews chapter 9, specifically at verse 15. Hebrews 9 verse 15, and for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant.

How does Abraham go to heaven? By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. How did Adam go to heaven? By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. How did Abel go to heaven? By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. How did Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel go to heaven? By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

And for this reason He is the mediator of the New Covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the First Covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

The Contrast with the Jews

So going back to our particular passage, when our blessed Savior says, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, he saw it and was glad. Again, what an affront to these Jews! Abraham rejoiced at the prospect of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it filled his heart with gladness. These Jews have animosity.

Abraham looked down prospectively at the thought of the coming Savior, the champion of Genesis 3:15, and it made him rejoice. It made these Jews filled with animosity. Abraham rejoiced over this. They want to kill him over this.

So this is a sort of a crescendo in terms of his showing the difference between their claim to Abraham as being their spiritual father and to the reality that they are godless wretches that are connected paternally to the devil himself.

The Attempted Murder by the Jews

Now let's look at the attempted murder by the Jews in 57 to 59. So verse 57, the Jews said to him, you're not yet 50 years old. And have you seen Abraham? The question concerning his age, you are not yet 50 years old. He's closer to 30 here, probably 32, 33. I mean, being a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief probably does age you. Isaiah tells us that's how he would look. He had no form, no comeliness. There was nothing about him physically that drew our eyes to him. It wasn't like he had a halo. He didn't have, you know, 21-inch guns. He wasn't walking around the city streets doing those amazing superhuman Herculean things. No, there was no form, no comeliness. There was nothing about him attractive to us.

In fact, he was a man of sorrows, and he was acquainted with grief. So were they just off by 20 years? Yeah, they were just off by 20 years. Probably he looked older than what he was physically in terms of age. Or they're just making a statement. You're not even 50 years old. And have you seen Abraham? Well, technically he doesn't say he saw Abraham. He says that Abraham saw my day and he rejoiced in it. He was glad. But nevertheless, he doubles down once again to answer their particular objection.

Christ's Declaration of Divinity

So notice what he says in verse 58. So verse 57, the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. So he affirms the veracity of his statement by using those two words, amen, amen. We got it translated here as most assuredly. Again, all of the Bible is important. Leviticus 18:20 is important. Lamentations 3:20 is important. You know, Psalms 1:17 is important. But in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are those Amen, Amen moments where He underscores, as it will, you need to pay attention. You need to listen. Most assuredly, I say to you, most assuredly, I underscore this. Most assuredly, I draw importance to this. Before Abraham was, I am.

Now, I've tried to explain this use of I am as we've moved our way through John's Gospel. You'll see several instances of this I am with what's called a predicate. And a predicate is simply something said about the object or the subject. The predicate tells us something about the subject. I throw the ball. I'm the subject. Throw the ball is the predicate. I am, Jesus says, the bread of life. I am, Jesus says, the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. Jesus says, I am the door.

There are several instances in John's gospel where Jesus says, I am, and then there's a predicate to sort of round it out. There's seven of them. Bread of life, light of the world, door of the sheep, good shepherd, resurrection and the life, the way, the truth, and the life, and then the true vine.

Now, there are several times when Jesus uses that phrase, I am, and there's no predicate. He just kind of leaves it dangling there like he does in this one. Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. We've already seen that in this particular discourse. Go back to John 8, specifically at verse 23. He said to them, you are from beneath and I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. He says, therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

Now the translators supply he there because it makes more sense in English. We don't typically leave an I am sort of dangling out there. And so the translators here in the New King James supply the he. It would be better to not supply it. It would be better to capitalize it the way that they do so in verse 58. Because what he's saying there in verse 24 is if you don't believe that I am, then you will die in your sins.

So what does he mean by, I am? What does he mean by this use of this particular convention? Well, the background is Exodus chapter 3. You can turn there. Exodus chapter 3.

The Background of "I Am"

Moses is called to the service of God Almighty. And Moses sees a revelation of the glory of God. The revelation, the self-revelation of the glory of God. So notice, specifically we'll pick up at verse 10. Come now therefore and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? So he said, I will certainly be with you, and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.

Then Moses said to God, Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I am has sent me to you.

So the self-revelation of the Most High God is given us there in Exodus 3:14, I am. So now, as Jesus stands before these men, and he says, most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. He is asserting, he is underscoring, he is showing and demonstrating, once again, his unity with the Father. The fact that he is the only begotten Son of the Father, who came into this world, sinners to save.

John Gild defines the I am in Exodus 3:14 this way. This signifies the real being of God, His self-existence, and that He is the being of beings, as also it denotes His eternity and immutability, and His constancy and faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. For it includes all time, past, present, and to come. And the sense is, not only I am what I am at present, but I am what I have been, and I am what I shall be, and shall be what I am. Good way to describe that.

Tarnak says it signifies his immutability as well as his eternity. And then Francis Turretin writes, but since eternal existence, omnipotent power, and immutable truth belongs to God alone, the name Jehovah, which embraces these three, ought to be peculiar to him alone.

So essentially what Jesus is doing in John 8:58, is saying, I am Yahweh. I am the God of the burning bush. I am one with the Father. I am the eternal one. He is asserting his eternality with the Father.

And when he emphasizes this, notice in verse 58, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Cyril of Alexandria makes the observation, there is no way we should think that the Only Begotten is insisting that he is before Abraham alone. No, he is before all time. And his generation is the most ancient of all, since he is without beginning in the Father.

Again, the Athanasian Creed says, the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. Yet are they not three eternals, but one eternal?

The Jewish Response to Christ's Claims

The fact that they respond the way they do in verse 59 validates this interpretation. They know what he's claiming. They know what he's declaring. They know what he's asserting. He is making a claim that he is one with the Father, that he is God Most High, that he is the Ancient of Days, that he is from everlasting to everlasting, that he is the one that has come, sinners to save. And it's on that basis, on the heels of that, that they do then what they do, according to verse 59.

Notice, he makes this glorious statement, and it says, then they took up stones to throw at him. They took up stones to throw at him. Turn back to John 5, we see the same. sort of animus there. John 5 verse 16, for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, my father has been working until now and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was his father making himself equal with God.

Leviticus 24 demanded the death penalty, capital punishment, for anybody that would assert equality with God. Blasphemy was a capital offense in the Old Covenant.

So that they pick up stones to throw at him indicates what they understood him to have said. Notice in John 10, same sort of an emphasis. John chapter 10, same sort of a situation. Verse 31, then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, many good works I have shown you from my father, for which of those works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God.

That is precisely the issue in John 8. This is the pinnacle. This is the apex. This is the crescendo. The Lord Christ has maintained His unique relation to the Father. The Father is the one who sent, the Son is the one who is sent by Him. The Father is the one who is the begetter, and Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. The Lord Jesus took on our humanity, identified with us, took on all of our humanity, with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin, so that He might redeem us from sin.

Christ's Unwavering Declaration

He's standing in the midst of that. He's declaring these truths. He does not renege. He does not shrink back. He continues to double down and meets every opposition and meets every lawless response by them, and He holds His ground. He is the great I Am. He is the one in whom there is salvation.

For all those who have ears to hear, verse 51 remains true. The ones who keep his word shall never see death. They shall never undergo the pain of spiritual death. You'll die physically. We'll all die physically, to be sure, unless we happen to be living when Jesus Christ again returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. But probably most of us here are going to enter into the earth.

But we don't pass into spiritual death. That's our portal into spiritual life. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, Paul says, and then to await that final judgment when God raises the body and when body and soul enter into the presence of God Most High to worship and to glorify and adore Him, of whom Abraham rejoiced to see his day.

The Glory of Christ's Identity

This is a wonderful interchange, a wonderful declaration in John 8 of our Lord's teaching concerning His authority and concerning His identity. He is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. The creed didn't stumble onto that. The creed rather explains what God, through the apostle John, tells us throughout this narrative.

In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. No one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared Him. And as we move now through John's gospel, we see Jesus uphold that, we see Jesus continue to press that, and we see Jesus continue to teach that, even though it causes this kind of rage and this kind of animosity from unbelievers.

For the believer, for the one who has eyes to see, who has a heart to receive, who has ears to hear, he is in fact the altogether lovely and the chief among 10,000. He is the one of whom we read this morning in the prayer meeting, a friend for sinners.

Wasn't this what the scribes and the Pharisees got upset about in Luke 15? This man receives sinners and eats with them. How disgusting! How vile! How wretched! How derelict! How destitute! How devoid of any saving religion! This man receives sinners and eats with them? That's the essence of the Christian gospel. That's the very message our beloved Savior brings. That's why he comes into this world. It's sinners to save.

Application

It is the case that if by grace you look to him in faith, you will have everlasting life. Do not make the mistake of these Jews. Do not double down in your rebellion. Do not double down in your resistance and in your rejection. Do not assume that you have everything all figured it out. Now we know that you are a Samaritan and that you have a demon. They knew nothing of the kind. They were arrogant, lawless, godless men that were simply opposing the true God of heaven and earth.

Don't follow their tack. Don't follow their trajectory. They evidenced that they were liars and that they were murderers and they were going to do precisely what the devil would have them to do. Now, look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and listen to his blessed words in verse 51. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death.

May God indeed underscore in our minds and our hearts how glorious and how wondrous this Christ is. And if Abraham, looking forward, rejoiced to see his day, certainly us, looking back and present and forward, can rejoice in that blessed day as well. And as we sing our hymns and our psalms, as we gather in the public place for the worship of God, we get the great privilege secured for us by this one, to come to the Father through the Son in the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our God and our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the identity of our blessed Savior, that surety of a better covenant, that Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I pray, God, that all over the earth today, as this gospel goes forth, it would run swiftly, that it would go forth, conquering and to conquer. that you would be pleased to save from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And God, reach down in this place amongst the elderly, amongst the young people, amongst the children. God, be merciful and show that great salvation of our blessed Christ. And we pray in his wonderful name. Amen.

Well, you can turn in your hymn books to page 568, and we'll close by singing the doxology in praise to our triune God. 568, we'll stand as we sing together. is Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for this time to gather for worship. I pray for your blessing upon each of us now. May your face shine upon us. May you keep us by your grace and power, and may you be glorified in each of our lives. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Please be seated for a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References