In chapter 3 Jesus talks with
Nicodemus. At this point, Jesus is known as a great teacher (3:2) and has
caught the attention of the academics. In chapter 4 the Samaritans begin to
believe that Jesus is the Messiah. By chapter 7 many in Jerusalem begin to
wonder if Jesus is the Christ. However, they had no idea who He really was. And
they had no idea who they were.
Right after Jesus confirms His
identity that John declared beforehand, Jesus becomes really frank with his
audience. Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for
I came from God and I am here... You are of your father the devil, and your
will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
he has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of
lies.... Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not
hear them is that you are not of God’” (8:42-47 ESV)
Jesus says, “[E]veryone who
commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever;
the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”
(8:34).
When we are born, we are slaves
to sin. Jesus came so that everyone could be adopted into His family. He came
to take us from being sinners to saints, from slaves to children. The moment
man sinned in the Garden of Eden, we switched kingdoms. God made Adam of His
own image and likeness but then Adam sinned and switched kingdoms. After this
he then had a son in his own image and likeness, not in the image he was made
in (Ge 5:3). No longer were men sons of God. Our bloodline changed. We became
slaves to sin instead of sons. Now Jesus has come to restore mankind to the
proper bloodline. He came so we could now become sons of God, children of
promise (Gal 4:28).
Back in chapter one, John began
to build this idea. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor the
will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn 1:12-13). Now,
instead of only one man being humanly the son of God (Adam), now all can have
that lineage.
John 3:22-36 is the first pivotal
moment. The previous three chapters are leading up to this moment. John the
Baptist and John the Author are establishing who Jesus is. They tell us who
Jesus is. Right after this, the book of John launches into a time of
establishing Jesus’ authority as the Word of God. John does this by showing
examples. Now we can see how Jesus is the Word of God. Now we can see the
authority of Jesus’ words.
"I know that you are the offspring of Abraham;
yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what
I have seen with my father and you do what you have heard from your father”
(8:34-38). Jesus speaks out of what He has seen but they speak out of what they
have heard. They haven’t experienced the truth. They think they have because
they have heard but they haven’t experienced the Truth. They haven’t
experienced Him yet. A slave does not get to experience what it is like to be
part of the family. He only does what he is told. The slave can go from master
to master, but the son is in the family forever. However, the son gets to
experience what it is like to be part of the family.
“They answered him, ‘Abraham is
our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be
doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told
you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing
the works your father did” (8:39-41).
You can tell they are offended
because they get personal here. “We are not illegitimate children,’ they
protested” (8:41 NIV). They know that Jesus’ mother did not have a husband when
she became pregnant with Jesus. Jesus ignores this personal attack against His
mother and continues with His point.
“The only Father we have is God
himself.” (8:41 NIV) They thought they were already of the family of God just
because they were Jews, the people of God. They may be the people chosen by
God, but they were not yet of the family of God.
The people Jesus is talking with
completely missed their identity. They are offspring of Abraham but are not his
children. They did not understand who they were. They were descendents of this
great man of faith but they did not share the same faith. They were slaves to
sin instead of children of the promise made to Abraham.
However, Jesus doesn’t leave them
at this point and go to a different nation where He might be better received.
He keeps telling them who He is. He keeps after them. He isn’t going to stop
talking with you and stop pursuing you if you push Him away. He will keep after
you. He loves you too much to walk away from you.
