JOHN 8:31-59 SET FREE (Kent Smith Notes 3/24/24)
A PROMISE UNTRIED
John 8:31-59
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Not believed
Not trusted
Not acted on
Or Not kept
Set-up
John 8:21-30 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
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THE PROMISE OFFERED
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
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8:31-32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
The Condition:
If you continue in My word…
The Consequences:
then you are truly disciples of Mine,
then you will know the truth.
then the truth will make you free.
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The promised reward:
IF THE SON MAKES YOU FREE, YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED.
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8:36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
IF WE ARE NOT LIVING IN FREEDOM, THEN AT LEAST IT IS LIKELY THAT WE ARE NOT CONTINUING IN HIS WORD!
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The promise was rejected by the leaders
REJECTED BASED ON HERITAGE. (8:33,39)
REJECTED BASED ON RELIGION. (8:41-42)
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8:33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
8:39a They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
v.39b-40 Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.”
8:41 They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.
8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
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Jesus asks a question and answers it:
WHY DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING?
IT IS BECAUSE YOU CANNOT HEAR MY WORD.
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8:43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
Jeremiah 6:10
To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.
Ezekiel 12:2 Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
Cannot… not able!
Reasons we cannot hear:
You are so filled with lies there is no room for truth. (brainwashed by lies)
You don’t want to hear it – we close our ears to the truth. (stubborn refusal of self-determination and pride)
You have routinely resisted the Spirit, and He is no longer attempting to prick our hearts, minds, and ears. (spiritually deaf / dead)
You are spiritually captive to the lies of Satan.
Jesus says why we cannot understand…
8:44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
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The TRUTH SPEAKS
“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
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8:47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because YOU ARE NOT OF GOD.”
If this was not enough to inflame the crowd Jesus goes one step further.
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THE CLAIM OF THE PROMISE MAKER:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
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8:58 “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
This was His claim to divinity, a claim of superiority to Abraham.
Jesus was claiming that He was of God.
8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him
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THE PROMISES STILL STAND
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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John 8:31-32
John 3:16
A Rejection of HIs promises is a rejection of Him!
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