Jesus is the Christ!

John 8: 21-30


21Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come."
22This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?"
23But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be,[a] you will indeed die in your sins."
25"Who are you?" they asked.
"Just what I have been claiming all along," Jesus replied. 26 "I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world."
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." 30Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.



一、 Content：


1>（v21-24）Jesus claimed that He was to go to the Father and warned those who did not believe in Him that they would die in their sins.

2>（v25-27）Because the crowd was doubtful about what He claimed to be, once more Jesus emphasized that God sent Him. 

3>（v28-29）Jesus foretold of His crucifixion and stressed on His relationship with God the Father. 

4>（v30） Many put their faith in Him because of His words. 



Subject:


1>Jesus is the Christ!

2>Those who disbelieve will die in sin.



 
二、Who is God, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit? 
 

01>（v21） Jesus Christ was about to return to His heavenly home. 

02>I am from above（v23）Jesus Christ is from above and He is not of the world. 

03>（v24）Jesus Christ is the I AM.

04>（v25）Jesus Christ holds the authority to judge ( to condemn).

05>（v26）God sent Jesus Christ to the world. 

06>（v26）The truthful God. 

07>（v26、v28）Jesus Christ proclaims God’s Word to the world.

08>（v27）Jesus Christ was to be crucified by the world.

09>（v29）God whose presence is always with Jesus Christ.

10>（v29）Jesus Christ pleased God in everything He did.

11>（v30）Jesus Christ who is worthy of trust. 
 




三、What did I learn from the lesson (command, promise, example, blame, and warning)?


1>Back to Heaven with His mission completed 
21Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me,” (v21a)
Jesus told His followers that He was going away and they would look for Him. His word indicated that He was to die on the cross and that He was about to complete His mission and go to His Father. 



Reflection: During the days of my life, do I clearly understand the mission Jesus entrusts me? Am I confident that one day I will go to Heaven with my mission completed like Jesus did? 



2> Those who disbelieve cannot be where Jesus is 
“,
and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." (v21b) 

1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3) This was a sure promise of Jesus. However, why did He say that they could not go where He was going? It was because the Jews did not believe Him. Surely, whoever does not believe in Jesus cannot be where He is. 



Reflection: Do I really believe the promise that Jesus went to prepare a place for me? Do I doubt it? Do I anticipate its coming? Do I have the confidence that one day I will go there and be with Jesus? 



3> Die in sins 

21 Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." (v21) 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be,[a] you will indeed die in your sins." (v24) 

To the disbelieving Jews, Jesus stressed that they were to die in their sins. To die in sin sends a clear message and is a serious issue. Dying in sin is resulted from the first mankind’s sin against God which led to the separation from God. However, to reconcile mankind to God Himself, He sent His one and only Son to the world to be the Mediator between God and men. Whoever believes in Jesus is reconciled to God and those who disbelieve will forever be separated from God and end up with spiritual death.



Reflection: In what state is my life? Am I separated from God and am I in the state of dying in sin? Have I received eternal life through faith in Jesus? Is there anyone among my friends and family that has not asked Jesus to be their personal Savior and will be dying in sin? How can I help them? 



4> The world above and the world below 

23But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. (v23) 
We learn from Jesus’ words that there are two worlds: the world above and the world below; the former is of heaven and the latter is of Earth. In other words, one is of God and the other is of this world. As Jesus descended from the heaven to the world, whoever believes in Jesus will enter with Jesus into the world above from the world below. 



Reflection: Do I live for this life (the earthly world)? Have I ever lived for the eternity (the heavenly world)?



5>Speaking what The Father instructed 

26"…But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world." (v26) 

“…speak just what the Father has taught me.” (v28) 

Whatever Jesus’ teaching was, it was never of His own ideas. Rather, it was totally based on God’s revelation. He told and taught people what He heard from God. Apparently, Jesus not only was God’s perfect representative to the world, but also He was the perfect example of being submissive to God.


Reflection: Do I follow Jesus’ example to let every word from my mouth be pleasing to God? 



6> Do what pleases God 

“…I do nothing on my own (v28b) “…for I always do what pleases him.” (v29b) 
Jesus spoke only what God had revealed and taught. He did not act by His own will but fully by God’s. He always did what pleased God.



Reflection: Is what I do in concert with God’s will? Does it please Him? 



7>Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be.” (v28a) 
To the Jews who disbelieved, who rejected Him and who intended to take His life, Jesus declared, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man (by nailing Him to the cross), then you will know that I am the one I claim to be.” 



Reflection: It was the Jews who had nailed Jesus to the cross back then. However, as of today am I still hurting and crucifying Him? 



8> The Father is with the Son always 

29”The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." (v29a) God the Father who sent Jesus to the world had never forsaken nor had He left Jesus alone in the world. God was with Him all the time. However, the only account that God had temporarily left Jesus was the moment when Jesus was punished for all humanity’s sin-debts on the cross. The Scriptures recorded,34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[c](Mark 15:34) 

Thus, Jesus understood the excruciating agony of being temporarily abandoned by God. The Father is not only with Jesus but also is with us always. Life in God is full of peace, joy, hope, abundance and richness. On the contrary, life without God is empty, hopeless, desolate, gloomy and sorrowful. 


Reflection: Do I expect that God is always with me? Do I often welcome His presence? Am I doing my best to walk with God and to anticipate the enjoyment of a peaceful, joyful, expectant, abundant and content life? 





Translated by 曾秀娟