#12 – Knowing God Better – John 8 continued

Here we are in John, chapter 8. And people are still asking Jesus about his identity.

You’re seeing that Jesus is very unique from leaders of other religions. If you look at Buddha, Mohammad, the Dalai Lama…the conversation is always about what they said, their teachings.

But with Jesus, WHO he is, is the central point. He wasn’t asking people to only focus on his teachings. He was asking us to believe him. To rely on him.

So, here we are again, where Jesus is once more trying to help them realize who he is.

Q – What is the ramification if they don’t believe in Jesus? (see verse 23 below)
A –

23 Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. 24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

Q – How did Jesus view his relationship with the Father? Did Jesus have any doubts about his own identity? (see verses below)
A –

26 I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.
28 I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me–he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.

Can you imagine being able to say that about yourself? “I always do what pleases him.” ?? I wish!! But Jesus could.

Q – In the following verses, what does Jesus promise us?
A –

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus already promised to be our light, to keep us from walking in darkness, if we will follow him. Now he is promising to lead us into knowing the truth.

Before I had a relationship with Jesus, I was an atheist. And an existentialist. I always wanted to know the truth about life. I wanted to know what was important. How to live. What I could rely on. When I came to know Jesus, my search ended. He is the truth. He is our light. And he offers to lead us!

Again, I’m going to end here today. The next study is continuing in John 8 – it is when Jesus gets very confrontational with the religious scribes and Pharisees. He puts everything on the table. And they react!

In our study through the Gospel of John, I hope you’re hanging in there.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Adamson
director of EveryStudent.com
and StartingwithGod.com