Here is a teaching of part 2 of chapter 8 of the book of John. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
Before we get into this Bible study, I want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and how to implement it in our daily life. I pray that you use us as a vessel for your work and work through us to make an impact in other people's lives. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words, you open up our ears, our mind, our hearts, and our souls to you Lord. I pray that you lead us, guide us, and direct us in every aspect of our life. I pray that you make our paths straight, our god led calling very clear, and that you let us know exactly what it is that you want us to do Lord. I love you so much. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Part 2 of John Chapter 8:
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in my Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father."
39 "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself."
I'm going to stop right here and discuss these verses with you guys. So in verse 34, Jesus says that "everyone that sins is a slave to sin," we're dead in our sin and we are alive in Jesus Christ. Whenever we ask Jesus Christ to come into our heart and forgive us of our sins, then we have eternal life. In verse 35 Jesus says that a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. In verse 36 He says that "if the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed." The Son that he's talking about here is Him, He is the son of God, Jesus Christ is the son of God. So he says, if he sets them free, then they will be free and he knows that they're Abraham's descendants but they're ready to kill him. So they have no room for his word, the word of God the Father, or the scripture because all of it is a testimony to Jesus Christ. So if they don't believe in him, then they have no room for the word of God. In verse 38, where Jesus says that "you do what you have heard from your father," the father that he's talking about is not Abraham, which we'll read about that further on.
42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there's no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any one of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
So I'm going to stop right there and discuss a few things with you guys. So the father that Jesus told them that they had is the devil. He says in verse 42, that if God were their Father they would love him because he came from God, and anyone that loves God the Father also loves God the Son. In verse 43 he says that his language is not clear to them because they're unable to hear what he says. Their father, the devil, his native language is lies and God and Jesus' native language is the truth, so that's why they're unable to hear what he says. They don't understand the truth; their heart is full of deception, lies, and hatred and that is the spirit of the devil, not the spirit of God. They don't have the spirit of God and they won't be able to obtain the Holy spirit once Jesus goes back to heaven, because they don't believe in Jesus and they don't love Jesus. Then in verse 46 he says, "Can any one of you prove me guilty of sin?" Which we know that Jesus Christ came on the earth and lived a sinless life, so none of them can prove that he's guilty of sin, but they're trying so hard to do so because they have hatred in their heart.
48 The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" 49 "I am not possessed by a demon," Jesus says, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"
54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
I'm going to stop right there and discuss a few things with you guys. So these Jews have done all that they can to claim him as guilty and charge him, so they use their last thing, which is name calling and they say, "aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" In verse 49 Jesus says that he's not possessed by a demon, but he honors the Father (which is God the Father) and they dishonor him. Anyone that honors God the Father, there's no way they can be possessed by a demon, but they dishonor Jesus and if you dishonor the Son of God, then that's not a spirit of good, that's a spirit of evil. So they're over here saying he's demon-possessed, but they're the ones with the evil hearts.
In verse 52 the Jews say that they know that he's demon-possessed now because of what he says in verse 51, which is that if anyone keeps his word, they'll never see death. Which what Jesus is talking about here in verse 51 is eternal life and going to heaven. Whenever Jesus dies on the cross and raises three days later, whoever believes in him and asks him to come into their heart and has the Holy spirit within them, we are no longer dead in our sin, but we have eternal life in heaven. So in verse 53 these Jews ask him "who do you think you are?" And Jesus has been telling them this whole time that he is God the Son. He keeps saying, "my Father" when he's talking about God and they still say, "who do you think that you are?" This whole time he's been telling them who he is and they're not believing him. Then in verse 54 he says, "My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me." These Jews do not know God the Father, because if they knew him, they would know Jesus. They wouldn't deny Jesus if they truly knew God the Father, because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one can come to the Father except through him.
57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you've seen Abraham!" 58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
So these are the last verses I'm going to read today, but I wanted to discuss these verses here with you guys. So these Jews are asking him how he saw Abraham when he's not yet 50 years old. What Jesus says in verse 58, makes them pick up stones to stone him, because he says "before Abraham was born, I am!" The statement right here, "I am," is him claiming to be the eternal God. The Jews automatically knew from the scriptures that this is what he was claiming, and that's why they took the stones to try and stone him. The phrase that he used here was him saying that he is the eternal God, which we know it's God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ,) and then once Jesus goes back to heaven, God sends God the Holy Spirit to counsel us. So whenever Jesus uses that phrase "before Abraham was born, I am!" he is saying that not only did he exist during Abraham's time, but before Abraham's time, and after Abraham's time. I'm going to put some verses from Exodus here, because the great "I am" that Jesus is claiming to be is the voice of the covenant God of Israel that was revealed at the burning bush, which is in Exodus:
13 "Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " Exodus 3: 13-14
Jesus says this phrase, "I am," three different times in chapter 8 of the book of John. He says it here that we see in verse 58, he also says it in verse 24 that we read on the last Bible study. He said, "I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be." Then also in verse 28 he says, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be." So he's saying it a few different times in here. He is the great I am and because these Jews think that they know the scripture so much, they automatically knew what he was referring to from Exodus, the great I am. They took that claim as blasphemy so they took stones and wanted to stone him, but he hid himself because his hour had not yet come. Until his hour came, Jesus was protected.
John Ch 8 Study Guide Part 2
1. In verse 32, what is Jesus referring to when he says “the truth will set you free.”
2. Who is the “Son” that Jesus is referring to in verse 36?
3. Based on what we see in verses 38-44, who is the father of these Jews?
4. Why do these Jews not believe in Jesus or hear what God says?
5. What is Jesus referring to in verse 51?
6. Why did the Jews pick up stones to stone Jesus when he said “before Abraham was born, I am!”?
7. What was Jesus claiming in verse 58?
8. What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
Alright, this concludes part 2 of Chapter 8 of the book of John. Next week we will go over Chapter 9, so stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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