We have one of the most famous passages of scripture as our reading today. Jesus’ compassion, witness and deity are all detailed here. Be blessed in your reading and devotional time.
John 8:
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
The Woman Caught in Adultery
2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst
4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"
6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.
9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
I Am the Light of the World
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
13 So the Pharisees said to him, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true."
14 Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.
16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.
17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true.
18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me."
19 They said to him therefore, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."
20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
21 So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."
22 So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"
23 He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."
25 So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.
26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."
27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.
28 So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just 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 was saying these things, many believed in him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
33 They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?"
34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."
You Are of Your Father the Devil
39 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,
40 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.
41 You are doing the works your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father---even God."
42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 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 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.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."
Before Abraham Was, I Am
48 The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"
49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me.
50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.'
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?"
54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."
57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Things to think about…
The story of the woman caught in adultery has so many facets of fallen humanity on display, Jn 8:1-11. The older men drop their stones first, no doubt they were convicted first after recalling years of rebellion and ‘sin’, but Jesus also has a word for the woman – ‘from now on, sin no more’. Let’s remember grace with our interactions with each other when we stumble, while also encouraging one another to ‘sin no more’. She was still an adulteress and the law, without grace indeed says that she should be stoned to death. The law also says the man must be stoned to death as well, yet no mention of him by these self proclaimed law keepers. Jesus was a liberator of all those who were oppressed. Women were certainly oppressed, and Jesus was their Saviour, hence why so many women followed and supported Jesus in His earthly ministry.
Jesus spoke in John 7 of coming to Him and receiving ‘living water’ Jn 7:38. This next day at the feast He says that He is ‘the light of life’, Jn 8:12. Imagine how these words and phrases would have been received by these first century Jews. Many would only come to fully understand them after the resurrection. Many more being understood after Pentecost. When did you first understand these words? Literal living waters will flow out from the temple where Jesus spoke these words and we know as the primary resident of the Millennial temple Jesus will be the “light of life” for the earth. Jesus’ words have spiritual, prophetic and even literal significance.
Jesus says in Jn 8:26 “I have much to say about you and much to judge”, Wisdom would say we need to meditate on the reality of this verse and live in the light of this truth, knowing that Jesus knows all when it comes to knowing about us! This of course makes Him a just judge. How wonderful it is for those who have had their sin forgiven through Christ’s finished work on the cross.
Jesus makes it fairly clear that if His followers refuse to hear and apply God’s words, then they are not truly His – Jn 8:47. Jesus makes it very plain as to His meaning. Our opinion is of little consequence if it is in direct opposition to scripture. In a day when prominent Christians are falling away from the faith due to an inability to accept Christ’s words it is important to take Paul’s advice “take heed how you stand, lest you fall”, 1Cor 10:12. When we focus on others and away from Christ and His Word we lose spiritual strength and insight and become poor light bearers to His word and witness.
The accusation against Jesu when His accusers said “"We were not born of sexual immorality””, vs 41 and “"Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"”, vs 48 are a direct insult to Jesus’ legitimacy. They knew that His mother Mary was pregnant with Him before being married to Joseph, hence their taunts. In effect they were calling Him a bastard. More than this they called His father a Samaritan, who were despised by the Jewish religious hierarchy. Even though these accusations were false and based on ignorance and bigotry, Jesus does not justify Himself by given them a lesson on His earthly parentage, but rather on spiritual parentage. We are wise if we follow the same line of argument. There is no end or point of earthly debates that do not ultimately lead to understanding eternal truths.
Two mind blowing, confronting statements of Christ are in this chapter - ‘You are of your father the devil’, Jn 8:44 and ‘before Abraham was, I AM’, Jn 8:58. In a nutshell Jesus was saying ‘you are worshiping Satan but you should be worshiping me, because I am God’. No wonder they picked up stones to throw at Him – He was saying they belong to the devil and that He was God. Deity in humanity was too much for them to grasp, even though He had performed many miracles that proved otherwise. How blessed are we, those who have not seen Him in the flesh and yet believe. Rejoice if this is you, God’s grace has been poured out abundantly upon you.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Who would want to be an elder” – Reading Ezekiel 14:1-11
1. Judgement had come upon Jerusalem. The year was 592BC. But further judgement was about to happen in 587/6BC. This was due to corrupt leadership. What was the problem that Ezekiel’s vision (the Lord) is addressing?
2. What idols do we see in the religious and secular world today? What idols do we have personally?
3. God gives life. The people of God rise up from death to life, similar to the vision Ezekiel had of Israel and the valley of the dry bones in Ezek 37. Israel would be restored. We are also restored even after rebellion and idol worship. Discuss how this has happened for Israel, but also for the church in the west.
4. Pray for each other and the outreach of the gospel
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the people of Iran. There is horrible oppression of women who are being beaten and killed by a corrupt government, simply for refusing to wear a head covering.
2. Pray for safety as people go on holidays and return.
3. The right choice for a full time Youth and Young Adults Pastor to start Jan 2023 and the finances to support them.
4. More young families and youth into the church.
5. Ministry leaders within the church.
6. Our One for Israel ministry.
7. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Doug’s message and the gospel faithfully given on Sunday.
2. Some returning back to church after a while away.
3. Worship on Sunday – thankyou Paul, Suzy, Zac. Dan on Words and Tim on sound. Thankyou. Fiona and Maddison in café always do a stellar job. Thankyou for those who welcomed at the door.
4. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Remember to check your duty rosters.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for September...
Q. 8. What will happen to the righteous in the day of judgment? A. They shall live with Jesus Christ forever, in a new heaven and a new earth.
