Sunday School Lesson
May 17
Lesson 12 (KJV)
Practice Justice
Devotional Reading: Psalm 86:1–13
Background Scripture: Jeremiah 21
Jeremiah 21:8–14
8. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
9. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
10. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
11. And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
12. O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14. But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
Lesson Aims
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Summarize Jeremiah’s message to the people and the royal court.
2. Explain why God’s covenant people sometimes suffered (or seemed to suffer) more severely under His judgmental wrath than did their pagan enemies.
3. Write a testimony of a time when negative consequences resulted in repentance and a long-term benefit.
HOW TO SAY IT
| Ashurbanipal | As-shure-bah-nee-pahl. |
| Carchemish | Kar-key-mish. |
| Jeremiah | Jair-uh-my-uh. |
| Josiah | Jo-sigh-uh. |
| Nabopolassar | Nab-uh-puh-las-uhr or Nab-oh-poh-las-er. |
| Nebuchadrezzar | Neb-uh-kad-rez-er. |
| Nebuchadnezzar | Neb-yuh-kad-nez-er. |
| Nineveh | Nin-uh-vuh. |
| Pashur | Pash-uhr. |
| Zedekiah | Zed-uh-kye-uh. |
| Zephaniah | Zef-uh-nye-uh. |
Introduction
A. “Unexpected” Misfortune
Some of the most disheartening, even frightening, times in life are those when we come face-to-face with the negative consequences of our poor decisions. Perhaps you can remember an instance in school when you didn’t turn in an assignment on time and ended up severely damaging your grade in that class. Perhaps you even acted surprised when you received the penalty or tried to tell your teacher that it wasn’t fair. In situations like this, the lessons we learn often turn out to be very valuable to us later on. And so it was—or should have been—with God’s covenant people of the Old Testament era.
B. Lesson Context: Historical
The prophet Jeremiah ministered from about 626 to 575 BC. That ministry was to a people—the Judeans—who had disobeyed the Lord on a level far beyond the mundaneness of a late term paper. As a result, serious consequences loomed. God had sent prophet after prophet to warn both kings and commoners of pending destruction. But they didn’t listen. They acted as though they had God’s favor no matter what; they viewed Jerusalem’s temple as a good-luck charm (Jeremiah 7:4).
The northern kingdom, Israel, had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC (2 Kings 17:6). A century later, the survival of the southern kingdom of Judah was by no means assured. The Assyrians were still the dominant military and political power in the ancient Near East.
King Asnapper (Ashurbanipal) of Assyria died in 627 BC. Although he had been a strong ruler, his death laid bare serious internal weaknesses in Assyria. Disorder and revolt erupted in every part of that empire. Nineveh, the capital city, was destroyed in 612 BC (see the book of Nahum); the last vestiges of Assyrian might were wiped out at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC (Jeremiah 46:2).
The consequences of Assyria’s decline were felt in Judah. After a reign of about 30 years, King Josiah was killed in battle in 609 BC. That happened as he attempted to halt the Egyptian army from aiding the remnants of the Assyrian army (2 Kings 23:29). The Chaldeans (Babylonians) stepped into the power vacuum left by the collapse of Assyria under the Babylonian king Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadrezzar (reigned 626–605 and 605–562 BC, respectively). The son is also known as Nebuchadnezzar (see 25:1). Chaldea (Babylon) came to dominate much of Assyria’s old territory. The last kings of Judah reigned in subservience to the Chaldeans before the final exile of 586 BC (chap. 24; 25).
Jeremiah 1:2 places the beginning of Jeremiah’s ministry at around 626 BC. The book of Jeremiah preserves a prophetic ministry that took place over the course of the next several decades—through the reigns of five Judean kings and a governor.
C. Lesson Context: Jeremiah 21
Jeremiah 21 is a coherent unit. The opening verses set the scene. Pashur and Zephaniah were sent by Judah’s final king, Zedekiah, to Jeremiah. Pashur (not the same Pashur as in Jeremiah 20) was a dogged opponent of Jeremiah, even trying to have him executed (see Jeremiah 38:1–4). Zephaniah, a priest (and not to be confused with the prophet of the same name), was not actively hostile to Jeremiah (see 21:1; 29:25–29).
The two emissaries intended to enlist Jeremiah’s help in order to ensure God’s aid against King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon (Jeremiah 21:1, 2). King Zedekiah apparently thought that he would be aided by the Egyptians if he rebelled against the Chaldeans (compare 2 Kings 18:21). The situation quickly became desperate when Jerusalem was besieged (25:1, 2).
Zedekiah and his messengers had some confidence in God’s willingness to help them, based on His past work. Since He had protected Jerusalem before (2 Kings 19:35, 36), couldn’t He be counted on to do so again? As Jeremiah’s response shows, the request demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of Judah’s standing with God.
Jeremiah’s response came in three parts. First came words against King Zedekiah himself (Jeremiah 21:3–7). The prophet was blunt: Jerusalem’s weapons will become a liability as the Lord himself fights against the city. Today’s text opens with the second section of Jeremiah’s response.
| What Do You Think? How should we respond, if at all, to those whose prayers reflect their own desired outcomes more than openness to God’s will? Digging Deeper |
To the People
(Jeremiah 21:8–10)A. Choice to Make (v. 8)
8. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
Here in the second of Jeremiah’s three-part response (see Lesson Context), the prophet turns his attention from the king (without excluding him) to the people in general. God sets before them a stark choice between life and death. Similar expressions are common throughout the Scriptures, but this one seems to especially recall the words of Moses: “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil” (Deuteronomy 30:15).
Jeremiah’s words of judgment and doom come in the context of God’s covenant with the people. The Lord still requires obedience and loyalty. The people’s oft-repeated refusals to render to Him their exclusive worship have brought them to this dire point.
The choice presented to God’s people in the days of Jeremiah is also presented to us, collectively and individually, today. Jesus speaks of the choice between life and death as a choice between a wide gate and a strait way (Matthew 7:13, 14). Each of us is called to choose the path we take. Though choosing life seems a no-brainer, many still choose death by trusting in their own wisdom (contrast Proverbs 3:5–7). Only following Jesus leads to life (John 14:6, 7).
B. Consequence to Consider (vv. 9, 10)9. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
The choice that Jeremiah has just presented abstractly in the previous verse he now paints in real-life terms: to stay in Jerusalem and try to hold out against the Chaldeans will mean certain death. The three vehicles of death—by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence—are all typical of the results of a long siege (compare Ezekiel 5:12). Leaving the confines of the city and surrendering to the Chaldeans is the only path to continued life (compare Jeremiah 14:12; 38:17; 40:9).
This is not the advice the people hope for in this situation. They want to stay in this city and be delivered by God. However, the ways of life and death that Jeremiah presents are the only options. God has decided to punish His people; there will be no deliverance from the Chaldeans (compare Jeremiah 27:11, 12).
| What Do You Think? In what contexts could you use the counterintuitive nature of this choice facing the citizens of Jerusalem to illustrate the two eternal paths that exist for everyone to choose between? Digging Deeper |
The phrase his life shall be unto him for a prey is a military figure of speech (examples: Jeremiah 38:2; 39:18; 45:5). A victorious army brings home booty like a predator brings home prey. A defeated army’s best possible outcome is the life of its soldiers. In this situation, if they surrender to the Chaldeans, the people will at least escape with their lives (compare 45:5).
10. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
Jeremiah’s address to the people closes with a sobering restatement of the truth as God has determined. The Hebrew phrase set my face is an idiom for single-minded determination (compare Jeremiah 44:11; Luke 9:51).
Doubtless the idea that God will work evil against His own people is a shock (compare Jeremiah 44:26, 27; Amos 9:4). Evil here should not be understood as morally detestable or in some way satanic. The concept is closely related to cursing, especially in contrast to doing good as a blessing. God’s harm is not intended only as retribution; it is intended also to correct His wayward children (compare Jeremiah 5:3; Hebrews 12:4–11).
Furthermore, we should understand that sometimes multiple layers are the nature of God’s wrath. Sometimes it’s purely retributive in nature. In those cases, God’s wrath has no redemptive element at all; it’s punishment simply because the one who receives the punishment deserves it (examples: Romans 2:5; 6:23; Colossians 3:5, 6).
The nation of Judah, represented by its capital city of Jerusalem, certainly deserves God’s wrath in a retributive sense; if the pagan nations deserve punishment for their idolatry, how much more Judah! And the Judeans’ preference to believe that God will punish only the enemies of the Jews—and thereby always deliver Judah—shows how badly they misunderstand what it means for God to be faithful. His wrathful judgment results from the actions of a people and their rulers who have received God’s word as no other nation has. They are without excuse in their repeated rejections of Him. What is happening to Judah now is the promised result of those actions (see Deuteronomy 4:25–28). Even so, God’s wrath in this instance is also corrective in nature (see 4:29–31).
| What Do You Think? What filters can we use to evaluate claims that a given disaster today is from the Lord? Digging Deeper |
All of this is a reminder of the absolute sovereignty of God. Zedekiah, in seeking to inquire of God (Jeremiah 21:2), seems to assume that the Lord is on call to perform miracles whenever the people desire. But God cannot be manipulated. The destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the king of Babylon will happen because God has determined that it should (compare 20:4; 32:28). Nebuchadnezzar will indeed burn the city (2 Kings 25:8, 9).
Groupthink
In 1979, I was called to be president of a Bible college in northern California. The campus was deteriorating and located in a declining area. A noisy, multilane highway had been built just a few yards away from our buildings.
My staff and I engaged in a years-long search for a perfect property. In hopeful consensus, we convinced ourselves that we should press ahead on one in particular. However, we soon began to have nagging doubts. We eventually concluded that God was speaking to us through others who were raising critical questions. We backed out of the negotiations. A few years later, an earthquake made that property totally unusable. What folly if we had continued in perfect agreement with one another!
The bad kind of consensus-building we had engaged in has a name: groupthink. This kind of interaction results from listening only to those who agree with the group. Judah had a long history of groupthink, listening only to themselves rather than to the prophets’ warnings. The result of their groupthink was the destruction of their nation. What kind of warning is there for us in all this?
—C. R. B.
II. To the King’s House
(Jeremiah 21:11–14)
A. Judgment (vv. 11, 12)
11. And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord.
The focus of Jeremiah’s message shifts again as he begins the third of his three sections of address (see Lesson Context). In speaking to the house of the king of Judah, the reference seems to be to all members of the royal court, those who live in the palace and assist in carrying out the affairs of state. They are not exempt from the indictment against king and commoner (compare Jeremiah 13:18).
12. O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
In two words Jeremiah sets forth God’s vision for kingship and for the responsibilities of the ruling elites toward the people. Those two words are execute judgment. This is to be the foundational role of the ruling elites toward the people.
The judgment (justice) spoken of here can be understood in a legal sense. That includes adhering to the Law of Moses with regard to how people are to be treated—especially those who are most vulnerable (Exodus 22:22; Leviticus 25:17; etc.).
The phrase in the morning is a Hebrew idiom that implies “daily” or “regularly” (see Psalms 5:3; 59:16). It is customary for cases to be adjudicated at the city gates in the morning. Starting each day with right judgments will help ensure that the people act in ways pleasing to the Lord.
All this certainly includes the royals and officials of the house of David thwarting the evil schemes of the oppressor. Such people seek to take what is not theirs. If human judges refuse to end this injustice, God’s fury will be like fire, and will burn as a result. Fire is not typically literal in contexts such as this (see Psalms 79:5; 89:46), but sometimes it is (see 2 Kings 1:10; Job 1:16). The latter will be the case here when Nebuchadrezzar, as an instrument of God’s wrath, burns Jerusalem.
B. Punishment (vv. 13, 14)
13. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
The Lord addresses Jerusalem by way of its geographical characteristics. Both the valley and the plain make the inhabitants feel secure in the face of military advances. Jerusalem is bounded on three sides by deep valleys. Thus the city itself sits above its potential enemies on a defensive stronghold (compare Jeremiah 49:4).
The people of the city are overconfident in this situation (compare 2 Samuel 5:6, 7). The question Who shall come down against us? indicates just how little they understand about their vulnerability. This attitude is especially astounding given that it’s not a foreign army that’s the primary threat, but the Lord God himself. Can there be any worse words to hear from the Lord than I am against thee?
14. But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
A reading of Joshua 5:13–6:27 should convince everyone that their walls offer no security against the Lord’s wrath! When the Lord desires to pass judgment according to the fruit of [their] doings, He cannot be thwarted (Proverbs 1:31; Isaiah 3:10, 11).
| What Do You Think? How would you respond to someone who says that the Lord’s promise to punish contradicts the claim that “God is love” in 1 John 4:8? Digging Deeper |
Commentators disagree on what is being referred to as the forest, since there are no forests in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem. One possibility is a figurative reference to the royal palace as being “the house of the forest of Lebanon” in 1 Kings 7:2. It was referred to in this manner because of the quantities of cedar that went into its construction. Other homes were also constructed of wood, thus perhaps creating a kind of urban “forest” (compare 2 Kings 19:23).
Conclusion
A. The End of the Line
Today’s lesson brings us to one of the most somber moments in the history of God’s dealings with His covenant people. Jerusalem was beyond the point of repentance. The people’s trust in their own wisdom meant death.
Whether or not we are immunized against such a mind-set depends on whether we are willing to learn from history. And we realize that the grace of God may come to us in the mere fact that we avoided the worst possible outcome of a bad decision or a bad pattern of living. “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). May we, unlike the people of Jeremiah’s day, repent while there is time.
B. Prayer
Father, remind us daily that it’s either the narrow way of life or the wide gate of destruction. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
Choose the way of life.
KID’S CORNER
Jesus Is I Am
Sunday May 17, 2020
John 8:21-30
John 8:21-30
(John 8:21) 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.”
Jesus taught at various times and places in Jerusalem between the time of the Festival of Booths and the time of the Festival of Dedication (see John 10:22). John reported on some of these opportunities without always giving specifics. The Jews did not completely understand Jesus and neither did His disciples until after He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Jesus had no intention of telling the religious leaders all the details about His coming crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. After Jesus rose from the dead, they did search for Him and His body—not because they believed in Him—they wanted to find evidence that would discredit the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. They did not find any evidence that would discredit His resurrection, but those who still refused to believe in Him died in their sin. Because they refused to believe in Jesus when given the opportunity, they would die in their sins—unforgiven by God. They could only go where Jesus was going if they followed Him, and they refused to follow Jesus. They could not go where Jesus was going without believing in and following Him there.
(John 8:22) So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
When Jesus taught these truths about himself earlier, the authorities asked themselves if Jesus intended “to go to the Dispersion” (see John 7:35). Now, they asked if Jesus was going to commit suicide. The Jews believed that a person who committed suicide would go to the deepest part of hell. Their thoughts about Jesus revealed their total rejection of Jesus and His teaching. Though they did not think so, these unbelieving leaders could also go to hell; perhaps even to the deepest part of hell (if there is such a place) for plotting the murder of Jesus. On their current path, they could not go to heaven where Jesus was going, because they did not believe in or receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior but totally rejected Him, the Messiah and Son of God.
(John 8:23) 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.
The Jews were humans, from below. From two earthly parents, they were born humans and would always be humans. Jesus came from above, from heaven, from His heavenly Father. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary (see Matthew 1:16, Luke 1:31-38). Jesus is the Father’s only begotten Son, full of grace and truth (John 3:16 & 1:14). By birth, Jesus is fully human and fully divine. The first part of Jesus’ reply related to their and His location and their and His Jewish parents. The second part of His reply related to the moral and spiritual condition of those who refused to believe in Him. They were immoral. They were sinners. They were not forgiven and were not cleansed from their sin. They were committed to living by “this” world’s selfish, self-centered standards. Jesus had no part in this world’s immoral behavior. He followed God’s standards, which we find revealed in the Scriptures, and especially revealed by Jesus life, death, and resurrection as recorded in the Scriptures. Our challenge as followers of Jesus Christ is to live by God’s standards as revealed in the Bible with the guidance, help, and power of the Holy Spirit.
(John 8:24) “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.”
Jesus told them they would die in their sins because He knew they would never repent of their sins, believe in Him as Messiah and Son of God, and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Jesus knew they would never repent of their sins and turn to Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father forgive them,” He prayed for those who did not know who He was and so they mocked and crucified Him (Luke 23:34). Jesus prayed they would repent of their sins and believe in Him and receive the gift of eternal life. Only by believing in Jesus and who Jesus revealed himself to be can we receive forgiveness, cleansing from sin, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, eternal life, and go to be with Him in heaven. In this verse Jesus clearly sets out what someone must believe and do to be saved.
The Greek New Testament records what Jesus said of himself and what people must believe about Him, and Jesus said of himself, “I AM.” He used the divine name for himself here and in other places in the Gospel of John. The Greek “I AM” in Jesus’ words are variously translated in English: “I am He,” “I am the One” or “I am Who I am.” The King James Version and the New American Standard Bible rightfully indicate that “He” has been added in the English translation. In Exodus 3:14, we read, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I AM” has sent me to you.’” The Father sent Jesus, “I AM,” into the world, and Jesus is greater than Moses. Learn and remember John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (NASB).
(John 8:25) So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
After just telling them who He is, they asked Him, “Who are you?” Jesus had just told them who He was, He is, “I AM,” which was beyond their comprehension. Translated “I am He” or “I am the One” at the very least should have meant to them that He was the Messiah, the One they expected. Jesus saw no benefit to explaining any more about His use of the divine name “I am, Who I am,” or “I AM,” to them. After all the signs Jesus had given that He was from God, and after all He had previously told them, Jesus knew that His speaking to them made no difference in leading them to believe Him—so He asked them why He should speak to them at all.
(John 8:26) “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.”
In Matthew 23:13-19, Jesus spoke about the “woes” or “sorrows” that would come upon the scribes and Pharisees because of their hypocritical behavior. Jesus did not come to condemn people, but as John the Baptist had done, Jesus condemned sinful behavior and pointed out the sins of the self-righteous, which hopefully would move them to repent, turn back to God, believe in Him, and live right. Because of John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ preaching about sin and repentance, many did repent, believe, and were baptized. Some Pharisees did eventually repent and believe, as did Nicodemus. Sometimes Jesus told people exactly what they needed to stop doing so they could turn to God and believe in Him. Jesus is the Truth and His Father is True (also the Truth). Jesus told the truth about the true God. The total being of God is true and the truth. The Father and Jesus are unlike human beings who have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:21-26). Jesus declared what He heard from His Father, and both the Father and the Son agreed about the sins of people and what people needed to do to receive their forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.
(John 8:27) They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
At that time, Jesus did not fully explain truths they would only twist and misuse to attack Him further and more viciously. Jesus spoke indirectly to them; yet, if their hearts had been open to God and to living according to the truth, they would have understood Jesus and believed. When His hour came, we see something of the cruelty they would have inflicted on Jesus sooner if He had given them the opportunity. Because we know the rest of Jesus’ life and teachings, we know that Jesus was speaking about His heavenly Father. Jesus interpreted parables and explained His teachings to His disciples who believed in Him, followed Him, and who would teach His parables and explanations to those they led to faith in Him. After Jesus went away, back to His Father, where the scribes and Pharisees could not find Him, His disciples explained and preached directly what Jesus said truthfully and directly about himself and His good news mission in the world. Some truths are only received and fully understood by believers in Jesus and not before they believe in Him. Some truths are understood only during the process of followers following Jesus in a variety of situations.
(John 8:28) 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.
Jesus spoke to them using the messianic title “Son of Man,” which would partially answer their question, “Who are you?” He openly declared that He was the Messiah they expected, but not as they expected. He again used the divine title, “I AM,” about himself, “I am He.” Jesus spoke no more and no less to unbelieving hypocrites than His Father told Him to teach them. Jesus was not just sharing some ideas of His own; He was sharing truths from His Father suited to the situation. They would only realize the truth about who Jesus is after they had “lifted up the Son of Man,” the Messiah. Some would believe in Jesus as the Messiah and God’s Son only after they had lifted Him up on a cross to kill Him. During Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Jesus and the Father gave many signs that He was “the Son of God”—even the Roman centurion believed Jesus is God’s Son by the way Jesus died (see Matthew 27:50-54). Some would not believe in Jesus until after He had been lifted up to heaven, from where He sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. On that day, as Peter preached, they were cut to the heart for their sin of crucifying the Messiah and they cried out for knowledge on how to be saved (see especially Acts 2:36-41).
(John 8:29) “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.”
The Jews thought of their temple as the dwelling place of God, where they could go to worship and be with God. Within forty years, the temple was destroyed. Jesus said the Father was with Him wherever He went, and the Father never left Him. Jesus’ presence with believers replaced the temple as the place to meet God (the Father and the Son). Jesus is the Son of God, the Word of God, who believers can always be with because He is always with them wherever they live. Jesus also claimed to be perfect for He said He always did what was pleasing to God the Father. The truths Jesus taught, the people He healed, the signs and works He did, the people He called as His disciples, what He said about God the Father and himself were always pleasing to God. No human being can say that they have always done what was pleasing to God. As the only begotten Son of God, Jesus honestly and truthfully said that He always pleased God.
(John 8:30) As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
The Holy Spirit rested upon Jesus, and lived within Jesus, and the Father was always with Jesus. Jesus was never alone or apart from the Father or the Holy Spirit; therefore, working together they influenced people. Some people’s minds and hearts were opened to receive Jesus’ words as the Word of God up to the level of their understanding at that time and they believed in Him. John said, “many believed in Him.” Obviously, many were not offended by Jesus’ words and knew His signs substantiated what He taught about being sent by God. We do not know how many continued to believe in Him after Jesus was arrested, tried, and crucified, but those the Father gave to Him remained true to Him. Remember, in John 6:38-40, Jesus promised, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” Even today, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell with and within every believer in and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers can be with God wherever they are—to love, glorify, worship, adore, and serve God the Father and God the Son in the loving power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Is I Am
Sunday May 17, 2020
John 8:21-30
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24—KJV). 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 (John 8:24—NASB). I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he (John 8:24—NRSV).
When Jesus told the religious leaders that He was going away and they could not go where He was going, they asked contemptuously, “Is He going to kill himself?” They thought those who killed themselves went to the lowest place in hell, and they thought Jesus should go to hell too. They also thought they could never go there. In reply, Jesus told them that they would die in their sins. Jesus knew they would never believe what He taught about himself or believe in Him; so, they would die in their sins. They would die before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, during its destruction, or soon thereafter. Because they would die in their sins, they could not go where Jesus was going—back to His Father in heaven. Jesus told them why they would die in their sins, saying, “you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am.” Using the Greek language of Jesus’ day, one could simply say with one word, “I am,” or for emphasis use two words. When Jesus applied God’s name to himself, Jesus used two words with the emphasis on “I.” Rather than preserve precisely only the two Greek words in English translation, the footnotes of most English Bibles show that English translators added “he” in italics after “I am.” In addition to applying God’s name to himself, in John 8:29, Jesus claimed to be perfect, for He said that He always did what was pleasing to His Father who sent Him. Jesus always pleases His Father whenever He gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.
Thinking Further
Jesus Is I Am
Sunday May 17, 2020
John 8:21-30
Name ______________________________
- Where was Jesus going, to whom was He going, and when was He going?
- Why would some of Jesus’ listeners look for Him, not find Him, and die in their sin?
- What does Jesus declare to the world?
- In what way did Jesus use the divine name for himself?
- How did Jesus tell His listeners that He was the Messiah, and when did He say some of them would realize who He was?
Discussion and Thinking Further
- Where was Jesus going, to whom was He going, and when was He going? Jesus was going away to heaven, to His Father, after He ascended into heaven (following His crucifixion, death, burial, and rising from the dead).
- Why would some of Jesus’ listeners look for Him, not find Him, and die in their sin? After He rose from the dead, some wanted to find Him or find His body and disprove His resurrection, which they failed to do—they would die in their sin. Some would look to find the resurrected Jesus to learn more from Him or to test Him, but it would be too late for they had missed their opportunity. They would not find Him because He had ascended into heaven to His Father. They would die in their sins because they would not repent of their sins and believe in Jesus as He revealed himself as recorded in the Bible, that He is “I AM,” the Messiah, the Savior of the world, Lord and other titles.
- What does Jesus declare to the world? Jesus declared to the world what He heard from His Father, the One who sent Him. Through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel, Jesus still declares the good news of salvation for all who will hear and believe in Him.
- In what way did Jesus use the divine name for himself? Jesus told people they would die in their sins unless they believed that “I AM,” which is the literal translation of the Greek New Testament that is sometimes translated “I am He,” or “I am the One,” or “I am who I am.” He also said, “I am the light, and “I am the bread of life,” and used “I am” in other ways that we will learn about in future lessons.
- How did Jesus tell His listeners that He was the Messiah, and when did He say some of them would realize who He was? Jesus used the title, “Son of Man,” and He said some of them would realize He was the Messiah and Son of God after they “lifted up the Son of Man;” that is, crucified Him. Some learned that at the foot of the cross and others on the Day of Pentecost and later.
Word Search
Jesus Is I Am
Sunday May 17, 2020
John 8:21-30
Name ______________________________
E X W I O A P D A S I O Q B R
R I N S T R U C T E D F D N H
A W G D E M L S D R Q H Q Z U
L E U Z A I J V U J W C U E I
C V Q F J B D Q B S O F P K Y
E G O I N G Y N O N E H D H S
D N Y T O S R U D M B J C W F
U J X J L D K E O J U R E A E
K A E P S I M C D B A J T N U
P G Q Z L N Y L N E E H E I D
W K X L S B R Q S Z E L V S A
Z I J A Y O S I U R P I O R T
V R C L W D Q Z V G C T B W O
Q H A V M L O I P E W R A H J
X P R U G U P H L Z O Z E Q L
Search
Die
Sin
Jews
Kill
Going
Come
Below
Above
World
Speak
Condemn
Declare
Father
Instructed
True and False Test
Jesus Is I Am
Sunday May 17, 2020
John 8:21-30
Name ______________________________
Circle the True or False answers. Correct the False statements by restating them.
- Jesus warned that after He went away He would come back and search door-to-door for those who had refused to believe in Him. True or False
- Some who saw and heard Jesus teach died in their sins. True or False
- Those who refused to follow Jesus would not go where He went. True or False
- With persevering prayer and trust in God, Jesus fervently hoped that those He taught would not turn and kill Him. True or False
- All the Jews perfectly understood every truth that Jesus taught, so they did not need to ask Him questions. They heard and believed. True or False
- Jesus said that He was from above and not from this world. True or False
- If you do not believe Jesus, you will die in your sins. True or False
- Jesus taught what He heard from the Father. The Father instructed Him, and the Father is true. True or False
- Most of the time, Jesus did what was pleasing to His Father. True or False
- To test Him, the Father left Jesus alone every Sabbath afternoon. True or False
True and False Test Answers
- False
- True
- True
- False
- False
- True
- True
- True
- False
- False
Prayer
Father, remind us daily that it’s either the narrow way of life or the wide gate of destruction. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.