John 8:48-59\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0The Jews answered and said to Him, \u201cDo we not rightly say that You are a\u00a0Samaritan, and You\u00a0have a demon?\u201d\u00a049\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI do not\u00a0have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.\u00a050\u00a0But\u00a0I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks\u00a0it, and judges.\u00a051\u00a0Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone\u00a0follows My word, he will never\u00a0see death.\u201d\u00a052\u00a0The Jews said to Him, \u201cNow we know that You\u00a0have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets\u00a0as well; and\u00a0yet\u00a0You say,\u00a0\u2018If anyone\u00a0follows My word, he will never\u00a0taste of death.\u2019\u00a053\u00a0You\u00a0are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself\u00a0out to be?\u201d\u00a054\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIf I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing;\u00a0it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, \u2018He is our God\u2019;\u00a055\u00a0and\u00a0you have not come to know Him,\u00a0but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be\u00a0a liar like you;\u00a0but I do know Him, and I\u00a0follow His word.\u00a056\u00a0Your father Abraham was\u00a0overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw\u00a0it\u00a0and rejoiced.\u201d\u00a057\u00a0So the Jews said to Him, \u201cYou are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?\u201d\u00a058\u00a0Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cTruly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born,\u00a0I am.\u201d\u00a059\u00a0Therefore they\u00a0picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus\u00a0hid Himself and left the temple\u00a0grounds.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jews answered and said to Him, \u201cDo we not rightly say that You are a\u00a0Samaritan, and You\u00a0have a demon?\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Now these were religious people, but not true knowers and followers of God.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t be surprised, there are still plenty of knowledgeable, experienced, honored teacher and preachers around but who do not know God, and many would be surprised to find out that they do not. (Matthew 7:21-23<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0When this kind of religious person is confronted and exposed, how will they react?\u00a0\u00a0It is likely that they will tout their degrees, talk of how many followers they have, and show you\u2019re their riches that must be blessings from God for their loyalty to Him.\u00a0\u00a0They will attack your lowly un-pedigreed position and your lack of official authority while missing the authority that comes from on high.\u00a0\u00a0They will cast aspersions on you, whether publicly or whispered behind your back.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus called them what they were and they were insulted by their exposure, so they attacked back<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI do not\u00a0have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Jesus refuted their smear that He had a demon.\u00a0\u00a0He simply made the clear statement that He only says things that honor God and He said that these religionists reject Jesus for speaking truth that He has heard from God, they not only smear His family and Him but they, in rejecting the words of Jesus, defame God.\u00a0\u00a0They continue to heap sin upon sin upon themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201c50\u00a0But\u00a0I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks\u00a0it, and judges.\u00a051\u00a0Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone\u00a0follows My word, he will never\u00a0see death.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Jesus replies to them that He is not seeking His own glory, but the glory of the Father.\u00a0\u00a0Then He says that if anyone follows His Word, if they follow Him, the will never see death.\u00a0\u00a0These heated souls heat up to the point of explosion.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0First Jesus said He is not after His own glory and then He follows it by saying that He is the one who can keep them from dying.\u00a0\u00a0To these who not only didn\u2019t follow Him but detested Him, this was logs thrown on the fire.\u00a0\u00a0Yet to those who understood that Jesus was speaking the Truth, and was in fact trying to help them to have their sins forgiven and their souls restored to God, His words were life.\u00a0\u00a0(John 6:68<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0All this was incredible, but yet is still happening every day in every land and among every people.\u00a0\u00a0It is almost certain it is happening to your neighbors.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus was very much being the peacemaker but they refused even though He was continuously performing miraculous signs that the Messiah would do.\u00a0\u00a0In fact right after this confrontation with them Jesus moves past them and performs yet another miracle.\u00a0\u00a0Family and Friends, since people have rejected Jesus in their physical presence, so shall their spiritual progeny today reject Jesus when today the Truth in presented to them.\u00a0\u00a0These with calloused hearts refuse to entertain and or believe the Truth of the Gospel.\u00a0\u00a0They refuse what is best to choose what is disgusting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jews said to Him, \u201cNow we know that You\u00a0have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets\u00a0as well; and\u00a0yet\u00a0You say,\u00a0\u2018If anyone\u00a0follows My word, he will never\u00a0taste of death.\u2019\u00a053\u00a0You\u00a0are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself\u00a0out to be?\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Doesn\u2019t it exhaust you how Jesus keeps trying to save their eternal souls but they swat away the truth like men push away the medicine that saves them?\u00a0\u00a0Their response is merely argument against what they had predisposed themselves not to believe.\u00a0\u00a0They see Jesus as making Himself higher than the father of their faith, Abraham.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus, who was higher than Abraham, and worshiped by Abraham because Jesus was God, was seen by Abraham.\u00a0\u00a0For example, many people think Melchizedek was a Christophany.\u00a0\u00a0Then certainly Abraham saw Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Or Jesus was given revelation about the coming of Messiah and so Abraham saw Jesus through divine revelation.\u00a0\u00a0These Jewish authorities reject the Truth as so many people do today.\u00a0\u00a0Pray for the Jews, and for all the unbelievers in the world today.<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIf I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing;\u00a0it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, \u2018He is our God\u2019;\u00a055\u00a0and\u00a0you have not come to know Him,\u00a0but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be\u00a0a liar like you;\u00a0but I do know Him, and I\u00a0follow His word.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Have you ever been in that awkward space where it is said, even in circles of confessing Christians, that it is okay to curse God if that is how you feel?\u00a0\u00a0They use the horrible reason that we are all only human after all. (Though believers have the Holy Spirit within and are much more than \u201conly human.\u201d)\u00a0\u00a0So if we do not go along with those who say such things then we are made out to be a more-holy-than-thou self-righteous person.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes in our own small group study we are shy to admit our own faith.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus did not succumb to worrying what others thought of Him saying who He actually was.\u00a0\u00a0He boldly claimed that what He said was what His Father God had told them.\u00a0\u00a0If religionists didn\u2019t believe Him, well that was them condemning themselves. For Jesus to not say who He was, would have made Him a liar which He was not.\u00a0\u00a0He never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father Abraham was\u00a0overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw\u00a0it\u00a0and rejoiced.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Jesus threw them a bone.\u00a0\u00a0He called Abraham their father.\u00a0\u00a0This was not a contraction as they were the physical descendants of Abraham.\u00a0\u00a0But what was not important was not their physical genealogy.\u00a0\u00a0Most important was to inherit Abraham\u2019s humble spirit.\u00a0\u00a0It is the heart that God looks at. (1 Samuel 16:7<\/b>)<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the Jews said to Him, \u201cYou are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?\u201d\u00a058\u00a0Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cTruly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born,\u00a0I am.\u201d\u00a059\u00a0Therefore they\u00a0picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus\u00a0hid Himself and left the temple\u00a0grounds.<\/i>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Since their hard hearts could not receive the Truth, their minds could not understand it.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus then reveals His divinity and what was their response, to try to kill Him.<\/p>\n
Family and Friends, the Gospel is like a simple and beautiful garden home to live in peace with God.\u00a0\u00a0A place to live with God right now.\u00a0\u00a0To know Jesus right now.\u00a0\u00a0To sup with Him, to listen to Him and even to talk to Him.\u00a0\u00a0It is a place to dwell where His love is the very real surrounding of His love and grace for us.\u00a0\u00a0It is being loved by someone who knows absolutely everything about you.\u00a0\u00a0There is no better place than within the Truth of the Gospel.\u00a0\u00a0(Matthew 11:28-30<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0May it be so for all of us.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has\u00a0shown you, Oh man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; and what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of you, but\u00a0to do justly, to love\u00a0mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.<\/i><\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
John 8:48-59\u00a0–\u00a0The Jews answered and said to Him, \u201cDo we not rightly say that You are a\u00a0Samaritan, and You\u00a0have a demon?\u201d\u00a049\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI do not\u00a0have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.\u00a050\u00a0But\u00a0I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks\u00a0it, and judges.\u00a051\u00a0Truly, truly I say to you, if…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[104,100,101,94,1874,17,2187],"class_list":["post-2932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-hebrews","tag-john","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm","tag-samuel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2933,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2932\/revisions\/2933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}