Bible Study series: John 8:21-30. He knew who sent him and spoke what he heard his Father say. Then the Son speaks it to the world.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together how to apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
For the Greek text, click here:
At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 8:21-30
21 So then he again said to them, “I go and you will look for me, yet you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “He will not kill himself, will he? Because he said ‘Where I go you cannot come.’” 23 Then he said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Therefore, I said to 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, “What I have been telling you at the beginning. 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but the one who sent me is true, and I speak to the world what I hear from him.” 27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about the Father.) 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own, but just as the Father has been teaching me, I say those things. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone because I always do the things which please him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many believed in him. (John 8:21-30)
Comments:
In this passage, Jesus will expand on the themes laid out in vv. 12-20.
Where Jesus comes from (vv. 23, 26, 29)
Where he is going (vv. 21-22, 28)
Who the Father is (vv. 26-27, 38, 54-55)
Who Jesus is (vv. 23-26, 38, 54-55)
The opposite of each of these truths applies to the Jews. (Carson)
21:
Once again, Jesus repeats what he had said in v. 14. He is going away by his death, and they cannot come where he is going (heaven) because they will die in their sins. They will look for him—that is, the Messiah, but they will not find him, because they missed their true Messiah, Jesus. They are pursuing a wish and a dream. They will not find him because they will have rejected their true Messiah and so die in their sins (Carson, comment on v. 21).
Why will they die in their sins? Because they do not believe he is the One (the Messiah), in v. 24. It is faith in Jesus the Messiah that brings eternal life.
“sins”: it comes from the noun hamartia (pronounced hah-mar-tee-ah). A deep study reveals that it means a “departure from either human or divine standards of uprightness” (BDAG, p. 50). It can also mean a “destructive evil power” (ibid., p. 51). In other words, sin has a life of its own. Be careful! In the older Greek of the classical world, it originally meant to “miss the mark” or target. Sin destroys, and that’s why God hates it, and so should we. The good news: God promises us forgiveness when we repent.
Bible Basics about Sin: Word Studies
Ezek. 3:16-21 speaks of God giving authority to his agent for the judgment of his people in Ezek. 3:16-21. Jesus is now God’s lawful agent to carry out judgment. (HT: Klink, comment on v. 21)
22:
Once again, the Jews—the religious establishment, probably overseeing the temple, unless they are the same Pharisees in the previous pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea)—fail to understand. Jewish law forbad suicide, so they are really off target, but they speculated about this because some Jewish thinkers said the one who committed suicide went to the deepest place in Hades, where the religious establishment would not go! They are obtuse about truly spiritual matters.
And as I noted in v. 19, Jesus likes to challenge their spiritual acuity; he found out they had none. Irony means that you think you know things, but in reality you do not. Job and his friends gave long speeches—very beautiful poetry—all about God and suffering and life. They did know a few things, the basics, but God showed up and informed them in a long and beautiful speech that they did not know as much as they thought. That’s irony. Jews ironically believe that he may commit suicide, but they are the ones who are about to kill him, but after he voluntarily lays down his life in obedience to the Father. This is not suicide, but obedience to the Father (Carson, comment on v. 22).
These Jews may have understood their interpretation of the law well enough, but not the things that matter: Jesus himself and his relationship with his Father, his support system.
23:
Wow. Jesus cannot speak more clearly in this verse. He explains one more reason why they will die in their sins. They are from below and from the world. Recall that in v. 12 the world is a dark place which God has to invade through his Son, who is the light of the world (v. 11). Will these obtuse Jewish leaders receive the light he offers, so that they will no longer walk in darkness? It does not look like it, though many who were listening in did believe in him (v. 30).
24:
Now Jesus is perfectly clear. They must believe that “I am.” That is what the Greek literally says. I could add the pronoun “he,” which, taken together, reads: “I am he,” that is, the Messiah, the sent one. However, he may be playing off Exod. 3:14: which in Greek reads: “the LORD says, ‘I AM THE BEING ONE.’ Or “I AM WHO EXISTS.” Or he may be referring to the verses in Is. 40-55 where God says, “I am he!” All translations are from the NIV, and emphasis added.
Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.” (Is. 41:4)
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?” (Is. 43:10-13; see v. 25)
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Is. 46:4)
“Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
I am the first and I am the last.
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they all stand up together. (Is. 48:12-13)
12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mere mortals,
human beings who are but grass,
13 that you forget the Lord your Maker,
who stretches out the heavens
and who lays the foundations of the earth,
that you live in constant terror every day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
who is bent on destruction? (Is. 51:12-13)
This is high Christology.
Remember, faith or believing is more than just intellectual assent. It has to be directed towards someone, in this case, Jesus.
Word Study on Faith and Faithfulness
If they do not have this deep level of faith, Jesus promises them, once again, they will die in their sins. (For a quick word study on the noun “sins,” see v. 21.)
25:
There is some dispute about a Greek word, but it need not concern us. One could also translate it as a question: “What have I been telling you at the beginning?” Or “What have I been telling you from the beginning?” Bruce and Novakovic both say the church fathers, whose native language was Greek, interprets the clause as “Why should I speak to you at all?” (comments on v. 25). However, he will keep telling them who he is, so the phrasing does not fit the context.
In short, he has been telling them who he is (the one sent by the Father), but he has done so indirectly, until the previous verse. They must believe that “I am (he).”
The most important question in the whole Gospel is posed right here. “Who are you?” It is what he said at the beginning. John’s readers remember the statement about God and the beginning, when the Word was with God (John 1:1-3).
Also recall the debate in John 7:40-44:
40 Then some of the crowd, when they heard these words, were saying, “This man is truly the prophet.” 41 Others were saying, “This man is the Christ.” But others were saying, “No. Does the Christ come from Galilee? 42 Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So then there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Still some of them wanted to seize him, but no one laid hands on him. (John 7:40-44)
People of the world today ask this question. Is he just a moral teacher? A good man? A Jewish carpenter? A prophet? Some sort of Messiah (whatever that is to modern ears)? Jesus is telling them—and the entirety of John’s Gospel confirms—that he is the “I am,” the Logos come in the flesh.
Ten Big Differences between Christianity and Other Religions
Please see these posts for a systematic theological overview of Jesus’s life before, during, and after the incarnation.
1. Do I Really Know Jesus? His Entire Existence in One Image
2. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was the Preincarnate God
3. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was God Incarnate
4. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Took the Form of a Servant
5. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Came Down from Heaven
6. Do I Really Know Jesus? Why Did He Become a Man?
7. Do I Really Know Jesus? Thirty Truths about His Life
There are many more parts in that series. Part 7 is an easy-to-read summary.
26:
So Jesus has many things to speak to the Jewish establishment, but he must obey his Father, and he must speak to the world. Apparently he means people beyond the establishment, to the whole world. Yes, the establishment is from the world, but they are a small subset of the world.
27:
I love this verse in Greek, for it literally reads: “he was speaking the Father to them.” But they did not understand. He already told them who he was who sent him (5:16-30), but they did not catch on. Please review the idea of irony in v. 22.
28:
When they lift up the Son of Man on the cross, then they will know that “I am (he).” The Greek literally reads, “I am.” So we have a reference to Exod. 3:14 or to the verses in Isaiah, quoted under v. 24, above. Either way, this is high Christology.
This idea reminds me of the words of Jesus to Caiaphas the high priest and the Sanhedrin, the highest court and council in Judaism in Mark 15:62-64, when Jesus also said “I am” (egō eimi, pronounced eh-goh ai-mee). Incidentally, this exact wording is found in Exod. 3:14: “I am,” speaking of the LORD. But in Mark 15:62, Jesus is emphasizing his Messiahship and his coming to God to be seated at his right hand, vindicated and victorious over the Jerusalem and temple establishment, according to Ps. 110:1 and Dan. 7:13.
Jesus proclaims before Caiaphas the high priest and the Sanhedrin that from now on they will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. The first half of the confession refers to the Messiah being glorified:
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” (Ps. 110:1, ESV, emphasis added).
The Jewish establishment here in John 8:28 will be the very ones who will put him on trial. But it is also bigger than that. The Son of Man here in v. 28 probably refers to the Son of Man in Dan. 7:13-14, when he comes in the clouds of heaven:
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13-14, NIV, emphasis added)
The Ancient of Days is God. Jesus was about to ascend and be enthroned on high, sitting next to God. So his coming here in v. 23 refers to his ascension and enthronement. Jesus was granted authority over heaven and earth (16:19), and the fact that the gospel was spreading all over their known world indicates that the ascended Jesus has authority and dominion over Caiaphas and the council. This makes the most sense of v. 64, in light of Ps. 110:1 and Dan. 7:13-14.
Bottom line: Jesus will rise in authority in three short days, and the high priest and Sanhedrin will feel its effects by the power of the church in Acts. Peter stood before them, preaching powerfully. Here is just one sample in Acts 5:17-32:
17 At this time, the chief priests and those with him, who were of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with envy 18 and nabbed the apostles and put them in public prison. 19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison and led them out and said, 20 “Go and steadfastly speak to the people in the temple all the words of this salvation and life!” 21 They obeyed and went to the temple at daybreak. The high priest and those with him arrived and summoned the Council [Sanhedrin] and all elders of the descendants of Israel and sent to the prison to escort them out. 22 But the assistants did not find them in the prison, so they turned back and announced, 23 “We found the jail locked up very securely and the guards standing at the doors, but, opening them, we found no one inside.” 24 As the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed about all of this—what might happen.
25 Someone came in and announced to them, “Amazing! The men whom you put in prison are in the temple standing and teaching the people!” 26 Then the captain left with the assistants and led them away without violence, for they feared the people stoning them. 27 Leading them onwards, they stood them right in front of the Council [Sanhedrin]. The high priest examined them, 28 “We ordered you strictly not to teach in this name! And look at you! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood on us!” 29 But Peter answered and the apostles replied, “We have to obey God rather than man! 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had done away with by hanging him on wood. 31 It is this man whom God exalted the Overall Ruler and Savior at his right hand, to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses of this storyline and of the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to all who obey him!” (Acts 5:17-32, my tentative translation)
Now Jesus is the one with authority from on high, and then his church was gradually overtaking the nation of Israel and going way beyond that tiny nation.
After Stephen said the temple is of no real importance because God does not live in an object made with hands (Acts 7:44-50), much like Jesus’s false accusers emphasized the temple made with hands, Stephen says he saw the exalted son of Man:
Being full of the Holy Spirit and fixing his gaze on heaven, he [Stephen] saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opening wide and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:55-56)
Then these Jewish leaders will find out that Jesus is the “I am.”
It is so interesting that Jesus said the Father has been teaching him. This shows, once again, that that the lines of communication were clear between the Father and his Son. Wonderful.
29:
Jesus had complete confidence in the one who sent him, his Father. His Father is with him and has not left him alone. Why not? Because he does what is pleasing to the Father. That is, he does not disobey his Father by going off on his own and doing his own thing. So there is a great lesson for discipleship here. Do we go off on our own, ahead of the Father, and do our own thing? I have observed that many church leaders do not pray enough, but they surely love to use their own heads to lead his Son’s church—not their church, by the way. “Good ideas” are not always “God ideas.” All of us must increase our prayer life so we can maintain open lines of communication and follow the Father’s lead.
30:
It seems that the ordinary people believed in him, though it is not clear that some in the Jerusalem establishment did. Maybe.
Recall the true acronym in v. 24.
John may be splitting the believers into two groups. The average Jerusalemites and the “Jews” (v. 31). The latter group is probably the religious establishment. Recall that in Acts, after Pentecost, thousands of Jerusalemites converted (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 6:7 [large number of priests]; 21:20). The average believer here may have held on to their faith after Pentecost when they heard Peter bring more clarity on what it meant to follow Jesus, in his sermon / speeches in Acts 2-5.
In any case, we are about to find out how shallow their belief was. It is a theme in John’s Gospel that the numerous disciples who believe at first do not last. These disciples are about to quarrel with him. Pity.
GrowApp for John 8:21-30
1. How do you avoid dying in your sins?
2. The establishment Jews ask Jesus, “Who are you?” How would you answer that question about him? Who is he?3.. Jesus proclaimed the hard truth that the establishment were from below. Read Eph. 2:5-6. In contrast, where are you seated right now, in Christ?
4. Do you do things that please the Father? How? If not, how do you get back on track?
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 