Bible Studies

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We continue this verse-by-verse study of John chapters 5-8 here in Part 8, starting with John 8:19.

(19) So they were saying to Him, 'Where is Your Father?' Jesus answered, 'You know neither Me nor My Father [cf. John 7:28; 8:55; and 16:3]; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also [cf. John 14:7, 9].' [[It is also true that if they had known God the Father, He would have led them to the knowledge of His unique Son (the God-man; Messiah/Christ). I'll quote a sentence from what Henry Alford says here ("New Testament for English Readers," Vol. 2 [Baker, 1983 reprint], page 539). "Augustine and others imagine that the Jews thought of a human Father, in thus speaking." This idea seems to be confirmed by verse 27.]] (20) These words He spoke in the treasury [["He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put" NIV. Compare Mark 12:41, 43; Luke 21:1. I'll quote part of what Gary M. Burge says here ("John" [Zondervan, 2000], page 257). "This interchange takes place in the 'temple area near the place where the offerings were put' (8:20a [NIV]), that is, in the Court of Women. There were thirteen money chests built in the shape of a shofar (a ram's horn....) in this court, each indicating how the money was to be spent (m. Shekalim 2:1; 6:1, 5). In Mark 12:41-44 these are the receptacles that the widow used to deposit two small copper coins." "Each of the thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles had inscriptions indicating the intended use of the various offerings: 'gold for the mercy seat,' frankincense,' 'bird offerings,' 'wood,' 'freewill offerings,' and so on (m. Seqal. 6.5)" (Andreas J. Kostenberger, "John," page 257).]], as He taught in the temple [cf. John 7:14]; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come [cf., e.g., John 7:30, 32, 44, 45]. (21) Then He said again to them, 'I go away [Jesus was going back to the Father, after perfectly accomplishing His all-important atoning death and being resurrected.], and you will seek Me [cf. John 7:34; 13:33], and will die in your sin [[See under John 15:22 in Part 6 of my paper on John chapters 13-17 on this Christian article site. See verse 24; cf. Ezek. 3:18. They will die in their sin(s) (note the plural "sins" in verse 24) because they are rejecting the Messiah, the One sent to save His people from their sin(s) (cf., e.g., Matt. 1:21; John 1:29; and 3:14-18), the only Savior from sin(s) (cf., e.g., John 14:6; Acts 4:12). It is clear that those who "will die in [their] sin" will not "seek [Him]" in repentance and faith after He has gone away: Those who seek Him in repentance and faith will find Him, and they will find salvation from sin(s) through and in Him - they will not die in their sin(s).

Many commentators believe that the "sin" spoken of here is the sin of not believing in Christ Jesus. Rejecting Christ and not believing in Him is the ultimate sin. (Pride and unbelief are at the root of sin.) How can God forgive the sin of rejecting His Son and His only plan of salvation from sin? We condemn ourselves to die in our sin(s) if we reject the only One who can save us from our sin(s), and we show where our hearts are if we reject the Savior from sin(s) and remain in our sin(s) (cf., e.g., John 3:16-21). I agree with Alfred Plummer, "The singular [the word sin is singular in the Greek here in verse 21, but not in verse 24] means 'state of sin' " ("Gospel According to John" (Baker, 1981 reprint), page 189).]]; where I am going you cannot come.' [[In John 13:33 Jesus told His disciples that He would be with them a little while longer; they would seek for Him, but where He was going they could not come. Their case, however, was totally different than the people Jesus addressed here in verse 21. The separation from His disciples was only temporary. Before long they would be with Him in glory, because they had become His disciples and He had saved them from their sin(s). Jesus' call to repent and become His disciples was rejected by many of the Jews, including many of the Jews who heard Jesus that day, but some in the audience did "believe" in Him (cf. John 8:30). Hopefully, some of the Jews who opposed Christ Jesus that day later repented and submitted (in faith) to Him and to God's new-covenant plan of salvation (cf., e.g., Acts 2:14-42; 3:11-4:4).]] (22) So the Jews [cf. John 1:19; 2:18, 20; 5:10, 15-18; 6:41, 52; 7:1, 11, 13, 15, 35; 8:48, 52, 57-59; 9:18, 22; and 10:24, 31, 33] were saying, 'Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, "Where I am going, you cannot come"?' [Compare John 7:35. The Jews were on the right wavelength here, but He would not kill Himself - the Jews would turn Him over to the Romans and demand that He be crucified. He voluntarily submitted to His all-important atoning death (cf., e.g., John 10:11-18).] (23) And He was saying to them, 'You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world [The primary problem was that they were rejecting the only One who could raise them from being part of this fallen world to have a place in the kingdom of God and His Christ. That kingdom is here now in a preliminary form.], I am not of this world. [Compare John 3:13, 31; 8:14, 15; 17:5, 14, 16; and 1 John 4:4-6. What Jesus said about Himself here (and often) was a lot more than they were willing to accept; they made it clear that they considered such statements to be blasphemous.] (24) Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins [see John 8:21]; for unless you believe that I am He [[Compare Matt. 24:5; Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; John 4:26; 8:28, 58; and 13:19. The NASB has a marginal note here, "Most authorities associate this with Ex. 3:14, "I AM WHO I AM." I would translate BECAUSE, or FOR, instead of WHO. See the discussion under John 13:19, including the footnote, in my paper on John 13-17 on this Christian article site. Jesus was saying that unless they believe that He is who He claims to be, which includes believing that He came from above (being God the Son) to become the promised Messiah/Christ, they cannot be saved from their sins (that is, they will die in their sin/sins; cf., e.g., Luke 13:1-5).]] you will die in your sins.' (25) So they were saying to Him, 'Who are You?' Jesus said to them, 'What have I been saying to you from the beginning? [[In the margin the NASB has a note, "Or, That which I have been saying to you from the beginning." ((I had a footnote: The Greek can be translated other ways too, as the discussions in the commentaries and some other Bible translations demonstrate, but I believe either translation given by the NASB (including the one in the margin) communicates the right idea. The translations of the NIV; KJV; and NKJV are essentially the same as the NASB. One problem is that the Greek doesn't have the preposition "from" before the words translated "the beginning

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