John 8 Who's Your Daddy?

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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John 8:1-59
A Woman Caught in Adultery
1Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4"Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?"
6They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!" 8Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?"
11"No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."
Jesus, the Light of the World
12Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."
13The Pharisees replied, "You are making false claims about yourself!"
14Jesus told them, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me. 15You judge me with all your human limitations, F36 but I am not judging anyone. 16And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone—I have with me the Father who sent me. 17Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. F37 18I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other."
19"Where is your father?" they asked. Jesus answered, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know my Father, too." 20Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, because his time had not yet come.
The Unbelieving People Warned
21Later Jesus said to them again, "I am going away. You will search for me and die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going."
22The Jewish leaders asked, "Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, 'You cannot come where I am going'?"
23Then he said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not. 24That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins."
25"Tell us who you are," they demanded. Jesus replied, "I am the one I have always claimed to be. F38 26I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won't. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is true." 27But they still didn't understand that he was talking to them about his Father.
28So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will realize that I am he and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak what the Father taught me. 29And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do those things that are pleasing to him." 30Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.
Jesus and Abraham
31Jesus said to the people F39 who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. 32And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
33"But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone on earth. What do you mean, 'set free'?"
34Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free. 37Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because my message does not find a place in your hearts. 38I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father."
39"Our father is Abraham," they declared. "No," Jesus replied, "for if you were children of Abraham, you would follow his good example. F40 40I told you the truth I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me. Abraham wouldn't do a thing like that. 41No, you are obeying your real father when you act that way." They replied, "We were not born out of wedlock! Our true Father is God himself."
42Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. 43Why can't you understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to do so! 44For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don't believe me! 46Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don't you believe me? 47Anyone whose Father is God listens gladly to the words of God. Since you don't, it proves you aren't God's children."
48The people retorted, "You Samaritan devil! Didn't we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?"
49"No," Jesus said, "I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. 50And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God wants to glorify me. Let him be the judge. 51I assure you, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!"
52The people said, "Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say that those who obey your teaching will never die! 53Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Are you greater than the prophets, who died? Who do you think you are?"
54Jesus answered, "If I am merely boasting about myself, it doesn't count. But it is my Father who says these glorious things about me. You say, 'He is our God,' 55but you do not even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But it is true—I know him and obey him. 56Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad."
57The people said, "You aren't even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham? F41 "
58Jesus answered, "The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!" F42 59At that point they picked up stones to kill him. But Jesus hid himself from them and left the Temple.
FOOTNOTES:F36: Or judge me by human standards. F37: See Deut 19:15. F38: Or "Why do I speak to you at all?" F39: Greek Jewish people; also in 8:48, 52, 57. F40: Some manuscripts read if you are children of Abraham, follow his example. F41: Some manuscripts read How can you say Abraham has seen you? F42: Or "Truly, truly, before Abraham was, I am."
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living Translation

~ Lena’s Journalin’~
The reason for the identification of sin is not for condemnation. So I can say, “Man, I see your sin, e, I see how bad it is, and how bad you are.” It is for the purpose of bringing light on the very cause of separation between man and God or man and man. In finding and identifying that cause, we are able to bring the answer, and correction, and healing.
The Pharisees liked showing people that they could see things, they liked exposing people for ridicule. God is not in the ridiculing business, He’s in the restoration business. Christians need to be on guard of a Pharisaical spirit, which is a pioused and prideful spirit. It exalts self as something, while the spirit of compassion exalts God, who has the answers to everything, no matter how severe.
The reason Jesus would “put us in front of a crowd” would be to surround us with love and support that leads us to and keeps us in change. God does not expose for the purpose of belittling. Yet if we do not allow His spirit to search us and expose our sins to His light (which is usually offered as a private thing), we may at some point find ourselves exposed. Even then, the exposure and discomfort are tools inside of the grace of God to save us out of a doom of great darkness. Better to be a bit uncomfortable now, being exposed to the light of God, than to hide our sins now, and be doomed to utter darkness in eternity.
God’s grace leads us to salvation. We chose how hard that road is or not. The more readily we believe and receive what is told us by the Lord and accept offers for exposure, the easier the journey becomes for us. It is when we “kick against the goads”* that we suffer pain and anguish.
Fatherhood is the #1 position attacked in our world. Think about it, if satan can mar the image of the Father in every area that resembles fatherhood, he’s succeeded in marring the image of God.
Well it is time for that curse to be reversed. It is time for the revealing of the Father. Jesus was revealing and is still revealing the Father. In the earth, there is the father of the flesh and the Father of the spirit. Everything and everyone is under the influence of one or the other. In order to be under the influence of the “Father of the Spirit” of God, one must be deliberate. If not found to be deliberate then by default, we are of our worldly “father” which is the devil, who is “the god of this world!”
We must decide for the reverse of the curse, becoming active participants. If found inactive in curse reversal “duty” then the decision is already made for the un-deliberate and inactive fleshly father.
Whose sons we are is shown by active or inactive participation in the curse reversal.
These Pharisee’s were ”religious” in all outward appearances, but without active participation in the restoration of the Fatherhood of God, they were by default of their original father, being born in the world.
We must be born again. Being born again, is not a passive decision one thinks they may have made when they were in Sunday school as a kid. It is an active and all out passionate commitment to the cause of the Father of the Spirit.
So, who’s father are you of? It is seen by your life. Who is your Master? Who do you obey? God, self, money, lusts, desires of the flesh? Whoever takes your life and succeeds in steering it, that is who our father is.
As you read that, if your mind tries to make excuses, shut it down, you’ve just heard truth, no doubt. The carnal mind does not readily receive the things of the spirit of God, they say they are too hard etc…There is no time for excuses any longer. It’s time to serve somebody, on purpose. That means change your life.
Now again, ask the question….

Daily Meditation/Recital/Question
Ask myself daily: “What Page Am I On?”
* a goad is a tool in the Shepard’s hand to steer the sheep in the right direction away from harm’s way. If they begin to stray into harm’s way, the shepard will prod them back into place, if they were to decided to kick against the “pricks or goads” they’d probably get hurt, for there is a sharpness about going against the leading of the shepard. It would still be better to feel that sharpness than to be out of the herd and devoured by an enemy attacker and be killed.