John 8 Today

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 TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.


~ Lena’s Journalin’
So the crowds gathered to hear Jesus. Religious men brought accusations against a sinner. That always gets to me. I’ve heard people in the church so surprised when a person who doesn’t know the Lord, acts as though they don’t know the Lord! That shouldn’t be shocking. What should be shocking is that a person who does know the Lord is not compassionately going after their souls to save them, but sits in a seat of judgment to condemn them, when they are condemned already.
Jesus was so awesome in defining all sin as the same. Sin separates people from God’s presence, whether “saved” or unsaved. Sin separates! That is the tragedy, the separation, the compassion would be to get it back together. His answer brought clarity on this simple fact. Go ahead and judge or rather condemn her to hell for what she’s so outwardly done against God, by being separated from God, BUT if any of you have never hated someone or cheated or lied, only then do you get to be the judge, otherwise, go stand by her so you also can be stoned!
Because the Principle in the earth set here by God is you reap what you sow, it would be wise to judge as severely as you’d also like to be scrutinized and judged. It is clear we are condemned already without the saving power of God, Jn3:17, but Jesus did and does not condemn, sin condemns, satan has condemned. The Holy Spirit convicts, and saves from the effect of sin. He is the repairer of that big gaping breech sin made between us and God.
If you can have a light, a very bright light to lead you through life, why would you not take and use it, why would we grope in darkness trying to find our own way, when we could have a light? Jesus IS THE Light! You can have Him.
Let me ask you a personal question. Do you know where you come from and where you are going?
Do you know this about others enough that you can share it with them? If so, do you share it?
Do you bear witness with God and His word?
If we know Jesus we can also know the Father, if we do not choose to know Jesus personally we are not fathered by God.
Jesus went to the Father in heaven. The ONLY way to be with God as Jesus is, is to know Jesus. If we do not know Jesus enough to make Him known, how can we expect to be in their home-“town” with them eternally, living their as if it is also our home –“town”?
We are taught by religious assumption that if we are good (in our own eyes and by our own definition, which can change everyday), we can “go to heaven when we die”. This is not true, this is not truth. “Heaven” is God’s own home. If we are not for Him and found in Christ, we are against Him, we have to choose, to walk this pathway of eternity forever and change addresses The original sin was made by deliberate choice, we must reverse that curse by deliberate freewill choice. There is no default, except when we are very ill in mind or very young and unknowing.
We have to deliberately decide to change kingdom citizenship. Jesus told them they are in the world, He was from heaven. How can an earthly human become from heaven also when they were born on earth? They must be born from above, must be born again!
As Christians we must learn to follow the example of Jesus who represented the Father. Doing what the Father says is key.
The only way to fulfill the great co-mission and be a disciple of the Lord is to do what Jesus has said, and thus do what the Father has said. There is a way to God and God’s kingdom, that way is Love and Love is demonstrated by freewill beings in obedience. Obedience displays trust, reliance, allegiance and loyalty. Anything else is an act, which then would be considered hypocrisy.
We have to keep obeying the teachings we learn, and we need to purpose to learn more and more of them. Seeking to strengthen God’s kingdom on earth as warriors in a great army, who are well trained by the words of their commander, who is God.
Sin enslaves, calls us to its service. It calls us into obedience to it. There are no family members or sons in slavery, no Fathers also.
If we serve sin we show who we believe to be our father, even though in truth there is no father in disobedience. So we feel fatherless? I wonder who we are obeying.
Jesus said if we serve sin we may think we have a father, but we are deceived and are fatherless, which means we’ll never receive any inheritance. Being good in life will not bring an inheritance. Being in love with our true Father and obeying Him will. Showing that we belong to Him by receiving and believing in His Son, whom He sent as representative of Himself, and how does He know we’ve received His Son? We clearly make Him known. We come to look like Him enough that even others can say if they’ve seen us they’ve seen Jesus and if they’ve seen Jesus they’ve seen the Father also, though us.
One is known by His father. Just as we can see fathers in children people should be able to see God in us. If they can’t it is known whose father we think we have or are modeling.
If we believe lies we’ve been accustomed to believing lies because we’ve believed in the evil one for so long. That can change if we are willing to change whose voice we heed and listen to. The change will show the desire for the inheritance of sons.
Do you believe you are sent by God to the earth as Jesus was? If not, you need a revelation of who you are, who you were created by God to be and become. All humans are on a co-mission sent by God, we need to take our part in the mission of reconciliation.
Who do we think we are? As we think we are, we will be. Are we sons of God or illegitimate children? Do we know who He is? In knowing who He is, we will find out who we are.
The religious cannot embrace the gospel message of oneness with God. They are in for self exaltation. Their desire is for judgments, rule without relationship does not fly with God. Rule must come from compassion not judgment. Notice they picked those same stones back up and began to hurl them, not at the adulteress, but at God Himself. Wow! The casting of stones a true sign of the religious, can’t help themselves.

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Isaiah 58:12 You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language