Honoring or Dishonoring Jesus
John 8:48-59
Today is Mothers’ Day. It is good for us to remember our mothers and to show our appreciation in a special way. Remember the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you,” (Deut. 5:16, also Exo. 20:12). This command is repeated at least six times in the New Testament (Mat. 15:4-6, 19:19; Mar. 7:10, 10:19; Luk. 18:20; Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20). When we honor our parents we honor God who established the family and delegated authority to our fathers and mothers.
The command to honor and obey those over us reflects the way in which God has ordered His creation. At the top is the Creator, and under Him are authorities who are to obey Him, primarily mothers and fathers. Under parents are children who must obey their fathers and mothers as they obey the Lord. Consequently, if children do not honor their parents, all other earthly authorities will also collapse because we are not honoring God. We see firsthand proof of this every day in homes where children are not required to honor and obey their parents. It removes any sense of honor for those in authority in our schools, law-enforcement, government, the church or even God Himself.
So honoring your mother is not just a nice thing to do once a year. It is essential for human society. It is the foundation upon which all honor and respect for elders and authorities is based.
Honor and dishonor are key words in our scripture today from John 8. In verse 49 Jesus says the Jews who were challenging Him, “I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.” Here we find the same dynamic as that of honor for parents in the family. When people fail to honor Jesus whom God has sent, they ultimately dishonor God the Father.
We have reached the conclusion of the remarkable words of Jesus in his dialogue with the Jewish leaders in the temple courts in Jerusalem at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. As with all of the Gospel of John, the focus in chapter 8 is on the identity of Jesus and it is centered on His astounding claims about Himself. Barclay describes John 8 as “a chapter which passes from lightning flash to lightning flash of astonishment.” As Jesus makes these claims about Himself, each claim is one lightning flash after another, increasing in intensity, each one more astonishing than the last, each one forcing them to either fall down and worship Him or stoop down and pick up stones to stone Him!
To the Jews of Jesus day, there was much confusion about who Jesus was. In our study of John 7 & 8 we have found that some rejected Jesus’ claims outright. Others wonder if He was a prophet of some sort or perhaps the prophet Moses spoke of in Deut. 18. As Jesus continued to teach in the temple, John 8:30 says that “many came to believe in Him.”
It is to these Jews that Jesus began a discussion in John 8:31. They had an initial belief, but it was not grounded in a knowledge of the truth of Jesus’ claims and what it would mean to follow Him. Jesus calls them to discipleship in John 8: 31-32, saying, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” For only in abiding in Jesus’ word would they know the truth and be freed from the bondage of their sins. This did not match their own ideas of either the privilege they thought they had as descendants of Abraham or the kind of message they thought Messiah would bring to them. So as the chapter progresses we have seen them go from an initial faith in Jesus in verse 31 to challenging Him in the verses that follow. By the end of the dialogue their attitude turns to antagonism, rejection and persecution.
Listen to today’s text. John 8:48-59,
48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
50 And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.
55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The point of our text today is: If you dishonor Jesus you will be condemned, but if you honor Him by keeping His word you have His sure promise of eternal life.
1. When you dishonor Jesus, you lose.
In John 8:47 Jesus had told these men, “He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” That was a startling and stinging rebuke to men who considered themselves experts on God – that’s like telling Bill Gates, “You don’t know anything about computers!” The response of the Jews was predictable, they resort to name calling.
In the responses to Jesus in this chapter we see that,
A. People dishonor Jesus in different ways.
1) Some dishonor Jesus in bold, blasphemous ways.
So when Jesus told them that they were not of God they retaliate with ugly accusations. They stoop to name-calling. That is always the last resort of someone who is losing an argument — a personal attack on his antagonist. You see their blasphemous charge in John 8:48, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” For a Jew to call someone a Samaritan was a degrading racial and a religious insult. The Jews despised the Samaritans, whom they considered half-breeds and heretics. Jesus chose not to respond to that charge, perhaps because He did not want to implicitly support their racism by insisting that He was not a Samaritan.
When they insulted Him there was no retaliation on His part, no name-calling in return, no getting angry and striking back. But He did respond calmly to their more blasphemous charge that He had a demon (John 8:49): “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.” Dishonoring Jesus is a serious matter. Remember what Jesus said back in John 5:22-23? “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” To dishonor Jesus is to dishonor the Father. It is to dishonor the One before whom you will stand one day for eternal judgment! If standing trial for a capital offense, it’s not a good idea to insult the judge. But that’s you do when you dishonor Jesus.
Jesus replies by committing His reputation to the Father. And in doing so He gives both a warning and a gracious invitation. The warning is (8:50), “And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.” God the Father seeks Jesus’ glory and He will ultimately judge all who reject His Son. Jesus gives invitation in John 8:51, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” What a gracious promise of our Lord! I’ll say more about that when we get to point 2. Jesus promises eternal life to any of them who would keep His word.
But they respond with more blasphemy (John 8:52-53),
“Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
The issue is not just physical death, but eternal death. Jesus had already told the Pharisees in John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Those who dishonor Jesus in bold, blasphemous ways will often die in their sins because they refuse to believe in Him. Jesus gives His gracious invitation to these blasphemous Jews because even blasphemers can be saved if they will believe. The apostle Paul is an example of this. Paul’s testimony in 1 Timothy 1:12 is, “although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy.” But the Lord had to deal with Paul in a pretty forceful way, knocking him to the ground and blinding him for a few days, to bring him to salvation.
2) Some dishonor Jesus by ignoring His invitation to salvation.
Jesus had just given a wonderful invitation, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” But these Jews ignored the invitation and instead wanted to dispute Jesus’ theology. Many other people heard Jesus’ claims in the temple during the feast and simply let it slip out of their minds. They went back home after the feast and thought no more about Jesus than just a curiosity.
This is probably the most common response today to Jesus and His claims. People just ignore Him and go on about their lives as if He didn’t exist and as if He had not died so that they could have eternal life. They would say that they don’t have anything against Jesus. He was probably a good man who helped a lot of people. But they have other more “important” things to tend to. Like those in Jesus’ parable who were invited to the wedding feast, some make the excuse that they have just bought a piece of land and need to go look at it or they just bought some new oxen and need to go try them out. Another just married a wife and can’t come (Luke 14:17-20). But they all dishonored the king and missed out on his banquet.
Whether you dishonor Jesus in bold, blasphemous ways with a polite excuse, it is a serious matter. Here’s why:
B. The result of dishonoring Jesus is that He leaves you to die and face judgment.
Remember Jesus’ warning from John 8:50, “And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.” God the Father is seeking to glorify His Son. And He judges all that dishonor His Son. That judgment would soon come upon them, but for now, Jesus leaves them.
In John 8:59 when the Jews took up stones to kill Jesus it says, “but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” It’s always tragic when Jesus hides Himself from you and leaves you to die in your sins. Whether you dishonor Jesus boldly as a blasphemer or subtly by ignoring Him, the final result will be that He will leave you to die in your sins and face judgment.
That brings us to our second point:
2. When you honor Jesus by keeping His word, you have eternal life.
Even to these blasphemers, who should have known better, Jesus gives a gracious invitation. He still does that.
A. Whoever keeps His word will never see death.
John 8:51: “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” The words “Most assuredly, I say to you,” always indicate an absolute certainty, which Jesus wants to emphasize. Here He uses this formula to underline the words, “ if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” The promise extends to all (“anyone”). It would be a ludicrous promise on the lips of anyone other than the Lord God: “If anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”
When you stop to think that everyone in this room will eventually die, you can see what a marvelous claim this is. He does not say, “He who keeps my word will never die,” because Christians do die physically. What He says is that they will not “see death.” The word “see” means to gaze at intently, to ascertain, to consider. The believer will not see, will not have to consider death and its effects. He even makes use of a double negative to emphasize His claim, “He will never, ever see death.” It’s a very powerful expression.
What Jesus means, of course, is that though Christians die, they will not see death; they will pass from life to instant glory. It’s another way of saying what He already stated in John 5:24-25,
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
The believers who are living when Jesus returns will not die (1 Thess. 4:15-17). But other than that, all people, including believers, face physical death. But believers are kept from the second death, which is to spend eternity separated from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). Believing in Christ means that we will not come into judgment, but have passed out of death into eternal life.
On his death bed, D. L. Moody, the great evangelist, exclaimed, “Earth is receding; heaven is approaching. This is my crowning day.” That is what our Lord promises here. Christians like that pass from life to LIFE — life with the Lord forever in the resurrection. As a Pastor, I have stood at the grave of many believers and felt in my heart the full impact of Paul’s word, “O Death, where [is] your sting? O Hades, where [is] your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55). There is no sting in the death of the believer. They will not see death, only life after life.
In typical fashion, the Jews understand Jesus in earthly, physical terms, pointing out that both Abraham and all the prophets died (John 8:53): “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead.” And so they ask Him, “Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
John again is using irony. As we read his gospel we know already that Jesus is far greater than Abraham, as He Himself will state in verse 58. But their question misses the point that both Jesus and John’s Gospel have been making. D. A. Carson puts it (The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 356), “Jesus does not make himself or exalt himself to be anything. Far from it: he is the most obedient and dependent of men, uniquely submissive to his Father.”
Jesus’ promise is for those who keep His word. What does that mean? It means the same thing that Jesus said in John 8:31, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” Jesus wasn’t describing the condition for becoming His disciples, but rather the result of genuinely believing in Him. Those who truly believe in Him abide in or keep His word. It doesn’t refer to perfection, but to direction. The new direction of a person who truly believes in Christ is to keep His word.
But, how do we know that Jesus’ promise is true?
B. Who Jesus is secures His promise.
We’ve already seen that Jesus claimed that whoever keeps His word will not see death. Here are 4 more claims that Jesus makes in this passage:
1) Jesus honors His Father and that the Father seeks His glory
John 8:49: “Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.’” Jesus is here identifying Himself closely with the Father so that He seeks the Father’s glory and the Father seeks Jesus’ glory. John 8:54: “Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.”” Jesus is saying that if He were just promoting Himself, His claims would be invalid. But when the Father glorifies the Son, if we oppose the Son we oppose God Himself.
2) Jesus knows the Father and keeps His word.
Although these Jewish leaders claim that God is their God, Jesus plainly tells them the truth (8:55): “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.” Jesus calls them liars for claiming to know God. He could authoritatively tell them that they did not know God because He knew what was in every heart (2:25). And, as Jesus has just claimed in 8:46, He keeps God’s word perfectly. No one could convict Him of sin.
3) Jesus claims that Abraham rejoiced to see His day.
John 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Jesus’ “day” refers to the time of His incarnation and the whole of His work. It probably also refers to His coming day, when He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). The Jews responded with incredulity (8:57): “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” “How can a man who isn’t even fifty claim to have seen a man who lived 2,000 years ago?” Notice, also, that Jesus did not claim to have seen Abraham (although He saw and talked with him; Gen. 18:13, 17, 20). Rather, He said that Abraham saw His day.
God promised to bless all nations through Abraham’s seed and that kings would come forth from Sarah’s womb (Gen. 12:1-3; 17:16-17). When Abraham met Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High, who gave him bread and wine (Gen. 14:18), God could have revealed to Abraham something of the coming priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7). On Mount Moriah, where God told Abraham to sacrifice the son of the promise, He provided the ram as a substitute (Gen. 22). God showed Abraham there how His own Son would be the sacrifice for sins, but also how He would be raised from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19).
4) Jesus claims to be God.
In John 8:58 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Jesus did not merely say, “Before Abraham was, I was.” That would point to His preexistence, but not to His eternity. But rather, He says that before Abraham was, He was continuously in existence. He was claiming to be eternal. The Jews immediately recognized “I am” as a reference to the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:14). They knew He was claiming to be God. But they did not believe Him. And since the penalty for blasphemy was stoning, the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus. But His hour had not come, so He left them.
The point is, Jesus claims to honor God, to know God, and to be God. His claims are backed up by the many Scriptures that He fulfilled, by His sinless life, by His miraculous signs, and by His resurrection from the dead. His promise is sure because of who He is.
Conclusion
Do you honor Jesus? A. W. Tozer drew a comparison between the way Christians treat Jesus and the way the British treat their monarch. The kings and queens of Britain, he wrote, are called the rulers of the nation. But they do not rule, they only reign. They do not have any power; they are mere figureheads before whom people bow and address as “Your Majesty.” But they do not allow these monarchs to have any practical power in their lives.
I am afraid this is the way people often think of Jesus and treat him in their lives. But scripture show Him to be our King, our Master, Lord of all our life — our business life, our sexual life, our family life – He is Lord of all. He is not a mere figurehead, but He has the right to rule, the right to control all of our affairs.
When we see Him as this section sets him forth, claiming to be the One who honors the Father by the way He lives, the One who removes the sting of death from those who follow Him, the One who is the Intimate of God and the Object of all His plans and purposes for all ages of time, and finally, the One who is Himself above time as the Eternal One, there is only one choice to make: Either we honor Him or we dishonor Him by refusing to believe. Which will you do today?
