The Gospel of John: John 8.12-30

Read and meditate on John 8.17-19.
Jesus is the Master of the slant answer. He’s not being disingenuous; He is trying to make people think, to reflect on all they know about Him, the Scriptures, the promises of the Father, and so forth. He is not skirting their questions, but trying to open their minds.

                                         ¹⁷“It is written in
your Law, the testimony of two men
is true. ¹⁸One I am Who bears witness to
Myself; the Father, Who has sent Me to
you, witnesses of Me as well.” ¹⁹So then
they said, “Where is Your Father?” He again
replied, “You do not know Me, and You do
not know My Father. You would know Him, too,
if only you had known Me.”

- John 8.17-19

Reflect
1.  Jesus appealed to the Law of God in His defense (cf. Deut. 19.15). Is He here affirming some ongoing validity for the Law? Explain. Complete this prayer: Lord, I know the Law cannot save us, but I affirm it as…

2.  Jesus insisted that His testimony about Himself fit the criteria for truth established in the Law. Whom did He “call” to affirm His claims? In what sense or way did the Father bear witness to Jesus? Father, help me to fulfill my calling to bear witness to Jesus. As He did, and You did, so let me…

3.  What were the Jews asking in verse 19? Why did they ask this? Do you think they were thinking “Father” in the same way Jesus was thinking “Father”? Explain. Father, be at work in me, by Your Spirit, that I might be faithful in my witness to Jesus today when I…

4.  It might have seemed obvious to onlookers that the Jews did not know Jesus or His Father. After all, they were challenging His claims, and they’d just asked about the whereabouts of His Father. But what was Jesus saying in the second part of verse 19? Is it important to make sure people know they are lost before we can reasonably expect them to want to be saved? Explain. Lord, today I pray for lost friends or co-workers. Please, Lord, let them…

5. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” What did Jesus mean by this? How does this help us to understand Jesus’ mission? What should we expect Jesus to do for us? Bring together into one prayer the prayers you wrote for questions 1-4.

Summary
“The Father and the Son are mutually revealing. When the Father is mentioned, one recalls his offspring, and similarly when the Son is mentioned we remember the one who begat him. And so, the Son is like the doorway leading to knowledge of the Father, and it is in this sense that Jesus says, ‘No one comes to the Father but by me.’ Cyril of Alexandria (375-444 AD)

Jesus came to show us the Father, to bring us to the Father, to intercede for us with the Father, to reconcile us to God the Father, and to send us into the world as the Father sent Him. Give thanks to the Father for Jesus, and for what Jesus reveals about the Father to you.

Closing Prayer
I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Psalm 34.1-8

Psalm 34.1-9, 3 (Alleluia [Lowe]: Mighty God, While Angels Bless You)
I will bless the Lord at all times; I shall praise Him evermore!
My soul makes its boast in Jesus – Him we gladly all adore!
    Magnify the Name of Jesus!
    Let us lift His Name in praise!

When I sought the Lord, He answered, and from fear delivered me.
Those who look to Him are radiant; shamed their face shall never be.
    Magnify the Name of Jesus!
    Let us lift His Name in praise!

When I cried to God, He heard me, and from trouble rescued me.
‘Round their camp His angel lingers that they may delivered be.
    Magnify the Name of Jesus!
    Let us lift His Name in praise!

Taste and see how good is Jesus; blessed are all who in Him hide.
None shall lack for any blessing who in Christ will e’er confide.
    Magnify the Name of Jesus!
    Let us lift His Name in praise!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.