Day 296 – John 7-8

Talking Points

• The world has always hated Jesus, because His very nature, His actions, and His words bring conviction against evil.
• The words Jesus spoke were not learned in training from a rabbi. He truly is the Word of God made flesh — the Messiah sent from God to speak His Words.
• The identity of Jesus and the message He brought created a tense, uncomfortable exchange between Him and those who railed against Him. Many were questioning His identity. Some ended up believing while others were pushed into further rejection. Even His own brothers were unbelieving and pushed Jesus to go public with His claims, suspecting He would fail and His “sham” would be over.
• The devil is described as the opposite of Jesus. Where Jesus is the Truth, the One who sets men free, the devil is declared the “father of lies” and the one who brings men down (John 8:44). The word for devil, “diabolos,” translates as a slanderer or accuser. It refers to one who makes false statements in order to destroy. It’s in his very nature — all lies come from him.
• As Jesus professed to be the Messiah, the “Light of the world,” and the “Truth” that sets people free, He revealed an unexpected and unappreciated fact about God’s sent Savior: He is not a political king. He didn’t come to squash Rome and lead Israel to worldwide prominence. Instead, Jesus the Christ came to save sinners. He said, “for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (8:24).
• When the Pharisees brought up Abraham, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (8:58). Here, He confirmed His eternal existence, taking the Name of God – I AM. This is not lost on the Jews, and they picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy.

Thoughts

As Jesus was teaching, the scribes and Pharisees crashed in with their latest ruse — a woman caught in the act of adultery. Their intention was to trap Jesus in an impossible dilemma. He would either have to let her go to hold on to His claim to be compassionate and gracious to sinners, or He would have to call for her stoning to avoid breaking the law of Moses. Perhaps they did not know the depth of this test.

Does God uphold perfect justice? Does He righteously punish sin?

– Or –

Is He gracious and merciful? Does He forgive sin?

The answer is yes! And, only in Jesus Christ, who became our sin and died taking the full penalty for our sin, can justice and grace be perfectly reconciled without surrendering either. He’s the only Way to uphold perfect justice and extend marvelous grace at the same time.

“Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.”