Prepare
Opening Prayer
Thank God for the blessing of being his children and ask the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we love him and follow him.
Read
Scripture Passage
“I Am the Light of the World”
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?”
Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”
20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 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.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
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. Who 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 New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Jn 8:12–59.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
Jesus' identity stands at the center: the Father testifies that he sent Jesus, unbelief reveals spiritual slavery, and Jesus declares his eternal divine identity as the great I AM before Abraham.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
John 8:58
before abraham was i am
Bryan explicitly underlines verse 58 as the Best Verse because Jesus uses the divine name and declares his eternal unity with the Father.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Believe that Jesus is God the Son sent by the Father, rest in his resurrection victory, and receive freedom from sin and death through faith in him.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
hey hey welcome to coffee and devotions this sunday afternoon this is december 6th this where every weekday morning at 9 00 am and on the weekends when i get a spare moment from my kids you and i we get together we get into god's word we have some coffee and we grow in our love for the lord together and this year 2020 we'll make it through all the gospels well this morning we are at john chapter 8 but before we jump in why don't we go ahead and have a drink pray and get into god's word let's pray father we thank you so much for this day we thank you for what a rich blessing it is to be your children to follow after you we pray that your holy spirit would work in our hearts that we might love you with an everlasting love in jesus name amen oh why don't we go ahead and turn into god's word now okay here we go so we are at john chapter 12 versus or so john chapter 8 verses 12 through 59 before we go ahead and get into what god's word if this is a video that's helpful to you feel free to hit the thumbs up button sorry having a hard time talking this evening hit the thumbs up button let facebook and youtube know that this is helpful to you let's go ahead and get into god's word john chapter 8 beginning at verse 12. then jesus spoke to them again saying i am the light of the world he who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life the pharisees therefore said to him you bear witness of your witness is not true jesus answered and said to them even if i bear witness of myself my witness is true for i know where i came from and where i am going but you do not know where i come from and where i am going you judge according to the flesh i judge no one and yet if i do judge my judgment is true for i am not alone but i am with the father who sent me it is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true i am one who bears witness of myself and the father who sent me bears witness of me they said to him where is your father jesus answered you know neither me nor my father if you had known me you would have known my father also these words jesus spoke in the treasury and he taught in the temple and no one laid hands on him for his hour had not yet come then jesus said to them again i am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin where i go you cannot come so the jew said will he kill himself because he says where i go you cannot come and he said to them you are from beneath i am from above you are of this world i am not of this world 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 they said to him who are you and jesus said to them just what i have been saying to you from the beginning i have many things to say and to judge concerning you but he who sent me is true and i speak to the world those things which i heard from him they did not understand that he spoke to them of the father then jesus said to them when you lift up the son of man then you will know that i am he and that i do nothing of myself but as my father taught me i speak these things and he who sent me is with me the father has not let me alone for i always do the things that please him as he spoke these words many believed in him then jesus said to those to the jews who believed in him if you abide in my word and are my disciples in deed you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free jesus answered though most assuredly i say to you whoever commits sin is a slave to sin and a slave does not abide in the house forever but a son abides forever therefore if the son makes you free you shall be free indeed i know that you are abraham's descendants but you will seek to kill me because my word has no place in you i speak what i have seen with my father and you do what you have seen with your father they answered and said to him abraham is our father jesus said to them if you were abraham's children you would have done the works of abraham but now you seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth which i heard from god abraham did not do this you do the deeds of your father then they said to him we were not born of fornication we have one father god jesus said to them if god were your father you would love me for i preceded forth and came from god nor have i come of myself but he sent me why do you not understand my speech because you are not able to listen to my word you are of your father the devil and he and the desires of your father and the desires of your father you want to do he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him when he speaks a lie he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it but because i tell you the truth you do not believe me which of you convicts me of sin and if i tell the truth why do you not believe me he who is of god hears god's words therefore you do not hear because you are not of god then the jews answered and said to him do we not say rightly that you are samaritan and have a demon jesus answered i do not have a demon but i honor my father and you dishonor me and i do not seek my own glory there is one who seeks and judges most assuredly i say to you if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death 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 are you greater than our father abraham who is dead all the prophets are dead who do you make yourself out to be 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 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 not but i do know him and keep his word your father abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad then the jews said to him are you not yet 50 years old and you have seen abraham jesus said to them most assuredly i say to you before abraham was i am then they took up stones to throw at him but jesus hid himself and went out to the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by what a huge section we have a lot of stuff to look over there but we need to ask ourselves real quickly a what is this about b what is the best verse to summarize this and see what are we called to do in response to this well to get at the crux of the matter here it's the question of who is jesus and who testifies about who jesus is right they they're saying to him you got no right to be saying of these things you're a liar you're demon possessed you're you're even from the samaritans right you're you're not the prophet you're not the christ they speak to him and they say no one's testifying about you to your s and jesus says whoa whoa hold on back it up even if i testified just about myself my testimony would be true but that's not the case because it's not just jesus who's testifying about himself but jesus says that his father in heaven sent him and testifies to him and they're upset right because jesus even calls them out he said if you were of my father in heaven you would believe but you don't believe why why don't they believe because they're not of the father he even calls him out he says it outright man these are some scorching words that jesus says to them what does he say he says that their father is a devil he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning i mean this is harsh stuff that jesus is saying to them there's no there's there's no like surprise that they would respond this way they are upset with jesus what do you mean our father is the devil our father is abraham and jesus says hold on back it up even further you might be by genealogy the sons of abraham the patriarch who received all the promises in genesis 12 and genesis 14 and 17 but but no you're not you're not the spiritual children because abraham rejoiced to see my day and he did rejoice and they go whoa dude what are you talking about man you're not even 50 years old are you outside your mind how in the world did abraham see you jesus says one of the most powerful things in all of scripture all right what does he say truly i say unto you that before abraham was i am ego me yahweh yikveyaviktv i am who i am jesus is one with the father and the father sent jesus and he is one the triune god and and maybe people in our day might not get what this is but they saw this as jesus saying he was god and they picked up stones and they wanted to hurl them at jesus to kill him i think in my bible that's what i'm going to underline i'm going to underline verse 58 there in my bibles the best verse verse 58 is what i think i'm going to pull out there and say is the best first to summarize this section well real quick we need to ask ourselves lastly c calling what are we called to do in response to these words do you believe that jesus christ is one with the father do you believe that it is jesus christ god himself who came into this world to save sinners that abraham longed to see the day of jesus christ and that we now see him by faith do you believe that he was sent by the father and that in jesus christ you will never taste death yeah you're right all the prophets died and jesus did taste death but he didn't stay in that grave did he no and and neither will you jesus is the firstborn of the resurrection if we believe in jesus christ he came to give us life and to give it abundantly that we might be free free indeed from the wages of sin for the wages of sin is death but jesus has broken the chains of death he has conquered sin and as we are in jesus christ if you believe in jesus christ you also can be free from sin and from death let's go ahead and pray lord we thank you so much for this day we thank you for what a rich blessing it is to be in jesus christ we pray lord that we would follow after him and love him with all of our hearts lord please let us seek after you let us love you let us hold firmly to you with an undying love thank you for sending your son the great i am in his name we pray amen well may god bless you today and may he fill your heart with joy and peace as you continue to rest in jesus christ today bye you