With Dale Ratzlaff
John 8:21-30
Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come ‘?” And He was saying to them, “You are from below, 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 unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
This short section is packed with hard-hitting, even mysterious, statements that raised many questions in the minds of the Jewish leaders.
I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.
The “I” is emphatic, “I, Myself,” go away…” The Jews were continually seeking to kill or rid themselves of the presence of Jesus. They wanted Him to go away. However, Jesus says in no uncertain terms that He, Himself, will determine His going away. After He has gone “away,” they will seek Him and not find Him. The day of salvation for the Jewish leaders had come. If they reject their Messiah, they will search in vain for Him—as the Jews from that day to the present time have done—and they will not find Him.
Where is it that Jesus is going? Is He speaking of His death, or His ascension to the Father? As is often the case with John, words and events have a dual meaning, and such is the case here. Jesus is speaking of His coming death for sin and His return to His heavenly Father. This is a truth that Jesus wants to make clear, and He repeats it several times in John.
Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come” (Jn. 7:33-34).
Jesus said these same words to His disciples later in John’s Gospel.
Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.” … Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later” (Jn. 13:33, 36).
Jesus’ path to the Father was through death. No one would be able to go to the Father were it not for Jesus’ death for sin.
Jesus gave the Jewish leaders the strongest warning possible.
…you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.
Nothing Jesus could have said would have been more terrifying. No more chance to change. No more of the blessings of God. Now, only the terrors of those who are lost—forever lost. Jesus will be going back to the Father who sent Him. But these leaders will be forever shut out of the pearly gates. “Where I am going, you cannot come.”
Over and over throughout the Gospels, we find the Jewish leaders trying to kill Jesus, but “His hour had not yet come.” When these hostile rulers finally initiated His death—when His hour had come—they got what they wanted, but they would not like the result. Jesus is telling them in advance that the day would come when Jerusalem would be surrounded by enemies and the walls of their city broken down, and they would see the results of their rejection of truth. They would die in their sin. They had turned their back on the salvation Jesus came to give them.
So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
Even though Jesus’ words are somewhat ambiguous, the Jews perceive He must be speaking of His death. The fact that He says, “I, Myself, go away” leads them to think that He might be considering suicide, but the way their question is written in Greek implies a negative answer. They really don’t believe He will carry that out.
Jesus now gives one of His strongest statements which will lead, near the end of chapter eight, to one of the most explicit declarations about His divine nature.
And He was saying to them, “You are from below, 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 unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Here are two sharp contrasts. The Jews are from below where Satan is supreme. Jesus is from above where the Father dwells in glory. The Jews are of this world which is full of the results of sin. Jesus is not of this world; He does not participate in its sin.
Then Jesus states again they will die in their sins unless they believe “That I am.” This statement can be understood in three ways. (1) That you believe all that I have said about myself. In the immediate context, it could include the truth that Jesus is the Light of the world. (2) That you believe that I am the Messiah. (3) That you believe that I AM—the self-existent, eternal YHWH whom Moses met at the burning bush. Jesus told them that the only way of salvation for them was to believe in the person of Jesus as the divine son of God, the Messiah, the Light of the world, the eternal, self-existent God. This statement startles them.
So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
We might ask ourselves why Jesus answered in the way He did. Why did He not just tell them outright, “I am the Messiah, the Son of God, I am the Eternal God”? Actually, up to this point in John, He had given them more than sufficient evidence, but they chose not believe. It seems to be a divine principle that truth is measured out in small doses. When a person accepts what is revealed, then more will be given. Jesus again links His words and judgments to what He hears from His Father. John states that even when Jesus spoke the truths listed here, the Jews did not understand that Jesus had been speaking about the Father.
So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
When Nicodemus came to Jesus, as mentioned in John 3, Jesus said,
No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life (Jn. 3:13-15).
In both of these incidents, Jesus gives the Jews a clear, unmistakable sign. When they “lift up” the Son of Man they will know for sure that Jesus is the Messiah, the divine God/man. “Lift up” usually signifies praise or exalt, but in these two places, it means to lift up as on the cross or to crucify. John portrays Jesus’ glory in the cross event. He is glorified as Savior of the world by the horrors of the cross.
Apparently, “many” came to believe in Him. However, as we read the rest of chapter eight, it appears that this “belief” was either very temporary or those who believed fade out of the discussion. It soon becomes evident that those Jesus is interacting with are unbelievers.
Application
- God’s timing is sovereign. We pray “Even so, Come Lord Jesus,” but recognize that God is in control of timing.
- If we have truth today, we should follow it. When we do, God often then reveals more truth.
- Belief in the person of Jesus—His divine nature, His death, and resurrection—is necessary for salvation. There is no other name by which we may be saved.
- The justice, glory, and love of God are seen in the cross event.
Prayer
Father, today I rededicate myself to you to do your will if you make it plain. Help me discern the times in which I live. Disclose your truth to me and help me to follow it closely.
In Jesus name.
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