21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away. You will look for me, and you will die in your sin. You can’t come where I am going.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘You can’t come where I am going’?”
23 But Jesus said, “You are from below. I am from heaven. You are from this world. I am not from this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins. This will happen if you don’t believe that I am he. If you don’t believe, you will certainly die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have a lot to say that will judge you. But the one who sent me can be trusted. And I tell the world what I have heard from him.”
27 They did not understand that Jesus was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I am he. You will also know that I do nothing on my own. I speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even while Jesus was speaking, many people believed in him.
Read John 8:21-30 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
In a conversation Jesus has with a Jewish crowd, a statement Jesus makes sounds odd in my mind. In this statement, Jesus puts two ideas together that don’t seem to fit, but in some ways, when these two ideas are together, we can see a fascinating picture of God.
During this conversation, Jesus says, “I have a lot to say that will judge you. But the one who sent me can be trusted. And I tell the world what I have heard from him.” (v. 26)
In these three short sentences, and interesting idea begins to take shape. Jesus has a lot He can say that will judge us, but He only tells the world what He has heard from the Father (a.k.a. the One who sent Him), and the One who sent Him can be trusted.
Not only does this verse describe a trustworthy God the Father when many people picture Him as mean, it also describes a God full of grace, because God could tell Jesus to say many judgmental things to those in the world, but He doesn’t. Instead, the One who sent Jesus tells Jesus what to say, and the picture of Jesus that we have shared in the gospel is one that perfectly balances sharing truth with showing love.
While Jesus calls people out for their behavior, He always does so in a way that lifts them to a higher standard. Even when challenging the religious leaders, Jesus always is trying to get them to understand more about the Father.
Jesus could judge everyone in the world as guilty because the Father could judge everyone this way. But Jesus doesn’t. Instead, Jesus loves the world and gave His life for all of us. He did this because that is the only way He can help us understand just how much God the Father loves and values us. A God who loves us that much is definitely worthy of our trust!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.