Daily Devotions
John
The ministry of admonition
Text: John 8 : 12-59
THE MINISTRY OF ADMONITION
Jesus fulfilled one of the duties of the prophets of God. As we read John 8 we recognize that The Jews had rejected the teachings of Jesus. However, they had to be warned that they were treading on dangerous grounds when they rejected Jesus and His message. The words of the prophet Ezekiel come readily to mind.
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman
for the house of Israel;
therefore hear a word from My mouth,
and give them warning from Me:
When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’
and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked
from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man
shall die in his iniquity;
but his blood will I require at your hand.”
Ezekiel 3:17-18
Jesus gave solemn warning that if The Jews continued to reject Him, they would “die in their sins” (John 8:24). The ministry of admonition was of course fraught with difficulty, but nevertheless it was an important one to fulfill.
ANOTHER DEFIANT CHALLENGE FROM THE JEWS
How did The Jews react to this solemn word of warning? If these Jews knew their Scriptures at all, they would have recognized that Jesus was speaking like one of the prophets of old! However, they did not seem to have any great respect for Jesus when they hurled these words at Him.
“Who are You?”
John 8:25
The Jews had already made up their mind as to who Jesus was. This question may almost be regarded as a spurious question. What were some of the expressed opinions of The Jews concerning Jesus? Let us recall some of the things that they had already spoken against Him.
1. They believed that Jesus was a deceiver.
“He deceives the people…”
John 7:12
2. They despised Jesus.
“How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”
John 7:15
3. They believed He was demon-possessed.
“You have a demon.”
John 7:20
A MOST PATIENT TEACHER
Patiently Jesus sought to give them an answer to this spurious question. He said,
“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”
John 8:25-26
Jesus knew that whatever He said to them would fall on deaf ears. He had been consistently trying to reveal Himself to them. However, they had chosen not to understand. If Jesus wanted to, He could indeed rack up a lot of charges against The Jews! If He were to judge them, they would be found guilty on all counts!
However, He had not come to judge. He could warn them, but He would not judge them. Their own sins would judge them one day.
Had they not understood who Jesus was? He would try and tell them again. He would testify of the following:-
1. That He had been sent.
2. That the One who sent Him was True.
3. That whatever He had preached to the world, were messages that came from the One who had sent Him.
Jesus remained silent as to the identity of the Person who sent Him. If He had mentioned the Father’s Name, then The Jews would once again challenge His statements. He preferred to be cryptic in the use of language at this point of time. He had already said much that should have caused the people, and The Jews, to come to the conclusion that He was making a reference to God His Father. Did The Jews understand head or tail of this statement of Jesus? John noted their response.
“They did not understand that He spoke to
them of the Father.”
John 8:27
YET ANOTHER PROPHETIC WORD CONCERNING HIS DEATH
How does one break an impasse like that? Jesus chose to give another prophetic word.
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then
you will know that I am He, and that
I do nothing of Myself..,”
John 8:28
Jesus had spoken of His being “lifted up” before. On that occasion, He was speaking to Nicodemus. He made a general reference to His death then. Now He made specific reference to The Jews… that one day they would be the ones who would lift up the Son of Man. One day these Jews would succeed in killing Him! Did they understand Jesus at all?