Message Notes

SUNDAY SCHOOL SPECIAL 31 October 2021

Text: John 8:13-20

Subject: Evangelism

Focus: Challenging questions

INTRODUCTION

1. There are some who are very resistant to the Gospel

2. They will seek to raise question after question

3. How should we respond to such people?

THE PHARISEES (John 8:13)

1. They were a Jewish sect

2. Their beliefs

a) Orthodox

b) Traditional

c) Many additions to their basic religious foundations

d) On the surface:

i) They believe in God

ii) They believe in the Scriptures

3. Their practices

a) They believe in being separate from others

b) They appear to be very religious

4. Their behaviour to the Lord Jesus Christ

a) They do not accept His teachings

b) They are doubtful about His miracles

c) They do not believe He is the Messiah

d) They do not receive Him as the Saviour

e) They question and find fault with everything He stands for

f) They are proud to the point of arrogance

THE ISSUE OF BEARING WITNESS

1. Challenge of the Pharisees

“You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true” John 8:13

2. The answer had already been given (Cf. John 5)

3. The four-fold witness

a) John the Baptiser as a witness (John 5:33)

b) The works of the Lord Jesus (John 5:36)

c) God the Father (John 5:37)

d) The Scriptures (John 5:39)

4. The Argument for Personal Self-Witness

a) Personal Self-witness can be true (John 8:14a)

b) The logic behind this argument

i) I know where I came from

ii) And where I am going (John 8:14b)

c) Rejection of the Objection of the Pharisees

i) You do not know where I come from

ii) And where I am going (John 8:14c)

iii) The Ignorance of the Pharisees disqualifies them 

5. The issue of being Judgmental

a) Tendency of the Pharisees was to judge people

“You judge according to the flesh” John 8:15a

i) Weak

ii) Flawed

iii) Inaccurate

iv) improper approach

b) The Lord’s Example

“I judge no one” John 8:15b

i) He refused to judge

ii) He refused to condemn

iii) He had come to redeem

c) In the event the Lord Jesus has to judge

“And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true” John 8:16a

i) It is not wrong to judge

ii) But one must have the basis to judge

iii) One must also have the means to judge

d) Appealing to God the Father

“For I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me” John 8:16b

i) The Lord Jesus does not just give His personal opinion

ii) He is with God the Father

iii) The Father had sent Him

ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES

1. It is written

a) A standard way of describing the Scriptures

i) As authoritative

ii) A reference to the Word of God

b) The Scriptures and bearing witness

“It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true” John 8:17

c) Application of this Rule

i) The Lord Jesus

“I am One who bears witness of Myself” John 8:18a

ii) And the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me” John 8:18b

2. The Response of the Pharisees

“Where is Your Father?” John 8:19a

a) The Pharisees were thinking of the earthly father of the Lord Jesus

b) They reject the idea of calling on God as His Father

3. The sad Reply of the Lord Jesus

“You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” John 8:19b

a) This was a true but sad observation

b) The Pharisees did not truly and personally know

i) The Lord Jesus

ii) God the Father

A COMMENT FROM THE AUTHOR JOHN

“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.” John 8:20

1. The Pharisees could not lay hands on the Lord Jesus

2. God protected the Lord Jesus 

3. The Will of God included the element of Time

a) The Lord Jesus would be the Passover Lamb

b) This was not the Passover time