John 8:42-59 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." 48 The Jews answered him, "Are we not right in saying 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 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." 52 The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?" 54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad." 57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 .The Lord said quite a few outlandish things to Abraham. Pack up everything you have and move to a place you’ve never been. I will bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the sand around the Mediterranean or the stars in the bright night skies over Canaan. From your descendants, I will bring the Redeemer through whom I promised to save all people from their sinfulness. But this was among the most outrageous things the Lord ever said to Abraham: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Take the son I promised to you, the son through whom I promised to deliver my redemption, and offer him as a sacrifice to me.
2 Human sacrifice was not unheard of among the nations around Abraham. But it was an abomination among the Lord’s people. And human sacrifice is one thing; sacrificing your children is another thing altogether. Sacrificing your children to a deity was for the worshippers of the false god Molech, not for the worshippers of the true God of Abraham. So how does Abraham hear the Word of God? He rose early in the morning, took two servants and Isaac, loaded the donkey and headed off to Moriah to obey the Lord’s wacky command. And when he and Isaac left the servants at the base of the mountain, he told them, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and we will come again to you.” Abraham couldn‘t see the bigger picture, but he trusted God’s promise to deliver His people through the descendants of Isaac. So, even if he sacrificed Isaac to the Lord, Abraham trusted that the Lord would fulfill His promise, even if He had to raise Isaac from the dead. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And the Lord was faithful to His promise. He spared Isaac by promising to send a lamb as the sacrifice in Isaac’s place. But a ram is not a lamb; the Lamb to deliver Isaac and all sinners from death was yet to come.
3 God’s Word does that: it seems wacky at best and offensive at worst to those who don’t share Abraham’s faith. Even when received in faith, His Word is no little bit strange. When He commanded the sacrificial system to the Israelites, it must’ve seemed altogether odd. In order to cover your sin, there’s got to be some bloodshed. And don’t keep it nice and neat. I want the blood of the sacrifice to be poured over the altar and sprinkled over the people. What’s more, you may only make these sacrifices to me in the temple in Jerusalem; all your other altars are to be torn down. Those without faith heard this word as outrageous. Sacrifices and sprinkled blood? No thank you. Even hearers today who encounter the sacrificial system of the Old Testament will find it offensive. Certainly the Lord could be worshipped in many ways, not in just one place, and not with just one pattern for worship and sacrifice. But those with faith received this word from the Lord, trusting Him to make good on His promise to deliver them from their sinfulness. Only by faith then will the words from the writer of the book of Hebrews make sense. All these sacrifices were to point toward the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
4 When the Word of God came to the Jews in today’s Gospel reading, He came as the Word who became flesh and dwelt among His people. But the Word of God—even the Word of God in the flesh—was not well received. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. This was the culmination of the showdown in John 8 between Jesus and the Pharisees that began verses earlier. The Pharisees refused to hear the Word of God, the Word Jesus spoke from the Father, because they were not children of God. “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires…Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
5 It’s a litmus test for faith: How do you hear the Word of God? To those without faith, the pure Word of God is offensive, wacky, incomprehensible, and unbearable. It’s little wonder that the world cannot bear to hear the Word of God. Marriage is maligned; children are chosen (for or against); belief is belittled. Why? Because, without faith, the truth of the Word of God is unbearable. So how do you treat the Word of God? If you need to explain away the Word of God or ignore certain parts of it, you are not of God. If the Word of God offends you or raises your ire, you are not of God.
6 Yes, the Law if offensive, unbearable, caustic to the ears of the unbeliever. But the Gospel is even worse. That’s what got the Pharisees really riled up: the news that this Word of God Incarnate had come to die as the sacrifice for sinners. That’s the heart of the Word of God that you cannot bear to hear without faith: The Word of God took on human flesh to die the death every sinner deserves, to be the Lamb for the sacrifice. The world simply cannot bear to hear that, nor can they understand it. But you, beloved of the Lord, hearers of the Word of God, have received the Lord’s gift of faith. The faith without which the Word of God is impossible to comprehend comes exactly through the hearing of the Word of God. The faith the Lord requires He gives freely as a gift.
7 You cannot make yourself a child of the Heavenly Father, but by the power and promise of His Word, He has made you His child in the waters of Holy Baptism. Whoever is of God hears the words of God. It’s not a command; it’s just a matter-of-fact. What do you hear? He who made you His child through the water and word of baptism continues to deliver to you the word that made you His own. You hear His word of Holy Absolution. You His words of consecration of bread and wine, making them vessels for His Body and Blood and then you hear His gracious invitation to receive these for your salvation. Whoever is of God hears the words of God.
8 The powerful Word of God, which changed you from an heir of death to an heir of life, from a child of the devil to a child of God, continues to work. Like flame attracts a moth, the Word of God draws you to it. So, today, when you hear the Word of God, do not harden your hearts. It’s the Word of God proclaimed to you that was the means through which the Holy Spirit delivered faith. It’s the Word of God proclaimed to you through which The Holy Spirit keeps you and grows you in that faith. It’s the Word of God proclaimed to you, delivered to you in Holy Baptism, applied to you in Holy Absolution, fed to you through the Holy Supper, that makes you of God. Whoever is of God hears the words of God.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Jeff Hemmer
Hope, Jerseyville