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In the record of this gospel, nine cases have been selected to prove that the Lord Jesus is the life and the life supply to people. The first six cases, in chapters three through seven, form one group of signs, signifying, on the positive side, the aspects of the Lord as our life and life supply: the regenerating, the satisfying, the healing, the enlivening, the feeding, and the quenching. The last three cases, in chapters eight through eleven, form another group of signs, signifying, on the negative side, that the Lord is life to us to deliver us from the three main negative things: sin, blindness, and death.
As fallen human beings, we are constantly troubled by sin, blindness, and death. Blindness actually means darkness. When you are blind, you are in darkness, for nothing causes so much darkness as blindness. Blindness, darkness, and death come from sin. Sin is the basic factor of blindness, darkness, and death. If we are sinful, we are surely blind because blindness always accompanies the sinful things. Sin brings in death, but between sin and death there is always blindness. After you have sinned and before you reap death, you have darkness. Therefore, sin, blindness, and death are the three negative things that the Lord must deal with. The only way these negatives can be dealt with is by the Lord becoming our eternal and heavenly life.
The case in John 8, the seventh case among the nine, fully covers the matter of sin. No chapter in the entire Bible covers the problem of sin as widely and thoroughly as does the eighth chapter of John. In this chapter we have the answer to all the problems of sin. As we shall see, following this, in chapters nine and ten, the matter of blindness is dealt with in a thorough way. Lastly, in chapter eleven, the matter of death is thoroughly taken care of. After chapter eleven, there will be no additional cases because the positive cases have been covered and the negative things have been dealt with. Now let us see how the Lord as life deals with the first negative thing — sin.
This case reveals that the religion of the law (John 8:5, 17), as represented by the temple (John 8:2, 20), cannot set people free from sin and its death, but that the Lord Jesus as the I Am, becoming the Son of Man lifted up on the cross for the serpent-poisoned people, can do what religion and law cannot do. The religion of law-keeping is versus the great I Am. This chapter reveals that among human beings on earth there are two things — a religion and a living Person. This religion is excellent, high, and superior. It is not a heathen religion or a religion of superstition. It is the typical religion, which helps people to worship God, to know God in the outward way of letters, and to assist people to keep the law of God in order to please God and to perfect themselves. This religion is the best, and all the typical Jews are proud of it. If you consider the orthodox religion of the Jews, you will realize that it is the highest religion. It is not false; it is absolutely real and genuine. Everything related to this religion is the best. This religion has many holy things. Among these many holy things is the Holy Word of God. No one can deny this.
The Jewish religion is the only real religion. Islam is a counterfeit of Judaism, and the Koran, the Moslem Bible, is the counterfeit of the Old Testament and part of the New Testament. Mohammed did not compose anything new. He simply copied the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament. Thus, Islam is a counterfeit religion. Besides Judaism and Islam, there are no other religions. Buddhism is not a typical religion; it is nonsense. Religion helps people to worship God by teaching them in the proper way. However, in Buddhism there is no God. In Buddhism everyone can become a Buddha. According to Buddhism, if you practice until you attain a certain degree of perfection, you can become a Buddha. This is absolute nonsense; it contains no proper teaching whatsoever. Hence, it should not be considered as a proper religion. What about the teachings of Confucius? They are not a religion; they are ethical teachings. The teachings of Confucius tell people how to behave, but they do not tell them how to worship God. Never consider the teaching of Confucius as a religion. Therefore, there is on earth only one typical, genuine, and true religion, the religion formed by the Jews according to the Holy Word. Christianity, including Catholicism, is an outgrowth of Judaism. Thus, there is only one typical religion on earth.
There is only one Bible. We have already pointed out that the Koran is a satanic counterfeit of the Holy Word. No one can invent something like the Bible. Who could write another Bible? Could Plato or Confucius? No one can write another Bible because there is only one God, and only God can write such a wonderful book. Since God would never write another Bible, there will never be another one. No one can write it. Whoever is able to write such a book as the Bible is qualified to be God. Who can imitate such a book? Who can imitate the depths of its wisdom? If you can do it, you must be God. Do you believe that the Gospel of John was merely written by a fisherman of Galilee? Do you believe that John himself could write such a book? “In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the bread of life,” “I can give you living water” — only Jesus can say such things. Only Jesus can write such a book as the Gospel of John.
However, God’s elect, His chosen people, had the wrong concept. They did not pay full attention to the focus: that God Himself in the Son and as the Spirit wants to come into man to be his life and his everything. God’s people missed this mark, collecting all the regulations, laws, and other good points, and putting them together to make a religion with which to kill themselves. How pitiful! Thus, by the time of John 8, there were two things on earth: a religion and a living Person. We all must see this contrast.
The Jewish religion was genuine and wonderful. It was good in every respect except one — it was versus the great I Am. Religion may be good, but it cannot give you life. It cannot help you because you are dead. A dead person does not need something good; he needs something of life. Only life can help a dead man. Suppose you say to a dead person, “Poor man, here are gold and diamonds. You shouldn’t be dead. Look at the gold — how valuable! Look at the diamonds — how precious!” It would be foolish to speak to a dead man in such a way. He could hear nothing. In chapter five we saw the porches near the pool on which were the blind, the lame, and the withered. If you were to preach to such people they would say, “Don’t waste your time. I don’t need something good. I need life.”
Who is the Lord Jesus? He is the very Jehovah, the I Am. According to Genesis 1, God’s name in relation to His creation is Elohim, God. After creation, however, in Genesis 2, when God was attempting to form a relationship with man, God’s other name was mentioned — Jehovah, I Am that I Am. Jehovah is God’s name in His relationship with mankind. At the time of John 8, Jehovah stood there in the form of a little man by the name of Jesus, which means Jehovah the Savior. Again I say that you must learn the lesson not to care for the outward appearance. If you merely care for the outward appearance, you will certainly miss the mark. The Jewish religionists of the day missed the mark because they despised that little Jesus. Jesus had no form, comeliness, beauty, or attraction. Nevertheless, He was the great I Am.
This great I Am, God Himself in relation to man, became the Son of Man. This is very meaningful. For Jehovah to become the Son of Man means that He had to humble Himself, to lower Himself. This was more than necessary due to all the negative problems that are in man. Sin is in man. The serpent, the devil, is also in man. Man is the focus of every problem. If God was going to solve all the basic problems of man, He had to become a man Himself. Satan knows the importance of this. Satan was not afraid of the Lord Jesus being the Son of God. He was afraid of the Lord Jesus being a man. Therefore, Jehovah God became a man.
As a man, He was willing to be lifted up (3:14) as was the brass serpent in the wilderness (Num. 21:4-9). When we say that the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, we mean primarily that He died there for our redemption and removed our sin. But what does the Bible mean when it says that Christ was lifted up? It mainly refers to His dealing with the serpent, the devil. When most people read the words “lifted up,” they lack the understanding of them. The Son of Man was lifted up as was the brass serpent not only to deal with sin, but also to deal with the serpent. John 12:31-32 indicates that when the Son of Man was lifted up, the ruler of this world, the devil, was judged and cast out. Christ was not only crucified — He was lifted up. In His being lifted up, the serpent was exposed, judged, and cast out. The serpent, the devil, was judged and cast out by Jesus’ being lifted up. Who was there on the pole? The serpent. In the flesh of Jesus, God put the serpent on the pole and made a universal display that all the universe might see that His enemy, the serpent, was on the pole. Thus, Jesus was lifted up for the judging and casting out of the devil.
The religionists were trying their best to find fault with the Lord Jesus. After chapters five and seven they attempted to put Jesus into a difficult situation. They caught a sinful woman and brought her to the Lord Jesus. According to the law, such a sinful woman had to be stoned to death, but the religionists did not do it. They brought her to the Lord in an attempt to trap Him. They said, “Teacher, this woman has been caught committing adultery. Moses commanded us to stone such a person. What do You say?” The religionists were quite bold. They asked the Lord a very tricky question. If He had said that they had to stone her to death, then He would have lost His position as the Savior and Redeemer. Could a Savior say that such a sinner must be stoned to death? Of course, the Lord, as the Redeemer and Savior, could not say this. But, on the other hand, if He said that they should not stone her to death, then they would have said that He was breaking the law. This question was a subtle trick of the enemy. The religionists thought that they were very wise. Actually they were stupid. They thought that the Lord Jesus would find it difficult to answer and that they had an excellent opportunity to catch Him.
When the Lord was asked this question, He did not say a word. The wisest way to answer a question is not to answer, to answer later on, or to answer slowly. The Lord’s first reaction to their question was not to answer it quickly. We also must learn this wisdom. When people come to you with an urgent question, you must learn from the Lord. He simply stooped to write on the ground. Silence cools people down, like cold water cools boiling water. When the Lord stooped to write, He was cooling down the situation. At the same time, by cooling down the hot situation, the sinful woman was comforted. I believe that by stooping to write on the ground the Lord Jesus was indicating to the religionists that they should not be so proud, that they had to humble themselves a little. They had to realize that they were as sinful as that woman.
When I was young, I tried to discover what it was that the Lord Jesus wrote on the ground. Throughout many generations no one has been able to tell what He wrote. I would guess that the Lord might have written, “Who is without sin among you?” While the Pharisees were asking what should be done with such a woman, the Lord Jesus might have written in big letters, “Who is without sin?” Everyone was staring at the Lord as He stooped to write on the ground. Then the Lord stood up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7). The Lord seemed to be saying, “You may stone her to death, but someone must take the lead. No one is qualified to take the lead in this except the one who is without sin. Let the one who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” This word pierced their conscience. I believe that even before the Lord spoke these words, while He was still writing on the ground, their conscience was touched. What did the religionists do? Beginning with the older ones and up until the youngest, they went out one by one (8:9). The oldest, being the wisest, went away first. They knew that they were not qualified to take the lead in stoning the woman to death. But they were qualified to take the lead to run away. All the younger ones followed them.
Who is without sin? No one. Do not condemn others, for while you condemn others you are the same as they are. You are not qualified to condemn others. You are birds of the same feather. If you condemn another bird, you simply condemn yourself. Only the great I Am is without sin, and only He is qualified to condemn sin. What wisdom the Lord Jesus has! After the religionists left, notice how lovingly and gently the Lord expressed Himself to the sinful woman. He asked her if anyone condemned her, and she said, “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you” (8:11). That was music to the woman’s terrified soul.
This incident manifests the Lord’s wisdom. The people came to condemn the sinful woman, but the Lord’s question convicted them of their own sinfulness. When people come to you with questions, you should be careful and turn the question upon themselves. You should answer them by asking them about themselves. Then you will strike their conscience and convince them. Eventually they will be convicted and run away.
The devil is the source of sin (John 8:44). Sin is the nature of the devil, and sin, the nature of the devil, is a lie. Sin is a lie, a falsehood. Everything that is sinful is unreal. The issue of the lie is death and darkness. Death and darkness, as falsehoods, are opposed to reality. Since the devil is the father of liars, he is the source of sin. The divine element of God, working as life and light within man, sets man free from the slavery of sin. But the evil element of the devil, working as sin by death and darkness within man, enslaves man to sin. His nature is a lie and brings in death and darkness. With darkness is falsehood, the opposite of the truth, the reality.
The devil is the evil father who has brought forth sinful children (1 John 3:10). The sinful children are all the followers of the devil. Thus, in 1 John 3:10, we have the term “the children of the devil.” Because the devil is the father of sinners, the sinners are “the children of the devil.” The devil is the old serpent (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), and the sinners are also the “serpents, the brood of vipers” (Matt. 23:33; 3:7). Hence, they need the Lord to be lifted up for them in the form of the serpent on the cross (John 3:14).
Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34). A slave is always under a certain bondage. Satan, the devil, has brought all humankind under the bondage of sin by imparting himself into man as the sinful nature that compels man to sin. It is impossible for anyone to free himself from such a slavery.
The result of sin is death (John 8:24, 51-52). In verse 24 the Lord said, “Unless you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins.” Death came in through sin. “Death passed to all men because all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12). As long as one has sinned, he is destined for death. Thus, the result of sin is death.
The three main items of sin are adultery or fornication, murder, and lies (John 8:3, 41, 44). These items are the most sinful aspects of sin. Consider — can you find another aspect of sin that is as sinful as adultery, murder, and lying? Nothing is more sinful than these three aspects, which represent the whole relationship of sin. All sinful things are included in these three categories. Adultery or fornication means confusion. Anything that confuses humankind is a type of adultery or fornication. Murder is killing, and lying is cheating. Anything that is sinful either confuses, kills, or deceives people.
This chapter reveals something more on the positive side, for we are told how we can be delivered from sin. Firstly, this chapter reveals the only One who is not sinful. Throughout the whole universe, who is the One without sin? It is only the Lord Jesus Himself. He is without sin (John 8:7, 9).
Who is qualified to condemn you? Who has this position? Only the One who is without sin. The only One who is qualified and has the position to condemn you is the Lord Jesus Himself, for He is without any spot of sin. Although He is qualified to condemn you, He would not do it.
The Lord Jesus was lifted up for the sinners’ sin (8:28). Sin is the embodiment of the serpent, and the sinners’ sin is the poison of the serpent. For redemption, the Lord Jesus had to be the Lamb of God, but for dealing with the serpentine nature, the Lord Jesus had to be lifted up in the form of the serpent. In order to deal with the sinful, serpentine nature of mankind, He had to be lifted up on the cross in the form of a serpent.
The Lord is qualified to forgive man’s sin and able to set him free from the slavery of sin (8:32-34). The Lord not only gives us life, but He also enters into us as our life. Satan’s subtlety was not only to cause us to do something wrong; it was to inject himself into us. Thus, sin is no longer merely objective, an outward wrongdoing. Sin is in the very subjective nature of our being. It is no longer outside of us; it is inside of us. It has even become our very self. It is in our nature. Therefore, anything that is outside of our nature cannot help us in dealing with the sin that is in our nature. We need another life to come into us. In human history, there is only one Person who is able to come into us and be our life to encounter the serpentine nature within us. Confucius or Plato cannot do it. The only One who can do it is Jehovah, the great I Am. Only He Himself can come into us as life to counteract the serpentine nature within us. Our slavery is not an outward thing; it is inward, even in our nature. We need another life, a stronger, richer, higher life, to set us free from this slavery. Only the Lord can be such a life, and He truly is such a life because He is the divine life. The divine life is higher than the human life. It is also higher than the satanic life. When this divine life comes into us it defeats the serpentine life and nature.
The Lord is able to save man from the result of sin, which is death (8:24, 51-52). Once sin has been dealt with, spontaneously the result of sin also will be removed. The religion of law is unable to do this, for it belongs to the tree of knowledge resulting in death (Gen. 2:17). Jesus is the tree of life resulting in life (Gen. 2:9). In principle, saving man from the result of sin is changing death into life.
