“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55: 6-7

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Understanding John 8: 33-59 Correctly

This SnyderTalk editorial is last part in a series I am writing on John 8. It started in verse 12 and goes to the end of the chapter. The first 2 editorials in the series are below. Please read them before you read this editorial:

• Understanding John 8: 12-30 Correctly
• Understanding John 8: 31-32 Correctly

John 8: 33-41

You will recall that in John 8: 31-32, the Messiah was talking specifically to people who believed He is Yahweh. They were standing around listening to a conversation He was having with a group of Pharisees and ordinary Jewish people who had a pharisaic bent. The believers were not engaged in the conversation. They were just listening.

In Christian circles, we call people who have a pharisaic bent “holier-than-thous”. I like to call them “sister Bertha-better-than-yous”. They are very legalistic. They are always looking for faults in others, so they can point them out. Their goal is to draw attention to themselves and to demonstrate their superior righteousness. In a nutshell, they have a pharisaic mindset, but they are not priests.

Yahweh made it crystal clear that people who have a pharisaic mindset either don’t know Him, or they are very immature believers. The institutional church is loaded with them. I’ll leave it at that for now.

As I said, the people who believed the Messiah were not involved in the conversation below:

³³ They [either Pharisees or people with a pharisaic bent] answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴ Yeshua answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now the slave does not remain in the house forever. The son does remain forever. ³⁶ So, if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [Yahweh’s word] has no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of the things which I have seen with My Father. Therefore, you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”

Yeshua said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from Elohim. This Abraham did not do. ⁴¹ You are doing the deeds of your father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is Elohim Himself.”

The Pharisees and people with a pharisaic bent claimed to be Abraham’s direct descendants, and they were. So, the Messiah told them to “do the deeds of Abraham”. I call it “the faith of Abraham”. See The Trilogy.

To understand what “the faith of Abraham” means, consider what Abraham did when Yahweh gave him circumcision as a sign of the Covenant:

1. Yahweh appeared to Abraham in Person. (Genesis 17: 1)
2. Yahweh told Abraham to circumcise every male in his household including everyone with him, not just his immediate family. (Genesis 17: 9-10)
3. Abraham did it that day. (Genesis 17: 23)

Abraham didn’t hesitate. He didn’t dillydally or put it off until he he had some free time. He got right on it. That’s “the faith of Abraham” at work. It is faith with legs.

Abraham had faith in Yahweh’s literal words and the leading of His Spirit, not faith in a religion. He died in about 1975 BC.

Yahweh didn’t give the written Law to the Children of Israel until the Exodus in around 1450 BC. That was more than 500 years after Abraham died.

Judaism and Halacha originated following King Solomon’s death in 931 BC when Israel split from Judah. That was about 500 years after the Exodus.

Judaism and Halacha didn’t gain widespread acceptance in Judea until the Assyrians took Israel captive in 732 BC. That was about 200 years after Solomon’s death.

Judaism and Halacha didn’t totally supplant “the faith of Abraham” in Judea until the Babylonian Captivity ended in 538 BC. That was more than 1,400 years after Abraham died, about 900 years after the Exodus, and almost 400 years after Solomon’s death.

When the Babylonian Captivity ended, Jewish religious leaders brought completely developed Judaism and Halacha back to Judea with them from Babylon, and they subordinated faith in Yahweh to strict adherence to their man-made rules. This is what Yahweh told Jeremiah about what the religious leaders in Judea had done:

“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority. My people love it this way! But what will you do when the end comes? (Jeremiah 5: 31)

John 8: 42-47

⁴² Yeshua said to them, “If Elohim were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from Elohim and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word [Yahweh’s word]. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tell a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷ The one who is of Elohim hears the words of Elohim. For this reason, you do not hear them, because you are not of Elohim.”

The Messiah said that the Pharisees and people with a pharisaic bent were following Satan. That means they abandoned Yahweh’s Law, invented a religion, and made up a set of laws that contradict Yahweh’s commands. The Messiah said flat-out that Satan was the mastermind behind those actions, so he was their father. The Messiah explained that Satan is a murderer and a liar. The implication was that Pharisees and people with a pharisaic mindset are, too.

The Messiah also said that Satan’s influence in the lives of Pharisees and people with a pharisaic mindset had blinded them to the truth. If they were truly followers of Elohim, He said that they would believe Him.

By this time, the Messiah had developed a reputation for healing the sick, cleansing lepers, giving sight to the blind, and casting out demons. Later He would raise the dead in front of a crowd. Those miracles are powerful proof that He is who He claimed to be, Yahweh. The Pharisees were no match for Him. In fact, they were hell-bent on destruction.

John 8: 48-50

⁴⁸ The Jews [Pharisees and people with a pharisaic mindset] answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?”

⁴⁹ Yeshua answered, “I do not have a demon. On the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ But I am not seeking My glory. There is One who seeks it, and judges. ⁵¹ Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows My word [Yahweh’s word], he will never see death.”

The Messiah said that people who place their faith in Yahweh and His word will never die. He was referring to spiritual death, not physical death. The implication is that people who follow Satan will experience spiritual and physical death.

The Pharisees had rejected Yahweh’s Law and replaced it with one of their own making, and they did those things without remorse. In fact, they were proud of themselves. When the Messiah told them the truth, they rejected Yahweh in Person. They had no idea what they were doing or what the consequences of their actions would be.

John 8: 52-53

⁵² The Jews [Pharisees and people with a pharisaic mindset] said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone follows My word, he will never taste of death.’ ⁵³ You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died, too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”

In fact, the Messiah was telling them that He is greater than Abraham. The Pharisees asked Him who He was making Himself out to be, and the Messiah was about to tell them so plainly that they couldn’t help but understand.

John 8: 54-57

⁵⁴ Yeshua answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our Elohim,’ ⁵⁵ and you have not come to know Him; but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I follow His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.”

⁵⁷ So the Jews [Pharisees and people with a pharisaic mindset] said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”

When this conversation took place, Abraham had been dead for about 2,000 years, but the Messiah said that “Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” In other words, Abraham was still alive spiritually. He could see what was taking place, and he loved it.

John 8: 58-59

⁵⁸ Yesuah said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham existed, I AM.” 

⁵⁹ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.

The Messiah said that He created Abraham. He is the Creator who was first mentioned in Genesis 1: 1, but He said “I AM” that day, not “Yahweh”. Yahweh used the Name “I AM” in Exodus 3: 14 during a discussion with Moses. In Genesis 1: 1, He was called “Elohim”. That’s a title, not a name.

We know that the Pharisees understood exactly what the Messiah meant, because they picked up stones to throw at Him.

As much as the Pharisees wanted to kill the Messiah, they couldn’t do it legally that day. Claiming to be “I AM” was not illegal. According to Halacha, to be convicted of blasphemy He had to actually say “Yahweh” in front of witnesses who were willing to testify against Him. (See Sanhedrin 7: 5.) He didn’t do it that day, but eventually, He did. When He did, the Pharisees charged Him with blasphemy and sentenced Him to death.

The Romans ruled Judea at that time. They would not allow the priests to execute anyone. For the Pharisees to accomplish their objective, they needed to bring the Romans into the picture. Thus, Jews and Gentiles were responsible for the Messiah’s murder.

Since the Messiah came to die as the atoning sacrifice for people who have faith in Him, all of humankind is responsible for His death, not just Jewish people.

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Will His Remnant Call Him YAHWEH rev from Rowan Smith on Vimeo.

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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

John 10: 14-18

See “His Name is Yahweh”.