John 8:22-25

22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”

23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 

24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

“Believe in Me or Die in Your Sins”

“Will He kill Himself? Is that why we cannot go where He goes?” The Jews believed that anyone who committed suicide would definitely not go to heaven, and would automatically go to Hades. They were certain that they were going to heaven, so, in their minds, Jesus had to be going to Hades. Jesus knows exactly what they are thinking, so He reversed the order. In verse 23, He said, paraphrasing, “It is you who are from Hades (beneath). It is I who am from heaven (above). You belong to the world. I don’t belong to the world. I may be in the world right now, but I don’t belong to it.” Then Jesus told them why they couldn’t go where He was going. It was because they were “of this world”, or they belonged to the world. Satan was/is the god of this world, so if they belonged to the world, then they belonged to Satan, who is from “beneath” or Hades. Instead of going where Jesus was going, which was “above” or heaven, they would go where Satan was, which is “beneath” or in Hades. What about me? We can’t belong to both Jesus and the world. Let’s ask ourselves some questions. What consumes my thoughts? What do I spend most of my time on? Where and what is my treasure? I can’t love the world and still expect God to bless me with eternal life with Him and His Son. 

In verse 24, Jesus again tells them, paraphrasing, “Since you are from beneath, and are of this world, you will die in your sins, because if you don’t believe I am HE, then you will die in your sins.” Jesus placed special emphasis on the statement, “you will die in your sins,” by repeating it twice! There is also a special emphasis on the word “He”. When Jesus uses the word “He”, He was connecting Himself to the prophecy in Isaiah 43:10-13 where the phrase “I am He” is used twice. It reads, “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God. Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” Jesus wanted them to believe that He was the one that they had learned about in the Scriptures. Jesus is “HE”. “HE” is GOD. These Jews had to believe that Jesus was the fulfillment of everything that the prophecy in Isaiah 43:10-13 claimed, or they would die in their sins. They had to believe that there was no other Savior besides Jesus, just as Isaiah says. That last part of Isaiah 43:13 is powerful. It reads, “there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” The answer to that question is “no one”. No one will reverse the work that God has done. No one will reverse the work that Jesus has done in saving our souls. No amount of unbelief, plotting, scheming, or testing by these Jews would reverse who Jesus was or what His purpose was for being on earth. The plan was and is set. Nothing God decides can be reversed or changed by humans. Our only hope of not dying in our sins is our belief in and obedience to Jesus. Nothing will ever change about that! Do we put our hope in worldly things or ideas? Do we worry too much about our physical, material, or financial hopes and dreams rather than our spiritual hope? Where is our hope found?

In verse 25, after all Jesus has said and done up to this point, the Jews dared to ask Him, “Who are you?” Jesus simply answered, paraphrasing, “I am just who I have been saying that I am from the beginning.” The tone with which the question, “who are you?”, was asked was more than likely a sarcastic tone with a disrespectful underlying meaning like, “Who do you think you are to tell us, the Jews, how to live? How dare you tell us that we will die in our sins if we don’t believe in you?” Sooooo disrespectful and defiant! If they would only open their eyes! Don’t we feel that way about the world today? If only they could see who Jesus is! If only they would open their eyes to the truth! But, like the Jews back in the day, they don’t want to be told what to do, or they have too much pride to admit they are wrong. They want to live life on their own terms. I am so thankful for Jesus’ patience in my life, because I lived that way for a long time. I know I have certainly required a lot of patience from Him over the span of my life. Where would I be without Jesus? I shudder to think about the answer to that question. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about being saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves… and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t, or if you’re not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are… believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better… to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat, wondering what will happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you, Father, for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan God has outlined in His Word for humankind to receive His grace, which leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)