Thursday November 21
From Beneath
In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for.
And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead.
Why?
His life and teaching showed them to be teaching error. The ruin and sin of a nation was doe to their religious leaders. The people were turning away from the religious leaders to follow Jesus. Pride would not allow them to admit He was right and they were wrong.
Read John 8:12-30.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.
21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many rejected Him?
Jesus says that they know neither Him nor the Father (John 8:19). They should have known both, but these men were self-deceived. They were so caught up in their own traditions and philosophies that even with Jesus right before them, doing all the things that He did and saying the things that He said—all powerful revelations of the Father—they still rejected Him.
Second, Jesus says to them, “ ‘Ye are from beneath’ ” (John 8:23). In other words, however religious they might be, these were not spiritual, godly men. They had a “form of godliness” (2 Timothy 3:5), but that was all. They had outward piety but inward disbelief.
This was nothing new: “ ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men’ ” (Isaiah 29:13). This very concept is echoed by Jesus centuries later, when He said, “ ‘And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’ ” (Mark 7:7). Their human teachings, their human commandments, were “of this world” (John 8:23) and, as Jesus then said, “I am not of this world” (John 8:23). It was bad enough that these men had been deceiving themselves; the tragedy was made worse because they also led others astray, even though, interestingly enough, John wrote that as a result of the exchange depicted in these verses, “many believed in Him” (John 8:30).
Thus, even despite bad leadership, many Jews were able to get beyond it and see, for themselves, who Jesus was.
Amen! But, because of their false teaching, Israel was cut off three and a half years after they murdered Jesus and then Stephen.
What lessons do you draw from Jesus’ exchange with the religious leaders?
Israel is an ensample for those whom the end of the world is come. That is us. We ought to have learned that we do not trust in the arm of flesh even if they are leaders. We must test what is taught in the church by comparing it to what is in the Bible. God does not allow leaders today to continue miserable and wretched without giving them warning of their lost condition and what they can do in order to obtain salvation. The Laodicean message found in the third chapter in Revelation tells us to buy of Him gold tried in the fire, white raiment, and eye salve. Jesus says to us today "repent." We have rebellion at the highest level in the church. In 1888 the leadership rejected the gospel message. We have teachers today who refuse to acknowledge this and are like the leaders in Israel when God cut them off. In 1888 it was rare to find one who was truly converted. "The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ (Manuscript 148, 1897).
How can we be “from above” and not “from beneath”—and how can we know the difference?
If we want to be from above, we must surrender the whole heart to Jesus. How can this be? We are told in 2 Cor. 3:18 that by beholding His glory we will be changed into His image (character). Jesus told Nicodemus the same thing. We must look upon Jesus hanging and the cross. We must "look and live." How can we know we are converted? We keep His commandments, we manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit, not one is missing whether or not we know it. "When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." The Desire of Ages, pg 676.
