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| 1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. |
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According to Professor Tischendorf's Notes, Verses 1-11 are spurious. Nevertheless very many translations contain these verses. According to the law when people were caught in adultery they were to be put to death by stoning (Lev. 20:10). However, for the death penalty, it must be established by two or three witnesses (Deut.17:6; 19:15). The LORD added responsibility to the witnesses in that they were to be the ones who cast the first stones. (Deut. 17:7 "The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.") What our Lord did here is remarkable indeed. Not only did he, by his remark to the witnesses "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone," cause all to leave her alone, but his grasp of the law insured that He was not in a position to condemn her either. Since Jesus did not witness the act and the law required the witnesses to be the first to take action to put her to death and afterward all the people, Jesus, therefore was not in a position to take action against her. |
| 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. |
Early in the morning – On the day following the eighth or great day of the Feast of Tabernacles. R2438:3
This ninth day is a solemn day likewise, and is called "The Feast of Joy for the Law," because on that day the last section of the Law was read. R2439:1
Another view is that this was part of the discourse of the eighth day. R2438:6
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| 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, |
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| 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. |
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It is interesting to note that under the Law, both the man and the woman were to be put to death. Since the scribes and Pharisees claimed she was caught "in the very act," it would appear that they themselves were in violation of the Law because they did not bring the man also. Lev. 20:10 |
| 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
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| 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. |
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| 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
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He that is without sin – Many who feel it to be their duty to speak slanderous words of others, if they would but hear the Master saying, "He that is without fault may speak against his neighbor," would be silenced. NS401:5
The country would surely be safe from lynchings if those who applied the instruments of torture would first see to it that they themselves were wholly without sin. NS401:4
They were all thus convicted of imperfection in some particular themselves. R3434:4
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| 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. |
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| 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. |
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| 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?
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Where are those thine accusers – Jesus here makes reference to the Law (Deut. 17:6) that no one could be put to death except by the mouth of two or three witnesses. |
| 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
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Neither do I condemn – It was not by chiding and accusing the apostles, but because instead our Lord sympathized with them, interpreting their heart intentions liberally, that they became more and more his faithful followers. R3434:4
Go and sin no more – Jesus was not forever blaming the people for not keeping the Law, but on the contrary, he was continually expressing sympathy for them in their weakness, and helping them out of them and encouraging them. R5095:2
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Neither do I condemn thee – Jesus again is referring to the same part of the Law (Deut. 17:7) which declares that the witnesses must be the first to take physical action against those to be put to death, and afterward the rest of the people. Since the witnesses had left, and they had to cast the first stones, it would have been a violation of the Law for Jesus (or anyone else) to take action to put her to death. |
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| 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.
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I am the light – Everywhere light stands for truth, for righteousness. Darkness represents error, superstition, sin. Our Lord Jesus, being in full harmony with the Father, was the light of the world. R5718:3, 5038:1
Only a few yet recognize him as "the true Light." But eventually he will "light every man that cometh into the world." ( John 1:9) SM560:3
Now, enlightened from his Word, we, as his representatives, are the light of the world. We should keep our light trimmed and burning. We must let it shine, that those following us may not walk in darkness. R3243:2
The Spirit of Christ is the light which shines from the true Christian, which reproves and condemns or opposes the darkness of this world. E293; R375:2
It is the light of God's truth shining in our hearts, which shines out upon the world. Thus seen not directly, but by a reflex light through those who possess it, the spirit operates upon, but not in, the world. R375:2
The Sun of Righteousness. (Mal. 4:2) R3509:2
His Church are invited to become associated with him as lamp-bearers; and if faithful in permitting their light to shine now, they will by and by be parts of that great Sun of Righteousness. SM560:3
It matters not that this light was not comprehended and appreciated by the Jews in the days of his flesh, and that he is not comprehended even today by the world of mankind; he nevertheless is the true light. R2409:1
Therefore this light was not prior to Jesus Christ. R5105:5; Q66:1
At this Feast of Tabernacles four golden candelabra were in the center of the court and pious men danced before the people with lighted flambeaux in their hands, symbolizing the light of the Temple amidst the dark night of heathendom. This was the setting for Jesus' words. R3509:1*, 2438:6
Another suggestion is, that as this Feast represented Israel's sojourn in the wilderness, the great light to be followed would probably refer to the pillar of fire and cloud which led Israel. R2439:2
On the ninth day the custom of the Jews was to take all the books of the Law out of the chest and to put a candle into it, in allusion to Prov. 6:23 and Psa. 119:105; symbolizing the light of the Law being superseded by the true light of the Gospel. R2439:1
Christ is the judgment of the world because he is its love, and he is its love because he is its light, and he is its light because he is its life. R1329:2*
Our Lord is spoken of as being a great Light, in the same sense that the Heavenly Father is called the Father of Lights. (James 1:18) R5338:3
Of the world – Not merely the light of the Church. NS792:3
He that followeth me – We should esteem very highly all who may be used of the Lord as finger posts to point us to the Light, but not to follow them, except as we discern clearly from the Word that they are closely following Christ. R2548:5
Walk in darkness – The reason for so much darkness is that, under Satan's misleading, those who see the true light to some extent get to following popes, conferences and confessions of men, instead of following the Lord. R2548:5
Shall have the light – Walking in the light is understanding, acting upon and being in harmony with the divine arrangement, viewing matters as God views them. R2439:6
Of life – Plants may live a long time in the dark, though they lose their foliage and their beauty; but it is wonderful how soon the sun will revive them and restore their verdure. R860:3*
Jesus' life-giving beams can vivify your soul more speedily than the natural sun can revive withered plants. R861:1*
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| 13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. |
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| 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.
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| 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
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| 16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
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I am not alone – Before Jesus came, God did the work, but since the Son came, the Father works by him. R52:1*
I and the Father – Jesus' work and the Father's are one and not distinct one from the other. R52:4*
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| 17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
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Two men – God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ are two beings, not one. R802:5*
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| 18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
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| 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.
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Nor my Father – If Joseph had been his father, this would not have been the fact, for his (supposed) "father and mother" they knew. ( John 6:42) R443:3*
Known my Father – They who recognized his spirit or mind, and thus knew him, would also be acquainted with the Father in the same way. T85
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| 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. |
His hour – The type could never pass away until its antitype had come, and the antitype of the killing of the Passover lamb must occur on its anniversary, the fourteenth day of Nisan. R2771:6; F481; NS77:5
Not yet come – Jesus exercised power whereby he walked away from his enemies. R5563:4
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| 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.
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| 22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. |
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| 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.
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From beneath – Meaning that he was going to heaven, and that they could not come to heaven. R2438:5
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. |
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| 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.
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Ye have lifted up – Clearly referring to the lifting up on the cross, not his exaltation to glory. R1054:2, 669:3
Do nothing of myself – Unlike some who style themselves teachers today, neither our Lord Jesus nor his apostles attempted to claim originality. E51
A statement he no longer made after he was risen from the dead. R745:4
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| 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.
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For I do – The secret of Jesus' power with God was in the fact of his full and complete harmony with the will of God; and this likewise is the secret of power among all of God's people. R1945:5
We, being imperfect, cannot say this; but, realizing our imperfection, we can come with humble confessions of our shortcomings and faith in his love and mercy. Then we are accepted in the beloved One. R1945:6
Because, in Christ, they endeavor to do always those things which please him, they are able to approximate the sentiment expressed by him when he said, "I know thou hearest me always." ( John 11:42) R1903:1
As with Daniel, where the king properly associated Daniel's faithful service to God with his hope respecting God's faithfulness to Daniel. (Dan. 6:20) R2502:3
That please him – Hence God twice burst heaven open to explain, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17; 17:5) R84:1*
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| 30 As he spake these words, many believed on him. |
Many believed – Our Lord's preaching always produced two opposite effects upon the promiscuous multitudes that heard him. It attracted one class and repelled another. R3153:1
Apparently the multitude of those who heard him were so much on his side that the officers of the Sanhedrin failed to take him; the division of the people was quite largely in his favor. R3511:2
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| 31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
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Then said – One of our Lord's discourses while at the Feast of Tabernacles, probably delivered on the last, the great day of the Feast. R3511:1
To those Jews – At his first advent our Lord came to the Jewish nation, which was in covenant relationship with God. To these he granted the first privilege of becoming sons of God. R5506:3
Which believed on him – Sinners are not called to discipleship, but are called to repentance and faith in the Redeemer for the forgiveness of their sins, justification. R2439:3
It was necessary that he should present the truth to those who were believing, that it might sift and separate amongst them. R3511:3
Not especially to the twelve apostles, but to the Jews in general who were sympathetically drawn. Nicodemus may have been one of these. R5506:6
If ye continue – Continuing under his direction, under the direction of his Word of truth, faithfully and perseveringly that the grand object of this school shall be attained. R2440:1
It is a blessed thing to take the first step, acceptance of Christ as our Redeemer and yielding ourselves fully through him. But the reward of this step depends entirely upon our continuance in his Word. R5508:1, 3153:3
The idea that we are all right, and sure of the Kingdom because of an experience we had five, ten, twenty or forty years ago, is a dangerous one. What is our condition now? R38:5*
Hold on for a little while, you will grasp the situation in due time. Exercise faith, exercise patience. R5506:6
To study and meditate upon them, to trust implicitly in them, to faithfully conform our characters to them is the implication. R5508:2, 3153:5
Their blessing would be in proportion as they were faithful to the light that would come to them. R5506:3
The relationship to Christ is a matter which can be dissolved. R2439:2
A disciple is a pupil, a learner; and when a man ceases to be a student and pupil of Christ, he is no longer his disciple. R5508:1, 3153:3
In my word – As distinct from John 17:17, where it is the Word of Jehovah that sanctifies. Here Jesus says, If you continue in my word, you will become more and more acquainted with the heavenly Father and his Word. R5507:1
Then are ye – As you fully become my disciples you will be granted a knowledge of the truth. R5506:6
My disciples indeed – Those who finish their course in the school of Christ and graduate and become joint-heirs with their Lord, and ultimately become associated with him in teaching and blessing all the families of the earth. R2440:1
They were not yet fully his disciples; this discipleship would imply a desire to hear his message further, and a willingness to obey it at any cost. R3511:2
Implying a distinction between real and merely nominal disciples. The hypocrisy of merely nominal discipleship is an abomination to the Lord. R5508:1, 3153:3
Our Lord associates his Word and doctrine with true discipleship. R3188:4
The school of Christ may be considered a school of self-denial, of self-sacrifice, prompted by love and maintained by devotion. R2439:3
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| 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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Ye shall know the truth – This truth which our Lord gives has various aspects: first, realizing our enslavement to sin; next, that Jesus died to cancel its power; third, the time to free the world is the Millennium. R3512:3
When Pentecost came they were begotten of the holy Spirit. Then they began to see spiritual things, they were illuminated. R5507:1
Divine truth is found only in the divinely appointed channel--our Lord, the apostles and the prophets. R5508:2, 3153:5
This idea is compatible with that of heeding all the helps which the Lord from time to time raises up (Eph. 4:11-15; 1 Cor. 12:13,14); but it is the duty of each to prove their teaching by the infallible Word. R3153:5
We do not come into the knowledge of the truth at a single bound; but gradually, step by step, we are led into the truth. R5508:4, 3153:5, 2440:1
We have no commission to set before the household of faith anything which we do not believe to be truth. R1406:3
Not, Ye shall be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Tim. 3:7) R5508:2, 3153:3
The truth shall – Many tell us that it makes no difference what we believe--truth or falsehood--that it is by our works that the Lord will determine our standing. SM292:2
Where have we found any sect or party which has given special attention to Scriptural study, to an understanding of the Word of God, to an application of it to heart and life, with the desire for sanctification? NS471:2
The truth will mark in their foreheads (Rev. 7:1-3) those who receive it, branding them in a way that others of mankind are not marked or branded. R4880:5
Knowledge of truth and of Law was the ground of Jesus' liberty in denouncing the doctors of divinity in his days as "blind guides," etc. (Other illustrations from Martin Luther and the Apostle Paul.) R402:1, 310:2
Make you free – As soon as any measure of truth is received into a good and honest heart, it begins to strike off the fetters of sin, of ignorance, superstition and fear. R5508:4, 3153:6
The general effect of the light of truth is to break the shackles of superstition and to make people independent. R2440:1
The real need of the Church of Christ is still more liberty, until each member shall stand free and independent of all human bonds, creeds and confessions. F242; R5144:6
Only the courageous "overcomers" of those bound in the congregational fetters could even think of bursting the bonds which associate them with their food supply, their honor of men, and all opportunity they know for divine service. R5145:1
Let us be free from these awful dogmas of the past, free to love God, to believe his Word, to trust in and understand how Jesus tasted death for every man, to believe that he who redeemed will restore. SM33:1
Free from ignorance and supestition, and bold to declare the whole counsel of God. R1425:2
Not only free from superstitions and ignorance, but also from the service of sin. R2440:2
Not only made free from the condemnation of the Law Covenant, but made free from sin and death. R5507:1
This freedom is necessarily incomplete so long as we have this treasure in an earthen vessel, so long as the new creature must use the imperfect body of the flesh as its instrument and exponent. R2440:2
Those who make satisfactory progress will have in the resurrection full deliverance from sin, from all imperfections of the flesh, and from the flesh itself--through the power of the first resurrection. R5507:4, 2440:2
Made free, too, from the fear that we now see coming upon the whole world as the great civil and ecclesiastical systems that have so long ruled the world are being terribly shaken. R5508:5, 3153:6
The more you are getting of the truth, the more you are getting free indeed. CR14:2
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| 33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? |
We be Abraham's – Touch a man's pride and you arouse his whole being. R3511:3
Were never in bondage – In this case our Lord's hearers resented the thought that the truth could make them free. R3511:5
How could they regard him as the Messiah when he spoke thus slightingly of the Jewish nation and implied that in some sense of the word they were bondmen? R3511:5
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| 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
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The servant – And not free. R2440:3
To some freedom and light are apt to bring as much bane as blessing, leading often to arrogance, self-conceit, unkindness, boastfulness, combativeness, dissatisfaction and general unhappiness. R2440:2
Bond-servant. R5149:5
To will to do right was present with them but not the ability to perform. Sin had such a hold in their members that their best intentions were unable fully to control their words, thoughts and deeds. (Rom. 7:15-23) R3511:6
Of sin – Recall the Apostle's expression, "Ye were sold under sin"--into slavery to sin. (Rom. 7:14) R3511:6
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| 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
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| 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
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Make you free – Free from the bondage of sin and death. CR391:6
Free from the terrible bondage to sin, which has become so interwoven with the very fiber of our being that the process of emancipation must of necessity be long and painful. R1738:4
Upon certain conditions: (1) a realization of sin and a desire for reconciliation with God; (2) the renouncement of sin and acceptance of forgiveness; and (3) a consecration of all to the service of God. NS668:5
If, freed from sin and condemnation to death, one intentionally returns to sin willfully and persistently, he loses this liberty and becomes again a slave to sin and a subject to death--second death. NS668:6
Having been tied with cords of vanity and enslaved to sin with a cartrope (Isa. 5:18), the sinner often rejoices and seeks pleasure in his slavery, knowing not the only One who can secure liberty. R3893:5
It was the divine purpose that all enjoy liberty under the limitations of righteousness, of respect for divine law, and mutual love and respect for the liberty of fellow-creatures. R1737:2
Freedom to cast off all restraints of God and man, to pursue a selfish course without regard to obligations to God and the rights of others, leads only to riot, anarchy and destruction. R1737:2
To fully emancipate all the slaves of sin and death will require the full thousand years of Christ's promised reign on earth. When sin and Satan will be destroyed men can be entrusted with the boon of liberty. R1737:6
Now liberty to one class of men brings slavery to another. R1738:1
Ye shall – Not the world nor nominal Christians, but merely those who come into special relationship to Christ by faith and consecration during this age. NS668:5
Free indeed – For he is made free by the truth. R1658:5
The truths of the Scriptures induce individual liberty amongst Christian people, enabling them to rise above sectarian limitations to a clearer knowledge of God, and a fuller degree of separation from the world, its spirit and methods. NS389:6
In the same way, when a man is sick, he must give up his will and personal liberty to the physician who undertakes to restore his health. R1738:4
Freedom from the condemnation of sin; freedom from the bondage of fear concerning the future; and daily, as we submit ourselves to Christ, more and more released from the hereditary bondage of sin. R1738:6
Released entirely from both the law given in Eden and that given at Sinai. R1726:2, 970:6
Freed from the service of sin that we might become the bond-servants of another, even Christ. R5356:3, 3512:5
Reckoned free--free from sin and its condemnation, death, the righteousness of Christ being imputed unto them by faith. R1738:3
Before we can fully realize the actual liberty which God designed for all his sons, we must first become the willing servants of a new master, Christ, in order that he may accomplish our deliverance. R1738:4
The true teacher's place, and the true Bible student's place, is outside of all human bondage, free to examine and feed upon all portions of the good Word of God, and untrammeled to follow the Lamb whithersoever he leads. C145
Those who are bound by love of human approbation, and fear of the consequences of a public, bold advocacy of the Lord and his truth are not worthy of him. R2421:3
Escaped from slavery, being justified by faith in the precious blood of Christ. R3956:2, 3512:5
The Scriptures ascribe no sin to the new mind, and no perfection to our fallen flesh. R2440:3
But we should be on guard lest we use our liberty in such a manner as to stumble others weaker than ourselves. R4920:1
Those who seek to use liberty for themselves, who boast that they have a mind and will of their own, know not how dangerous is their position, that surely they will succumb to the ensnarements of sin. R3512:6
No other religious system teaches personal liberty to the degree that it is taught in the Bible. The essence of all human religion seems to be bondage to custom by ignorance, superstition and priestcraft. R4005:1
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| 37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
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| 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
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With my Father – Our Lord Jesus was and still is the Great Teacher of men by the appointment of the Heavenly Father, the great Master Teacher above all. E50
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| 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
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Abraham is our father – God's special promises and dealings with the "fathers," through pride and selfishness, they failed rightly to apprehend and use. R2604:6
If ye were – Not all the natural descendants of Abraham are to be heirs with him of the promise, but only such as Abraham would be honored in owning as sons--such as partake of his spirit or disposition. R4071:6
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| 40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
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Told you the truth – The truths which Abraham could not tell, because Jesus was proffering them assistances which their relationship to Abraham could not secure aside from him. R3512:1
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| 41 Ye do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. |
Not born of fornication – They knew that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, and this was the evident purport of this sneer. R2424:6
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| 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
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Proceeded forth – A father is a life-giver. A son is an offspring, one who receives life from the father. This distinction implies that the father existed first. R5747:3, 3861:5
The terms "Father" and "Son" imply this; otherwise these terms are meaningless. R2408:5
Came from God – Being merely developed and nourished in Mary. E105
Therefore our Lord never regarded himself as one of the "children of wrath." (Eph. 2:3) E108
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| 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
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Not understand – The sore or bruised head (Gen. 3:15), we understand to represent the thinking part. Those whom Satan corrupts are injured in the head. R192:3*
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| 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
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Ye – Pharisees. R5462:2
Are of – His tools and dupes, because his work they do. HG365:6; R1217:4
Not that they were utterly devoid of every moral principle, but they were under the control of evil in the main as is the large majority of mankind today. R761:2
When our first parents sinned they forfeited fellowship with God, and because of disobedience became children of the Adversary. R5038:1
Your father the devil – The Israelites were fatherless in the sense that they had denied the Heavenly Father; the Creator, and had become children of the Adversary. R4811:2
Originally our race was recognized as related to Jehovah, but the relationship was broken by man's willful disobedience, so that none are recognized as sons of God today without being begotten again. R3269:2
Satan is another name for sin, which is personified as a great monarch holding relentless sway over mankind. Satan properly stands as the representative of sin, of all unrighteousness. R5356:1
They became children of Satan in the sense that they became obedient to him. He did not give life actually to the world, but they adopted him as their father by accepting his terms and becoming members of his family. R5623:6
Since men's minds ceased to be godly, and became carnal and devilish, they might be said to have been reconstructed by the tyrant Sin to bear much of the image of God's adversary: sons of the devil, bearing his moral likeness. R1005:5
Satan is the corruptor of the human race, and those whom he corrupts are called his children. R192:3*
The Apostle declares that Satan now works in the hearts of the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2); who certainly are vastly in the majority. SM310:2
The image of God has largely given place to the image of Satan. R3773:6
The world, not having the spirit of God, but more the spirit of the Adversary, are walking in the way of slander and hypocrisy. R5462:2
Our position as Gentiles is as "children of wrath even as others"--strangers and aliens and foreigners--without God and having no hope in the world. (Eph. 2:3,19,12). R3365:6
Only those who have "escaped the condemnation that is in the world" (2 Pet. 1:4), and who have gotten back into harmony with God, through Christ, are Scripturally authorized to consider themselves the sons of God. E108
Some dogs are better born than some of Adam's race; and some with better dispositions--more of meekness, gentleness, patience and love and less of anger, hatred and strife. R3774:1
All along it was true that some children of Jacob, professedly children of God, were really of their father the devil, because they were not all Israelites that were of the nation of Israel. (Rom. 9:6) R4781:3
In opposition to the thought that there is no personal devil. R3165:6
In opposition to the concept of the "Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man." R3269:2, 2323:6; SM268:1
In opposition to the thought that "humanity was naturally in Christ." R3457:6
What Jesus said of some in his day must be applicable in what today is styled Christendom. OV385:3
He was a murderer – He murdered our race by his deception. He did not tell the truth, but he misrepresented it. R5238:3
Indirectly, he is the murderer of the 20 billion of our race who have already gone down into the tomb. SM575:1
Though, like many another murderer, he had not probably intended to commit murder at first, but only robbery. R2839:6
He intended the murder of the race, and he was successful. R822:1*
Errors and principles are not murderers and liars. It would be a misuse of language to make such application. Only an intelligent being can be a murderer or a liar. R5209:6
He did a killing thing, he told a murderous lie, when he said, "Thou shalt not surely die." (Gen. 3:4) R433:1*; HG192:2; NS549:4
He lied to our first parents, and through that deception he brought them under the divine death sentence. Thus Satan is the murderer of the entire race. SM96:T; R910:5
By his misrepresentations, not only he become the "prince of this world" (the present order of things), but additionally, he became the murderer of the race. HG593:6; SM548:1
He "murdered" our first parents that he might gain control over them--the object of his ambition. R5186:2, 2777:3; OV303:3
Some ministers murder in a spiritual sense the people under their care by taking from them their spark of faith and spirit-begetting; and doing it as did the great Adversary, by lies and contradictions of the Lord's Word. SM301:1
It was the spirit of Satan that entered into Cain, taking the place of the spirit or disposition of the Lord. Satan's spirit in Cain was a murderous spirit. R3928:4
According to the Christian standard, slanderers are murderers. Thus seen, the very suggestion to slander is to be shunned, as of the spirit of Satan. R3595:4
All haters are murderers. R3928:4
The final penalty for Satan and his angels is to be quite appropriate for them--fire, the fire of God's anger, the fire of God's opposition. SM231:T
From the beginning – Certainly not from the beginning of his own existence, for every creation coming from God's hand is perfect; nor can we think of any other beginning referred to than man's beginning in Eden. R1678:1, 5909:3, 5801:1; F612
It does not appear that Satan had any sympathizers or associate conspirators amongst the angels at the time of his secession. F612
No truth in him – Satan is the great deceiver. R5909:3
He is a liar – And thereby the slayer of our race. R910:5
In Eden God declared, "Ye shall surely die." (Gen. 2:17) It was Satan who declared, "Ye shall not surely die." (Gen. 3:4) Heathens, as well as Christians, have accepted Satan's lie and correspondingly rejected God's truth. R4551:5, 4792:1; HG513:1
Satan contradicted God point blank, by telling mother Eve that she would not die by partaking of the forbidden fruit. CR426:1; R4627:5
And he has since kept it up, and the sophistries used to back it up are truly wonderful, and worthy of such a master deceiver. R910:5; F616
The Devil has succeeded in keeping up this lie for so long a time, and today nearly all the world believes what he said. R171:1*
Christian Science, Theosophy, together with the evolutionary and anti-Biblical theories, all bear the distinctive marks of the "father of lies." They all declare man to be immortal. R5800:6
Scientists, our own senses, and the Word of God, all agree that the dead are dead; and not alive, as Satan, and all his emissaries would have us believe. Q765:4
If Satan had turned from his iniquity, then no doubt God would have found some way, even in Satan's case, by which he might come back to God. Q322:1
Father of it – Satan told the first lie, "Ye shall not surely die." (Gen. 3:4) Q799:2
The father of lies. R4551:5; CR425:6
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| 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
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| 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
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| 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
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| 48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? |
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| 49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
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| 50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
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| 51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
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If a man keep – But if any "fall away" after having the full benefits of this great favor, they "see death." As they reach the tomb "they perish." (Heb. 6:4-6; 1 Cor. 15:18) R875:6*
Never see death – He may fall asleep, but he will be sure to be awakened, and if then he shall keep the Word of the Lord, he shall have everlasting life. Q208:2
The Church are "asleep" and have not "perished." (1 Cor. 15:18) They have escaped from the condemnation and will be fully released (Rom. 5:18; 8:1) at once when their Head assumes control. R875:6*
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| 52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. |
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| 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? |
Art thou greater – Jesus was then as much better and greater than they as the divine nature is superior to the human. R218:3
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| 54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
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My Father – Jesus calls Abraham their father, and God his Father. R218:3
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| 55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
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| 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
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Rejoiced – He did not see God's plan clearly, as we see it, but he saw enough of it to make him rejoice. R5433:2
To see – Not with his natural eye, but with the eye of faith. R5433:2
My day – He may have seen his day of sacrifice, typified in the offering of Isaac his only son, but at all events he saw Messiah's coming glory- day, the Millennium. E90
The day of Christ--the Millennium. R5905:5, 3937:1
The day in which Christ, who has died for all men, will uplift the human family. R5433:2
Abraham believed that God was able to raise the dead, so much so that when he was tested he was willing even to part with Isaac, accounting that God was able to raise him from death. (Heb. 11:19) F110
The Bible mentions days of various lengths. R5139:3, 2836:1
He saw it – By the eye of faith. By the same eye Abraham saw the millions of Adam's race blessed of God by the Messiah, his Seed, during the Millennium. R5905:5, 5433:2, 4387:4
By going out to the unknown land and offering his son Isaac, Abraham grasped the future, seeing Christ and the heavenly country. R74:2*
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| 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? |
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| 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
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I am – Signifying that there had been no cessation of his existence at any time; positively identifying Jesus, the Son of God, in the flesh, with the Logos, the first-born of all creation. E90
The Scriptures no place intimate that the existence of the Only Begotten ever ceased from the time it began until it ceased at Calvary for three days. E90[E90]
Originally he was on the spirit plane. Later as a man, he lived; he died. At his resurrection he was made alive on the spirit plane. But the identity, the personality, is the same. R5065:2, 1263:2*
Since his humanity resulted from the transference of the life- principle from spiritual to human conditions, Jesus recognized himself. The "I am" expresses his continuous existence. R1059:3
The Logos could be translated to a lower condition, the human, and yet could preserve a good recollection of his previous experiences, and did so. R2477:4
It was his knowledge of heavenly things, his intimate and long acquaintance with the Father, which enabled him, as a perfect man, to overcome the world and present an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. R1060:1
The memory of things past is still with our Lord. He remembers the experiences which he had in the flesh, and also those which he had before he became flesh. Otherwise he could not identify himself. R5065:5
We have no reason to doubt that at the age of twelve his memory was active, and that he knew then what he here affirms. R1916:5, 1682:5
Nothing in this text implies that our Lord was born with the knowledge of all his previous experiences. After his consecration he received this knowledge by some means which we can not understand. R5065:5
Whatever others may think or say of him, he claimed to be sent of God, and of heavenly origin. R1059:2
By induction he tells of a pre-human existence. R5767:5, 4964:2, 1161:4, 505:2*; OV328:5; SM491:4
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| 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. |
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