<\/p>\n
48\u00a0<\/sup>The Jews answered him, \u201cAre we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and\u00a0have a demon?\u201d<\/span>\u00a049\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI do not have a demon, but\u00a0I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.<\/span><\/span>\u00a050\u00a0<\/sup>Yet\u00a0I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.<\/span><\/span>\u00a051\u00a0<\/sup>Truly, truly,\u00a0I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never\u00a0see death.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a052\u00a0<\/sup>The Jews said to him, \u201cNow we know that you have a demon!\u00a0Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet\u00a0you say,\u00a0\u2018If anyone keeps my word, he will never\u00a0taste death.\u2019<\/span><\/span>\u00a053\u00a0<\/sup>Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?\u201d<\/span>\u00a054\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIf I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.\u00a0It is my Father who glorifies me,\u00a0of whom you say, \u2018He is our God.\u2019[a<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span><\/span>\u00a055\u00a0<\/sup>But\u00a0you have not known him.\u00a0I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be\u00a0a liar\u00a0like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.<\/span><\/span>\u00a056\u00a0<\/sup>Your father Abraham\u00a0rejoiced\u00a0that he would see my day.\u00a0He saw it and was glad.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a057\u00a0<\/sup>So the Jews said to him, \u201cYou are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?\u201d[b<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span>\u00a058\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus said to them,\u00a0\u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was,\u00a0I am.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a059\u00a0<\/sup>So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. – John 8:48-59<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In our text today we are going to look at three questions that are asked about Jesus, and look for their answers. The three questions: Is Jesus a Samaritan? Is Jesus Demon Possessed? Is Jesus greater than Abraham? We will spend significantly more time on the third question than the first two.<\/span><\/p>\n We pick up in verse 48 after Jesus has just said some highly offensive things to His Jewish audience in the previous verses. To summarize Jesus has just told the Jews that they are illegitimate children of Abraham because they are not of God, and their real father is the Devil who is a liar and the father of lies, therefore they hate the truth, do not know God, and want to kill Jesus because their father has been a murderer from the beginning. Not very seeker-sensitive of Jesus. Not what you would call an uplifting message.<\/span><\/p>\n So as we pick up in verse 48, we are picking up right in the middle of this discussion, as we first read the Jews\u2019 response to these things that Jesus has just said about them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is Jesus a Samaritan? (v. 48)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So the Jews are obviously not feeling too warm and encouraged inside from what they\u2019ve just heard, and so as you can imagine, they respond by trying to insult Jesus in the strongest ways possible. And here is where we see the first question that we ask of Jesus – are they right in saying that Jesus is a Samaritan? Now, of course the answer is \u201cno.\u201d And the Jews knew that full well. We have seen in previous verses that the Jews were confused about Jesus\u2019 claim of being sent from the Father, and they say \u201cdon\u2019t we know His father and mother, from Nazareth?\u201d So they very much knew that Jesus was not a Samaritan, and they weren\u2019t asking this in a literal sense, which is why we see Jesus just ignore that question and not respond directly to that accusation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So what are they asking? Most of us, as gentiles in the 21st century don\u2019t get what is being said at first glance. But this is actually just a way of insulting Jesus, by accusing Him of being a Samaritan. When we think of Samaritans we often think of the parable of the good Samaritan, and think they were good people. But unless we know the history, we fail to realize that that parable was quite offensive, because Samaritans were not good. Long story short, the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other. The Jews viewed the Samaritans as a heretical group of an ethnic inferiority. So by insinuating that Jesus is a Samaritan they are simply insulting Him. In fact, it might be a deeper accusation since Jesus is telling the Jews that they are not true sons of Abraham, and the Jews and Samaritans had tension over bloodlines and heritage. So they could be making an accusation that Jesus is taking the Samaritan\u2019s side. He is a traitor to His own people, sort of thing. So Jesus is not a Samaritans and He ignores the baseless insult from the Jews.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is Jesus Demon Possessed? (v. 48-49)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But secondly, the Jews also raise the question, does Jesus have a demon? You may recall that this is not the first time we have seen this accusation aimed at Jesus. We saw this same accusation being made back in chapter 7, when Jesus was teaching in the temple, during the feast of booths. How much time has lapsed between the events in chapter 7 and the events before us today in chapter 8, I cannot be sure. But the text seems to indicate that Jesus has remained in Jerusalem all this time, as the events before us today, are happening at the temple as well, as we see Jesus leaving the temple in verse 59. So Jesus is accused of demon possession. This of course is a baseless accusation and insult that Jesus flatly denies. Jesus did not have demons, He cast demons out. Now this is not just a question raised in verse 48, but after Jesus denies it, He talks about how He honors the Father, and then essentially preaches the gospel in verse 51 saying, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will neve see death.\u201d And in response to what is a very gracious answer given with a gospel promise of eternal life, the Jews double down saying to Jesus, \u201cNow we know that you have a demon!\u201d Now what is it that triggers these Jews into doubling down on this? It\u2019s what they quote from Jesus\u2019 response, \u201cif anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.\u201d This is essentially a promise of resurrection and eternal life, and they respond by saying \u201cthis is demonic.\u201d They reject the promises of resurrection and life in Jesus Christ, they hate the idea that Jesus could be greater than Abraham and the prophets, thus proving their apostasy and hard heartedness evermore, and their condemnation just.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is Jesus Greater than Abraham? (v. 49-59)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This brings us to the third and most significant question we ask of Jesus that we will spend most of our time on this afternoon. As asked by the Jews in verse 53, \u201cAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, when the Jews put this question to Jesus, in their minds it\u2019s an obvious rhetorical question – no of course this man Jesus could not be greater than Moses, or the prophets. Little did they know that it actually is an obvious rhetorical question, but the answer just happens to be \u201cyes.\u201d We see the great indignation the Jews have in asking this and how offended they are when they ask the concluding question in verse 53, \u201cWho do you make yourself out to be?\u201d \u201cWho do you think you are?\u201d is essentially what they are saying. Once again, the real question is, who do they think they are, asking that kind of question to the very Son of God? If they really knew who this was to whom they spoke, this is the question they would be asking themselves. How dare they speak the pure and holy One in this way! How dare they accuse the second person of the Holy Trinity of being a demon possessed Samaritan! How dare they rage against and scoff at the sweet gospel promises of resurrection and life that He offers before them. But you see, it is so amazing that the all powerful one who casts out demons and calms the raging storms subjected Himself to such verbal abuse and did not immediately wipe them out. This is the Holy One of Heaven who could call down a thousand angel armies at the moment of His command, yet this too He endures, for the sake of honoring His Father and completing the mission of redeeming His bride that He came to earth to do.<\/span><\/p>\n How much disrespect does Jesus receive from you and I? How often do we insult His promises with unbelief? Yes, we believe that Jesus is greater than Abraham and the prophets, but how often do we diminish His greatness over our problems, or our sin, or our struggles? It is no less insulting. Maybe we don\u2019t verbally insult Jesus as the Jews did here, but do we passive aggressively give Him the silent treatment? Ignore Him? Not speak to Him? But you know something: if you are in Christ, covered by the blood of Jesus, despite all of this disrespect, Jesus still loves you. He will discipline you, to be sure. He will send you trials. He will put you through refining fire. And it\u2019s because He loves you, despite you. He doesn\u2019t leave you. He doesn\u2019t return insult to you. He doesn\u2019t renege on His promises. Knowing this, how could we treat Him the way we do? Let us love Him and honor Him. This is the faithfulness of Christ to His Church, His bride, far greater than that of Abraham to his bride Sarah, who tried to pawn off as his sister, and who had a son with Hagar the slave woman. Despite our unfaithfulness, Jesus doesn\u2019t pawn us off, He remains faithful to us, unashamed of us before the Father.<\/span><\/p>\n So the Jews insult this God-Man, thinking they have the obvious answer that there is no way Jesus is greater than their Father Abraham, and then, as Jesus does, He goes on to show how He is actually is greater than Abraham. To that we turn: how is Jesus greater than Abraham?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Those who keep His Word will never see death<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jesus promises resurrection. He says that those who keep His Word will never see death. Now of course, Jesus is not saying that we will live on forever and never die a physical death. This is quite clearly a promise of resurrection and victory over death – death will not hold the Christian, for it is simply now a passage way to be with Jesus. As the apostle Paul tells us, to depart from the body is to be present with Christ. And so truly though we die, we do not see death, for we are brought in a moment to Christ. And this of course confuses the Jews, as they often mistake what Jesus is saying for something literal or physical or earthly. It is obvious they are thinking Jesus is promising no physical death, to which they are greatly mistaken. We see this in their exclamation that Abraham and the prophets all died, you\u2019re crazy Jesus! Which is also by the way, essentially what is to call Jesus demon-possessed – to say He is a crazy lunatic who has gone mad and lost His mind. Their problem is that they do not have eyes of faith, like their father Abraham did to see through death to resurrection and presence with Christ. Hebrews 11 explicitly states that Abraham believed in resurrection. A thing which these Jews do not have the eyes of faith to see that Jesus is talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Father Glorifies Jesus<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How else is Jesus greater than Abraham? This is where I want to spend most of the rest of our time, talking about and showing different ways that Jesus was greater than Abraham.\u00a0 Jesus says in verse 54, \u201cIf I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me\u2026\u201d Simply put, God the Father glorifies Jesus. That is a huge thing to say. Why? Because the Jews knew from the Old Testament that God does not share His glory. He is a jealous God. Isaiah 42, a very famous Messianic chapter. Isaiah 42:8 says, \u201cI am the LORD (Yahweh); that is my name; my glory I give to no other\u2026\u201d That\u2019s what God says. The Jews knew this. \u201cI am Yahweh; my glory I give to no other.\u201d And what does Jesus say in verse 54? \u201cIt is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, \u2018He is our God.\u2019\u201d Do you see what\u2019s going on here? This is not at all a contradiction, it is a claim to deity in trinity. I know I am jumping the gun a little bit, but this is confirmed on down in verse 58 when Jesus says \u201cI am\u201d – which is what we saw also in Isaiah 42, \u201cI am Yahweh; that is my name\u2026\u201d So, Yahweh shares His glory with no one. The Father glorifies the Son. Thus the Son is deity trinity. So in short, Jesus is greater than Abraham because the Father glorifies Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Abraham looked to Jesus and was glad, rejoiced!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How else is Jesus greater than Abraham? Well Abraham looked to Jesus. As Jesus says in verse 56, \u201cYour father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.\u201d As I talked about last week, true Judaism finds its fulfillment and hope in Jesus Christ. Any Judaism that rejects Jesus Christ as Messiah, Lord and God, has departed from the faith of Abraham and is an apostate idolatrous false religion. For Abraham, when God preached the gospel to him beforehand, believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. God promised Abraham, \u201cin you shall the nations be blessed.\u201d Abraham knew that that would be through his offspring. And Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfilment of that promise that in Abraham shall the nations be blessed, for Jesus is the Savior of the nations. Abraham believed that promise, and thus was believing the promise of Christ, and rejoiced to see the day, saw it and was glad. That\u2019s not me inferring that, that\u2019s what Jesus said. Jesus said, \u201cAbraham rejoice that he would see MY day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Melchizedek<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So we know that Abraham believed the promises of God, and thus Abraham obeyed God. But remember also in Abraham\u2019s life, when he was still called Abram, in Genesis 14, there was a big battle between several kings, and Lot, Abram\u2019s nephew who was living in Sodom was taken captive, and Abram goes with his 318 fighting men and rescuers Lot and strikes down the King Chederloamer. And after the fighting was over, the king of Salem (Jerusalem before Jerusalem) comes out to meet Abram. The king of Salem was Melchizedek, and he was a priest king – priest of the most high God. And Melchizedek brings out bread and wine for Abram. He is laying before Him a sacramental meal, if you will. Bread and wine, a victory meal. And Melchizedek blesses Abram, and Abram gives a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek, he tithes to him, as it were. Now, if you remember from singing Psalm 110, Psalm 110 says that Jesus is a priest forever like Melchizedek in kind. The writer of Hebrews picks this up in Hebrews 7, quotes from Psalm 110 in a discussion about how Jesus is a greater priest than the Old Covenant Levitical priests, because Jesus is not a Levitical priest, but a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Now that\u2019s all a discussion for another day, which I look forward to, but the point I am making is that Melchizedek was this great priest-king, this great Christ figure, who is greater than Abram, he gives Abram the victory meal of bread and wine, He then blessed Abram, and Abram gives him the tithe. So Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. And if you don\u2019t believe, then believe the Bible, Hebrews 7 says \u201cSee how great thi man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!\u201d Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Hebrews 7 says again, \u201cIt is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.\u201d So the point from Hebrews 7 is that Abraham paid a tithe to one who was greater than him, and then that Jesus is greater than Melchizedek who was greater than the Levitical priests, because Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Believing God would raise Isaac from the dead<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How else is Jesus greater than Abraham? This one I\u2019ll just mention briefly. I mentioned last week from Hebrews 11 how Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac because He believed God would raise him from the dead. God of course stopped Abraham\u2019s hand and provided a substitute. But we know that God did not stop His own hand in sacrificing His own Son, as our substitute on the cross. And yes, God raised Jesus from the dead.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBefore Abraham was, I am.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How else is Jesus greater than Abraham? Last one here in our text. Verse 58, \u201cJesus said to them, \u2018Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.\u2019\u201d \u201cBefore Abraham was, I am.\u201d So Jesus said that Abraham saw His day and was glad. And the Jews responded by saying \u201cyou aren\u2019t even fifty years old, how have you seen Abraham?\u201d And this is Jesus\u2019 response. Before Abraham was, I am. This is massive. Jesus could not more clearly be calling Himself God. Jesus is not simply making a claim to have been around before Abraham was born, but He is identifying Himself with Yahweh, for this is what God says of Himself in the Old Testament, \u201cI AM.\u201d When God spoke with Moses from the burning bush and told him to go to Pharaoh, Moses asked who he would say sent him, and God said, \u201cTell them I AM sent you.\u201d And we just saw in Isaiah 42, \u201cI am Yahweh; that is my name\u2026\u201d Jesus is the eternal God. Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus is the God of Moses and the prophets. Through Him the world was created and nothing exists without Him. He met with Abraham. He lead Israel through the Red Sea out of Egypt. He lead Joshua in the conquest of Canaan. He spoke judgments through the prophets. And he stands enfleshed before these 1st century Jews, and they want to kill Him.<\/span><\/p>\n That of course is the response of the Jews. They pick up stones, seeking to kill him. The reason they want to stone Jesus is, as we discussed last week, they are of their father the devil, a liar and murderer from the beginning. But also because they perceive Jesus to be committing blasphemy. And according to the law, blasphemy was a capitol crime, worthy of the death penalty. However, the Jews were wrong in picking up stones because it was to be measured out in the court of law with proper witness and evidence, not administered by mob outrage, which would be murder. You see what Jesus said, \u201cBefore Abraham was, I AM\u201d – would have been blasphemy, unless it is true. And it is true. Jesus is the great I AM.<\/span><\/p>\n So the Jews were woefully misguided in seeking to kill Jesus. It was not done out of a desire for the name of Yahweh not to be blasphemed, but it was done in anger, because they despised Yahweh and did not believe Him.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n Stones in hand, stone in heart<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Verse 59 says that they picked up stones to throw at him. But the stones in their hands was but a reflection of their stony hearts. In their hands they held their hard hearts. And they were entirely un-self-aware. Their eyes were so full of rage and hatred that they couldn\u2019t see that what was in their hands was their hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n Friends, could this be any one of us this afternoon? Have our hearts hardened to Christ? Are we so entirely unself-aware of our own sin and hypocrisy? May God give us soft hearts to His hard words of repentance. May He take our hearts of stone and give us a heart of flesh.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jesus leaves them<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But as the Jews pick up stones to stone Jesus, Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. This testifies to the reality that it was not yet His hour and this was not the way of death ordained for Him. The serpent tried to inspire mob rage murder to cut down the seed of the woman, but it was not to be done, the cross was yet the plan of God. And so Jesus went out of the temple.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Foreshadow of 70AD<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I believe there is actually great significance in this little phrase that Jesus went out of the temple. It was symbolic or reflective of the fact that the worship and religion going on in the temple was an apostate religion, save but a remnant. It was a Christless religion. It was a religion without its substance. As the prophecy goes, their house would be left to them desolate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I believe we see a bit of a foreshadowing of when God would formally, covenantally depart and go out from the temple and apostate Jerusalem, in His covenantal judgment upon them in 70 A. D. when the temple was destroyed and not one stone was left upon another.<\/span><\/p>\n What a frightful thing to have said about you, that we pray would never be said of our church – that Jesus departs from us. Their worship was apostate Christless idolatry and Jesus departed from them. May we ever treasure and worship Christ and the one true God, may our worship be pure and faithful, honoring to Christ and full of His presence. And when we gather together and practice the ordinances rightly, Jesus promises to be present here among us.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He went out of the temple to go out to the world. We don\u2019t travel to a location to offer sacrifice, but Jesus comes to us as our sacrifice.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But you see, even in the midst of this judgement and foreshadow of judgement, there is great gospel hope and promise for The Church. Because of the gospel, Jesus does not dwell in a temple made with human hands. Jesus did not go out of the temple and into heaven, forsaking humanity. Jesus went out of the temple to go out to the world, to be the Savior of the world. He went out of the temple, and onto the cross. He became our sin and curse, that our hard hearts would be melted to tears. He takes the stones out of our hands with His nail-pierced hands. He goes out to seek those who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. We don\u2019t have to travel to Jerusalem or some specific location and offer sacrifice to be right with God and worship Him. But instead, Jesus comes to us. Wherever we gather together in the name of the Triune God, to faithfully gather around the Word of God, administering the ordinances rightly, Christ meets with us there. He is here with us now, in this very moment. We gather not to offer animal sacrifice, but to remember His sacrifice, for us. When we gather, Jesus hosts a victory meal for us, in the bread and wine. And we return our tithes to Him, as it were. We rejoice with our Father Abraham that we are in the day of Christ. We are glad to see His resurrection, and His reign. And Christ promises to us that if we keep His Word, we will never see death. We will die and be with Christ, and be resurrected again.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 48\u00a0The Jews answered him, \u201cAre we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and\u00a0have a demon?\u201d\u00a049\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cI do not have a demon, but\u00a0I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.\u00a050\u00a0Yet\u00a0I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.\u00a051\u00a0Truly, truly,\u00a0I say to you, if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":4098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,30,32],"tags":[88,96,128,274,557,562,636,678,679,681,687,699,765,867,1114,1161,1172,1226],"class_list":{"0":"post-4093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-preaching","9":"category-theology","10":"tag-88","11":"tag-abraham","12":"tag-am","13":"tag-christ","14":"tag-god","15":"tag-gospel","16":"tag-i","17":"tag-jenkins","18":"tag-jesus","19":"tag-jews","20":"tag-john","21":"tag-joshua","22":"tag-lord","23":"tag-new","24":"tag-sermon","25":"tag-son","26":"tag-spirit","27":"tag-testament","28":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/05\/abraham_lilien.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4039,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/who-is-jesus-christ-john-710-24\/","url_meta":{"origin":4093,"position":0},"title":"Who is Jesus Christ? John 7:10-24","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 10\u00a0But after\u00a0his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.\u00a011\u00a0The Jews\u00a0were looking for him at the feast, and saying, \u201cWhere is he?\u201d\u00a012\u00a0And there was much\u00a0muttering about him among the people.\u00a0While some said, \u201cHe is a good man,\u201d others said, \u201cNo,\u00a0he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/if-you-believed-moses-you-would-believe-me-john-530-47\/","url_meta":{"origin":4093,"position":1},"title":"If You Believed Moses, You Would Believe Me; John 5:30-47","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 30\u00a0\u201cI can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and\u00a0my judgment is just, because\u00a0I seek not my own will\u00a0but the will of him who sent me.\u00a031\u00a0If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.\u00a032\u00a0There is\u00a0another who bears witness about me, and\u00a0I know that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/11\/download.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4646,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/pilate-before-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":4093,"position":2},"title":"Pilate Before Jesus","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"28\u00a0Then they led Jesus\u00a0from the house of Caiaphas to\u00a0the governor's headquarters.[f]\u00a0It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters,\u00a0so that they would not be defiled,\u00a0but could eat the Passover.\u00a029\u00a0So Pilate went outside to them and said, \u201cWhat accusation do you bring against this man?\u201d\u00a030\u00a0They answered him, \u201cIf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/11\/pontius-pilate.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4049,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-unfolding-plan-of-redemption-john-725-36\/","url_meta":{"origin":4093,"position":3},"title":"The Unfolding Plan of Redemption; John 7:25-36","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 25\u00a0Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, \u201cIs not this the man whom\u00a0they seek to kill?\u00a026\u00a0And here he is,\u00a0speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that\u00a0the authorities really know that this is the Christ?\u00a027\u00a0But\u00a0we know\u00a0where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears,\u00a0no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/51kpcvxkjal._ac_.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4106,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-man-who-had-formerly-been-blind\/","url_meta":{"origin":4093,"position":4},"title":"The Man Who Had Formerly Been Blind","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"June 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.\u00a02\u00a0And his disciples asked him,\u00a0\u201cRabbi,\u00a0who sinned,\u00a0this man or\u00a0his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d\u00a03\u00a0Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIt was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but\u00a0that the works of God might be displayed in him.\u00a04\u00a0We must\u00a0work the works of him who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/06\/unnamed-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4022,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/how-can-this-man-give-us-his-flesh-to-eat-reformed-experiential-religion-john-648-59\/","url_meta":{"origin":4093,"position":5},"title":"“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Reformed Experiential Religion; John 6:48-59","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"February 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"48\u00a0I am the bread of life.\u00a049\u00a0Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and\u00a0they died.\u00a050\u00a0This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it\u00a0and not die.\u00a051\u00a0I am the living bread\u00a0that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/02\/3aafd5a8-5410-4de4-be65-b5ef234e28ee.f6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}