Who Are You?

So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Text: John 8:21-28

If you are of the world, then it all seems right.

Gerry Breshears writes, "The world is Satan’s domain, where his authority and values reign—although his deception makes that hard to realize. If you are of the world, then it all seems right."

In our text, the Pharisees responded to Jesus by asking, "Who are you?" This wasn't a question they truly wanted Him to answer. Their question was more, "Who do you think you are?" 

Jesus was a threat to their religious system. They had worked out a comfortable power-sharing arrangement with the Romans. They were attempting to live for God while embracing the world's values.

We know the world is broken, and we can quickly identify disparities between the world's values and God's values. But in other areas, Satan has deceived us. And we are blind to our own blindness.

For example, consider what we call a "good day." Is it a good day when things go our way, and we face very little resistance? In New Morning Mercies today, Tripp writes, "I am still tempted to assess the 'good' of a day by whether it pleased me versus whether I pleased God and was loving toward others. I still am tempted to live as if I own my life and still fail to remember that I was bought with a price."

Jesus made it clear, "In this world, you will have trouble." (John 16:33a). Jesus isn't simply speaking of the inherent troubles all humanity faces living in broken bodies in a broken world. He is warning His disciples that following Him and shunning the values of this world will lead to even greater adversity.

Friday night, I participated in a live stream event called Secret Church. We heard from Afiganian Christians facing threats and persecution from the Taliban. In the face of persecution, they conveyed joy and confidence in God. They were living the truth of John 16:33. Read the entire verse:

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). 

Jesus overcame the world at the cross of Calvary. Despite tribulations, we can rest assured that we are on the winning side. In Christ, we know that God is for us and not against us. From this gospel reality comes incredible, unexplainable peace and joy!

In the third century, Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus, “It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people, who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy that is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians . . . and I am one of them.”

Who is Jesus for you? Is He your Savior and Lord? Does He define you? Or is He like an app on your phone that you open and use when it makes your life a little easier and better? Thomas Boston puts it this way: "Man realizes he needs the gospel but has set a limit on the price he is willing to pay."

Have you ever considered the possibility that Satan has convinced you that all seems right when it isn't? What can you do if you find yourself spiritually apathetic, skeptical, complacent, and morally lethargic?

• Realize you are incapable of producing faith.
• Seekers, ask for faith to receive the gospel.
• Believers, cry out to God for a fresh vision of the cross.

It's All About Jesus,
John