Jesus was to be glorified by the father

JESUS WAS TO BE GLORIFIED BY THE FATHER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 8:50 New International Version
I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who
seeks it, and he is the judge.
New Living Translation
And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is
going to glorify me. He is the true judge.
BIBLEHUB COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(50) And I seek notmine own glory.—The words are immediately connected
with those which have preceded. They dishonoured Him. This to one who
sought His own glory would have been matter of concern. ForHim whose
whole life was one of self-denial, their dishonour finds nothing which it can
wound. His words repeat what He had taught them before. (See Notes on John
5:41; John 7:18.)

There is one that seekethand judgeth.—Comp. John 5:45. The thought here is
that though He Himself seeksnot His own glory, the Fatherseekethfor the
honour of the Son, and judgeth betweenHim and those who dishonour Him.
The result of the judgment as to those who keepnot His word is expressedin
the next verse; and as to Himself in John 16:10.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
8:48-53 Observe Christ's disregardof the applause of men. those who are
dead to the praises of men canbear their contempt. God will seek the honour
of all who do not seek their own. In these verses we have the doctrine of the
everlasting happiness of believers. We have the characterofa believer; he is
one that keeps the sayings of the Lord Jesus. And the privilege of a believer;
he shall by no means see deathfor ever. Though now they cannot avoid seeing
death, and tasting it also, yet they shall shortly be where it will be no more
forever, Ex 14:13.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Mine own glory - My own praise or honor. In all his teaching this was true. He
did not seek to exalt or to vindicate himself. He was willing to lie under
reproachand to be despised. He regardedlittle, therefore, their taunts and
accusations;and even now, he says, he would not seek to vindicate himself.
There is one that seekethand judgeth - God will take care of my reputation.
He seeks my welfare and honor, and I may commit my cause into his hands
without attempting my own vindication. From these verses John 8:46-50 we
may learn:
1. That where men have no sound arguments, they attempt to overwhelm
their adversaries by calling odious and reproachful names. Accusations of
heresy and schism, and the use of reproachful terms, are commonly proof that

men are not only under the influence of unchristian feeling, but that they have
no sound reasons to support their cause.
2. It is right to vindicate ourselves from such charges, but it should not be
done by rendering railing for railing. "In meekness we shouldinstruct those
that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging ofthe truth," 2 Timothy 2:25.
3. We should not regardit as necessarilydishonorable if we lie under
reproach. If we have a goodconscience,if we have examined for ourselves, if
we are conscious thatwe are seeking the glory of God, we should be willing, as
Jesus was, to bear reproach, believing that God will in due time avenge us,
and bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the
noonday, Psalm37:6.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
50. I seek notmine ownglory: there is one that seeketh—thatis, evidently,
"that seekethMy glory";requiring "all men to honor the Soneven as they
honor the Father";judicially treating him "who honoreth not the Son as
honoring not the Father that hath sent Him" (Joh 5:23; and compare Mt
17:5); but giving to Him (Joh 6:37) such as will yet casttheir crowns before
His throne, in whom He "shallsee of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied"
(Isa 53:11).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Christ very often reminds them of this, that in what he spake and did, he
sought not his own honour and reputation; which both obviated an objection
they might make againsthim, and also convinced them of his truth and
sincerity in what he did. But, saith he, though I seek not my own honour, yet
there is one who cometh himself in my honour and glory; and you must expect

that he should judge and condemn you for all your hard speecheswhichyou
have spokenagainstme.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
I seek notmine ownglory,.... In his doctrine, or in his miracles;which showed
that he was no impostor, but a true, faithful, and upright person;and though
he was so very much reproachedand abused, he was not over solicitous of his
own character, and of retrieving his honour, and of securing glory from man;
he knew that Wisdom was justified of her children, and he committed himself
to God that judgeth righteously, who would take care of his glory, and
vindicate him from all the unjust charges andinsults of men:
there is one that seekethand judgeth; meaning God his Father, who had his
glory at heart; who had glorified him on the mount, and would glorify him
again, when he should raise him from the dead, and spread his Gospelin all
the world; and when he would judge the nation of the Jews, and bring wrath
upon them, upon their nation, city and temple, for their contempt and
rejectionof him.
Geneva Study Bible
And I seek notmine own glory: there is one {q} that seekethand judgeth.
(q) That is, that will avenge both your despising of me and of him.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 8:50-51. I, however, in contrastto this unrighteousness by which you
wound my honour, seek notthe honour which belongs to me
ἔστιν ὁ ζητ. κ. κρίνων, there is one (comp. John 5:45) who seeksit (“qui me
honore afficere velit,” Grotius), and pronounces judgment, that is, as a matter

of fact, betweenme and my revilers. The expressionκαὶ κρίνων includes a
reference, onthe one hand, to the glorificationof Jesus, by which He was to be
justified (John 16:10; comp. the διό, Php 2:9); and, on the other, as regards
His opponents, a hint at their just punishment (with eternal death, John 8:51).
Hence He adds in John 8:51 a solemn assurance concerning that which is
necessaryto the obtaining of eternal life, instead of this punitive κρίσις, to wit,
the keeping of His word; thus deciding that the exclusion of His opponents
from eternal life was inevitable as long as they did not return to μετάνοια;but
also pointing out the only way to salvationwhich was still remaining open to
them. Quite arbitrarily some have treated John 8:51 as not forming part of
His discourse to His enemies. Calvin and De Wette remark: After a pause,
Jesus turns again to those who believed on Him, in the sense ofJohn 8:31.
Lücke maintains, indeed, that the discourse is addressedto His opponents, but
regards it rather as the conclusionof the line of thought begun at John 8:31 f.
than a direct continuation of John 8:50. The connectionwith John 8:50 is in
this way likewise surrendered. The discourse is a direct continuation of the
import of καὶ κρίνων, for the result of this κρίνειν to the opponents of Jesus is
death.
ἐάν τις, etc.]Note the emphasis which is given to the pronoun by the
arrangementof the words τὸν ἐμὸνλόγον. It is the word of Christ, whose
keeping has so greatan effect. τηρεῖν is not merely keeping in the heart
(Tholuck), but, as always, whenunited with τὸν λόγον, τὰς ἐντολὰς, etc.,
keeping by fulfilling them (John 8:55; John 14:15; John 14:21;John 14:23 f.,
John 15:20, John 17:6). This fulfilment includes even the faith demanded by
Jesus (John 3:36; comp. the conceptionof ὑπακοὴ πίστεως), and also the
accomplishmentof all the duties of life which He enjoins as the fruit and test
of faith.
θάνατονοὐ μὴ θεωρ. εἰς τ. αἰ.] not: he will not die for ever (Kaeuffer, de ζωῆς
αἰων., not. p. 114), but: he will never die, i.e. he will live eternally. Comp. John
8:52; John 11:25 ff; John 5:25; John 6:50. Deathis here the antithesis to the

Messianic ζωή, whichthe believer possessesevenin its temporal development,
and which he will never lose.
On θεωρ. comp. Psalm 89:44;Luke 2:25; see also on John 3:36. The article is
not necessaryto θάνατος (John 11:4, and very frequently in the N. T.); see
Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 234.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
50. And I seek notmine own glory] Better, But I seek notMy glory. ‘It is not
because I seek gloryfor Myself that I speak ofyour dishonouring Me: My
Father seeksthat for Me and pronounces judgment on you.’ Comp. John 8:54
and John 5:41.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 8:50. Οὐ ζητῶ, I do not seek)as ye suppose;and therefore think it right,
that I should be treatedwith insult.—ἔστιν, there is) I do not seek My own
glory; nor is there any need that I should seek it; for My Fathervindicates it.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 50. - But, in honouring my Father, and in quietly bearing your
unjustifiable reproaches, I am not seeking my glory (cf. vers. 28, 42; John
7:18). The claim of Christ to be and do so much is made because he has the
happiness of the world, the salvationand life of men, and the glory of the
Father as his consuming passion. He is not seeking his own glory; he is only
crowning himself with the crownof utter self-abnegation. But, while he
repudiates all care for his own glory, he knows that, there is One to whom that
glory is dear, who seekethhis glory, and with whom it is perfectly safe, and
who judgeth with absolute impartiality and infinite knowledge. Westcott
quotes in illustration of ὁ ζητῶν, Philo on Genesis 42:22, "He that seeketh
[maketh inquisition for blood] is not man, but God, or the Logos, or the
Divine Law" ('De Jos.,'29).
Vincent's Word Studies

There is one that seeketh
That seeks my honor and judges betweenme and my opposers.
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
I seek notmine ownglory - Another proof that I am not influenced by any
spirit but that which proceeds from God. But there is one that seeketh - i.e.
my glory - and judgeth - will punish you for your determined obstinacyand
iniquity.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on John 8:50". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/john-
8.html. 1832.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible

Mine own glory - My own praise or honor. In all his teaching this was true. He
did not seek to exalt or to vindicate himself. He was willing to lie under
reproachand to be despised. He regardedlittle, therefore, their taunts and
accusations;and even now, he says, he would not seek to vindicate himself.
There is one that seekethand judgeth - God will take care of my reputation.
He seeks my welfare and honor, and I may commit my cause into his hands
without attempting my own vindication. From these verses John 8:46-50 we
may learn:
1. That where men have no sound arguments, they attempt to overwhelm
their adversaries by calling odious and reproachful names. Accusations of
heresy and schism, and the use of reproachful terms, are commonly proof that
men are not only under the influence of unchristian feeling, but that they have
no sound reasons to support their cause.
2. It is right to vindicate ourselves from such charges, but it should not be
done by rendering railing for railing. “In meekness we shouldinstruct those
that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging ofthe truth,” 2 Timothy 2:25.
3. We should not regardit as necessarilydishonorable if we lie under
reproach. If we have a goodconscience,if we have examined for ourselves, if
we are conscious thatwe are seeking the glory of God, we should be willing, as
Jesus was, to bear reproach, believing that God will in due time avenge us,
and bring forth our righteousness as the light, and our judgment as the
noonday, Psalm37:6.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentaryon John 8:50". "Barnes'Notes onthe Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/john-8.html.
1870.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
But I seek notmine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth.
The Lord here refused to be outragedby their insults. In his humiliation, he
had made himself of no reputation; and depraved humanity never fell any
lowerthan the vile exhibition of it in this passage.Here, fallen men appeared
in the role of reviling the Son of God. The Lord did not fly into a rage but
calmly reminded them that God would seek and judge.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on John 8:50". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/john-8.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
rejectionof him.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography

Gill, John. "Commentary on John 8:50". "The New John Gill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/john-
8.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
And I seek notmine own glory: there is one q that seekethand judgeth.
(q) That is, that will avenge both your despising of me and of him.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon John 8:50". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/john-8.html. 1599-
1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I seek notmine ownglory: there is one that seeketh — that is, evidently, “that
seekethMyglory”; requiring “allmen to honor the Son even as they honor
the Father”;judicially treating him “who honoreth not the Sonas honoring
not the Father that hath sentHim” (John 5:23; and compare Matthew 17:5);
but giving to Him (John 6:37) such as will yet casttheir crowns before His
throne, in whom He “shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied”
(Isaiah 53:11).

Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
8:50". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/john-8.html. 1871-8.
People's New Testament
I seek notmine ownglory. He caredlittle therefore for their abuse, and
sought not to defend himself.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Original work done by Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 atThe
RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography

Johnson, BartonW. "Commentary on John 8:50". "People's New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pnt/john-8.html.
1891.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
But I seek notmine own glory (εγω δε ου ζητω την δοχανμου — egō de ou
zētō tēn doxan mou). As they did not seek the glory of God (John 5:44; John
8:4).
And judgeth (και κρινων — kaikrinōn). The Fatherjudges betweenyou and
me, though the Son is the Judge of mankind (John 5:22). “It is only the δοχα
— doxa (glory) that comes from God that is worth having” (Bernard).
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on John 8:50". "Robertson'sWordPictures of
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/john-8.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
There is one that seeketh

That seeks my honor and judges betweenme and my opposers.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon John 8:50". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/john-8.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And I seek notmine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth.
I seek notmy own glory — That is, as I am the Messiah, Iconsult not my own
glory. I need not. For my Father consulteth it, and will pass sentence onyou
accordingly.
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography

Wesley, John. "Commentary on John 8:50". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/john-8.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
But I seek notmine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth1.
But I seek notmine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth. I do not
mind your abuse, for I do not seek my own glory. My Father seeks it, and
judges those in whom he finds it not. See
Copyright Statement
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon John 8:50". "The
Fourfold Gospel". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/john-
8.html. Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth.

Ver. 50. There is one that seekethand judgeth] The less a man strives for
himself, the more is God his champion; those that honour him he will honour.
Those that drown all self-respects in his glory, and study his share more than
their own, shall he found to "praise, and honour, and glory," in that great
amphitheatre at the last day, 1 Peter 1:7.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on John 8:50". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/john-8.html.
1865-1868.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
50.]‘Ye dishonour me;—not that I seek my own honour, but His who sentme.
There is One who seekethmy honour (ch. John 5:23), and will have me
honoured; and who judgeth betweenme and you, betweentruth and
falsehood.’
Supply τ. δόξανμου after ζητῶν, but not after κρίνων.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on John 8:50". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/john-8.html. 1863-1878.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
John 8:50. οὐ ζητῶ, I do not seek)as ye suppose;and therefore think it right,
that I should be treatedwith insult.— ἔστιν, there is) I do not seek Myown
glory; nor is there any need that I should seek it; for My Fathervindicates it.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on John 8:50". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/john-8.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible

Christ very often reminds them of this, that in what he spake and did, he
sought not his own honour and reputation; which both obviated an objection
they might make againsthim, and also convinced them of his truth and
sincerity in what he did. But, saith he, though I seek not my own honour, yet
there is one who cometh himself in my honour and glory; and you must expect
that he should judge and condemn you for all your hard speecheswhichyou
have spokenagainstme.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon John 8:50". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/john-8.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
One that seekethand judgeth; the Father would honor him, and condemn
them.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on John 8:50". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/john-8.html.
American Tract Society. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
50. ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ ζ. But it is not I who seek.‘It is not because I seek gloryfor
Myself that I speak of your dishonouring Me:the Fatherseeks thatfor Me
and pronounces judgment on you.’ Comp. John 8:54 and John 5:41. There is
no contradiction betweenthis and John 5:22. In both cases God’s law operates
of itself: the wickedsentence themselves, ratherthan are sentencedby Him or
by the Son.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
"Commentary on John 8:50". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools and
Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/john-8.html.
1896.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

50. Not mine own glory—Thoughhe asserts his own dignity as divine, yet it is
for no vain glory to himself, but for the glory of God the Father.
One that seeketh—Thatseekethand obtaineth the glory, for it is His supreme
right.
And judgeth—Judgeth those who withhold his glory or dishonour his Son.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on John 8:50". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/john-8.html.
1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Jesus did not try to justify Himself. He soughtthe Father"s glory, not His
own. What others thought of Him on the human level was relatively
immaterial. God"s approval was all that mattered to Him because God, not
Prayer of Manasseh, was His judge (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:2-5).
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon John 8:50". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/john-8.html. 2012.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
John 8:50. But I seek not my glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth. He
will not protest againstthe dishonour they offer Him: His cause is in the
Father’s hand. That glory which He seeks notfor Himself, the Father seeks to
give Him. The Father is deciding, and will decide betweenHis enemies and
Himself.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on John 8:50". "Schaff's PopularCommentary
on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/john-8.html. 1879-90.

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
glory. See note on John 1:14.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on John 8:50". "E.W. Bullinger's
Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/john-8.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
And I seek notmine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth.
And (or, 'But') I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seekethand
judgeth. There should be a supplement here: 'There is one that seeketh[it];
that is, 'that seekethMy glory and judgeth'-Who requireth "all men to
honour the Son even as they honour the Father;" Who will judicially treat
him "who honoureth not the Son as honouring not the Fatherthat hath sent
Him" (John 5:23, and compare Matthew 17:5); but Who will yet give to Him
(see John 6:37) those who will one day casttheir crowns before His throne, in
whom He "shallsee of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied" (Isaiah53:11).

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on John
8:50". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/john-
8.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(50) And I seek notmine own glory.—The words are immediately connected
with those which have preceded. They dishonoured Him. This to one who
sought His own glory would have been matter of concern. ForHim whose
whole life was one of self-denial, their dishonour finds nothing which it can
wound. His words repeat what He had taught them before. (See Notes on John
5:41; John 7:18.)
There is one that seekethand judgeth.—Comp. John 5:45. The thought here is
that though He Himself seeksnot His own glory, the Fatherseekethfor the
honour of the Son, and judgeth betweenHim and those who dishonour Him.
The result of the judgment as to those who keepnot His word is expressedin
the next verse; and as to Himself in John 16:10.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
WILLIAM BARCLAY
Then comes the radiance of the supreme faith of Jesus. He says:"I am not
looking for honour in this world: I know that I will be insulted and rejected
and dishonoured and crucified. But there is One who will one day assess
things at their true value and assignto men their true honour; and he will give
me the honour which is real because it is his." Of one thing Jesus was sure--
ultimately God will protect the honour of his own. In time Jesus saw nothing
but pain and dishonour and rejection;in eternity he saw only the glory which
he who is obedient to God will some day receive. In Paracelsus Browning
wrote:
"If I stoop
Into a dark tremendous sea of cloud,
It is but for a time; I press God's lamp
Close to my breast; its splendour, soonor late,
Will pierce the gloom: I shall emerge one day."
Jesus had the supreme optimism born of supreme faith, the optimism which is
rooted in God.

STEVEN COLE
Challenging Jesus (John 8:48-59)
RelatedMedia
March 30, 2013
Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902)was a German pathologistand politician
(interesting combination!) who openly opposedthe German chancellor, Otto
von Bismarck. Onone occasion, Bismarck wasso enragedat Virchow that he
challengedhim to a duel. Virchow replied, “As the challengedparty, I have
the choice ofweapons and I choose these.”He held up two large and
apparently identical sausages. “One ofthese,” he continued, “is infected with
deadly germs. The other is perfectly sound. Let His Excellencydecide which
one he wishes to eat, and I will eat the other.”
Almost immediately the message came back that the chancellorhad decidedto
laugh off the duel. (The Little, BrownBook of Anecdotes, ed. by Clifton
Fadiman [Little, Brown, & Co.], p. 565.)The moral of that story is that if
you’re going to challenge someone, youhad better know your opponent and
know when to drop the challenge before you lose more than face.
In John 8, the Phariseeshave been challenging Jesus eversince He proclaimed
(8:12), “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the
darkness, but will have the Light of life.” They contended that His testimony
about Himself was not true (8:13). They sneeringlyasked(8:19), “Where is

Your Father?” After Jesus told them that they would die in their sins, they
scoffed(8:25, giving the sense of the Greek), “Who do you think you are?”
After Jesus told them that the truth would make them free, they retorted that
they were Abraham’s descendants and had never been enslavedto anyone
(8:32-33). After Jesus counteredby saying that their deeds showedthat
Abraham was not their father, they againsneered(8:41), “We were not born
of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus responded (8:44) by telling
them that their real father was the devil, who is a murderer and liar. The
reasonthat they could not hear God’s word through Jesus was that they were
not of God (8:47).
Well, if you can’t win the argument, you canalways attack your opponent.
That’s what these Jewishleaders did (8:48), “Do we not rightly say that you
are a Samaritanand have a demon?” After Jesus replies to these insults with
an explanation, a warning, and an invitation (8:49-51), they repeat the
challenge with more conviction (8:52), “Now we know that You have a
demon.”
They can’t believe that Jesus wouldclaim to be greaterthan Abraham. They
ask again(8:53), “Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” Jesus counters by
claiming that He is far greaterthan Abraham, who rejoicedto see His day
(8:56). Then He goes further and claims to be the eternalGod (8:58): “Before
Abraham was born, I am.” By this time, the Jews had heard enough. They
picked up stones to kill Jesus. But, since Jesus’hour had not come, He hid
Himself and went out of the Temple. Their challenge to Jesus had failed.
That’s an inviolable principle to always keepin mind: challenges to Jesus
always fail!

If you challenge Jesus youwill lose, but if you keepHis word you have His
sure promise of eternal life.
Jesus and His Word still challenge those who oppose Him. He also challenges
His followers whenthey’re out of line. The crucial thing is how you respond
when Jesus challengesyou. Do you getdefensive and hostile, as these Jews
did? The result of that response was that Jesus left them to die in their sins
(8:21, 24, 59). That’s a terrible place to be! But, Jesus says (8:51), “If anyone
keeps My word he will never see death.” To state it another way, you will have
eternal life. So let’s learn from these hard-hearted Jews not to challenge Jesus
when He challenges us!
1. When you challenge Jesus,you lose.
It’s a fight that you don’t want to pick! And yet, people still do it. It’s like
getting in the ring with a world champion boxer. You’ll getknockedout!
A. There are different ways to challenge Jesus.
1) SOME CHALLENGE JESUS IN BOLD, BLASPHEMOUS WAYS.
These Jews resortedto name-calling and blasphemy when they said (8:48),
“Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” For a
Jew to call someone a Samaritan was a degrading put-down. It was both a
racialand a religious slur. The Jews despisedthe Samaritans, whom they
consideredhalf-breeds and heretics. They would often walk miles out of their
way if they were traveling from Jerusalemto Galilee just to avoid
contaminating their feet with Samaritandust. Jesus chose notto respond to
that charge, perhaps because He did not want to implicitly support their
racism by insisting that He was not a Samaritan.

But He did respond calmly to their more blasphemous charge that He had a
demon (8:49): “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you
dishonor Me.” Dishonoring Jesus is a serious matter, because as He said (John
5:22-23), “Fornot even the Fatherjudges anyone, but He has given all
judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the
Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent
Him.” To dishonor Jesus is to dishonor the eternal Sovereignofthe universe!
It is to dishonor the One before whom you will stand one day for eternal
judgment! If you’re going to court on a charge for which you could be
executed, it’s not wise to spit in the judge’s face!But that’s what the person
who dishonors Jesus is doing!
Jesus replies with a warning and a gracious invitation. The warning is (8:50),
“But I do not seek My glory; there is one who seeksand judges.” Godthe
Father seeksJesus’gloryand He will ultimately judge all who reject His Son.
But then Jesus issues aninvitation (8:51), “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone
keeps My word he will never see death.” I’ll saymore about that in a moment,
but for now note the abundant grace ofour Lord. Rather than striking dead
on the spot these arrogantJewishleaders, who should have recognizedJesus
as their Messiah, Jesus promises eternallife to any of them who would keep
His word. But they respond with more blasphemy (8:52-53),
“Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also;
and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ Surely
You are not greaterthan our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died
too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
Then, after Jesus’clearclaim to be the eternalGod (8:59), they picked up
stones to kill Him. It never occurred to them that His claims might be true.
Becausethey challengedJesus ratherthan believed in Him, they would die in
their sins.

Those who challenge Jesus in bold, blasphemous ways often die in their sins.
There are exceptions, like the apostle Paul, so that there is hope for all. But
the Lord had to deal with Paul in a pretty forceful way, knocking him to the
ground and blinding him for a few days, to bring him to salvation. With King
Herod Agrippa, who blasphemously allowedpeople to attribute divinity to
him, God directed His angelto strike him so that he was eatenby worms and
died (Acts 12:23). It’s safe to saythat challenging the Lord of the universe is
not a wise thing to do!
2) OTHERS CHALLENGE JESUS BY IGNORING HIM AND
SHRUGGING OFF HIS INVITATION TO SALVATION.
This is probably the most common response to Jesus and His claims: People
just ignore Him and go on about their lives as if He didn’t exist and as if He
had not died so that they could have eternallife. They would say that they
don’t have anything againstJesus. He was probably a goodman who helped a
lot of people. But they have other more “important” things to tend to. Like
those in Jesus’parable who were invited to the feast, some beg off because
they have just bought a piece of land and need to go look at it. Others just
bought some new oxen (in our day, a new car) and need to go try them out.
Another just married a wife and can’t come (Luke 14:17-20). But they all
dishonored the host and missed out on his banquet.
So, any rejectionof Jesus and His claims, whether a bold, blasphemous
challenge or a quiet, polite excuse from those who ignore Him and move on
with their own agendas, is a serious matter. Here’s why:
B. The result of challenging Jesus is that He leaves you to die and face
judgment.

Jesus warns (8:50), God is the judge of all that dishonor His Son. Leon Morris
comments (The GospelAccording to John [Eerdmans], p. 468), “Jesus’
hearers may actas though they are supreme and dispense justice. Actually
they are men under judgment.” Ironically, although the Jews soughtJesus’
death and finally succeededin killing Him, this brought His greatestglory.
You cannot win if you oppose God. He uses even the wickedto accomplishHis
sovereignplan and then He judges them for what they did (Acts 4:27-28;cf.
Habakkuk). Those who crucified Jesus only brought about God’s predestined
purpose. Then they facedjudgment for their horrible crime.
John 8:59 states, “Thereforethey pickedup stones to throw at Him, but Jesus
hid Himself and went out of the temple.” We don’t know whether this was a
miraculous hiding or whether Jesus simply blended in with the crowd. But I
do know that it’s always tragic when Jesus hides Himself from you and leaves
you to die in your sins. Jesus left the temple, where these Jews purported to
worship God. This reminds us of Ezekiel’s vision, when the glory of the Lord
left the temple (Ezek. 10:18, 11:22-23). The Jews hadtheir religion, but they
didn’t have God’s glory. To have religion without the Lord of glory is to have
nothing. Whether you challenge Jesusboldly as a blasphemer or subtly by
ignoring Him, the final result will be that He will leave you to die in your sins
and face judgment. When you challenge Jesus,you lose!
But, even to these blasphemers, who should have known better, Jesus issues a
gracious invitation. He still does that. It applies to you if you will respond:
2. When you keepJesus’word, you have His sure promise of eternallife.
Rather than face Godin judgment (8:50), Jesus extends this gracious promise:
A. Jesus promises that whoeverkeeps His word will never see death.

John 8:51: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never
see death.” “Truly, truly,” means, “Listen up! This is really, really
important!” The one speaking is the eternalWord who became flesh. The
promise extends to all (“anyone”). It would be a ludicrous promise on the lips
of anyone other than the Lord God: “If anyone keeps My word he will never
see death.”
In typical fashion, the Jews understand Jesus in earthly, physical terms,
pointing out that both Abraham and all the prophets died (8:53): “Surely You
are not greaterthan our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too;
whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
John againis using irony. His readers know that Jesus is far greaterthan
Abraham, as He Himself will state in 8:58. If the Jews’questionabout whom
Jesus made Himself out to be had been askedsincerelyfrom seeking hearts, it
would have been valid. But as it is, it misses the point that both Jesus and
John’s Gospelhave been making. D. A. Carsonputs it (The GospelAccording
to John [Eerdmans/Apollos], p. 356), “Jesus does notmake himself or exalt
himself to be anything. Far from it: he is the most obedient and dependent of
men, uniquely submissive to his Father.”
But, what does Jesus’promise mean?
1) JESUS’PROMISE MEANS THAT THE ONE WHO KEEPS HIS WORD
WILL HAVE ETERNALLIFE AND NOT FACE JUDGMENT.
If the Jews truly had been seeking to know if Jesus was who He claimed to be,
they would have askedfor clarification. Instead, they confirm their charge
that He had a demon (8:52). Jesus here means the same thing that He saidin
5:24, “Truly, truly, I sayto you, he who hears My word, and believes Him
who sent Me, has eternallife, and does not come into judgment, but has

passedout of death into life.” He repeats the same truth to Martha in 11:25-
26, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if
he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you
believe this?”
Obviously, all people die physically. Jesus died; all the apostles died. In
human history, the only men never to die were Enochand Elijah. The
believers who are living when Jesus returns will not die (1 Thess. 4:15-17). But
other than that, all people, including believers, face physicaldeath. But
believers are kept from the seconddeath, which is to spend eternity separated
from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). Believing in Christ means that we
will not come into judgment, but have passedout of death into eternallife.
2) THE CONDITION OF JESUS’PROMISE IS THAT WE KEEP HIS
WORD.
What does that mean? Does it mean that if you ever disobeyJesus, you do not
have eternal life and will face judgment for your sins? If so, there won’t be
anyone in heaven, because we all sin (1 John 1:8)! Rather, Jesus means the
same thing as He said in 8:31, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly
disciples of Mine.” He said that in response to the Jews who professedto
believe in Him, but (as the subsequent dialogue shows)did not truly believe in
Him. Jesus wasn’tdescribing the condition for becoming His disciples, but
rather the result of genuinely believing in Him. Those who truly believe in
Him abide in or keepHis word. It doesn’t refer to perfection, but to direction.
The new direction of a person who truly believes in Christ is to keepHis word.
C. H. Spurgeon(Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Pilgrim Publications],
36:566-568)developedseveralcharacteristicsofthe one who keeps Christ’s
words. He has close dealing with Christ. He hears what Christ says and clings
to it. He accepts Christ’s doctrine. WhateverChrist teaches is the truth. He
trusts Christ’s promises, especiallythe promise that whoeverbelieves in Him

has eternallife. And, he obeys Christ’s precepts. Jesus promises that the one
who does these things has eternal life.
But, how do we know that Jesus’promise is true?
B. Jesus’many claims secure His promise that the one who keeps His word
will never see death.
We’ve already seenthat Jesus claimedthat whoeverkeeps His word will not
see death. There is no middle ground with a claim like that. Either Jesus is
deluded and you should not trust Him, or He is God and you had better trust
Him. Here are 5 more claims:
1) JESUS CLAIMS TO HONOR HIS FATHER AND SEEKHIS GLORY.
John 8:49-50:“Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honor My
Father, and you dishonor Me. But I do not seek Myglory; there is One who
seeks andjudges.’” Jesus is here identifying Himself closelywith the Fatherso
that He seeks the Father’s glory and the Fatherseeks Jesus’glory. John
Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], p. 355)paraphrases Jesus’statement
here, “I claim nothing for myself which does not tend to the glory of God; for
his majestyshines in me, his powerand authority dwells in me; and therefore,
when you treat me so disdainfully, you pour contempt on God himself.” You
have to decide: Was Jesus deluded or lying, or was He uniquely one with the
Father, so that they could promote eachother’s glory?
2) JESUS CLAIMS THAT THE FATHER SEEKS HIS GLORY.
John 8:54: “Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My
Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, “He is our God.”’” Jesus is saying
that if He were just promoting Himself, His claims would be invalid. But when
the Fatherglorifies the Son, if we oppose the Son we oppose God Himself.

3) JESUS CLAIMS TO KNOW THE FATHER AND KEEP HIS WORD.
Although these Jewishleaders claimthat God is their God, Jesus plainly tells
them the truth (8:55): “And you have not come to know Him, but I know
Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do
know Him and keepHis word.” Jesus calls them liars for claiming to know
God. By way of contrast, Jesus claims both to know the Fatherand to keep
His word. He could authoritatively tell them that they did not know God
because He knew what was in every heart (2:25). And, as Jesus has just
claimed in 8:46, He keeps God’s word perfectly. No one could convict Him of
sin. Was He deluded or did He speak the truth?
4) JESUS CLAIMS THAT ABRAHAM REJOICED TO SEE HIS DAY.
John 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoicedto see My day, and he saw it and
was glad.” Jesus’“day” refers to the time of His incarnation and the whole of
His work (Morris, p. 471). It probably also refers to His coming day, when He
will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). The Jews respondedwith
incredulity (8:57): “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen
Abraham?” They were not suggesting thatJesus looked like He was fifty.
Rather, they were just picking a round number that obviously was olderthan
Jesus (who was in His mid-thirties) and asking, “How cana man who isn’t
even fifty claim to have seena man who lived 2,000 years ago?” Notice, also,
that Jesus did not claim to have seenAbraham (although He saw and talked
with him; Gen. 18:13, 17, 20). Rather, He said that Abraham saw His day.
Scholars debate what that refers to. I think that it refers to all of the
revelation that God granted to Abraham regarding the coming Messiahand
His death on the cross. Godpromised to bless all nations through Abraham’s
seedand that kings would come forth from Sarah’s womb (Gen. 12:1-3;
17:16-17). WhenAbraham met the mysterious Melchizedek, the priest of God
MostHigh, who gave him bread and wine (Gen. 14:18), God could have

revealedto Abraham something of the coming priest according to the order of
Melchizedek (Heb. 7). On Mount Moriah, where God told Abraham to
sacrifice the sonof the promise, He provided the ram as a substitute (Gen. 22).
God showedAbraham there how His own Son would be the sacrifice forsins,
but also how He would be raisedfrom the dead (Heb. 11:17-19).
Note in passing that if with Abraham you see Christ’s first day, when He came
as the offering for sinners, and rejoice in it, you will rejoice to see His second
day, when He comes in powerand glory to judge the earth. But if you have
not rejoicedin His first day, His secondday will be a day of dread and gloom
for you.
5) JESUS CLAIMS TO BE GOD.
John 8:58: “Jesus saidto them, ‘Truly, truly, I sayto you, before Abraham
was born, I am.” Jesus did not merely say, “Before Abraham was born, I
was.” Thatwould point to His preexistence, but not to His eternity. But
rather, He says that before Abraham was born, He was continuously in
existence. He was claiming to be eternal. Also, the Jews instantly recognized“I
am” as a reference to the name of God given to Moses atthe burning bush
(Exod. 3:14). Since the penalty for blasphemy was stoning, the Jews pickedup
stones to kill Jesus. But His hour had not come, so He left them.
The point is, Jesus’claims are so radicalthat either He was a deluded crazy
man, or He was who He claimedto be. And His claims are backedup by the
many Scriptures that He fulfilled, by His sinless life, by His many miracles,
and by His resurrectionfrom the dead. Thus we can rely on His promise that
whoeverkeeps His word will never see death.
Conclusion

You face the same choice these Jews faced:Either Jesus was a blasphemer or
He is God. He could not have been just a goodman. If you challenge Jesus by
shrugging off His claims, you will lose big time. If you bow before Him as the
Lord God and obey His word, you will see the day of His coming and be glad.
Application Questions
What are some specific ways that Christians challenge Jesus?
How should a believer view death? Is it to be dreaded and put off at all costs?
When should believers stop medical treatment and go be with the Lord?
Just as Abraham rejoicedto see Jesus’coming day, so we canrejoice to see
the day of His secondcoming. How can we cultivate that hope? What
difference should it make in our lives?
Why is Jesus’claim in 8:58 clearly a claim to deity? How could you use this in
witnessing to a member of a cult?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2014,All Rights Reserved.
BOB DEFFINBAUGH
If Jesus is becoming more and more direct in His accusations againstHis
opponents, they are quick to retaliate with ugly accusations.Earlier, they
accusedJesusofbeing an illegitimate child, but the words they speak here
have to be their lowestblow ever. Of what greateroffense canthey accuse
Him? They accuse Jesusnot only of being an illegitimate child, but also of
being the sonof a non-Jew, a Gentile, and thus (in their minds) a Samaritan, a
demon-possessedSamaritanno less.

Jesus responds to this monstrous accusationby denying the charge and
claiming that His missionis to honor the Father. Therefore, as they dishonor
Him by rejecting Him as the Son of God, they also dishonor the Father who
sent Him. Our Lord’s mission is not a self-serving one, as will become evident
in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross ofCalvary. He is not seeking
fame and glory for Himself as they are.116The Fatherdemands that men
glorify Him, and He is also the One who will judge those who refuse to do so.
Once again, Jesus offers the gift of eternal life to all who will obey His
teaching, for such people will never see death (verse 51).
Dr. S. Lewis Johnson
Now, the Lord Jesus replies to this, and he does not pick up the Samaritan
charge, but he says in the 49th verse, “I don’t have a demon. I honor my
Father. Ye do dishonor me. And I seek not my own glory. There is one that
seekethand judgeth. Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man keepmy saying he
shall never see death.” The Apostle Petersaid that the Lord Jesus when he
was reviled, “reviled not again.” We have an illustration of that here. What he
says simply is, “I give honor where honor is due. They do not. When I say that
I am the Son of God or when I make these statements about you, they are not
the products of demented self-assertion, but they are evidences ofsubmission
to God.” Now he says, “There is someone who seeksand judges.” That’s in
verse 50. Now, that’s an interesting statement, because whathe’s saying
essentiallyis there is one personwho seeks my glory and who judges the
rebellious. And of course that personis the Father in heaven. In other words,
he’s saying, “You see, you really are men under judgment. There is someone
who seeksmy glory and who judges those who negatively reactto it. You are
under judgment. It is not unimportant where you give the glory.” And
further, “If a man keepmy saying he shall never see death.” That’s a
statementthat means he will never experience permanently death. There is a
story of a German pastor who was askedthe question, “Are you afraid of
death?” He said, “Which death do you mean? Jesus my Saviorsaid, ‘He that

believeth in me hath eternal life.’ And he said, ‘He that believeth in me shall
see death.’ Why should I be afraid of that which I shall not even see?” So
Christians have been given greatpromises. “And everyone who keeps my
saying he shall never see death.”
JOHN MACARTHUR
In verse 50, He takes it a step further, and there’s such a sort of deference
here to His humiliation. “I do not seek My glory;” “I do not seek Myglory;”
“I’m here in humiliation,” is what He’s saying. I gave up my glory.
Philippians 2, He set it aside, right? Thought it not robbery or something to
be graspedat, to hold onto His equality with God, stripped Himself of all that,
took on the form of a slave, became in the likeness ofman all the waydown to
death, even the death of the cross. This is His humiliation.
“I don’t seek my own glory.” He has said this a number of times. This must
have been kind of a regular thing that he said as he walkedthrough the world.
5:41, “I do not receive glory from men.” I’m not here to receive glory from
men. 7:18, “He who speaksfrom himself seekshis own glory; He who is
seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no
unrighteousness in Him.” I’m not seeking my own glory. I’m seeking glory
for God.
That’s the essenceofHis incarnation. He came to give God glory. If He
wanted his own glory, He’d have stayed where He was. That’s why in John
17, He prays, “Father, I have finished the work You gave Me. Now restore to
me the glory I had with You before the world began.” But he didn’t come to
receive glory. He came to receive humiliation. He came to love sinners,
expose their evil, bear their sin, feel their shame, die their death. That’s not
glory. That’s humiliation. Now when He had accomplishedall of that, the
Father exaltedHim, highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every

name, Philippians says. Evenat His trial, He was silent. He doesn’t defend
Himself.
So he responds to their blasphemy by saying, “I honor My Father - ” I seek
His glory “ - and you dishonor Me.” “There is One who seeks andjudges,”
He says. He is not seeking His own glory, but there is one who does seek His
glory. The Father seeksHis glory. Psalm2 – read Psalm2 all the way
through to verse 12. The Fatherhas planned the final glory of Christ and He
will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He will be the ultimate glorious Lord.
ReadIsaiah 52:13-15, the end of the 52nd chapter, just before 53, how God
has designedto exalt Him, highly exalt Him, elevate Him. This is all over
Scripture that the Messiahwill be exalted, and elevatedand honored. And in
Philippians 2, given “a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow” everywhere in the universe.
So there is a vindicator. There is a judge. There is One who will declare the
glory of Christ. He has already declaredit. He has already given testimony at
the baptism of Jesus. “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
And He will give further testimony at the transfiguration, Matthew 17:5.
Again, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” In John 5, John writes how
Jesus laid out all the ways in which the Fatherglorified the Son.
Through the Old Testamentprophecies fulfilled in Him, through John the
Baptist, through the words that He spoke, whichwere heavenly words of
divine revelation. Through the works that He did, the massive miracles that
He did, as well as through God’s voice coming from heaven, “This is My
beloved Son.” Godhas given His verdict on Christ. And “there is One who
judges,” He says. “There is One who seeksand judges.” And He will give the
final verdict on Me.
But there’s more in that. “There is One who seeksandjudges and will give
the final verdict on you, also, on you. I’m not here to seek honor from men.
God will give me glory in time. But God will also judge you. God will also
judge you. You need to honor Him now or you will face Him in judgment.”
That’s the truth. Jesus responds to the outrage, the verbal blasts with the
truth, the absolute truth.

And then comes the third phase, a gracious invitation. Verse 51. “Truly,
truly - ” “Truly, truly,” 25 times in the Gospelof John because this is new.
This is new. You need to be pulled up to hear something that is so contrary to
what you have thought. This is a staggering statement, again, as are the
others introduced by “truly, truly.” “I sayto you, if anyone keeps My word
he will never see death.” That’s a gracious invitation, isn’t it, to some hard-
hearted, blaspheming, angry, abusive, hypocritical, false leaders? That’s the
third phase. Blasphemy, truth, gracious invitation.
This is a model, folks, of how we live in the world. This is a model of how we
live in the world. The abuse comes. The blasts come. The blasphemy comes.
What do we do? We respond with what? The truth. We just keeptalking
truth and we end with a gracious invitation. And notice the word “anyone.”
That applied to the ones that were throwing this right in His face. Anyone,
anyone.
You know, you know, I just told you, that judgment will come on those who
don’t honor God. And God’s the judge. And judgment will come on those
who don’t honor the Son because those who don’t honor the Son don’t honor
God. So you’re facing judgment and death. Forthe one who rejects and
dishonors Me, rejects and dishonors God, there will be judgment. And that
judgment incorporates death. But know this. “If anyone - ” anyone - there’s
the magnanimity and generosityof that offer – anyone “ - keeps or obeys my -
” logos, “ - My message,- ” My gospel“ - he will not see death.”
F. B. MEYER
5 THE GLORY OF CHRIST
"I seek not mine own glory."--John8:50.

FROM THIS point our Lord begins to speak ofhis glory, as if He already
beheld its dawn, and pressedon with renewedspeedto where it beckoned;
although the dark ravine of death lay betweenHim and its sunny heights. The
Shekinahthat shone within the veil of his human nature was, for the most
part, veiled from all besides;except that once on the mount of transfiguration
it burst from all restraint, and saturated his human nature with torrents of
light, so that the favoured three beheld his glory. But, speaking generally, it
was veiled, and the curtains kept close drawn. The time was coming when He
should be glorified; and it shall be our task reverently to considerthe elements
of which that glory was composed, andthe conditions on which it rested.
In the olden time, Moses askedto see God's glory. It is difficult to understand
what he precisely meant by his request. Did he think that some superb
processionwouldsweepdown the mountain rent, in which the loftiest
archangels shouldtake a part, as the body-guard of Deity? Did he expectsome
supernatural unfolding of the mysteries of light, or of fire, or of the spirit-
world? We cannot tell. But we eagerly notice that, in his reply, Godspake of
none of these things; but said, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee."
The prayer to behold God's glory was answeredby a catalogue ofthe moral
qualifies of the Divine nature. In other words, we may accept the affirmation
of ProfessorDrummond, and say that glory means character, or, rather, the
revelation of character;so that those who behold it, keenin their appreciation
of moral worth, may be constrainedto admire and imitate. The glory of Jesus
is, surely, the manifested beauty of his matchless character.
In speaking or thinking of the glory of the Lord Jesus, we must ever
distinguish, as He did, betweenthe glory which He had with the Fatherbefore
the worlds were made, and that glory which accruedto Him as the result of
his human life. The former was his by inherited right, as the fellow of
Jehovah;the other was given to Him by his Father as the rewardand guerdon
for his obedience to death. The one is incommunicable, the unique property of

his Deity; the other is transferable, for He graciouslyspeaksofpassing it on to
his own. For the first, see John17:5; for the second, see John17:1, 22, 24.
That He might the better preserve his incognito (if we may reverently so term
it), and become a merciful and faithful High Priest, by a through participation
in our human life, He laid aside the evidences ofhis Divine glory. To use the
expressive word of the Holy Ghost, "He emptied Himself." And so He set
Himself to win that glory which should result from a perfected character, and
from suffering even unto death. It is of this that He speaks,whenHe says, "I
seek not mine ownglory." Let it be clearlyunderstood that it is of his glory, as
the Sonof Man and the obedient servant, that we are now speaking.
I. THE MOTIVE OF CHRIST'S DESIRE FOR GLORY.
That He desiredglory is evident. Did He not directly ask for it?--"Father,
glorify thy Son." Was there not an accentof satisfactionin his twice-repeated
ejaculation--first, when He heard of the inquiry by the Greeks, andagain
when Judas went out to do the fatal deed of treachery--"Now is the Son of
Man glorified!" Are we not warranted in believing that it was the anticipation
of the glory into which He must pass through suffering that quickenedhis
pace into the valley of the Shadow? (Luke 24:26).
And yet we cannot believe that our Mastersoughtglory for any selfish end.
This He could not do. He said explicitly, "I seek notmine ownglory." There
was not the shadow of personalambition resting as a cloud over that pure and
noble heart. But He desired glory, that He might shed it back againupon his
Father.

It was the supreme passionof his being to glorify the Father. As He descended
into the dark valley, this was his one cry, "Father, glorify thy name!" Deeper
and deeperstill He went; and this same entreaty, breaking from his agonized
heart, comes back to us yet fainter, and ever fainter. "Now is my soul
troubled; and what shall I say? Father, glorify thy name!" Perhaps even the
love of the race and the desire to redeem had failed to support his fainting
soul, unless his resolution had been empoweredand maintained by this all-
master-full desire. He was greedy, therefore, of every vestige of glory that He
could win by suffering, even though it were unto death; that He might be able,
though it were with but a feather-weightadditional, to augment the revenue of
glory which, through Him, should accrue to God. "Now is the Son of Man
glorified, and Godis glorified in Him." Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may
glorify Thee."
What an example He has left us that we should follow in his steps!Human
applause, and admiration, and reward, would not hurt us, if we gathered
them all only as the vinedressers pluck the produce of the vines for
presentationto the owner of the vineyard. It is a high ideal, and yet evidently
the Apostle thought it attainable; else he would not have exhorted his converts
to seek that glory even in their meals (1Cor. 10:31). But it is only so that we
can come into the deepestfellowship with our Saviour, when we, too, have so
drunk of his spirit that we become absorbedin the same supreme object, and
seek forthe prizes of our high calling that we may castthem at the feetof
God. That God may be better understood, and admired, and loved through
our life; that men may turn from us to Him as from the jewelto the sunlight
in which it sparkles;that more hearts may be brought beneath his sway--be
this our aim, at all costs to ourselves.
II. THE DIRECTIONSIN WHICH HIS DESIRE WAS REALIZED.

The Apostle Petersays, "Godgave Him glory" (1Pet. 1:21). In what did that
glory consist?
(1) In the indwelling of God in his human nature.-
The glory of the desertacacia-bushwas in the fire that burnt there; of the
tabernacle in the Shekinah glow;of Zion that God had chosento dwell there.
And the glory of our Lord, as to his human nature, was that in Him the Divine
and human blended in perfectunion; that the Father dwelt in Him, spake and
wrought in Him; and that He was the perfect vehicle for the expressionof the
incorruptible life, which was, and is, and is to come. This was the glory which
the Apostles beheld expressedon the Holy Mount.
(2) In his perfect endurance of the severesttests.
The whole brunt of evil broke on Him, as the roll of the Atlantic breakeron
some weather-beatenrock. It is impossible to imagine tests more searching
and complete than those through which He passed;in journeyings often; in
conflicts with the Phariseesand Sadducees;in conflicts with his own brethren;
in conflict with the devils that possessedthe afflicted; in conflict above all with
the prince of this world in that last terrible duel of the cross;in weariness and
painfulness; in watchings often; in hunger and thirst; in fastings often; in
bloody sweatand nakedness;in the anguish of God-forsakennessandof
dissolution. But, so far from being overcome, He rose out of eachsuccessive
test, having setforth in perfectbeauty the appropriate grace whichit
demanded, and absorbedthe whole force of the trial with which He was
confronted; so that it passedinto Him, and became an addition to his moral
strength, as the savagewarriors think that the strength of eachfoe they slayin
battle becomes incorporatedinto themselves.

(3) In the benefits which He has conferredon men.
There is no glory so dear to the noble heart as that accruing from helpfulness
to others. When it comes we cannotbe inflated with pride, because we are
already so thankful to know of the blessing which we have been the means of
bestowing. And, ah, what glory was it to the blessedLord, that He has
delivered us from the consequencesofAdam's sin; that He has borne awaythe
sins of the world; that He has opened the kingdom to all believers; that He has
made it possible for sinful creatures to receive and be impelled by the very
Spirit of God; that He has obtained for us a life which is death-proof, sin-
proof, devil-proof, the essenceand crownof blessedness!To be loved as
Saviour, to be trusted as Priest, to be enthroned as King, to receive the
unutterable devotion of myriads, and to be able to help them to the uttermost-
-this surely is one prime elementin his glory.
(4) In the exaltation of his nature.
"The God of our fathers," said Peter, "hath glorified his Son Jesus." And in
his mouth, fresh from the scenes ofthe Ascensionand of Pentecost, these
words referred to the glory of his exaltation (Acts 2:32, 33; 3:13). We are told
that, as a guerdon for his tears and obedience, the Father gave Him a name
above every name, and set Him at his own right hand far above all creature
life. But this was only possible because his nature was already supreme in its
quality. It was no arbitrary act of enthronement; it was the recognitionof
superlative worth. And as He that descendedascends farabove all heavens,
that He might fill all things with floods of light, there is given an evidence of
the glory of his being, of which the princes of this world were ignorant, but
which now shines forth to illuminate all worlds.

These are but the guessesand babblings of a child; yet do they seemtracks
that lead our feet towards the heart of this marvellous subject. But who shall
tell of the love of the heart of God towards his Son, or of its expression? Here
are depths which must be hidden from our scrutiny. As it was the passionof
Christ to glorify the Father, so it was the passionof "the Fatherof glory" to
glorify the Son. Yes, and as yet that glorification is only in its beginnings; the
first stages alone ofthe coronationand enthronement of Jesus "in all his
glory" have takenplace:the full outburst of his meridian splendour is yet
future. Ah, we are yet to behold some wondrous scenes, whichwill ravish our
eyes and fill our hearts with an exceeding weightof glory! "God shall also
glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightwayglorify Him." And we shall
behold his glory, nay, better, share it for ever and ever (John 13:31, 32; 17:22,
23, 24).
III. THE COST AT WHICH HIS DESIRE WAS REALIZED.
The glory glistens in our view, but we are not always ready to considerits cost.
The only path to the glory is that which lies through the tangled thorn-brake
of sorrow. The corn of wheatmust fall into the ground and die, lying alone
and forsakenthrough the winter with its pitiless blasts and frost. He must
descendere He can ascend. Painmust inflict the wounds in which the pearls of
untold glory shall glisten.
Nor canit be otherwise with ourselves. We must be witnesses ofthe sufferings,
if we would be partakers of the glory to be revealed; only as we suffer canwe
reign with Him; there must be fellowshipwith his sufferings if there shall be
attainment to his resurrection;we must drink of his cup and be baptized with
his baptism, if we would sit right and left of his throne.

But let us not invent death for ourselves;let us put our hands into his, and ask
Him to lead us down one step at a time whither He will. It must be right to go
where He takes us. It cannot be dreadful when He is there. He will not give us
more than we canbear, because his own experience of pain will be a safe
guide in his dealings with us. And, as we go down with Him into darkness and
death, let us sing with assuredhope, as He did, "Thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt
show Me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand
there are pleasures for evermore."
SCOTT HARRIS
Jesus makes the point again that He does not glorify Himself, for if He did, it
would be worthless. If you seek to magnify your own name, you are just
boasting. True honor always come through another person giving you glory. It
is His Fatherthat glorifies Him. How does the Father glorify the Son? He
enables the Son to perform miracles (Jn. 11:4 cf. Acts 2:22). The Father
causes the Son’s virtues to stand out in connectionwith his suffering and
rewards Him for it (John 12:16;13:31; 17:1-5;cf. Phil. 2:9-11). The Father
spoke to the Son and publically affirmed Him (Luke 3:22; Mt. 17:5).
Jesus is also blunt about the difference betweenHis Father and their claim.
Jesus is clearthat His Fatheris the one they call"their God," but their claim
to have Him as their father is false, for they do not even know Him. They
should have known, but they did not. God had revealedHimself to and
through the nation of Israel. They were to be a nation of priests who would
revealHim to the rest of the nations (Ex. 19:5,6), but they had no personal
knowledge ofGod. They knew a few things about Him through the Law and
the Prophets, but they had perverted that so that had an incorrect

understanding. They were to be God’s chosenpeople, but they had no
personalknowledge ofHim.
Jesus, by contrast, did know God. Not through the Law and Prophets and
personalexperience of life, but through His intimate relationship with the
Father as the Son from eternity past. He saw and heard the Fatherdirectly. It
was that knowledge thatHe was seeking to revealto them, but they rejected
Him and would not hear and receive that revelation. Jesus knew the Father
intuitively and directly, but they did not even have an acquaintance with Him.
In addition, Jesus keptthe Father’s word. They disobeyedit. If Jesus was to
deny His relationship with the Father, then He would be a liar like them. It
had implied this in verse 44, but now He calls them liars directly to their faces,
and it does not even seemto phase them.
MASTER'S BIBLE CHURCH
In today’s text, we see Jesus as a model of godliness forus to
follow, in the face of dishonor/doubt…
* Dishonor
[John 8:48]=> “The Jews answeredand said to Him, ‘Do we not
say rightly that You are a Samaritanand have a demon?’”
MostJews despised/hatedthe Samaritans.
They consideredthem half-breeds w/ no Jewishloyalties, and
a hereticalreligion by which they worshipedat Mt. Gerizim
rather than the only true Temple in Jerusalem.

Jn 4:9 said of the Jews thatthey=> “have no dealings with
Samaritans.”
- 3 -
Calling Jesus a Samaritan was simply the meanestthing
they could think of to sayabout Him.
It was nothing more than a vindictive expressionof
their hatred/animosity.
And their adding “Do we not sayrightly” heightened this
insult, by implying this was the common opinion
among them about Him.
The accusationthat Jesus had a demon may have been their
tit-for-tat reactionto His saying their father was the devil.
They meant that He had submitted to the control/influence
of a demon, & had therefore gone insane.
By Jn 10:20, many of the religious leaders will be openly
declaring=> “He has a demon and is insane.”
And in Mt 12 we find the Pharisees telling people =>
“This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul, the
ruler of the demons” (12:24).
Becausethe Jews were notable to answerJesus’statements
w/ reasonable arguments of their own, they resortedto
the most abusive kind of characterassassination.
You have to wonder if they had no fear of God at all.

One of the thieves being crucified next to Jesus rebukedthe other
thief for saying something much less offensive/scandalous
about X than what the Jews in our text had said.
His rebuke was=> “Do you not even fearGod, since you
are under the same sentence ofcondemnation?”
- 4 -
It was basedon the fact that they were both about to die &
stand before God to be judged (Lk 23:40-41).
The Jews who were blaspheming Jesus by accusing Him of being
demonized, seem to have had no such fear of God, or
God’s judgment, at all.
Now we see how Jesus dealtw/ this outrageous allegationthat
He was under the control of a demon.
He didn’t respond to their calling Him a Samaritanat all,
unwilling to even acknowledge/dignifysuch unjust racial
prejudice.
[Verse 49]=> “Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon.’”
Jesus graciouslygave them a serious answer, making Him the
model for us to follow, of godly sincerity & concernfor
men’s souls.
It would be easyjust to simply write off people like these folks
w/ Jesus, & walk awayin disgust, because ofwhat seems to
be the pettiness & insincerity of their accusation, thatJesus

had a demon.
It seems to have been nothing but a cheap shot at Someone
they loathed.
But we see no sarcasm/cynicismonJesus’part—just a
straightforward/truthful response to their accusation.
When Jesus saidsimply, “I do not have a demon,” His
opponents would prob. have thought cynically=>
“Of course, you’d say that! But we say you do!”
- 5 -
Jesus chose to give them the plain/simple truth nonetheless, and
just to let them decide for themselves what they’d do w/ it.
If any of them were sincerelyopen to the truth at all, they’d
have His solemnassurance that it wasn’ttrue—that
He wasn’t demonized.
Having denied any demonic influence in His life, Jesus
explained what it was that actually motivated Him=>
His own determination to honor His Heavenly Father.
[Verse 49b](Jesus)=> “but I honor My Father, and you
dishonor Me.”
Jesus honoredHis Father by submitting to Him in everything He
said/did—as the Father’s Representative onearth.
When He’d declared that their spiritual father was the devil,
He did so according to the Father’s will/direction.

That meant Jesus’Jewishlisteners, by dishonoring Him, were
actually dishonoring God the Fatheras well.
Again, Jesus provides a model for us to follow whenever our
own opponents attack us, our motives, & our wisdom
in declaring the truth of God’s Word.
We are simply to tell the truth, even if our doing so makes us
sound naïve, or if people suspectus of self-serving motives.
Paul followedJesus’example when Festus made the same kind
of accusationagainsthim, shouting=> “Paul, you are out
of your mind!” (Acts 26:24, 25).
Paul might have thought, “If he thinks I’m mad, what’s the
use of trying to tell him the truth about anything?”
- 6 -
Instead, Paul like his Lord just relied on the powerof simple
truth, humbly saying, “I am not out of my mind, most
excellentFestus, but I utter words of sobertruth.”
Then he continued to tell Festus the truth.
The Jews decidedin their own minds that X must be
motivated by an insatiable desire for personal
honor/glory.
They had seena number of false teachers aboutwhom that was
true, and they were honor-seekersthemselves.
X said of the scribes/Pharisees=>“Theylove the place of

honor at banquets and the chief seats in the
synagogues, /& respectfulgreetings in the market
places, and being calledRabbi by men” (Mt 23:6-7).
So the Jews in our text projectedthose same motives onto Jesus,
interpreting everything He said as attempted glory-seeking.
* E.g. X had said, “You are from below, I am from above;
you are of this world, I am not of this world” (8:23).
Their reactionwas to assume that wasn’ttrue but that
Jesus was just trying to gain honor for Himself,
at their expense.
If X really weren’tfrom above, they’d have been
right, but the reality was that His words simply
expressedthe truth about His origins/nature.
* Jesus also said=> “Unless you believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins” (8:24).
- 7 -
Again, refusing to believe His words, the Jews prob.
viewed this as more glory-seeking.
* Their reactionwas undoubtedly the same in verse 42 of
this chapter, when Jesus said=> “I proceededforth
and have come from God” (8:42).
This was no empty boast—He really had come from
God, but they weren’t about to believe it.

How could anyone who had the right to make such amazing,
extraordinary claims, deal w/ the skepticismof those
who heard them, but simply refused to accept/believe
them?
The only thing he could do, is what Jesus did=> Tell the truth,
make the claims, & depend on the H.S. to open people’s
minds, & drive the truth home to their hearts.
The truth was, that Jesus was only doing what Godthe Father had
told Him to do, seeking to honor the Father in His doing so.
When X’s opponents dishonored Him w/ their accusations,
they also dishonored the Father who had sent Him.
Now Jesus setthe record straight about His true
motives/motivation.
[Verse 50]=> “ButI do not seek My glory; there is One who
seeks andjudges.”
Jesus was not seeking the honor of men—that wasn’t His
purpose in life.
What He caredabout, was the honor/approval of God the Father.
- 8 -
He is the One who will judge such things, and that’s what
really matters.
But the Father does desire that men honor His Son.
Phil 2 says, because Jesus emptied/humbled Himself, even

to the point of death on the cross=>
“Godhighly exaltedHim, and bestowedon Him the
name which is above every name, / so that at the
name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and
that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (2:9-11).
Becausethe Fatherdesires for men to honor Him, by honoring
His Son, He will judge those who refuse to honor Him—
or worse yet, who dishonor Him.
We, like Jesus, candealw/ dishonor in this life, knowing that
the honor of God Himself awaits us in the future.
Paul told the Colossians(3:4)=> “When Christ, who is our life, is
revealedthen you also will be revealedwith Him in glory.”
And Rev 20:6 promises that in X’s Kingdom, believers “will be
priests of God and of Christ and will
reign with Him for a thousand years.”
This future prospect is honor enough for us.
* Doubt
Jesus, the model of godliness from whom we learn how to
deal dishonor, also teaches us how to deal w/ others’
doubt.
The Jews were going to express their doubt about X’s next claim.

- 9 -
But He was omniscient God, so He knew beforehand exactly
what they’d say.
He didn’t equivocate, but addressedthose doubts ahead of time
directly/boldly/decisively, by declaring the truth.
And in the process, He declaredfor us all one of the greattruths
that we who believe in X hold most dear/precious to our
hearts.
[Verse 51](Jesus)=> “Truly, truly, I say to you…[a word
formula which means that what X is about to say, is solemn
truth, spokenwith earnestness/gravity], if anyone keeps My
word he will never see death.”
What a promise this is!
If anyone keeps X’s word—by believing it, receiving/holding
it w/i his heart, wholeheartedlyembracing/obeying it—
he will not see death.
Jesus was clearlynot talking about physical death, because He
and eachone of His Apostles did die physically.
He meant eternal spiritual death—“2nddeath.”
Notice the blessedirony here=> X was making this magnanimous
offer to people who had just impugned His characterand
blasphemed His name.
His motive was not to gain acceptance/honoramong them.

It was simply done out of His divine love for them.
This was Jesus living out His ownwords, “Bless those who
curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”
(Lk 6:28).
- 10 -
This is a parallel to what He’d said back in Jn 5=> “Truly, truly, I
say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who
sent Me, has eternallife, and does not come into judgment,
but has passedout of death into life” (Jn 5:24).
What preciselydoes Jesus’promise mean?
To understand it, we must 1
st clarify the particular word for “see”
used here—theorese, to look/gaze uponas a spectator.
Our word “theater” comes from the root of this word.
Commentator B.F. Westcottdefined theorese as=>
“the long, steady, exhaustive vision, whereby we become slowly
acquainted with the nature of the objectto which it is directed.”
When the H.S. enlightens a sinner to the magnitude of his sin,
he’s transfixed, looking at the death by which his sin will
be punished, gazing at it, anxiously contemplating its future
implications for him, w/ a growing sense ofalarm/doom.
He can’t gethis eyes (or his mind) off of death.
He sees it as the overwhelming/inescapable wrathof God,

and he sees himself as its inevitable/eternal victim.
It’s a death that never stops dying, & which destroys all of
life.
But then the gospelof Jesus X comes to this person, he keeps X’s
word by faith, and it turns him completely around.
No longer is he fixated upon death, unable to look away
and turn awayfrom its horror—he now turns his back
to death, knowing it’s safe for him to ignore it from
now on; that death has died to him.
- 11 -
So what is he now facing? Eternallife in Jesus X, who
said=> “I am the resurrection& the life; he who
believes in Me will live even if he dies, & everyone
who lives & believes in Me will never die”
(Jn 11:25-26).
There’s another application of Jesus’words in our text, “If
anyone keeps My word he will never see death."
They mean that, for Xns, spiritual death is a thing of the past—
gone, never to return.
Before they believed in Jesus & became born again, spiritual
death surrounded them, permeating their whole lives.
Their prayers were dead, their faith was dead, they were
“deadin [their] trespassesandsins” (Eph 2:1).

After the gospelcame to them in the powerof the H.S., they saw
life, so they no longerreveled in their old dead life of sin.
When temptation came, they now did what once they didn’t
do=> prayed to God to deliver them from it, as grace
freed them from the reign of sin/death in their lives.
Physicaldeath had been a divine penalty to them—an extension
of God’s word to Adam, “In the day that you eatfrom it
you will surely die” (Gen 2:17).
But now death had changedits nature for believers, & was
simply a falling asleep—no longera penal execution.
Before they were born again, it had been a penal executionfor
them just as it was for their forefather, Adam.
They died physically, like him, because of original sin.
- 12 -
But when they became saved, that penal sentence ofdeath
no longer applied to them.
We know that because, whenX returns at the Rapture and
calls believers who are alive & remain up to meet
Him in the air, they will be changedw/o dying.
They too will have been born sinners, but they will
never experience physical death, proving that it
is no longerpart of the penalty for sin to those
who are born again.

So why do believers die?
Deathhas become simply a departure for them, out of
the turmoil of this world, into the glory of their
beloved Savior/Lord.
A 3rd application of X’s promise to 1 who keeps His word=>
He no longerneeds to dread death.
Before, his fear of death was like a slavery, as he dreaded its
approachand whatever it is that follows death, in eternity.
Now the sting of death (which is sin) has been plucked out.
Now, insteadof dread, he can sayw/ Paul=> “I am hard-pressed
from both directions, having the desire to depart and be
with Christ, for that is very much better” (Phil 1:23).
One old hymn beautifully expressedthe thought that, if we could
see the saints who have gone on before us, we’d want to
join them.
That old hymn went like this=>
- 13 -
“How we should scorn these robes of flesh,
These fetters and this load!
And long for evening to undress,
That we may rest in God.
We should almost forsake ourclay
Before the summons come

And pray and wish our souls away
To their eternalHome.”
One final application of the principle that a believer never
sees death=> He will never face the wrath of God.
That’s what “2
nd Death” is all about—final/eternalseparation
from God, in which His love is forever withdrawn, and
man’s soul is castinto the ruinous misery of God’s holy
wrath.
But Rev 2:11 assures the believer=> “He who overcomes
[thru faith in X]will not be hurt by the seconddeath.”
Believers canturn their backs on the horror of such a destiny, and
forever restin the assurance/confidenceofGod’s grace.
Hebrews 2 says of Jesus=> “Since the children share in
flesh & blood, He Himself likewise also partook of
the same, that thru death He might render powerless
him who had the powerof death, that is, the devil,
/and might free those who through fear of death were
subject to slavery all their lives” (Heb 2:14-15).
We need never againfear God’s condemnation, because
X’s death has freed us (Rom 8:1)=> “There is now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Nor is there any need for us to fear the loss of Jesus’love.

Rom 8 asks rhetorically, “Who will separate us from
the love of Christ?” (8:35);
JOHN GILL
Verse 50
rejectionof him.
MATTHEW HENRY
He clears himself from the imputation of vain glory, in saying this concerning
himself, John 8:50. See here, (1.) His contempt of worldly honour: I seek not

mine own glory. He did not aim at this in what he had said of himself or
againsthis persecutors he did not court the applause of men, nor covet
preferment in the world, but industriously declined both. He did not seek his
own glory distinct from his Father's, nor had any separate interestof his own.
For men to searchtheir own glory is not glory indeed (Proverbs 25:27), but
rather their shame to be so much out in their aim. This comes in here as a
reasonwhy Christ made so light of their reproaches:"You do dishonour me,
but cannotdisturb me, shall not disquiet me, for I seek notmy ownglory."
Note, Those who are dead to men's praise cansafely bear their contempt. (2.)
His comfort under worldly dishonour: There is one that seekethand judgeth.
In two things Christ made it appear that he sought not his own glory and here
he tells us what satisfiedhim as to both. [1.] He did not court men's respect,
but was indifferent to it, and in reference to this he saith, "There is one that
seeketh, thatwill secure and advance, my interestin the esteemand affections
of the people, while I am in no care about it." Note, Godwill seek their honour
that do not seek their own for before honour is humility. [2.] He did not
revenge men's affronts, but was unconcernedat them, and in reference to this
he saith, "There is one that judgeth, that will vindicate my honour, and
severelyreckonwith those that trample upon it." Probably he refers here to
the judgments that were coming upon the nation of the Jews for the
indignities they did to the Lord Jesus. See Psalm37:13-15.I heard not, for
thou wilt hear. If we undertake to judge for ourselves, whateverdamage we
sustain, our recompence is in our own hands but if we be, as we ought to be,
humble appellants and patient expectants, we shall find, to our comfort, there
is one that judgeth.
PETER PETT
Verse 49-50

‘Jesus answered, ‘I am not demon-possessed, but I honour my Father and you
dishonour me. Yet I do not seek my own glory, for there is one who seeksit,
and he is the judge’.
Jesus denied their charge. Ratherthan being demon possessedit was He Who
truly honoured the Father. That was patently something that no demon
possessedpersonwould do. Furthermore He wanted them to know that He
was not fighting for His own honour. There was Another Who would defend
His honour. And that One was the Judge of all men. And as such He was
seeking to glorify Jesus. Byseeking to dishonour Jesus, therefore, the
Judaisers were attacking GodHimself.
A. W. PINK
"And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seekethand judgeth" (John
8:50). "‘If I did, I should not have told you the truth. Had My own
aggrandizementbeen My object, I should have followedanother course;and
My not obtaining "glory"—a goodopinion—from you, no way disheartens
Me. There is One who seeketh, that is, who seekethMy glory. There is One
who will look after My reputation. There is One who is pledged in holy
covenantto make Me His firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. And
He who seekethMy glory, judgeth. He will sit in judgment on your judgment.’
These words seemplainly intended to intimate, in a very impressive way, the
fearful responsibility they had incurred. He was doing His Father’s will: they
were treating Him with contumely. The Father was seekingthe honor of His
faithful Servant, His beloved Son; and dreadful would be the manifestation of
His displeasure againstthose who, so far as lay in their power, had put to
shame the God-man, whom He delighted to honor" (Dr. J. Brown).

RAY STEDMAN
In Verse 47 Jesus had told these men, "the reasonwhy you do not hear my
words is that you are not of God." That was a startling and stinging rebuke to
men who consideredthemselves experts on God -- rather like telling the
president of McDonalds, "Youdon't know anything about hamburgers!" The
response ofthe Jews was predictable:"Why you talk like a Samaritan," they
charged. "Thatis what the Samaritans sayabout the Jews;they claim we
don't know God. But we know they make that claim because they are a
demon-possessedpeople. If you talk that way you must be a Samaritan and
therefore you must have a demon, too." It is clearthat they are filled with
rage at Jesus for the way he has exposedtheir hypocrisies. So they stoopto
name-calling. That is always the last resortof someone who is losing an
argument -- a personalattack on his antagonist.
Notice how beautifully our Lord responds in simple denial, "I have not a
demon." Then he commits his reputation to the Father: "I do not seek my
own glory. There is one who seeksit, and he will be the judge." There is no
retaliation on his part, no name-calling in return, no getting angry and
striking back.
We all know how easyit is to get angry and retaliate when we are attacked.
Years ago when I first went to Hawaii I was told about a couple of native
taxicab drivers whose cabs collided one day. One of them said to the other, in
the pidgin English they use in the Islands, "Hey, whatsamatteryou?" The
other said, "Whatsamatterme? Whatsamatteryou? You whatsamatter!"
That is the way most of us feel when we are attacked. But Jesus neveracted

that way. In the words of Peter, "Whenhe was reviled, he reviled not again,
but committed himself to him who judges righteously," (1 Peter2:23).
This is a wonderful example of how to handle personalattack. He makes the
claim, "I honor my Father," and how does he honor him? He puts revenge
back into his Father's hand! He refuses to respond on behalf of himself, but
leaves all vengeance to the Father. I don't know how that strikes you, but it
shames me when I think of how quick I often am to defend myself when I am
attacked.

Jesus was to be glorified by the father

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