Sunday School Lesson on Temptation in the Bible

Home >> Sunday School >> Sunday School Lessons >> Sunday School Lesson on Temptation in the Bible

Sunday School Lesson on Temptation in the Bible

Introduction

A. Slaves to Sin

Ron is a longtime Christian who worked formany years as an information technology direc-tor for a large company. His boss and coworkersadmired his dedication, honesty, and integrity.One day, however, Ron was called to his super-visor's office to be told that he was being fired forviolating the company's "fair use" policy: a col-league had discovered a huge number of porno-graphic images stored in Ron's computer.

Ron confessed that he had become addicted toInternet porn. His technical expertise had en-abled him able to hide the files for some time.Ironically Ron had become aware of Internet

porn while investigating other employees, sev-eral of whom had been fired for similar viola-tions. Ron lost his job but saved his marriage andfamily by confessing his sin and seeking counsel-ing. He told his counselor that he was glad hehad been caught because he had felt for a longtime that the porn had taken control of him.Ron's situation illustrates the irony of addic-tion to sinful habits: we fear the loss of short-term gratification if we quit, but at the same timewe fear the long-term consequences if we don't.This is true not only of "high profile" sins suchas pornography and drug abuse, but also of morecommon sins like anger, gossip, and lying. Oncewe develop a habit of doing the wrong thing, itbecomes very difficult to change on our own. Inour lesson today Christ offers us freedom fromthe power of sin and the fear of death.

B. Lesson Background

The events and teachings recorded in John 7and 8 occurred daring one of Jesus' visits to theFeast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see John 7:1,2, 37; 8:20). God instituted this festival for tworeasons. First, it was a time of thanksgiving dur-ing the season of the olive and fruit harvests (theSeptember-October time frame). Second, it wasas a time to remember deliverance from slaveryin Egypt (see Leviticus 23:33-44).

As something of an object lesson, many whocelebrated this festival would live in tents("tabernacles") outside the city to reenact the 40years that the Israelites had lived in tents whilewandering in the wilderness. It is against thisbackdrop of deliverance from physical bondagethat Jesus proceeds to demonstrate the way todeliverance from spiritual bondage.

I. About the Jews' Status(John 8:31-38)

A. Discipleship and Truth (vv. 31, 32)31.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which be-lieved on him, If ye continue in my word, thenare ye my disciples indeed.

The word Jews seems somewhat out of placehere because both Jesus and John (the author ofthis Gospel) are Jews by race, culture, and reli-gion. Why would a Jewish person refer to otherJewish people as "Jews," as though they weresomehow different from himself?

Scholars generally see this unusual terminol-ogy as evidence that John had been persecutedby Jewish people by the time he writes, just asJesus had predicted (John 16:1-4). The story ofthe blind man in chapter 9 reveals that this sort of persecution already had begun during Jesus'ministry (see especially John 9:22).

Here at John 8:31 we see that some Jewishpeople have gone against the grain and have

taken a positive view of Jesus. These are the oneswhich believed on him (see also v. 30). Jesus pro-ceeds to test their faith by stressing that theymust accept His teachings if they wish to be dis-ciples. The verses to follow will reveal that theyare not quite ready for that level of commitment.

32.And ye shall know the truth, and the truthshall make you free.

Truth refers back to Jesus' "word" in verse 31,which He now says will give freedom to believ-es. The context reveals that John is not referringm Jesus' ethical commands about lifestyle issues

fthe Gospel of John actually includes very littleof that sort of teaching). In John 8:12-29 Jesushas been speaking about His identity as the light

of the world, the one who reveals God in a spe-cial way. Believers know the truth in the sensethat they accept what Jesus claims about himself;they recognize Him as the unique Son of God.This is the truth that gives us freedom. Our ac-ceptance of Christ through His plan of salvationallows us to become children of God. This liber-ates us from the power and consequences of sinand death (see John 1:12).

B. Servants and Sons (vv. 33-36)

33.They answered him, We be Abraham'sseed, and were never in bondage to any man:how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

At first glance, the Jews seem to be very forget-ful. Their people, in fact, had been in bondagemany times over the years: slaves in Egypt; op-pressed by foreign powers many times during theJudges period; taken in exile to Babylon; domi-nated by Rome even as they spoke. The referenceto Abraham suggests, however, that they arethinking of their spiritual status with God.

Ancient Jews believe that having God's favorconies from being horn as descendants of Abra-ham, the person to whom God had madecovenant promises (Genesis 12:1-3). Jesus, how-ever, seems to say that their descent from thatgreat man is not enough. So they want to knowhow He can make suds a preposterous claim.34. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I sayunto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the ser-vant of sin.

Jesus challenges the Jews' claim to spiritualfreedom by stating the obvious: everyone com-mitteth sin. That fact should eliminate any pride-ful belief that a person can somehow get to Godthrough ancestral connections.

Even if the Jews do think of themselves as"born into God's family," every subsequent sinshould have underlined how far away fromGod's will they had gone. Sin alienates us fromGod and enslaves us to carnal desires. This is a problem that ourparents cannot solve for us.

35, 36. And the servant abideth not in thehouse for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If theSon therefore shall make you free, ye shall befree indeed.

Jesus' words refer to legal relationships in an-cient households. A son and a servant may livein the same house, and both serve the same per-son (the father, who is also the master). But theservant is, ultimately, not a permanent part ofthe family. He or she has no legal rights. The factthat the Jews are servants of sin shows that theydo not enjoy full status as God's heirs.

A son, however, is heir to everything the fa-ther has. A son carries the family name from gen-eration to generation. The son's status in ahousehold is thus permanent (abideth forever)because he is a true member of the family. Thegenuine Son in view here is Jesus himself.Jesus as this Son has the power to grant fullmembership in the family. Abraham, himself asinner and a servant, cannot grant true spiritualfreedom. The phrase free indeed brings with itthe sense, "I am the one who can set you freefrom sin and its power forever."

C. Attitude and Testimony (vv. 37, 38)37.

I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but yeseek to kill me, because my word bath no placein you.

The word but highlights the irony of the situa-tion. As the Jews well know, Abraham was fa-mous for his faith (compare Genesis 12:1-4;22:1-3). The Jews are not doing a very good job offollowing their famous forefather's example When they hear God's message through Jesusthey respond not with belief but by trying to si-lence him (compare John 5:18; 7:19, 25, 32, 44).38. I speak that which I have seen with myFather: and ye do that which ye have seen withyour father.

Jesus stresses again and again that He speaksand acts in complete harmony with the Father(see John 4:34; 7:16; 10:38; 12:44; 14:9-11). Jesus'

power both to do great works and to offer free-dom from sin finds its source in this unity.Similarly, the Jews' refusal to accept Him re-veals the true source of their thinking. Theyclaim to be Abraham's descendants. But theirlack of faith in the one whom God sent revealsthat they actually are children of the devil (John8:43, 44, not in today's text). The Jews will re-main under Satan's power as long as they reject Jesus' words.

II. About Jesus Himself (John 8:48-56. 58, 59)

A. First Accusation (v. 48)

48. Then answered the Jews, and said untohim, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan,and hast a devil?

Just before this verse, Jesus had stressed againthat His words come from God. Thus He con-demns the Jews for their disbelief. He can onlyinterpret their stubbornness as evidence that "yeare not of God" (v. 47).

This claim is extremely offensive to the Jews,but they do not know how to refute it. Jesus in-vited them to prove Him guilty of sin, but insteadthey resort to name-calling. The Samaritans are apeople of mixed Jewish and Gentile descent wholive just north of Judea and worship at Mount Ger-izim. The hostility between Jews and Samaritansis well documented both in the Bible (Ezra 4:1-5;Nehemiah 4:1-8; John 4:9) and in other literature.Jews and Samaritans each claim to be God'select people. The accusation that Jesus is a Sa-maritan follows from His statement that the Jewsare not acting as true children of Abraham. Theaccusation that Jesus is demon-possessed is anattempt to contradict Jesus' statement in verse38. The Jews think that Jesus' words do not comefrom God but rather from the devil, becausesurely neither God nor a true prophet would callthem "slaves to sin"!

You ARE A SAMARITAN

The ad hozninem argument is one of the oldestfallacies in the history of logic. The name of thisargument literally means that it is an argument

against the person, rather than against the logicof the person's argument. It is an easy and conve-nient way of scoring points off an opponent.Sometimes it can be used in a humorous way.As children we could end an argument by stat-ing, "Your grandmother wears combat boots!"Modern politicians can dismiss certain issues byclaiming their opponents are "left wing" or "rightwing." Valid points can be ridiculed by com-menting, "You're only a truck driver; what doyou know about international diplomacy?" Bygiving people labels with negative overtones, wecan dismiss their observations unfairly.

Jesus' opponents found it hard to respond toHis discussion on the proper behavior of thechildren of Abraham—with the implication thatthe Jews were not acting as true children ofAbraham should. So they simply dismissed Hiscomments by saying that He was a Samaritan. Intheir minds that ended the discussion. EthnicSamaritans could not be expected to contributeintelligently to a discussion on Judaism, so Jesus'comments could be ignored.

Yet ad hominem arguments don't prove any-thing. They are a fallacy and therefore irrelevantto the discussion. The observations that Jesusmakes are still valid. His critique cannot be over-looked simply by name-calling. Neither canmodern society dismiss Him by thinking of Himas a mere first-century carpenter.

B. First Response (vv. 49-51)

49, 50. Jesus answered, I have not a devil; butI honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me. AndI seek not mine own glory: there is one thatseeketh and judgeth.

Jesus, unlike the Jews, does not reject the wordof the Father but rather obeys. Further, while theJews are seeking affirmation of their own spiritu-ality, Jesus is seeking only to do God's will. God,however, is seeking to glorify Jesus. God knowsthat what Jesus says is true. The Jews will there-fore be in a dangerous situation unless they repent.

51. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a mankeep my saying, he shall never see death.Obviously Jesus is using the word death in away other than in a physical sense, since every-one dies. Death here refers to the lost state ofthose who do not accept Christ (compare 1 John3:14). That condition will become irreversibleonce we leave this world. Only those who be-lieve Jesus' claims about himself will escape thisfate and enjoy eternal life (John 6:63, 68).

The verse before us follows logically fromJesus' earlier remarks in verse 34 about slavery to sin. As Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:56, "thesting of death is sin." Those who accept Jesusneed not fear judgment. Their belief its Him freesthem from sin's power and makes them God'schildren. [See question #4. page 166.j

The phrase verily, verily appears often in theGospel of John to draw attention to particularlyimportant sayings by Jesus. As is the case hereand at v. 34), comments followed by this formulaoften relate to Jesus' divine identity or the need toaccept Him in order to receive salvation (see John1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:47; 12:24; 13:20).

C.Second Accusation (vv. 52, 53)

52, 53. Then said the Jews unto him, Now weknow that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead,and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a mankeep my saying, he shall never taste of death.Art thou greater than our father Abraham,which is dead? and the prophets are dead:whom makest thou thyself?

Taking Jesus' discussion of death in a physicalsense, the Jews mock His claim. Even their greatheroes of the faith, Abraham and the prophets,could not grant life; in fact these people diedthemselves. The Jews' comment suggests that itwould be impossible for any human being to dowhat Jesus claims He can do.

Apparently the Jews' earlier "faith" that wesaw in John 0:31 was based on the idea thatJesus was some sort of prophet or holy man}compare John 7:40). Now, however, they sus-pect that He may be claiming something more.

D.Second Response (vv. 54-56, 58)

54.Jesus answered, If I honor myself, myhonor is nothing: it is my Father that honorethme; of whom ye say, that he is your God.Jesus responds by pointing out that God, work-ing through Hint, is making Jesus' true identityplain to the world. Many people may refer toGod as Father because they recognize Him to bethe creator of the universe, yet Jesus is God's Sonin a unique way. Titus the Jews (and others) re-ject God's offer of freedom and life when theyrefuse to believe Jesus. God honors Jesus both byempowering His miraculous works and, ulti-mately, by raising Him from the dead and restor-ing His divine glory in Heaven (John 17:5).

55.Yet ye have not known him; but I knowhim: and if I should say, I know him not, I shallbe a liar like unto you: but I know him, andkeep his saying.

Jesus now exposes the real reason that theJews cannot accept Him; their misunderstandingof Jesus reflects a deeper misunderstanding of God. Everything that Jesus does and says revealsthe Father in a dark world, so that one can seeGod in Jesus (John 14:7-10). Those who rejectJesus, then, actually are rejecting the God whosent Hint. John raises this point at the very be-ginning of his gospel by noting that Jesus' "own[the Jews) received him not" (John 1:11). Theyrefuse to recognize God's power at work in Him.

KNOWING GOD

I know that World War II happened. I haveread books about it, seen pictures taken duringit, listened to recordings of speeches by Roo-sevelt and Churchill. Yet if my father were tosay, "I know World War II happened," he couldspeak with store authority than I could. In 1943he was drafted into the army and saw service inNew Guinea and the Philippines. I know about!he war, but he knew it firsthand.

The verb to know has two meanings, both inEnglish and in Greek. On the one hand it canmean to know something intellectually, or tohave what we often call "head knowledge." Thisapplies to facts, information, etc. Another mean-ing of to know is to have experience of something.This goes beyond mere head knowledge. This hasto do with life experience and awareness.

The Jews had knowledge of God. They hadlearned the Old Testament; they had studied thelaw. They performed the ritual cleanings; theypracticed tithing. The Jews knew factual dataand information about God. But had they reallyexperienced God in their hearts?

Jesus could claim, "I know Him," because Hehad firsthand experience with God. Jesus invites s to go beyond mere knowledge about Him and experience Him in our hearts.

56, 58. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. . .. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Jesus confirms the Jews' suspicions by noting two ways in which He is superior to Abraham. First, Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus' day. Some ancient rabbis believed that God had revealed the secrets of the messianic age to Abraham in a vision (compare Genesis 15:17-24 A better idea may be that Jesus is referring to the joy that Abraham experienced when told by God that "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). The Jews of Christ's day have the opportunity to see that promise fulfilled in the coming of Abraham's descendant Jesus. Abraham, then, was looking forward to what Christ would do.

Second, and much more substantially, Jesus existed before Abraham. Such a statement would be absurd if Jesus were a normal human being (compare John 8:57, not in today's text). But it is obvious that Jesus is claiming something more. / am is drawn from Exodus 3:13, 14, where God refers to himself as Yahweh, meaning "the one who exists." The ancient Jews came to treat that "I am" phrase as God's sacred name. Many times in the Gospel of John, Jesus describes himself with a statement that begins with I am—"I am the light of the world," "I am the good shepherd," etc. But when I ant is used in the absolute sense—alone and with no other words following—Jesus is applying God's sacred name directly to himself. This highlights Jesus' own divine nature. Jesus can offer freedom from sin and eternal life because He is, in fact, completely one with the God who existed before Abraham. It is therefore pointless for the Jews to appeal to Abraham as their spiritual forefather; Jesus is much greater than he is anyway.

E. Actions (v. 59)

59. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

The Jews' actions reveal that they finally have come to understand the implication of Jesus' words. Stoning was prescribed in the law for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). Clearly they realize that Jesus is claiming to be God; sadly they reject that claim and the eternal life that He offers

Conclusion

A. The Freedom Center

Recently a new museum opened in Cincinnati, Ohio, called The Freedom Center. This museum celebrates the men and women who led the Underground Railroad before America's Civil War. Those heroes helped escaping slaves secretly make their way northward to freedom. The Ohio River—a natural boundary marker between North and South—symbolized a new life of liberty. Many pre–Civil War houses and buildings in northern Kentucky and southwestern Ohio still include secret rooms. trap doors, and concealed crawlspaces for hiding. The Underground Railroad provided a means of escape from a world of harsh servitude.

How much more profound is the eternal freedom that Jesus offers! He, and only He, is our "eternal underground railroad." To reject His route to freedom is both sad and amazing. Yet that's just what we see people doing in today's lesson. It is a pattern that continues today.

B. Prayer

Lord, we live in a world full of doubts and temptations. Very often we don't understand why we do the things we do. We want to do what's right, but we fall back into our old, bad habits and patterns.

Please give us both the power to believe Your Word and the faith to follow it at all costs. Then we can experience the freedom that Christ promised us. In Jesus' name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

When facing temptation, ask: Did Jesus come to earth no I could do this or be free not to do it?

Home :: Contact Us :: About Us :: Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use :: Site Map