Jesus Continued Conflict with the Jews

I'll take your Bible this morning. Turn with me to John chapter 8. John chapter 8, we will be back in our series, Christ the Son of God, Believe and Live. We've been here for quite some time and we're learning layer by layer. We're learning some very necessary truths about Christ, His deity, what He came to do, what He taught. Many of you might not be aware of how bold and how direct Jesus taught about who He was. I think there are many things that the Lord is teaching us and that's why it is important for us to embark on studies like this, systematically, verse by verse. Take the time, the discipline, the effort to do so.

We'll be in verses 48 through 49 this morning, John chapter 8. We're going to finish a portion of scripture that we've been in for a little while. I think you know by now that some of these scriptures are really clumped together and one big message, we have to divide them up, obviously, for time. But all of chapter 8 is really one long message, one long dialogue with the exception of the first 11 verses. Remember verses 1 through 11, Jesus deals with the adulterous woman. But this dialogue is really more than a dialogue. It's a heated dialogue.

I've used the word showdown because it does go back and forth in a very heated manner between Jesus and the religious leaders. But this scripture, this dialogue takes place after the Feast of the Tabernacles, which was in chapter 7. I bring that back up because it's really neatly connected. After the Feast of the Tabernacle, Jesus does move on from the Feast, but He continues because what started at the Feast is continued on into chapter 8. Now, remember what He did at the Feast? He went to the temple, the text says. He even went to the temple, or the place in the temple called the Court of Women.

That would have been where the greatest crowds were. I like that imagery. I like that being communicated to us because we see Jesus purposefully going to the people. Why is He doing that? He wanted to be with the people. He wanted to teach them. And He wanted to reveal Himself to them. And there were some Jews that did believe, but then we're learning, sadly, that there are many Jews who rejected Him. And even became hostile to Him, towards Him. Now, here in our passages this morning in chapter 8, we are going to see the religious leaders grow increasingly hostile to Jesus. And He has direct and obvious claims to deity.

All along in chapter 7 and 8, it's just become more and more heated, more and more hostile. So much so that at the end of the chapter, I'll go ahead and let you have a peek at the last verse. They even pick up stones to stone Jesus. That's how it escalated. Now, so far in this portion of chapter 8, we have had four messages. We had the Great Invitation, part 2, verses 12 through 20. I mention that because that is tightly connected to the end of chapter 7. That was part 1 in a chapter 2, part 1 and part 2 that was divided by the story of the adulterous woman. Then we moved on, verse 21 through 30, the different reactions after the feast.

And then true discipleship, verses 31 through 36, and the true origin of the Jews in verse 37 through 47. Remember how direct Jesus was there in those verses? What did He say? He said, "Your father is not Abraham. Your father is the devil." They didn't like it. And it even gets more heated as we continue. Now, the title of the message this morning is "Jesus Continued Conflict with the Jews." Jesus and His continued conflict with the Jews. We're going to see them accuse Him, reject Him, accuse Him some more, and then continue to reject Him. And then, like I said earlier, they will become so violent that they do pick up stones to destroy Him.

We're going to look at three truths out of these verses. We'll focus most of our time on the first two, but we're going to look at their dishonoring accusation in verses 48 through 51. Then the accusation changes a little, and I call it their defiant accusation, verses 52 through 58. And then their ultimate rejection in verse 59. And like I said, we'll spend most of our time in the first two. Their dishonoring accusation, their defiant accusation, and their ultimate rejection. And I always encourage you to take notes. I want you to be faithful to develop those habits, that discipline. And I would encourage you to study.

Maybe spend your quiet time over the notes. Maybe if you have time where you're driving, you can listen to the messages again. I do that because I want to get all that God wants us to get. I don't want to just teach it. I want to learn it. I don't want to just preach the message. I want it to preach to me. So let's look at the verses together, and we'll start in verse 48 and go all the way to the end of the chapter. The Jews answered, and they said to him, "Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me. But I do not seek my own glory.

There is one who seeks and judges. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death." The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you are a demon, or have a demon." Abraham died, and the prophets also, and you say, "If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste of death?" Surely, you are not greater than our father Abraham, who died. The prophets died too. Whom do you make yourself out to be? 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.' And you have not come to know him, but I know him.

And if I say that I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you. But I do know him, and keep his word.' Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and he was glad." The Jews therefore said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham." Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Therefore, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple area. Now, I've given you the main truths, and we're going to start with main truth number one, their dishonoring accusation. Their dishonoring accusation. We see that in verses 48 through 51.

Now, all throughout this chapter, and before, the Jews have been accusing Jesus. This is nothing new. If we've been keeping up, you'll know that. This is nothing new. Here we find that the Jews are furious about Jesus' previous statements in the previous verses concerning their origin. He said, "Your father is the devil." And they were furious. Jesus had directly told them that they were not related to Abraham as they thought. Physical descendants, yes, but spiritual descendants, no. And of course, this sent them into an outrage. Now, we're going to look at their accusations, and then we're going to look at his rebuttal.

So first, these dishonoring accusations. First, they said that he was a Samaritan. Look at verse 48. "The Jews answered and said to him, 'Do we not rightly say that you are a Samaritan and you have a demon?'" Now, why this accusation of being a Samaritan? We must understand that for one Jew to call another Jew a Samaritan would have been the most abrasive insult of all. It was the most abrasive insult that a Jew could use. This was both a physical and a spiritual accusation from the religious leaders. We must understand a little bit of history. I'll take the time just to familiarize us with what went on.

But when the nation of Israel fell into captivity under the Babylonians, the Jews who were left behind married pagans. For the Assyrians were transplanted. They came into the nation of Israel after they were destroyed. So after this, you had a physical degradation in that they married pagan peoples, and their children would not have been pure-blooded Jews. But you also have a spiritual degradation. Those people left true Judaism, true Jewish teaching, and they had a form of Judaism which was false. So you see, there was a degradation both physically and spiritually. Remember what Jesus did when he went to Samaria?

Remember the woman's reaction to Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 and verse 19? The Samaritan woman pointed out that they had two different places of worship. Why? Because the Samaritans had an altered view of Judaism. The Samaritans, they also hated the Jews. You might not know it, but when the Jews came out of captivity, they were rebuilding the temple upon their return, and the Samaritans offered to help them. And the Jews, being obedient to what God had called them to do, refused their help, and therefore the Samaritans, they were insulted.

And so as time had gone on, there was an increasingly bitter hatred that festered generation after generation between the Samaritans and the Jews and the Jews and the Samaritans. Now a question for us to ponder. Did these religious leaders right here know that Jesus had gone into the Samaritan territory, and did they know that he had evangelized the Samaritan woman and the Samaritan people? We do not know. It would probably be safe to assume that some of them knew. I would imagine that that would have been a whisper that preceded Jesus everywhere he went among the Jews.

Can you believe that this man went to the Samaritans and he talked with the Samaritans, and he even declared the truths of God to the Samaritans? You see? We really don't know. But it might be safe to assume. But by calling him a Samaritan, they were calling him a false teacher, and they were also accusing him of not being one of pure Jewish descent. This wasn't just a physical insult. It was a physical and a spiritual insult. A lot of people might see it purely on racial lines, but it went much deeper than race. So first, he was a Samaritan. That was their dishonoring accusation.

The other dishonoring accusation was that he was demon-possessed. Go back to the verse. Do we not rightly say that you're a Samaritan and have a demon? Now, simply, to accuse someone of being demon-possessed was the same as calling someone crazy. It's calling someone mentally deficient. Obviously, this was not the case. This was an accusation that they made many times before. We saw this in John's Gospel previously, chapter 7, verse 20. We see it later on in chapter 8, verse 52, and then later on in chapter 10, verse 20. So notice their dishonoring accusations. Samaritan and demon possession. Very dishonoring to Jesus.

But then notice his rebuttal. Notice his rebuttal. Go back to the verse, verse 49. Jesus answered. We see this back and forth all through the chapter. Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me. But I do not seek my glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death." Now, in his rebuttal or defense, Jesus plainly states to them that he does not have a demon. He just simply states it. And then he goes on to what he truly does. Notice that in his defense, he does not get an argument.

He just simply says, "I don't have a demon." And then he goes on to explain what he does. First, he says he honors the father. Isn't that what he says in verse 49? "I do not have a demon, but I honor my father, and you dishonor me." All throughout the book we have seen, and we will continue to see, that he honors the father. Chapter 4, verse 34. Chapter 5, verse 19. Chapter 5, verse 30. Chapter 6, verse 38. And then on into chapter 14, verse 31. Chapter 15, verse 10. Chapter 17, verse 4. All of these verses tell us that Jesus says he honors the father. Jesus is shown as one who honors God the father.

Of course, this is a direct rebuttal against being accused of being demon-possessed, because no demon-possessed person can honor God. You see? He doesn't argue. He just states what he does. Also, he does not seek glory for himself. We see that in verse 50. He says that he does not seek glory. The one who seeks glory, which is the father, judges. What do we see? Again, this is seen throughout the book. Chapter 1, verse 14. Chapter 5, verse 44. We see the same teaching. And this is the opposite of what the religious leaders did and said. They sought to keep the honor that they had among the people. They were very jealous of Jesus.

They were very jealous of the following that Jesus had. So they were seeking to hold on to their honor while Jesus said that he did not seek glory. And the only glory that he received came from the father. And then continuing with his rebuttal, then he says those who keep his word do not die. Truly, truly, verse 51. I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death. Now, we should be very familiar by now with this truly, truly. The King James reads, "Verily, verily." This is that emphasis given by Jesus. Everything that Jesus said was true. Everything that Jesus says was noteworthy.

But when he says truly, truly, it corresponds with our amen, amen. He is elevating the level of importance. I like how the New International Version reads. It says very truly. It's very easy for us to understand. And that helps us see that Jesus is elevating the importance of what he is saying. Jesus is finally getting to what he wants to say. He is telling them that those who obey his words have life, and those who disobey, they have death. So you see how his rebuttal is unfolding. He says that he honors the Father. He says that he does not seek glory. And he says that those who keep his word do not die.

And this is after their dishonoring accusations. So here we see a two-fold rejection of Jesus. See, I want us to go back to these dishonoring accusations. First, they were accusing him of being a false teacher. Any Samaritan would have been a false teacher. To be a Samaritan means that you would have been teaching a perverted form of Judaism, and he would have been a half-breed, not a true Jew. So therefore he could not have been a true prophet. And second, they were rejecting, notice, his grace. See? They were rejecting him because they were accusing him, and then they were rejecting his grace.

If you go back and you look at verse 51, what do you see? "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see or taste death." What is this? This is a call of obedience, a call to follow him. Now, it's not as direct and overt as some of his calls are, but in that verse he is saying, "Those of you who would obey my words, you shall not see death." Of course, we see that they do not, because we are seeing and focusing on those Jews who rejected him. Now, what do we need to realize and learn and see and hold on to out of these verses? We need to remember that there are those, and there always will be those, who reject Jesus.

A lot of people in the church these days, and a lot of people in the Christian world, have a hard time believing that people will reject Jesus on this level, especially when they see it go on in their lives and in the culture. And look, that was going on then, and it will go on now. In our culture and in our day and in our world, when we declare Christ, when we declare the truths of the Word of God, there will be people who will reject Christ. Now, where does this come from? This is the spirit of none other than Antichrist. Remember, we learned in 1 John about the spirit of Antichrist. We have the person of Antichrist. He will come one day.

But then we have the spirit of Antichrist that is alive in this world. And anytime you see anything in the world that is Antichrist, anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-Christianity, and anti-man, that is from the spirit of Antichrist. And it is alive and well in the world. And so when we as Christians look around us, we need to realize that there are those who will reject Christ. Now, some do it quietly, but some do it boldly. Some do it without saying a word. Some do it without assaulting us. But listen, there will be some who will do it in a very bold and direct and abusive manner. I'll give you an example.

I know that when our friend Luke comes and teaches, preaches, he's always telling us about his ministry in India, and we're praying for that ministry. We're praying for him, and we're praying for those individuals over there. And I know that for some of you, the names of these individuals can run together. I understand that. You've not met them. That's why I like using our technology to show you videos and pictures. But one of the individuals that he ministers to is a young minister named Anil. Now, when Luke goes and hikes up into the foothills of the Himalayas, he's going with Anil because that's where Anil lives.

Now, Anil's story is pretty unique because Anil was saved out of Hinduism like most of them are, but his father is still a Hindu, and his father is a member of the political party that is radically against Christianity. So in his home village, there are Hindus who radically reject Christianity and radically oppose Anil and have even risen up in persecution against him, sometimes even to the place where he is fearful for his life. And sadly, the man who is right on the forefront of that rejection of Christianity and persecution is his own father. And Anil is living this verse. Anil is living this type of rejection. You see?

We have it rather easy here in our day and time, but what do we see? We see, we are seeing their dishonoring accusation. Now, let's move on. Let's notice their defiant accusation. Their defiant accusation. The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon." Abraham died and the prophets also, and you say, "If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste of death." And then Jesus goes on and continues on. This is a continuation, but it does change a little because we see it become more defiant. See their accusation. If we notice, it takes a twist. They take what Jesus said in verse 51. They throw it back into his face.

Their rejection and their misunderstanding of what Jesus has taught, let them to boldly accuse him of being demon possessed again. And really, they go on to say, "I told you. How can you say this?" They take it, twist it, and throw it back on his face in the form of questions. Now, let's break down their defiant accusations. Their defiant accusations. First, they defy his teaching on eternal life. And now what we see in verse 52, "The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon." Abraham died and the prophets also, they died.

"And you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste of death.'" They are showing that they misunderstand Jesus' teaching. They did not understand that he was teaching on eternal spiritual life. It is safe to say that they understood Jesus to be teaching on physical life. They missed it altogether. So they defy his teaching on eternal life out of this verse. And then second, they defy his teaching on Abraham. Verse 53, "Surely you are not greater than our father Abraham who died. The prophets died too. Whom do you make yourself out to be?" See those questions? In verse 53, they throw two questions into his face.

Notice that they are truly saying, "Who in the world do you think you are?" Now you know why they think he's crazy? They're not seeing it spiritually. They're seeing it physically. They are questioning his supremacy over Abraham and the prophets. Because if Jesus is not God, then he is not supreme over Abraham and the prophets. And now, we know that Jesus was above the prophets. Because he was God, deity in the flesh. While they were accusing him of being a man and a Samaritan and demon possessed and a false prophet. You see the two? You see the difference in the two?

They defied his teaching on eternal life and they defied his teaching on Abraham. You see this defiance? Now, just like before, let's look at his rebuttal. We'll see that in verses 54 on down to verse 58. "Now in his rebuttal, he plainly and he calmly teaches them who he is and what he does. He does not let their anger and accusations cause him to react to them harshly but to calmly rebuff their claims." First, he says his glory comes from God. Verse 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.' They claim that God is their Father, but yet that was not the case. Here, Jesus says that he does not glorify himself but it is the Father who glorifies him." Now, we know that this is a repeat. We've seen this previously in verses 49 through 50. Then Jesus says he knows God the Father and Father Abraham. Verse 55 and on down to verse 56, "And you have not come to know him, but I know him. And if I say that I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know him," talking about the Father, "and keep his word.

Your Father rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." Jesus is repeating what he has been saying and that he is of the Father, from the Father, and knows the Father intimately. And now Jesus adds to their fury by stating that Abraham was glad to see his day. Now, all of the translations say the very same thing, very clearly. Now, I want to point you to another verse. Don't turn there but jot it down. This is taught in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 13. Chapter 11 is what we call the great hall of fame of believers.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Abraham saw by faith the fulfillment of God's promises of Messiah through his son Isaac. He saw that day by faith. He believed God's promises. You see that? That's why when you go back and look at the verse, it has a different ring when you understand that. And you, verse 55, "have not come to know him, the Father, but I know him. And if I say that I do not know him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know him, and I keep his word." And notice, "Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." So Abraham by faith saw Christ and those promises fulfilled.

MacArthur says they wanted to murder the very one in whose coming Abraham rejoiced. You see how they're on the wrong side of the fence? And then here we see in verse 57 more of their defiance. See how they interrupt him? The Jews therefore said to him, "You are not yet 50 years old, and you've seen Abraham?" See, they're still stuck in the physical. They interrupted him, and they are observing his physical age. Again, this is nothing more than them revealing their spiritual ignorance and their defiance. And Jesus makes one more claim in his rebuttal. He makes one more, and he says the wonderful "I am" statement.

He makes this "I am" statement. Look at verse 58. "And Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.'" Jesus' last statement here in verse 58 is the high point of the rebuttal, the high point, the apex. Again, we see it truly, truly. The double "A" man, this elevates the importance of what he is about to say. And notice what he is saying. He is making a bold and direct claim to deity. And every Jew within hearing distance would have known exactly what he was saying. We saw this back in verse 24 in chapter 8. And this is that same language which God used to Moses back in Exodus 3, verse 14.

When Moses asks God's name, remember that story? Moses is called to go before Pharaoh, and what does he say? "Who do I say has sent me?" And what do we see? God told him, "Moses, you tell him, 'I am.'" That was the name of God. And so Jesus is using the name of God for himself. And that's why every Jew within earshot would have been livid. MacArthur goes on to say he is taking for himself the sacred name of God. And that is true. Now, what we see here is more of the same. They are accusing Jesus, but Jesus is adding to his rebuttal or revelation of himself to the Jews. Jesus claims reaching apex.

They come to a pinnacle when he says in verse 58, "Before Abraham was born, I am." This literally reads in the original, "Before Abraham came into being, I am." What is he saying? "Before Abraham ever came about, I am, and I was God." You see what he's saying? That's why you can never say that Christ was vague in his claims to deity. "I am." He reaches the pinnacle by saying, "Before Abraham was, I was, and I was God." See? No matter what proofs they saw, no matter what proofs these religious leaders saw, they were still accusing him. Now, what do I want us to see out of these verses?

When we engage the world and when we go out into the world, if we're not careful, we will relegate our witness to an argument. Now, there is such a thing as proving the case for Christ. It's called apologetics. But what I want you to see is no matter what proofs the world sees, as to the person of Christ, they will still reject Christ as a madman when he is presented as the one and only way, God. You hear me? The world will always reject Christ as a lunatic and a madman when he is presented as the one and only way. Look, Jesus' deity is not seen through his proofs, but by faith. Now, I do think that we can engage people.

I think that we can declare the truths of the Word of God. I think that we can engage in the realm of apologetics, but we must not stop there because these truths are believed by faith. How in the world did Abraham see the promises of God all the way down through the tunnel of time? He saw them by faith because he was a man of faith. And the reason that these Jewish leaders rejected Christ is because they did not have faith. That's exactly how Abraham saw it all. And that's exactly how we saw it all, see it all. You see?

So when we engage the world, and when the world rejects us and rejects the truth, and we try to explain the truths of the Word of God, and when they reject him and they say, "Christ was a madman and a lunatic and an idiot for saying these things," it shouldn't surprise us. But we must pray, and we must wait on the Spirit of God to do what only God can do, and that is to give them a new heart, and then by faith they can see and believe and trust these truths. You see? These things are believed by faith. You know, I mentioned our friend Anil. I did not have the privilege of meeting Anil when we went.

We made a pretty good loop around the country, but we couldn't see everybody. I look forward to one day possibly seeing Anil. Our friend Luke is getting ready to go to see Anil and go into the Himalayas in the month of August. He's been preparing because they're going to go over a very high mountain peak. I think he said 17,000 feet to go into a village that they've heard of that have never heard the Gospel. But how did Anil believe out of that Hindu faith? By faith.

By faith he believed the truths of the Word of God, and the only way Anil's father will quit rejecting the truths and rejecting the truths and persecuting his son in true Christianity is when he comes to believe these claims by faith as well. So it shouldn't surprise us when we see this, but it should bless us when we see them go from death to life and people of faith. And then third, which is the last truth I want us to see out of these verses, the ultimate or their ultimate rejection. Look at verse 59.

"Therefore they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and he went out of the temple." Their ultimate rejection came as a result of Jesus' ultimate claim. You see that? He stepped up and what did he say? "I am the words of God, the sacred name of God, before your beloved Abraham was, I am." So Jesus' ultimate claim brought about their ultimate rejection. And this ultimate rejection was the ultimate punishment and that was death. You see? The ultimate claim, the ultimate rejection, and the ultimate punishment. They knew exactly what Jesus was saying, and to them this was none other than pure blasphemy.

Now, stoning was the punishment for such blasphemy according to the Word. Did you know that? Leviticus chapter 24 verse 16 tells the Jews how they are to deal with blasphemy. But I want to give you an interesting note here. According to the writings of the Jews, according to what is taught out of the Mishnah, which was the tradition of the elders, it was to come about, this capital punishment, was to come about through a judicial decision, not through mob violence. But we know that this does not matter to the Jews. All they cared about was vengeance. Now, look at the end of the verse with me.

"Therefore they picked up stones to throw in him." If we're not careful, we can stop there. "But Jesus," what does it say? "Jesus hid himself, always hidden from them, and he went out." What does it say? "He went out of the temple." He went through their midst, some translations say. What do we see here? "Jesus walked out because it was not his time." What does that tell us? "No man laid a finger on Jesus until it was his time." "He did not take his life, he laid his life down." "They did not murder him, he gave his life, and he surrendered his life." And you know, for us in application, there are some who face ultimate rejection.

What do I mean by that? In the Christian faith, in the Christian walk, there are some who do face this ultimate rejection. And the ultimate rejection by the world, unto Christians, is death. You know, we've got it pretty easy here in our world right now. That could change, and it is changing, but what we see is the ultimate rejection of the Christian in the world is persecution, death, and martyrdom. You know, the Scriptures say that there are those who have been martyred, and we know that there are those who are dying for the faith even today.

There are Christian groups who keep up with Christian persecution, and they say that persecution worldwide, unto death, is at an all-time high. But we're sheltered. But what we need to see, mom and dad, is we need to see that we need to teach this truth to our children. Because one day, our children might face this ultimate rejection. There's nowhere in the Scripture where we are promised a nice, luxurious, easy life. And we've got brothers and sisters around the world dying even today, this ultimate rejection. Now, as I close, I want to bring about an example to you. What is the title of the message? Jesus, Continued Conflict with the Jews.

Now, this is not an example that brings people to the point of ultimate rejection, which is death. I don't know if you're familiar with one thing that's going on in our culture, but the Christian organization answers in Genesis. They have finished the construction of a full-size replica of Noah's ark. I've kept up with it a little bit through some Christian literature, and also through media. They say it's the largest wooden structure in the world. I don't know. I don't even know how you measure that. But what I'm showing you is this.

The folks at Answers in Genesis are desiring to engage the culture, draw the culture into a face-to-face about the truth of the Word of God. And they're using that ark. Now, for us who are Christians, I would assume that it would be an event or an object that would increase our faith, grow our faith, bless our faith. But see, for them, they're seeking to engage the culture, to force the culture to come face-to-face with the biblical reality of such a thing. But you know, when you read news articles, and you hear accounts, what do you hear? Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. Why?

Because the world has always been rejecting God, the Word of God, and Christ and His authority. You see? I hope and pray that God will give you the ability to understand that conflict comes when Christianity is brought into the world. Does that make us sit at home in fear? Does that make us lock ourselves in our closets? No way. We are to go, be Christians, salt and light, take the gospel to these people. Because God is so good that He saves individuals out of the world. And if it wasn't for God's good grace, you would be exactly like those religious leaders. Lord Jesus, thank you.