We are continuing our study this morning of the eighth chapter of John. We'll actually be finishing this chapter this morning. The context of chapter 7 and 8 is the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in the Temple. The Lord has been carrying on conversations with some of the individuals and some of the groups that were present for the celebration of that feast.
Over and over in this chapter Yeshua has been attacked and assaulted by the leaders of Judaism. We are looking at one of the most heated exchanges between Yeshua and the unbelieving Jews recorded in the Gospel of John, Yeshua is responding to their claim in John 8:33, "We are Abraham's descendants"—by pointing out that while they may be so by genealogy (John 8:37), their spiritual father is "the devil." The Jews adamantly respond, "Abraham is our father" (John 8:39) and then, "We have one Father, God" (John 8:41), but both times, Yeshua points out how their claims are disproven by their actions. He tells these religious leaders who continually said they represented God and spoke for God:
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 NASB
That's pretty strong language. That is not seeker sensitive language. He's not trying to cater to them or make them feel good, He's giving them the truth. Yeshua's language toward the Pharisees is almost uniformly negative everywhere in all four Gospels, and often intensely so. He called them "hypocrites" in all the Gospels; "blind men" (Matthew 23:19) and "children of hell" (Matthew 23:15):
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Matthew 23:27 NASB
Not a lot of political correctness or tolerance here. The Lord just spoke the truth, and that was something they didn't know anything about:
"But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. John 8:45 NASB
It is precisely because Yeshua tells the truth that these sons of the devil who are liars reject His words. Now let me ask you, Why don't they believe Him? Did they not have enough information, did they lack evidence? Yeshua had performed many miracles, and for people who knew the Tanakh it should have been easy for them to see that He was the fulfillment of prophecy, He was Messiah. So why did they not believe Him? We saw the answer to this question in John 6, and will see it again in 8:47:
Yeshua said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. "But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. John 6:35-37 NASB
"He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst"—what I want you to see here is that "coming to Yeshua" and "believing in Yeshua" are synonymous concepts. These are parallel terms, coming to Christ is the same as believing in Christ and vise versa. This is very important in understanding this text.
Yeshua is addressing the crowd's unbelief (36). So Yeshua tells them that even though they have seen Him perform miraculous signs, they don't believe in Him. Then He says, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me." Remember "coming to Christ" and "believing in Christ" are synonyms. So who believes in Yeshua? "All that the Father gives to Yeshua"—the ability to believe on Yeshua requires divine enablement. It is only those whom "the Father" enables to believe that "come to" Yeshua in faith. These are "all" the people whom "the Father gives" to the Son as gifts.
And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." John 6:65 NASB
"No one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father"—over and over in this chapter Yeshua refers to the divine initiative, intervention and empowerment necessary for anyone to come to faith in Him. This is a point that He wants us to get. Twice Yeshua says, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me"—the ability to believe on Yeshua requires divine enablement. It is only those whom "the Father" enables to believe that "come to" Yeshua in faith. These are "all" the people whom "the Father gives" to the Son as gifts. Yeshua viewed the ultimate cause of faith as God's electing grace, not man's choice.
They didn't believe because it was necessary that the Father draw them (6:44), that they be given to the Son (6:37), that they be taught by God (6:45) and chosen by Yeshua (6:70). The Bible says the mind of the flesh is enmity against God. Man must have a new birth in order to come to Yeshua.
"Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? John 8:46 NASB
"Which of you convicts Me of sin"—I don't see Yeshua as asking here whether anyone thinks he is guilty of sin. Clearly, many did (5:18, where some thought He was guilty not only of breaking the Sabbath, but also of blasphemy by making Himself equal with God). In this context, "convicts me of sin" seems to refer to false testimony. Satan lies, but Yeshua speaks the truth. Yeshua invites these Jewish leaders to refute His statements or teachings, prove Him to be false! They of course could not:
"He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God." John 8:47 NASB
These people do not listen or respond because they do not belong to God. It's as simple as that. Only those who have been called of God hear God. The natural man does not hear the words of God.
So Yeshua tells them, "You are not of God" to which they respond:
The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" John 8:48 NASB
The Jews cannot refute His argument so they resort to insulting Him. This seems to be the way most debates go. Debates start on an intellectual level. Somebody says, "This is true." Somebody says, "Well, I don't think so, I think this is the truth." And you have a disagreement. Very often this disagreement then goes to a second level where it becomes emotional. I think that's okay. You should get emotional, but not irrational, about what you're passionate about. The third level is often verbal abuse. When you can't get them to see your point. you get angry, you just start firing off the epithets. And this can lead to a fourth step, physical abuse. Personally, I don't think debates are useful. Unless the person who disagrees with you intellectually wants to know more of your position, you are wasting your time.
These Jews can't prove anything that Yeshua is saying false, so they go to step three and attack Him.
"You are a Samaritan"—this is the only record of this charge in the Gospels. The Jews despised the Samaritans, they were half-breeds who had intermarried with Gentiles six centuries earlier and now followed their own version of the Torah.
By calling Him a Samaritan they were accusing Him of being a heretic, a semi-pagan, and a violator of the Covenant. A Samaritan in their eyes is worse than being a Gentile. It is the worse insult they can think of.
Calling Yeshua a Samaritan was a kind of racial slur with the innuendo that His real father was unknown. They accuse Yeshua not only of being an illegitimate child, but also of being the son of a non-Jew, a Gentile, and thus (in their minds) a Samaritan, a demon-possessed Samaritan no less. They believed that Mary had an affair with a Roman soldier and Yeshua was an illegitimate child born to a Jew and a Gentile pagan.
There is a possibility that the true contextual meaning here is reflected in the Aramaic word translated by the Greek term "Samaritan," which meant "the chief of demons." If this is true it fits in with the constant charge by the religious leaders that Yeshua's power came from an evil supernatural source.
"You have a demon"—this was a constant accusation. In Mark 3:22, it says, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." Beelzebub, is another name for Satan. So they saw Him as not only possessed by demons, but by Satan.
What is a demon? Can you tell me what a demon is and where they come from?
The Dead Sea Scrolls say they are, "bastard spirits." The biblical text read in its ancient context tells us that demons are the disembodied spirits of dead Nephilim. And the Nephilim are the product of the Watchers mating with women. So demons are second generation divine beings. First Enoch says:
And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. (Enoch 15:8-10)
And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them. And at the death of the giants, spirits will go out and shall destroy without incurring judgment… (Enoch 15:11-16:1)
This second Temple literature is the context for the New Testament. This is what the Jews of the second Temple period believed. Demons were vicious, vile creatures. And these Jewish leaders are accusing Yeshua of being demon possessed. Think about that.
For these Jews not to recognize Yeshua as the Son of God may be excusable since He appears as an ordinary man, but it is perverse to see all the benevolent works of Yeshua; healing, feeding, raising the dead; and declare those the works of demons.
These Jews who proudly claimed to be keepers of the Ten Commandments, were flagrantly breaking the ninth command about not bearing false witness. They continually made untrue and vile accusations against Yeshua.
Yeshua answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. John 8:49 NASB
"Yeshua answered, 'I do not have a demon'"'—that's pretty calm, doesn't seem to be like someone with a demon would act. Peter said:
and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 1 Peter 2:23 NASB
This is how a Christian is to respond to slander and personal attacks. We are to be like Yeshua, act like Yeshua. Yeshua imitates the Father and so should we.
"But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me"—they dishonor Him by saying that He has a demon and by rejecting Him as the Son of God, and in doing so they also dishonor the Father who sent Him:
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. John 5:23 NASB
You can't possibly be children of God and so dishonor Me, the one whom God honors.
"But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. John 8:50 NASB
To say that Christ does not seek His own glory is an understatement. His incarnation was an act of humility:
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8 NASB
In His humiliation He gave up His glory.
Yeshua says, in effect, "I don't need to defend myself, because God the Father seeks my glory. In other words, if you dishonor me, instead of glorifying me, you set yourself against God. If you oppose me, you oppose the one who is committed to honor me."
"There is One who seeks and judges"—that's an interesting statement, because what He's saying ,essentially, is there is One person who seeks my glory and Who judges the rebellious. And of course that person is the Father in heaven. You have gotten to the point where you are blaspheming Me, calling Me a half-breed and demonized. And you are in great danger of God's judgment.
Rather than striking dead on the spot, these arrogant Jewish leaders, who should have recognized Yeshua as their Messiah, Yeshua promises eternal life to any of them who would keep His word:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." John 8:51 NASB
The "if" here and in 52 are both third class conditional sentences, which mean: "potential action. Maybe you will, maybe you won't." "Keeping" Yeshua's "word" is synonymous with believing on Him (5:24; 8:24). If you believe what I say about Myself, and My Father, and our great work of salvation— you won't see death. The "death" in view is eternal death (11:25),. This is the same thing Yeshua said in:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24 NASB
Believers in Yeshua have passed from death to life. Eternal life cannot by definition end. Believers will never die spiritually, ever.
There is a story of a German pastor who was asked the question, "Are you afraid of death?" He said, "Which death do you mean? Jesus my Savior said, '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 the promises of eternal life.
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 will never taste of death.' John 8:52 NASB
The Jews are saying what they accused Yeshua of in 8:48 has now been confirmed. Because He has promised that those who believe in Him will not die, a thing no human being can promise. Therefore, they reason, He is either insane or possessed by the demon.
As we have seen over and over in this Gospel He's talking about spiritual truth and they're talking only on a superficial physical level. They are basically saying, Who do You think You are? They reason that Abraham heard and obeyed the word of God, yet died; the prophets heard, obeyed and taught the word of God, and they died. Who do You think You are? This is beyond comprehension. They were the great heroes of Judaism, and they all died. Only a demon-possessed lunatic would say He had power over death:
"Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?" John 8:53 NASB
The Jews' question in the Greek text expects a negative answer. Certainly Yeshua could not mean that He was greater than these men, could He? Yes, Yeshua is greater than Abraham, which means that Yeshua is greater than Judaism:
Yeshua answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; John 8:54 NASB
The "if" here is another third class conditional sentence, which meant:" potential action." You keep claiming God is your God and you dishonor Him by dishonoring Me. We need to keep in mind that there was plenty of evidence that God had affirmed Christ. He affirmed Him in the fulfilled Old Covenant prophecies, through John the Baptist, and in His words and in His miracles:
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 keep His word. John 8:55 NASB
If Yeshua were to seek to appease His opponents by saying that He does not know the Father (as they want to believe), then He would be a liar, just as they are liars. Again, this is strong language,"You're liars!"
"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." John 8:56 NASB
First of all notice that Yeshua says, "Your father Abraham"—not our father Abraham. Throughout this Gospel Yeshua distances Himself from "the Jews," "the Law" (John 8:17), "the Temple," and even the patriarch Abraham. There is a clear break from the Old Covenant!
Commentators go all over the map trying to decide what vision or promise or event this refers to in Abraham's life. Bottom line is, we really don't know. Hall Harris says:
"The use of past tenses would seem to refer to something that occurred the patriarch's lifetime. Genesis Rabbah 44:25ff, (cf. 59:6) states that Rabbi Akiba, in a debate with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, held that Abraham had been shown not this world only but the world to come (this would include the days of Messiah). More realistically, I would suggest Gen 22:13-15 lies behind Jesus' words. This passage, known to rabbis as the Akedah ("Binding"), tells of Abraham finding the ram which will replace his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice—an occasion of certain rejoicing."
Some would say that on Mount Moriah, where God told Abraham to sacrifice the son of the promise, He provided the ram as a substitute (Gen. 22). God showed Abraham there how His own Son would be the sacrifice for sins, but also how He would be raised from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19). Some see the most likely possibility is Genesis 12:3, the prediction that God would bless the whole world through Abraham. Some say that Yeshua is claiming that the promise God made to Abraham finds its fulfillment in his own ministry. And then some scholars (Lindars, p. 335) propose that John 8:56 means Abraham was already in paradise, seeing Yeshua in His ministry.
Again, we don't know for sure what promise or event this refers to in Abraham's life, but let me share with you a view that I like the best. Look at Psalm 19:
The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. Psalms 19:1-6 NASB
Is David saying that we can see the hand of God in the physical creation? We stand by the Grand Canyon, and we are awed by what we see; or we stand on the beach of the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, and are awed by that great body of water; or we're in the Alps, and we look and we see one of these magnificent peaks, and we are awed by that. And because of that we know that there is a God? I don't think so.
"And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands"—the Hebrew word for "expanse" here is raqiya. In Genesis 1 we see that the stars are in the expanse, same word. I think that what David is referring to here is the Zodiac. The word "zodiac" means: "path" or "way." The Zodiac is the stages of the sun's path through the heavens in 12 months. Notice verse 3:
There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Psalms 19:3 NASB
Does that make sense? Verse 2 says, "Day to day pours forth speech," and then the next verse says, "There is no speech"? Which is it. Is there speech or not? The KJV puts it this way:
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Psalms 19:3 KJV
See the difference? The Geneva Bible put it, "[There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard." Then has this note, "The heavens are a schoolmaster to all nations, no matter how barbarous."
I think that Psalm 19 is referring to what some have called, "The Gospel in the Stars." God's glory is seen in the Zodiac as it tells the plan of redemption.
So what is it that utters, or pours forth speech; which voice goes out to all the world? Whatever it is, it shows the glory of God. Is the glory of God seen in the existence of stars alone? No, the scientist says those are all the result of a big bang:
For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NASB
It is the work of Christ that shows the glory of God more than anything else. So the glory of God is not just stars, but the work of Christ in redemption. If the heavens declare the glory of God, then they are saying something about Christ. There is something about the heavens which declares Christ.
We find in Genesis that Abram has no children, but God has promised him many offspring:
"I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. Genesis 13:16 NASB
So Yahweh promises Abraham multiple descendants. But in Genesis 15, there is another incident:
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great." Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:1-6 NASB
In verse 5 Yahweh tells Abram to "count the stars." The word "count" here is from the Hebrew saphar, which can means: "intensively to recount, that is, celebrate: shew forth, speak, talk, tell." It comes from a root meaning: "a book" or "a scroll."
In the LXX the word "count" is arithmeo, which can means: "reckoned up." The meaning of arithmeo, is much wider than "count" and can mean: "enumerate" or "reckon."
So what Yahweh said to Abram was not "count the stars," but to "recount or tell" the stars. There was a story in the stars, and Yahweh wanted Abram to take note of it. And there was something about this story in the stars that Abraham believed, and it was counted to him as righteousness:
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6 NASB
What did Abram believe? Was it that he would have a bunch of decedents, or was it the message of redemption in the constellations? Paul tells us that Abraham had the Gospel preached to him:
The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU." Galatians 3:8 NASB
Was the Gospel in the stars? Whatever Abram believed it caused him to be counted as righteous. Yahweh evidently showed Abraham that one of his decedents would redeem man from the curse and satisfy the justice of God.
Abraham believed that God would provide a redeemer to deal with man's sin. When Yahweh told Abram in Genesis 15:5, "So shall your descendants be," was He saying the Messiah would be Abram's offspring? Was that what Abram was to "tell" in the stars? I think that Paul explains this in:
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. Galatians 3:16 NASB
Paul is clarifying that Yahweh told Abraham his SEED was being referred to, in the singular, not the Hebrew plural, which would translate "seeds." It is possible that Abraham thought that his "seed," Isaac, was to be the promised Messiah. Remember Abraham had received a very specific promise that he would have a son at a particular time (Genesis 17:15-16, 18:10). Then, in Genesis 22, we read of Yahweh's command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
What does Abraham do when Yahweh tells him to sacrifice Isaac? He doesn't question or argue with Yahweh, he simply obeys. Did Abraham know the Messiah had to be sacrificed and then would be resurrected? If so, did he believe his son was the sacrifice?:
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. Hebrews 11:17-19 NASB
Abraham believed that Yahweh would raise the Messiah, and perhaps he believed that Isaac, his "seed," was the Messiah.
Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." Genesis 22:5 NASB
Abraham seemed to believe that they were both coming back. He may have believed that Isaac was the Messiah, who would be resurrected. He seems to have known the Gospel. He may have seen it in the stars.
If the Gospel was told in the constellations how were men supposed to know the meaning of the constellations? How did anyone before know the meaning of the constellations? It was the same as reading. You had to be taught. We cannot look up into the sky and say, "Oh, look, there's a lion!" Just like reading a book, it is something that has to be learned.
The constellations themselves have been known from antiquity. The names of the stars have retained their meaning in various languages. For instance, the constellation "Virgo," meaning "virgin" is referred to as "Bethulah" in Hebrew, "Parthenos" in Greek, "Kanya" in Hindi—all of which mean: "virgin." This indicates a prior knowledge of the names of the stars and constellations, prior to the language confusion at Babel. This knowledge may well have come down from Noah and even from Adam. The star and constellation names have been handed down from antiquity.
So Yeshua says, "Abraham rejoiced to see My day." Abraham believed the Gospel and was declared righteous. But these Jews who claim to be children of Abraham have the Messiah standing right in front of them, and they can't see Him. They are blind, the cannot understand the Gospel.
So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" John 8:57 NASB
How old was Yeshua at this time? 33. Luke tells us, "When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age" Luke 3:23. They were not suggesting that Yeshua looked like He was fifty. Rather, they were just picking a round number that obviously was older than Yeshua.
Yeshua didn't say that he saw Abraham, even though He did (Genesis 18:13, 17, 20). What He said was that Abraham saw His day. Meaning: "the Christ event, first coming, cross, resurrection, second coming." In some of the best manuscripts the texts reads, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and has He seen thee?" or "He has seen thee."
Yeshua said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." John 8:58 NASB
This is the third use of "I AM", Ego Ami, without a predicate nominative indicating the divine name Yahweh. This is the clearest, most forthright claim in this Gospel that Yeshua is Yahweh, the God of Israel, the great "I am" of Exodus 3:14 and the prophets. His claim is that He existed before Abraham who lived approximately 2,000 years earlier. But if He was just claiming pre-existence, he would have said, "Before Abraham was, I was." But He is claiming more than mere pre-existence. He says, "Before Abraham was, I am." Exodus 3:14: "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' So by saying, "I am," He was not only claiming preexistence—but deity The meaning here is: Before Abraham came into being, I eternally was, as now I am, and ever continue to be.
A German scholar who has studied in detail Yeshua's claim to be the "I AM" said, "This is Jesus' boldest declaration. It means, 'Where I am there is God. Where I am there God lives, speaks, calls, asks, acts, decides, loves, chooses, forgives, rejects, hardens, suffers, dies.' Nothing bolder can be said or even imagined than for Jesus to say, 'I am before Abraham came to be.'"
Yeshua's claim is clearly understood by the crowd. To claim to be God is blasphemy, for which the penalty is death by stoning (Leviticus 24:16) and so they pick up stones in an attempt to execute Him.
Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Yeshua hid Himself and went out of the temple. John 8:59 NASB
As they turn to stone Him He has already gone from the Temple! Yet another proof of His divinity right before their eyes! Yeshua repeatedly escapes arrest, until the appointed hour of the Father arrives.
Stoning without a reason was an accepted form of punishment when someone supposedly defied the Mosaic Law or the traditions of the elders (cf. Luke 4:29; John 10:31; Acts 7:58; 21:31).
Yeshua symbolically leaves the Temple Grounds, where these Jews purported to worship God. This reminds us of Ezekiel's vision, when the glory of the Lord left the Yemple (Ezek. 10:18, 11:22-23). These Jewish leaders will not hear Yeshua so He departs the Temple, the glory departs, and forty years later the Temple is destroyed.
All men today face the same choice these Jews faced: Either Yeshua was a blasphemer or He is God. He could not have been just a good man. Good men don't claim to be God.