I Am Going Away; You Can’t Come!

Lesson #141

In the next section, defined by John 8:21 – 30, we will consider where Jesus came from and where he is going. So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”” (John 8:21 ESV). Surely Jesus knows that he will not make any further progress with these obstinate men, so he says to them that he is going away to a place where they cannot come, even if they wanted to. The reason they cannot go where he is going is because they do not accept him for who he is and as a result they will die in their sin and go to their destruction.

There seems to be an acceptable time for salvation. In 2 Corinthians 6:2 (ESV), we read, “For he says, “I heard you at the acceptable time, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation!” It is very possible, if a person continues to ignore the wooing of the Holy Spirit, that one may lose their chance for salvation. Jesus withdrawing from these Pharisees and condemning them to death, I believe, is a warning to us to not delay in making a decision for Christ. “Now is the acceptable time, look, now is the day of salvation; tomorrow may prove to be too late.

As time passes by and a person anguishes in their sinful state, that person may seek for God, but because of their pride and defiance, they will be unable to find him. Remember, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6 ESV). Unless one is humble, broken, before God, God will resist that one. The Scripture is clear that we are to be broken for a purpose. Here that purpose is salvation.

The Pharisees clearly did not understand what Jesus said and so they said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” (John 8 22 ESV). The Pharisees have come to the point of making fun of what Jesus is saying. They are ridiculing him; they speak words without understanding; they have no feeling but anger and hate. They speak to their own destruction as Jesus said to them. They can’t go where he is going because they are lost in their sin.

We will stop here because verses 23 – 25 belong together and will take another lesson to cover.

Prayer

Father, the day of salvation was sure clear to me some 65 years ago when I felt compelled to accept Jesus Christ into my life. I don’t know how I could have possibly put it off one more day. I knew that was the acceptable time and God did his work in me and I was born again. Father, clearly you came to me and drew me to yourself and gave me to Jesus for eternal life. How can I thank you enough?