Larry Siegle · John 8:20-25
Link to sermon video: Sacred Time, Sacred Space – L Siegle
WHO IS ‘THIS JESUS’? V
“SACRED TIME, SACRED SPACE”
(John 8:20-25)
Series: WHO IS THIS ‘JESUS’?
Thesis: The “gospel accounts” are designed to introduce the people to the person and work of Jesus Christ
INTRODUCTION
1. The title of this series is Who is ‘This Jesus’?
2. This is the fifth lesson in our study: SACRED TIME, SACRED SPACE
CHAPTER SUMMARY:
1. Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem and teaching (John 8:2).
a. This section is disputed about the woman here caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11). There are some who
argue that since this section was not found in the “earliest MSS” that it should not be included in the text and
thus some translations omit or footnote the section.
b. Jesus tells the religious leaders of His day that they have NO clue as to who He really is (John 8:19).
c. “Eternal life” is in knowing God and Christ (John 17:3)—this is inseparable.
d. Jesus was “from above” they were from “beneath” (John 8:23, 24).
THE FOUNDATION STONE
1. Within the temple, in the Holy of Holies there was believed to have been what was called the Eben HaShetiya, the
“foundation stone” upon which the Ark of the Covenant is believed to have rested—according to various Jewish
writings—
a. This “stone” was believed to have been the location of several significant Biblical events:
1) This “stone” at the very highest point of Mt. Moriah was believed to have been the place where Adam, Cain,
Abel and Noah had offered sacrifices unto the Lord.
2) According to the Talmud, this was the location where Isaac was laid for Abraham to offer him up.
b. As it pertains to the “reality” of what the “foundation stone” represented, upholding the Ark of the Covenant
where the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the offering to provide “atonement” for Israel—the true
representation of this “foundation stone” represented Christ Himself as the “chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:16-22).
1) The psalmist prophesied that Christ as the “chief cornerstone” (Psa. 118:22; Isa. 28:16) was to be rejected by
His own people (John 1:11).
2) Christ as the “chief cornerstone” gave the opportunity for believers to be counted as “living stones” (I Pet.
2:4-10).
c. The sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very basis and foundation of our stance with
God here today.
SACRED TIME, SACRED SPACE
1. I hope that we can all just pause for a moment in time here this morning.
2. We live such busy and often distracted lives—the pressure during the week becomes intense, sometimes beyond
measure.
a. We get tried, sometimes exhausted by the time Sunday comes around.
b. If we are not careful, we can begin to see the “worship assembly” as just another meeting—no big deal.
1) The YouTube streaming this and other messages is for the benefit of those who are unable to be here, not
designed as a substitute (either/or) for the sake of “modern convenience”
2) The Bible describes the “assembly” of believers as a sacred event in space and time. We gather together as
“the church”(assembly) for honoring God, worshipping Him, encouraging one another in love, kindness, and
fellowship—and as a public demonstration that ‘testifies’ to the reality of what it means to have a genuine
relationship with God as we stand together in His presence.
c. We sing, we pray, and we observe the Lord’s Supper as a public testimony of the sacrificial death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ (I Cor. 11:17-26)—Today it is our memorial that testifies to “accomplished salvation” all that
Christ did through the work of the cross.
1) The centrality of the cross remains at the very heart of the gospel (I Cor. 15:1-4).
2) We preach Christ crucified (I Cor. 2:2).
3) The preaching of the cross seems like foolishness to unbelievers (I Cor. 1:18, 22-24).
d. The time we “come together as the church” is a sacred event for believers.
3. The word sacrament is not found in the Bible, but the root meaning of the word is “that which is set aside to
demonstrate holiness…a visible element that pictures something of spiritual importance”
4. The time of silence and personal reflection that takes place at the time each of us partakes of the Lord’s Supper “in the
assembly” when we meet together “as the church” must never become something so routine or common that we
focus on ‘eating a cracker’ and ‘drinking some juice’—it calls our attention to the very purpose for which Jesus came
into the world (John 1:29).
a. Christ suffered “the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).
b. The “suffering” of Christ began in the garden of Gethsemane and was consummated and intensified by His
sacrificial “death of the cross” (Luke 22:29-44). While on the cross He cried out to the Father “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).
THE SUFFERING SERVANT
1. More than 300 Old Testament prophesies pointed forward to “this Jesus” entered into the “world” at the “fullness of
time”. (Gal. 4:4) in the form of a “servant” in the “likeness of man” (Phil 2:7).
2. Jesus came into the world a “man of sorrows” and “wounded for our transgressions” (Isa. 53:4-6), bearing in Himself
the “iniquity of us all”—the redemptive “lamb of God” (John 1:29)
3. Jesus was “cut off from the land of the living” (Isa. 53:8)
4. He was “made to be sin” the one who “knew no sin” (II Cor. 5:21)
4. Jesus declared “victory” by His resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4).
CONCLUSION
1. There is nothing ordinary about the time when we as believers come together as “the church”
2. Jesus “purchased the church with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).
3. This was the supreme demonstration of God’s love for humanity (Eph. 5:25-27).
4. When we “come together” as a community of believers, it is “sacred time” in a “sacred space” as we worship God and
honor Christ in our thoughts, words and actions.
5. Jesus paid it all…all to Him I owe…Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow…
Outline (Word document): Who_is_This_Jesus_V.docx