John 8:21-30
Lifted Up for the World
Read the passage
21Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
22So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
23Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25“Who are You?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied.
26“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
27They did not understand that He was telling them about the Father.
28So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.
29He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.”
30As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Jesus tells the leaders that He is going away and that they will seek Him but die in their sin. He says they cannot come where He is going. They wonder whether He will kill Himself because He says they cannot come.
Jesus tells them that they are from below while He is from above, and that they are of this world while He is not of this world. Unless they believe that He is the One, they will die in their sins.
They ask who He is. Jesus says He has told them from the beginning. He has many things to say and judge, but the One who sent Him is true, and He speaks to the world what He has heard from Him.
They do not understand that He is speaking about the Father. Jesus says that when they have lifted up the Son of Man, they will know that He is the One and that He does nothing on His own authority. Jesus also says the Father has not left Him alone: He always does what pleases Him. As He speaks, many believe in Him.
John 12:32–33 explains that being lifted up points to the kind of death Jesus will die. Here, Jesus says that even this coming death will reveal who He is and His obedience to the Father. His enemies will lift Him onto a cross, but they will not expose Him as a fraud. The Son they reject is carrying out the Father's mission.
That is why belief in Him matters so much. His hearers need more than an explanation of where He is going. They need rescue from the sin He warns them about, and He calls them to trust Him while He is speaking to them.
Questions
1 What warning does Jesus give?
AnswerHe warns that those who refuse Him will die in their sins and cannot come where He is going.
2 How does Jesus contrast Himself with His hearers?
AnswerHe says they are from below and of this world, while He is from above and not of this world.
3 What will reveal who Jesus is?
AnswerJesus says they will know who He is when the Son of Man is lifted up. John 12:32–33 connects that language with His death. Even on the cross, He carries out the Father's will.
4 How do some respond while Jesus speaks?
AnswerMany believe in Him. The same teaching that provokes resistance also brings faith to people who receive it.
What This Means for Us
Jesus speaks a severe warning because sin and refusal have real consequences. His goal is not to create despair but to call people to believe in the One whose death will reveal His identity.
Families can hold warning and welcome together. Do not soften Jesus' call to repentance, but do not turn it into a reason to declare another person beyond mercy.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, turn us from sin and draw us to the cross where Your identity and mercy are revealed. Make our household responsive to Your warning, grateful for grace, and patient with people who are still seeking. Amen.