John 8:21-30 (ESV)

²¹ 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.” ²² So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ 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 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “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 authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Jesus contrasted himself and the Pharisees, who were hostile towards him. He said he was going away to a place where they could not go; he was from above and he was not of this world. In contrast, they would seek him and not find him, they would die in their sins, they were from below, and they were of this world. His passion, focus, and agenda centered on the life to come. Their passion, focus, and agenda centered on this life. Jesus declared that unless they believed he is the “I am,” they would die in their sins. All they could ask in response was, “Who are you?” Jesus declared he was who he said he was all along. What does it mean to die in sin? It means that when you leave your physical body, entering into the next life, you remain in your sins. Because your sins are what separate you from God, you will remain separated from God for all eternity. But we can die in faith, rather than in our sins. Jesus said, “unless you believe in me” or “unless you have faith in me,” you will die in your sins. To have faith in Jesus means to trust in his provision and payment for our moral failure before a holy God. It means to receive the righteousness that he provides for those who turn to him, and it means to live life longing to do his will over our own.

Jesus said he would be “lifted up.” As he told Nicodemus in chapter 3, he would be lifted up on the cross. At the same time, he would be lifted up when he conquered sin and death, exalted as the victorious one. His greatest hour of humiliation was also his greatest triumph. As we follow after Jesus, at times God will allow us to suffer and experience pain and loss. The cross was both Jesus’ humiliation and his glory. Jesus asks his followers to take up their crosses as well. God allows us to die to certain hopes, dream, and aspirations so that he can free us by lifting us up as we shine the light and love of Jesus to a lost and broken world. Stop and ask God to help you magnify Jesus in the midst of your suffering. May he be more glorified through our pain than he would be without it.