Why Did Some of the Jews Believe in Jesus, and Others Did Not? John 8:21-30

 Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” 22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?” 23 But he continued, “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; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed 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 in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” 27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So 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 just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Jesus tells the people that he will be going to heaven, so they won't see him anymore. If they continue in their sinful ways and reject him, they will not be joining him there. Mistakenly the Jews conclude he is going to take his own life. This would have been very offensive, as taking one's life as a Jew was a deplorable action. 

“According to Jewish thought, the depths of hell were reserved for those who took their own lives.” (Barclay)

Jesus further makes clear that they have two different destinations, if they continue on their current trajectory. Again, he reiterates that if they continue in their sin, they will die in them. He adds, "If you do not believe that I am he". Jesus is clearly revealing himself as God when he uses the term "I am he". Jesus is saying, "If you want to go to heaven you have the believe in me, because I came from God, and I am going back to God. You can come with me if you believe in me!" 

"The “He” is rightly in italics and added by the translators. The title “I am” is a claim to deity, and if the Pharisees will be saved from dying in their sins, they must believe in Jesus and in who He really is – God the Son." (Guzik), 

The people must be extremely dense, or the god of this world had completely blinded them because they ask, "Who are you?" 

I would have loved to hear the tone in Jesus' voice when he says, "Just what I have told you from the beginning." Some people can hear the same message over and over about Jesus' love for them, and they still either do not understand it, resist it, or both. 

So Jesus tells them when they hang him the cross, they will know who he is. Again he uses the phrase, "I am he!". 

"When Jesus was crucified, they would see the perfect obedience of the Son to the Father. They would see that truly, I do nothing of Myself." (Guzik)

The clear and continuing message from Jesus was that He came from the Father, who sent Him. He only said what the Father told him to say. He only did what they Father told him to do. He only did what pleased His Father. Paul says "Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all, and, in fact,"Jesus is the exact representation of God" Colossians 1:15 (Living Bible)

Although the Pharisees would continue to oppose Jesus, there were some were there who believed in him. Jesus words so matched the words God would say. Jesus' deeds so match God's will. They came to believe Jesus was sent from the Father and was in fact God.  Their belief would be even more confirmed when he died on a cross and rose from the dead three days later just as He had said. 

Jesus life and character developed by his dependence on God and His desire to please Him. How does your life point to your own dependence on God and your desire to please him? What do you think is more effective in getting someone to come to faith in Jesus words or deeds? Why was Jesus' willingly to go to the cross the ultimate proof he was the Son of God? What does it mean for you to take up your cross as you follow Jesus?