But they certainly should have. The thing that kept them from accepting Yeshua was UNBELIEF, which is the same thing that keeps you and I from seeing Yeshua as he truly is. All that is required of us, and certainly of them, was to believe Yeshua was 'THAT Prophet' Mosheh prophesied about in Deut. 18:15-19. We return to the narrative.
John 8:28-30 Then said Yeshua unto them, "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." As he spake these words, many believed on him.
The proof is in the pudding, and here Yeshua offers proof that he has been sent because he had no personal agenda to accomplish, but merely wanted to fulfill the will of his Father in heaven. This is always an affront to the agenda-driven religiously ambitious people who want to climb the econonmic and social ladder in a 'spiirtual' context, because there, people are notoriously trusting and naive. But an honest man with his honesty exposes this kind of charade, and that is why Yeshua was really hated.
John 8:31-36 Then said Yeshua to those Jews which believed on him, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered him, "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, 'Ye shall be made free?' " Yeshua answered them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Yeshua is seen here as always loving his potential enemies in that he explains to them the 'spiritual mechanic' of how things are regarded by his Father. Those who believe in Yeshua would come to know the truth and be made free from the bondage of the sin of their lives, but those who love sin would never be overcomers, and would never consequently abide with him in the world to come. Then Yeshua goes for the jugular, so to speak, by removing the cloak these particular hypocrites were hiding under, their natural descent from the physical seeed of Abraham:
John 8:37-41 "I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father." They answered and said unto him, "Abraham is our father." Yeshua saith unto them, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of YHWH: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father." Then said they to him, "We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even Elohim."
And this is precisely where their wrong belief is exposed! Upon encountering the true Messiah face-to-face they did not recognize him because what they believed about the man facing them, that he was born of fornication. What they believed about themselves was that they were Abraham's seed. Yeshua exposed to them, and the all the rest of the world, that there was an unseen realm where evil spirits influenced the hearts of natural men to believe lies about him and his Father. YHWH sent his son was to fulfill the words that Mosheh prophesied about 'That Prophet' in Deut. 18:15-19. The reason why Mosheh prophesied about the one YHWH would send is so that when 'THAT Prophet' appeared, he was to be believed. Now the nastiness is recorded for anyone who honestly wants to see how ugly this spiritual conflict really was and is. Yeshua remains undaunted through it all, and declares with matter of factness:
John 8:42-47 Yeshua said unto them, "If Elohim were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from Elohim; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of YHWH heareth YHWH's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of YHWH."
The reason Yeshua gives for their unbelief is because HE TOLD
THE TRUTH!
How astonishing is this, that those entrusted with communicating the
faith from one generation to the next are those who would actually
bear a hatred in their heart for the person whose heart was right
toward YHWH. This prooves to YHWH that these also hate him as well.
One is reminded of the parable of the wicked vineyard keepers. Their response
to his direct confrontation with their evil attitude?
John 8:48-53 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, "Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?" Yeshua answered, "I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." Then said the (religious leaders of the) Jews unto him, "Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, 'If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.' Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?"
They kept trying to play their trump card, that Yeshua thought himself to be greater than others. Because they were so bound up in fear of man and they themselves wanted to be considered great in the overall scheme of things, they accused Yeshua of spiritual pride, the very thing they harbored. This was tantamount to pandering to the crowd, for the religious leaders always set up and reinforce a system where men bow down to men which in turn causes the general populace to fear being socially ostrasized if they fell into disfavor with the religious powers that be. They hoped Yeshua would cower to this kind of peer pressure, but they did not know how to accept an honest man who would testify against their corruption, and for the truth, with his very life. Yeshua was not afraid of them.
John 8:54-59 Yeshua answered, "If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your Elohim: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad." Then said the (religious leaders of the) Jews unto him, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" Yeshua said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Yeshua hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
They escalated the discussion by posing to the natural minds of all those within earshot the physical impossibilty of a man who was not yet forty having seen men who had lived two thousand years before. THEY WERE LOCKED INTO THE NATURAL, NONSPIRITUAL MINDSET of those who are hardened in their unbelief. What they chose not to believe is that Yeshua was 'THAT Prophet' that Mosheh prophesied would come in Deut. 18:15-18.
The disciples of Yeshua were not of this ilk.
John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, "We
have found him, of whom Mosheh in the Torah (Deut. 18:15-19),
and the prophets, did write,
Yeshua of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
At the Feast of Shavuot in Acts 2-3, Shimon Pehter addresses the whole crowd who were assembled at that time, having made pilgrimage from the ends of the earth to be in Yerushalayim at that most fortuitous time, with the gospel. And how did he make his appeal to them that he could connect them with the truth he had to tell them?
Acts 3:19-26 "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of YHWH; And he shall send Yeshua the Messiah, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall your Elohim raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."
Deuteronomy 18:15-18 is the single most important prophecy
Mosheh wrote about the MESSIAH to the Jewish mind. For this reason
IT IS THE CENTRAL THEME OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. Those who align themselves
with those who stood face-to-face with Yeshua and did not recognize him
refuse to believe Deut. 18:15-19. This article is addressed to
those who want to see honestly. Shalom to those who believe in the one
of who was prophesied about by Mosheh would come in Deut. 18:15-18,