Ezekiel 11:21-23 – “But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord God. Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.
Exodus 40:34-38 - Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out...For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
John 1:1-14 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacle/tented) among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
3 blinding results of self-righteousness that will cause you to miss enjoying life in Jesus’ name
Self-righteousness is a manner of life where I believe that because of some kind of morality I practice (religious or cultural), I am superior compared to another who does not practice as me.
I. You Will Miss the Mercy of Jesus Christ (v. 1-11)
“While many textual critical scholars do not believe it is original, they have been unwilling to remove it probably for two reasons (1) it fits the context. If the episode created a theological problem, it would have been taken out years ago (2) there is a long-standing history in English for including it. That is why all the versions print it and some (like NIV, NASB, and others) make the comment about it not being in the earliest manuscripts.” (Pastor Rob Green)
“But if we cannot feel that this is part of John’s Gospel, we can feel that the story is true to the character of Jesus. Throughout the history of the church it has been held that, whoever wrote it, this little story is authentic. It rings true. It speaks to our condition. It is thus worth our while to study it…” (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John)
A. Remaining in cruel and ugly hypocrisy
“…a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute.” (C.S. Lewis)
B. Remaining with a condemning accuser against you
C. Remaining without joy
Luke 7:47 - For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.
II. You Will Miss the Light of Jesus Christ (vv. 12-20)
John 3:19-20 - This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
A. “Walking in darkness”—no guidance in life
B. “Not knowing the Father”
III. You Will Miss the Life of Jesus Christ. (vv. 21-30)
A. “You will perish in your sins” (v. 21, 24)
B. The last sign will be when the light of the world was enveloped in our self-righteous darkness
John 8:28 - So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am…”
John 17:1-3 - Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
“The Cross also exposes me before the eyes of other people, informing them of the depth of my depravity. If I wanted others to think highly of me, I would conceal the fact that a shameful slaughter of the perfect Son of God was required that I might be saved. But when I stand at the foot of the Cross and am seen by others under the light of that Cross, I am left uncomfortably exposed before their eyes. Indeed, the most humiliating gossip that could ever be whispered about me is blared from Golgotha’s hill; and my self-righteous reputation is left in ruins in the wake of its revelation. With the worst facts about me thus exposed to the view of others, I find myself feeling that I truly have nothing left to hide.” (Milton Vincent, The Gospel Primer)
Many folks wonder if Jesus was God, why did He never stated it clearly.
That question does not deal fairly with the evidence in the Scripture.
Jesus used the institutions and imagery associated with God in the Jewish culture to claim that He was indeed The creator God and the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David.
We come to a passage today, where Jesus’ claim of being God forms a climactic moment in His ministry.
Put yourself in the mindset of the Jewish nation.
Questions: If you were to reveal yourself as God 1. Where would you go in the nation of Israel to declare it? 2. When would you go there?, and 3. What exactly would you claim?
Let’s think about the first question…
Question 1: Where would you go in the nation of Israel at that time….???
Answer 1: The institution that was most associated with God was the Jewish Temple. Jesus would most likely go to the temple
Question 2: When would you go…..there??
Answer 2: You would go to the temple at one of its feasts where all Israel was gather together. And not just any feast but one of the most joyous feasts that celebrated God’s leading of His people.
That most joyous feast was called the “Feast of Tabernacles” or “the Feast of Booths”
Pastor Green mentioned this last week. It was a celebration involving God’s people building little tents or booths all around Jerusalem and living in them as they commemorated living in tents/shelters as God led Israel through the wilderness.
In fact this holiday is still celebrated among Jews today where they build booths
During Jesus’ day, this celebration included a practice known as the “illumination of the temple”
A massive oil-fed lamp was lit which illuminated the night sky all around Jerusalem during the celebration.
But there is more about this light….the longing of the Jewish people was that the light of God, the Glory of God someday would return to that Jewish temple.
For, 600 years earlier….the light of the temple, God’s presence departed from God’s people because of their perpetual sin.
Ezekiel 11:21“But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord God. 22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. 23The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.
There is still more about this light, however,
The light that had taken up residence in this temple, the glory of the Lord was the same light and presence of God that led God’s people through the wilderness….
{Have the text by the picture on as many slides as it takes]
Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out….38For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
So let’s review…
Question1: So, if Jesus was going to claim to be God, where would He go?
Answer 1: To the temple.
Question2: If Jesus was going to claim to be God, when would he go to the temple?
Answer 2: The feast of tabernacles where the light would illuminate the city and remind people of the Glory of God and the Hope that the Glory of God would return…
Question 3: And finally, If Jesus was going to claim to be God, he would go to the temple, at the time of the feast of tabernacles and what would He claim???
Answer: 3: I AM THAT LIGHT……If He did that all the people would know exactly what He is claiming. Jesus Himself is the glory of God. He is God.
Notice again the introduction to the book of John….
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it….9There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him…14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacle/tented) among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Now, there are some stunning statements in that passage.
Not Just about Jesus being God and the Light of the world but how on earth can anybody miss the light?
How is it possible that there is a glaring SUN RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE BUT YOU NEVER SEE IT….
What’s the only explanation for not being able to see light?
The only explanation would be if you are blind.
And in the next chapter of John, guess what?—a blind man comes on to the scene that Jesus heals
But this week in chapter 8, we see what causes an individual to be blind to the light of the world.
Turn in your bibles to John 8. That is on page 78 in the back section of the bible in the chair in front of you.
Our series this year through the Gospel of John is entitled “Enjoying Life in His Name”
Today we see one of the manifestations of the dark human heart that will cause us to miss out on Life in His Name.
We are speaking today about “Enjoying Life in His Name By Repenting of Self-Righteousness”
I’m going to set up the text by reading first John 7:2 and John 7:14–15
John 7:2Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near…&14But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.15The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
Chapter 8:
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. 3The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, (can you imagine this….in the temple in front of everyone) 4they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.5“Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”[The Pharisee’s statement about adultery is correct. You can read about this in Deut 22:22. But the as countless bible students have observed, this action by the Pharisees is outrageous…how many people does it take to commit adultery? 2!! Where is the man? The Pharisees in this act were violating the Law themselves that commanded them not to show partiality in justice (Deut 1:17) But the Pharisees were not serious about justice, verse ] 6They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him.
[The self-righteous blind Pharisees were attempting to turn the crowds against Jesus by forcing Jesus into a scenario where he might have to violate the word of God—thus driving the crowds away from him. Or that Jesus would have to throw the woman under the bus…and thus drive the sinners who were flocking to him away from him….]
But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground [What was he writing? We don’t know!].7But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” [Jesus quoted Deut 17:6 here——the law that the accuser of a sin that demanded the death penalty should be the first to pick up the stone. Jesus ultimately masterfully holds to the law and exposes the Pharisee’s hypocrisy] 8Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.[What was he writing? We don’t know] 9When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.10 Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
13 So the Pharisees (those in darkness, denying the Light of the world) said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” Jesus answers and skipping to verse 17, he says, “Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.18“I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” [The self-righteous Pharisees believing that Jesus himself was conceived out of wedlock yes…go there…to Jesus’ theorized illegitimate birth] Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”20These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come. [These amazing words about being the light of the world were startling. But what is more startling is that they did not seize him right there and kill him…As he was indeed claiming to be God. But it was not yet His time to die.]
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” [notice their darkness] 23And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.24“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”25So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” [notice their darkness] Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
…Verse
28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things 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.”30As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
Today, we want to develop
Three blinding results of self-righteousness that will cause you to miss enjoying life in Jesus’ name
Let me define self-righteousness for us as we start
Self-righteousness is a manner of life where I believe that because of some kind of morality I practice (religious or cultural), I am superior compared to another who does not practice as me.
- Saved Christians can be guilty of self-righteousness—and its ugly and blinding
- The conservative right can be guilty of self-righteousness—and its ugly and blinding…
- The liberal-left can be guilty of self-righteousness as well in whatever is the current morality of the moment is—the me-too movement, the LGBTQ+ movement, a particular view of systemic racism…and its ugly and blinding.
No matter what morality you believe you practice if you then go the extra step and say therefore, I am superior than you….this leads to deep blindness in our lives that is on display here in our text….
And in that midst of that dark blindness Jesus says, “I am the LIGHT”
Here are the three blinding and deadly results of self-righteousness
You will miss the mercy of Jesus Christ (v. 1–11)
“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” is probably one of the most quoted passages of the Bible
But if you will please look at chapter 7 verse 53 and you have brackets from 7:53–8:11
In most of your Bibles you have a footnote that says, “Later manuscripts add the story of the adulterous women.”
There is a question as to whether this story was a part of the original text of the Gospel of John.
Many scholars do not believe it was for various reason including that some of the earliest manuscripts we have do not have this account.
Out of all the text of Scripture we have preached to you over the years, I don’t believe I could fill up one hand of fingers on how many times I had to mention something like this.
Which means we have a reliable testimony in our modern versions but there are only a few places where the text may be in question.
This is one of them.
In answering a congregant’s question this week, our own Pastor Green said this,
While many textual critical scholars do not believe it is original, they have been unwilling to remove it probably for two reasons (1) it fits the context. If the episode created a theological problem it would have been taken out years ago (2) there is a long standing history in English for including it. That is why all the versions print it and some (like NIV, NASB, and others) make the comment about it not being in the earliest manuscripts. – Pastor Green
Commentator Leon Morris says,
“But if we cannot feel that this is part of John’s Gospel, we can feel that the story is true to the character of Jesus. Throughout the history of the church it has been held that, whoever wrote it, this little story is authentic. It rings true. It speaks to our condition. It is thus worth our while to study it….” – Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John
So we are going to be edified by this passage this morning.
Now friends, the shocking part of the story of the woman caught in adultery is not the women in adultery.
In the book of John we have already seen this already— in the women at the well.
What are the shocking parts of this story…?
- The ugly condemning actions of the Pharisees!
- And the beautiful masterful and merciful response of Jesus
These two are contrasted for us to create a sharp contrast in our minds.
The superior self-righteous Pharisees who are themselves violating God’s law of partiality are thrusting this adulterous woman into the center of the action for all to say, “LOOK AT HER SIN” —Blind to their own…
There is not one ounce of mercy in their being.
Years of focus on “me” being better than you robs me of any mercy toward you
In missing mercy, you will be
Remaining in cruel and ugly hypocrisy
This ugly picture invites us to examine our own hearts.
And if we look at the Pharisees and say, …I cannot believe that they would do that…..I wouldn’t do that …guess what….you just did it…
You just place your moral superiority over the blind Pharisees….. and you are confirming your blindness or slowly developing cataracts…
This is not an attractive sight….
C.S. Lewis says,
“…a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute.”—C.S. Lewis
I want you to look at the problems plaguing our country our, our churches, our families today.
Can not the intense division that we are experiencing today in be attributed to self-righteous superiority?
Whether or the right or the left?
- Vaccine or no vaccine
- Mask or no mask
- BLM or ALL lives matters
Let me ask you, “Does the position you hold on any of these matters lift your soul up to say—I’m therefore more righteous than you.”
All that which is happening in our society has been also happening in churches as well with the division increasing.
Husband and wife….let’s work this backwards….what area in your life to you constantly get irritated with regarding your spouse and if you go to this place in your mind… “I can’t believe he is -------”, you might as well begin putting on the blinders..
And as you go down that path you will be
Remaining with a condemning accuser against you
Notice what happens at the end of the story.
Jesus is alone with the lady.
There are no more accusers
When you are alone with Jesus there is no condemnation and there is no more accuser.
The Pharisees equally culpable in their partiality of judging left the scene
They did not stay there with Jesus.
Jesus did not say to them, “I do not condemn” you
That means, unless they come to Jesus themselves
They will stand condemn and have an accuser.
Finally, as you miss the mercy of Jesus you will be one
Remaining without joy
Who is on your top ten list for inviting to your happy party—is it the Pharisees?
Or is it a woman like this found here?
Or a woman like that found at the well in John 4
Luke 7:47 says of a similar woman, and who knows it could have been this woman right here in our text
Luke 7:47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
I want you to notice a small detail in the text.
After all the crowds left and Jesus and the woman were left alone.
How on earth did we ever come to know about this story?
Most likely the overflowing joy of the forgiven woman—similar to the one in John 4 was the source of this episode.
Folks…are you a joyful person?
The self-righteous can never be joyful. Why?
The self-righteous soul will be on a never-ending journey of trying to inflate itself by finding some fault in another. Its only pleasure will be when it latches onto a fault so as to exalt itself and put the other down.
The first blinding and deadly result of self-righteousness is that you will miss the mercy of Christ
Secondly,
You will miss the light of Jesus Christ (vv. 12–20)
Jesus masterfully exposes the Pharisees’ hypocrisy
Light does that right?
Light exposes!
Light exposes…have you ever look at yourself in a mirror in the dark and say “ew!!! I got to do something with my hair!””
No, because you don’t look at yourself in the dark.
And even if you did you could not see all your ugliness..
It is only when you turn on the light that you say, “Oh man, I can believe I look like that!”
The blind self-righteous who have a touch of the exposing light of Jesus in this text are left with two tactics now when Jesus claims to be the Light of the world…
- Saying, “nuh unnn” your lying…your testimony is not true!
- Then as self-righteous folks must do, attempt to find another fault with Jesus… “Who is your father?” –attempting to point out Jesus’ supposed illegitimate birth
Our self-righteousness nature is akin to roaches scurrying when the light turns on….why is that?…we read earlier in John and seeing it played out now….
John 3:19“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.20“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Folks, the temple illumination ceremony lit up the dark night sky over Jerusalem…exposing what is in the shadows
That is always a characteristic of light—exposing darkness
And for the blind who live in the darkness light is the enemy.
However, what else do we know about light?
Not only does light expose but another way of saying this is that light reveals.
How do you know what something is…you turn on the light and you are able to see and make a judgement!
When you are stumbling around in the darkness and you hit your toe…then you turn on the light and know what you hit…
You wish you had turned on the light first…Light reveals and illuminates so that you can navigate your way….
And part of the point of the Feast at which Jesus was revealing Himself, was that temple illumination was symbolic of the glory cloud that led them through the dark times of the wilderness
Without God’s revelation of the paths of life we …..
“Walking in darkness”—no guidance in life
Let me ask you another question about light.
What is the evidence that light is present?
Those of you in science background know about the curious phenomenon that we call light.
Is it a wave? Is it a particle? Is it material?
Can you grab it and hold it in your hand?
Our scientific knowledge of the phenomena of light is relatively shallow.
So what is the evidence that light is present?
It shines!
If you can’t see it what are you?
Blind!
Jesus’ was shining in his mercy, in his character, in his teaching, in his signs…
For the self-righteous
whose actions are better than others
whose speech is superior to others
whose belief is that they are better than others…
they can only see their own light blinding them to the light of Jesus
Thus the perpetually blinded self-righteous…who will not see Jesus also…are ones
“Not knowing the Father”
Any so-called religion that claims to know God but does not recognize the claims of Jesus is false.
The light of the World Jesus is precisely the Light of God
Denying Him is denying the Father
Faith friends, the self-righteous will miss the mercy of Jesus
The self-righteous will miss the light of Jesus
And finally, the third blinding and deadly result of self-righteousness is that
You will miss the life of Jesus Christ. (vv. 21–30)
Again our theme this year is enjoying life in His Name
We are seeing a clear way that we will miss that life….through self-righteousness.
Three times in the last portion of our text Jesus says….
“you will perish in your sins” (v. 21, 24)
Can you see the dangers of self-righteousness that finds it security in being better than another?
The moment I find my security in being better than another human then I am blind to my own faults.
If I am blind to my own faults, then I don’t admit I need a Savior!
Charles Spurgeon said, “The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.”
Our passage ends today with Jesus promising a last sign for the blind self-righteousness….
The last sign will be when the light of the world was enveloped in our self-righteous darkness.
John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am
The last sign of the Gospel of John and what all of John is building toward….the time at which Jesus’ hour arrives…that moment at which He is glorified (lit up)..
John consistently used the phrase for Jesus’ crucifixion as the “hour of his glorification”
John 17:1 Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.3“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
But notice the irony of that “glorification”
Glorification typically as we have seen is in terms of “brilliant light”
But in this case, as Jesus is lifted up…it’s not in brilliant light of life….but in the darkness of death…
We know from other Gospels that during what is the lightest part of the day, the earth was dark….the Sun somehow was blocked from giving its light……as the light of the world’s life was ebbing away.
The moon and starts they wept…The morning sun was dead…The savior of the world has fallen..
The final light to help open our blinded self-righteous eyes is actually not a light at all but darkness. So deep that the light of the world was momentarily extinguished.
The depths of your darkness was so deep that it had to consume the light of the world on the cross.
And Jesus was willing to take on your darkness, your blindness, your perishing so that you would not have to perish, so that now you could be children of light.
Friends, when we come to the cross whether the first time acknowledging the depths of our sin or every day…the cross is the nail of the coffin of self-righteousness….
Why is that….?
“The Cross also exposes me before the eyes of other people, informing them of the depth of my depravity. If I wanted others to think highly of me, I would conceal the fact that a shameful slaughter of the perfect Son of God was required that I might be saved. But when I stand at the foot of the Cross and am seen by others under the light of that Cross, I am left uncomfortably exposed before their eyes. Indeed, the most humiliating gossip that could ever be whispered about me is blared from Golgotha’s hill; and my self-righteous reputation is left in ruins in the wake of its revelation. With the worst facts about me thus exposed to the view of others, I find myself feeling that I truly have nothing left to hide. Milton Vincent, The Gospel Primer.
Unbeliever every so-called religion in the world is based upon the damning doctrine of self-righteous except one—properly understood Biblical, Gospel-Centered Christianity.
Will you turn from your own blinding self-righteous in front of your eyes and see the light of the world shining for you—His glorification on the cross.
Believer, the moment you acknowledge the depth of your sin at the cross is the moment you blare from Golgotha’s hill that the depths of my darkness required extinguishing the light of the world on the cross for me….
Why would we ever say I am better than my spouse…my children…my neighbor, the political right…the political left….
Jesus’s disciples would be known for the love for others…not their condemnation of others,
And when I realize the what was required for the depths of my darkness and what the light of the world did for me…how can I not now proclaim this light from the rafters and serve Him whole heartedly—apparently like the woman caught in adultery did through him we may have received our edification today.
James proctor in his hymn “It is finished says”
Weary, working, burdened one,
Wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done
Long, long ago.
Till to Jesus’ work you cling
By a simple faith,
“Doing” is a deadly thing—
“Doing” ends in death.
Cast your deadly “doing” down
Down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete.
3 blinding results of self-righteousness
You will miss the mercy of Jesus, the light of Jesus, and the life of Jesus.
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