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48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ 55 though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. 56 Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57 Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”[k] 58 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

 

Jesus’s declaration in 8:58 - “Before Abraham was, I am” - usually gets the major attention in this piece, but it’s the build-up that we must see. In 8:1-11, he forgave the sin of the woman caught in adultery, and as we see elsewhere, that’s God’s prerogative. In 8:12, he says he’s the Light of the World, and his followers won’t walk in darkness. God provides light. In 8:23, he is “from above”, so he’s from God’s realm. In John 8:31-36, those who continue in his word will be made truly free from sin. Only God can free people from sin. And in our immediate passage (v.50), whoever keeps his word won’t taste death. Only God gives life. So, by the time we get to verse 58, you might be able to hear some exasperation in Jesus’s voice as he finally says “Before Abraham was, I am”. Even then, the Pharisees don’t miss the echoes of God’s self-declaration of himself as “I am” (see Exo. 3:14) in what he says, but they do miss the point. His statement should have resulted in their repentance and worship, but instead of acting like children of either Abraham or God (both of which they claimed to be), they wanted to kill him.

 

To borrow a phrase from one of my uncles, the Pharisees give us excellent examples of “negative learning.” When dealing with Jesus, they did not want to hear what he had to say, nor did they want to follow it, because they thought they knew better (and were better) than he. Do we resist hearing the Word because we think we already know the answers? Do we resist following the answers we’ve read from Scripture? Do we resist the promptings in the Spirit that come through prayer? “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

Lord, have mercy on us – help us to open our ears to hear, soften our hearts to receive, and unstiffen our necks to obey your words. Amen.

 

Damon Glassmoyer

jwl1040@gmail.com

 

Prayer Concern: For our pastors and missionaries who proclaim the word of God, that they be guided by the Holy Spirit as they share it in word and deed.