Wednesday in the Word...John 8:48-59...it's the rainy season in Florida

Almost every afternoon and evening in the month of June it pours.  The sun is shining but the rain is falling and finding all the low spots to gather.  It allows the air conditioner to get a little break but soon after it stops the heat comes again.  No wonder so many head north this time of year.

My trip to Maine is a couple days away and at least 20 degrees cooler.  It was interesting to see warnings on the sea coast in Maine for people to deter them from the still very cold water temperature.  Hypothermia is a possibility with a temptation to get into the water and not properly attired.  Pray for me as I have a weekend to share with another body of believers.  Even if it is just for this weekend, I want it to be for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.  

Today's Wednesday in the Word finishes the 8th chapter of John.  Verses 48 through 59 say...

v.48 - The Jews answered and said to Him, 

"Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan 

and have a demon?" 

This sounds pretty harsh to be saying to our Lord Jesus Christ but He had just finished telling them that they could not hear Him because they were not of God.  One of the lowest thing to say of someone physically at that time was that they were a half-breed, a Samaritan, and to say of someone spiritually, that they were on the opposite team from God, a demon.  

v.49-51 - Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; 

but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  

But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word 

he will never see death."

Jesus keeps on point by pointing back to His relationship with the Father.  He also emphasizes again that He is here sent by the Father and for the glory of the Father.  I think it is interesting that Jesus' first coming is to seek and save the lost.  Jesus' second coming is to judge the world.  

"Truly, truly" twice emphasizes the truth of Jesus' next statement.  If someone keeps Jesus' word, meaning that he is a true follower of Christ in belief, repentance, confession, submission, and obedience, he will be given something that will put his physical death in its rightful place.  Our eternal life provided by Jesus makes our physical death a minor subject to walk through and doesn't negate our eternal spiritual life with Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.  What will the Jews now say back to Jesus?

v.52, 53 - The Jews said to Him, 

"Now we know that You have a demon.  

Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, 

'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.'  

Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died?  The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out of be?"

I can almost hear Jesus say, "I'm glad you asked."  This response of the Jews reminds me of Nicodemus' response to Jesus in chapter 3 of John's Gospel when told that he needed to be born again.  "How can I be born again?  Can I enter my mother's womb a second time?"  The focus was on a physical answer or realm and not the spiritual.  All the Jews could see was the physical end of these that Jesus had mentioned who had physically died.  

This reinforces in my mind how God has to be involved in the process for someone to hear Him to respond to Him.  None of this makes sense unless your eyes are opened and your heart is softened by God to see Jesus as truly man and truly God.  We get stuck on the physical.  May we continue to pray, 

"Lord, open eyes and soften hearts 

as we continue to proclaim who you are."  

v.54-56 - Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God', and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; 

and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, 

but I do know Him and keep His word.  

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, 

and he saw it and was glad."

Jesus is saying that He is receiving glory from the Father.  He again states that they don't know God.  The grace and mercy comes into play with the phrase, "...and you have not come to know Him."  Do you see the possibility of some who would?  If Jesus were to say that He didn't know God, it would make Him out to be a liar.  Jesus then calls them liars.  This is some pretty strong words from Jesus to these Jews in His presence.  We will see just how strong by their response to His claims.

The tie to Abraham for the Jewish people is so great that Jesus making the claim about Abraham somehow rejoicing at His coming would have infuriated them.  Not only does Jesus say that He knows God the Father but He also knows Abraham too, who has been dead and gone for at least 1000 years.  On top of that, Jesus claims that Abraham, their guy, was glad to see Jesus' day come.  The Jews shoot back still stuck in the physical realm.

v.57 - So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, 

and have You seen Abraham?"

This is like a scoff.  "How could this be?  This man is out of his mind.  I think Jesus has been making too much water into wine."  Jesus then says the statement that ends the conversation.

v.58 - Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, 

before Abraham was born, I am."

Jesus starts off with another "truly, truly" to twice emphasize the truth statement that was coming.  He then says this with His own authority by stating "I say to you."  Now Jesus gives them one of the clearest times when He says that He is God.  He is older than the birth of Abraham and He uses the phrase that God used in the Old Testament to identify who He was.

God said to Moses at the burning bush, "I AM WHO I AM."  "I AM" was associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament.  The full verse is found in Exodus 3:14 which reads,

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM'; and He said,

"Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 

'I AM has sent me to you.'"

How will the Jews respond to Jesus' direct reference to Himself as God?  Will they just scoff again or do something that signifies that Jesus has made a seemingly blasphemous claim?

v.59 - Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, 

but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

The Jews responded with what was commanded in Leviticus 24:16, which reads,

Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD

shall surely be put to death;

all the congregation shall certainly stone him.

The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

They knew what to do in this situation.  They knew what Jesus was claiming and they were responding appropriately according to the Law.  Jesus could not have been more clear and they could not have been more accurate in their actions because they did not see Jesus as God, therefore a stoning was required.

Jesus came into the temple under secret means in John chapter 7 and verse 10 and now He leaves the temple under secret means.  It hints that His departure had some miraculous tone like His walking through the crowd in Luke chapter 4 when they tried to throw Him off the cliff.   It was not His time.  God is always in control even when the crowd had stones in their hands.  His Son would not be harmed until it was His time.

Jesus claims to be God.  There is no getting around this claim.  You can't make Jesus out to be just a good teacher or a very moral person.  He said that if you don't know Him then you don't know God.  The exclusive claims of Jesus are stacking up but now He will change His approach in chapter 9 but that is for next Wednesday.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, we pray for more laborers who will proclaim to the world about who Your Son, Jesus Christ, is.  We pray for eyes to be opened and hearts to be softened.  We pray for more to be born again by You to see Your Son as the Holy One of God.  May we never downplay who Jesus is when we speak of Him.  Amen."

Adam