John 8.45-59.
So why’d Jesus say something so provocative? Well I used to think it’s because he was kinda done with them; they weren’t listening to a thing he said anyway. But we have to remember Jesus is patient and kind—’cause God is love,
Back to Jesus:
John 8.45-57 KWL - 45 “You don’t trust me because I say the truth.
- 46 Who among you can convict me of sin? If I say the truth, why don’t you trust me?
- 47 One who’s from God, hears God’s words. This is why you don’t hear: You’re not from God.”
In reality, Jesus figured telling them the unvarnished truth might shake a few of ’em out of their complacency. In John we only see the responses of those this tactic didn’t work on. Their bad behavior was a calculated risk on Jesus’s part. Well, now he had to deal with them.
John 8.48-49 KWL - 48 In reply the Judeans told Jesus, “Don’t we rightly say you’re Samaritan and have a demon?”
- 49 Jesus replied, “I don’t have a demon, but honor my Father, and you dishonor me.”
Just to remind you: “You have a demon” is a Judean euphemism for “You’re insane.” It didn’t mean they literally thought Jesus was demonized. Demons make people act insane, but not all insanity is demonic.
“You’re Samaritan” was also a euphemism: It was their way of calling Jesus
His followers won’t see death.
Jesus went on,
John 8.50-53 KWL - 50 “I don’t seek my own opinion. One who seeks such things is judging.
- 51 Amen amen! I promise you when anyone keeps my word, they might never see death in the age to come.”
- 52 The Judeans told him, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died! And the prophets.
- And you say, ‘When anyone keeps my word, they may never taste death in the age to come.’
- 53 You’re not greater than our father Abraham, who died; and the prophets died.
- Who are you making yourself out to be?”
Those who follow Jesus—who aren’t just seeking him for the purpose of nitpicking his words, looking for loopholes, and rejecting his message—will never see death
Weirdly, English translations don’t include “in the age.” Seriously, they’ve all dropped it, following the
Here’s why they shouldn’t. Whenever Jesus says “in the age,” he’s not always referring to eternity. Sometimes he means this age. Sometimes the next. In this case the next; he means
Chopping Jesus off before eis ton eóna implies Jesus was saying his followers won’t die anymore. Which, at face value, is false: Christians still die. All the apostles died. And Christians will leap to the conclusion Jesus only meant “will never see death” as a metaphor for something else… then come up with weird interpretations for what that something else might be.
The Judeans knew nothing about the next age. They assumed it’d be exactly like this age, only with Messiah ruling the world and Israel’s enemies overthrown. Conquering death? No no; Messiah was only gonna conquer Romans, not death. They didn’t understand what Jesus was saying, and since they’d just been talking about Abraham, they quickly dragged him back into this: Abraham died. The prophets died. Who did Jesus think he was, that he could abolish death? How could he have that kind of power?
Before Abraham came to be.
We Christians already know
John 8.54-59 KWL - 54 Jesus answered, “When I promote myself, my opinion means nothing. It’s what my Father thinks of me.
- You say of him that he’s your God, 55 and you haven’t known him.
- I’ve known him. If I said I hadn’t known him, I’d be like you—a liar.
- But I’ve known him and I keep his word.
- 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he might see my day—and sees, and rejoices.”
- 57 So the Judeans told Jesus, “You haven’t 50 years yet, and you saw Abraham?”
- 58 Jesus told them, “Amen amen! I promise you before Abraham came to be, I am.”
- 59 So they picked up stones so they could throw them at him.
- Jesus hid, and went out of temple.
I’ve heard a lot of preachers speculate about how and when Abraham saw Jesus’s day. Lots of it is based on the idea “my day” meant the first century: Abraham wasn’t given a vision of the Son of Man entering his glorious kingdom, but was instead allowed to see Jesus hanging around Roman-occupied Israel, having spats like this with Pharisees and unbelievers. Maybe his crucifixion; maybe his resurrection. Why the L
Now, what the L
Anyway the scriptures and history are mute as to what Abraham actually saw. All we know is he saw something.
Why the Judeans leapt to the conclusion Jesus knew this ’cause he saw Abraham, instead of knew this through revelation, is a lot easier to figure out: It’s a crack at how old Jesus was at the time. Art and movies have given us the false idea Jesus was the same age as these Judeans who challenged him. The reality is he was in his late thirties, his students were in their teens, and the naysayers were likely closer to his students’ age than his. (I used to point to their obnoxious attitudes as evidence of their youth… but having met plenty of obnoxious older folks, I now know better. Maturity doesn’t always come with age.) So “Oh, you know what Abraham saw ’cause you were there,” was mockery.
But it turns out he was there: “I promise you before Abraham came to be, I am.”
Well, that’d explain why they were gonna throw stones at him, right? If someone claims he’s God, he’s gotta be nuts, maybe dangerous. Yeah we know Jesus is legitimately God, but they didn’t.
But I seriously doubt your average Judean would pull “I’m the L
“They needed a legal reason to stone him,” I’ve heard it preached, “and the only legal reason was blasphemy.” Actually no. The Romans had forbidden the Judeans from enacting the death penalty without their permission. Thanks the the Romans, you could say any blasphemy you wished, even in temple. Of course, the people might still riot and try to kill you anyway, as they did Paul
If you don’t read “I’m God” into Jesus’s statement—if you understand it at face value, as the Judeans likely did—all Jesus said was, “I’m before Abraham ever came to be.” That alone comes across as crazy. And as you might recall, how’d the Judeans say “crazy” back then? “You have a demon.”
If you legitimately think someone has a demon, you get the demon out of ’em, right? Ordinarily yeah. But when you have no sympathy nor love for them, you’ll more likely drive ’em out, lock ’em up, or throw rocks at ’em.