Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM

"He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?" Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall 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." Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

- John 8:47-59

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued in His dialogue with the temple leadership. They seek to stop Him, to have Him arrested, and to have Him killed -- but His hour has not yet come. They speak of their father Abraham, but Jesus says they are not like Abraham, but rather have a different father, the one who is the father of lies. See If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. In today's reading, He continues in dialogue with them.

"He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." Repeatedly, Jesus will make this point to the leadership, and to others. As we have stressed before, at the point of Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is Christ, Jesus also said that it was the Father who revealed Jesus' identity to Peter. So it is with the leadership as well, but in the opposite sense. He repeats that they are the children of evil, and they do not do as Abraham did. My study bible says, "They are not able to listen to His word because they are not willing to learn from Him. Spiritual truth can be genuinely heard only if there is willingness to know God and to do His will."

Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges." Once again, we remind our readers that when the Gospel of John refers to "the Jews," they are speaking in general of only the leadership of the temple (and among them we have also been told there are those who believe). All people involved in the reading are Jews. To call Jesus a Samaritan is intended as an insult: my study bible notes that Samaritans were viewed as demon-possessed heretics. And again, Jesus repeatedly stresses the honor that is of the Father, and not only of Himself. That is who He seeks to glorify, whose will He seeks to do. This is a pattern of humility and understanding for us all, in terms of how we learn to practice our faith. And it is also the judgment of God to which we seek to defer, just as He does. He contrasts His way of thinking with that of His opponents.

Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?" The Gospel leads us deeper into the contradiction between the surface meaning of these words, in a "fleshly" or "earthly" sense, and the sense in which Jesus teaches us about Himself. The leadership, of course, is now accusing Him of being evil Himself (after He has referred to their father as the "father of lies" or the devil). But we are learning, with them -- or perhaps despite them -- where Jesus is going in His teaching about Himself and who He is.

Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall 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." The importance of putting God first is apparent in Jesus' speech here; and if we are united in true worship in our hearts, He seems to say, we can come to terms with an understanding of spiritual presence. But He will not deny His origins and His understanding in order to appease them. Moreover, He now takes us into the sense of time and eternity, by referring again to Abraham, whom He says they fail to honor by denying Him, whose day Abraham rejoiced to see. He is now, obviously, referring back to Himself in the Old Testament Scripture in which the leadership claim expertise, as guardians of the teachings and the Law.

Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. I AM is an unmistakable reference to divinity, to the One who is eternal, ever-present. He is making Himself equal with God in this pronouncement. In Greek it is ego eimi -- the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush. My study bible says that this is an open and direct claim made to the leadership in terms they understand without doubt. It notes, "John places special emphasis on the use of the expression for the purpose of revealing Christ as God. In context, this statement illuminates what He began saying in verse 51, that those who keep His word will neither see nor taste death. Only God has power over death, and Jesus is claiming such power." He is directly challenging them, and directly revealing Himself now. Claiming equality with God, according to my study bible, would have been regarded as the most abominable form of blasphemy. Stoning was the penalty for blasphemy required by the Mosaic Law. But it is not yet His time; and John also teaches us that what is under the law of God surpasses their efforts to stop Him.

Jesus does not stop from revealing Himself fully even to His enemies -- perhaps especially to His enemies. As the conflict intensifies, He does not back down from His statements but rather more explicitly reveals who He is, in ways that are unmistakable to the leadership, who already want to be rid of Him. This teaches us something about the Christ and Jesus' mission. He is here to offer everyone a choice, to reveal Himself and His mission, perhaps especially to those who should know better, who claim their Abraham as their father. Some among them believe in Jesus' words, we know, and we will be told more further on in the Gospel. But in some sense, we see this as timeless. The presence of Christ in our midst is always with us, and we always have this choice -- perhaps especially those among us who say we know better. How does Christ appear in your life? Are you open to receive Him, and His living, eternal presence? Ego eimi teaches us about who He is, always with us, always present and among us. How do you receive Him today? Can you receive Him? In some ways, I feel we always may fail, but prayer will show us the way, and lead us further into discipleship. His is a lifelong presence and reality in our lives for all of us to find for ourselves.