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 our recent readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn festival.  It is the final year of His earthly life.  He has been disputing with the Pharisees, and recently taught, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  In yesterday's reading, they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; was have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 

  "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?"  My study Bible comments that as they have been unable to defeat Christ through logic or truth, these religious leaders who oppose Christ now resort to personal insult.  (See also John 7:45-52, 9:34.)  

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."   Once again, Jesus defends the power of His word through His close communion with the Father, whose glory it is He seeks, and not His own.  As He has earlier said, the words that He speaks are spirit, and they are life (see this reading).

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."  Once again, Jesus returns to His relationship with the Father, whom He has named as a witness to His identity (see John 5:31-47; 8:16-18).  He has repeatedly spoken of the honor He gives to the Father through His ministry (see John 4:41-44).

"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.  I AM (in Greek, ἐγὼ εἰμί/ego eimi) is the divine name of God in the Old Testament, first revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:13-15.  To the Jews, this declaration by Jesus is a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God.  Hence their reaction here (they took up stones to throw at Him); see also Mark 14:52-64.  My study Bible explains that John puts a special emphasis on the use of this Name in order to clearly reveal Christ as God.  This divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death ("Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death"), a power which belongs only to God the Father. 

 

 These claims in John's Gospel of Sonship and equality with God are quite explicit.  These are not statements which could easily be explained as metaphor, or even products of a kind of grandiosity.  We could ask ourselves how someone could make a statement like this without being insane or delusional.  But the thing is, there really is no evidence in the rest of the text for claiming that Christ is a mentally unbalanced person, or even one who is grandiose.  Aside from the seven miraculous signs John gives us in His Gospel, which obviously point to the presence of the kingdom of God, the text does not really give us ways to explain away such statements without simply flatly declaring it to be a work of fiction.  There is too much historical evidence about Jesus' existence for this to be truly successful as a denial of the claims made here by Christ.   The religious leaders here claim He simply has a demon; that is, He is unbalanced and under the influence of a demonic spiritual force.  But there's an argument against that in the text also, which Christ makes Himself.  The religious authorities claimed He cast out demons by the power of the ruler of demons.  But Jesus asks, if their exorcists in the Jewish tradition that existed at the time also cast out demons, then by what power does He do so?  Moreover, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, only a "stronger man" could cast out a strong man from his palace and claim his goods (Luke 11:14-23).  All the arguments we could make against such extraordinary claims fall flat, as Jesus is not one to conduct Himself in either a grandiose manner or one in which He seeks worldly power over others.  He does not control or compel people to follow Him through any apparent means of coercion.  His demeanor is righteous, His judgment honest and true, His weapon is the mercy and love of God.  Otherwise there would be no way that Christ could be such a compelling figure, and the power of our faith be something experienced by so many, and in so many ways.  The power of Christ's words, therefore, must remain to us not something simple and self-explanatory, but a truly compelling mystery.  It is something that invites us in to the extraordinary grandeur and power of God, and also into the perplexing questions of just why this is so.  Why the Incarnation?  What is the power of Christ not only to heal, but also to save?  To offer us life that is greater than the life we know already?  In His words, life more abundantly (John 10:10).  Why is God manifest in our world, and present to us?  Why does God need to live the life of a human being, as one of us?  All of these questions are opened up for us in His words.  If we accept what He says as true, then we don't have a question resolved, but even greater mystery and more questions than we'd have otherwise.  And this, too, remains a compelling part of the ministry and figure of Christ:  He invites us in to something that pulls us forward, asks us questions, even questions we need to ask ourselves about our own purpose and meaning in our lives, what we seek, and by what measure we judge ourselves.  It presents us with what one might call "the whole shebang" -- a colossal presence of something we otherwise would never think about or contemplate, the mystery of creation and the Creator.  Let us consider with what gifts we're blessed in such acceptance of so much more to life than we know, for even we are considered worthy for such a God to find us, for the more abundant life He offers beyond what we know.  And that is a great mystery indeed.