For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  

 

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

 

- Luke 20:27–40 

 

Yesterday we read that the chief priests and scribes, who by now seek ways to seize Jesus, watched Him as He taught in the temple, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 

 

  Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  This question comes from the Sadducees, who, as the Gospel text tells us, did not believe that there was a resurrection.  Neither did they believe in the existence of angels.  For them, life was what they had on earth.  As a party, they held only to the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch or Torah, the Law of Moses.  They formed a sort of aristocratic landowning class around Jerusalem, and as members of the high priestly caste held many important offices in the temple, exerting much control.  After the Siege of Jerusalem, they disappeared as a party or class entirely.  They imagine the resurrection to simply be a continuation of earthly life.

 

 Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  Here Christ confirms that there will indeed be a resurrection, but not of the kind the Sadducees imagine in their question posed to Christ.  They imagine it to be a continuation of earthly life, including earthly marriage, and so therefore mock this doctrine with an absurd scenario.  But, as Jesus says to them in St. Matthew's Gospel, they are ignorant of the Scriptures, which reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, and makes such an earthly question irrelevant.  Moreover, neither do they understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  My study Bible states that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

 

 In our secular lives, which for most of us in the West means we live in a very secular world and environment, it's tempting to believe that we can simply discount anything "supernatural" and be very comfortable.  Perhaps this is helpful if we are to believe that this world is all there is, for it means that the contest of life is simply about winning at something, regardless of what it is, and gaining what we want in a material sense.  That might be money and other material goods that make us a success.  It could mean having a large extended family we count as our own, or part of the clan we belong to.  It might mean that we focus on politics of some sort, and our goal -- and the yardstick of our behavior and beliefs in life -- is to conform to a set of political or social commitments.  Perhaps a secular life for us means that we focus in on academic or intellectual achievements, or possible creative purpose is found in the arts.  Whatever path we choose in this secular sense, it remains "earthly" and without the need for spiritual or supernatural existence or acknowledgement.  But faith in God, and especially if we're to put our faith in the Scriptures of the Bible, asks us for something more.  It asks us to acknowledge something more that is beyond this world -- not excluding it, but very much including it.  Faith in God asks us for a holistic sense of creation, of the cosmos, which includes realms and existences that are, for want of better language to describe it, supernatural.  That is, a concept that creation includes realms which are multiple in dimension, but also include who we are and our own lives.  Moreover, there are layers to the existence of the supernatural.  Our concept of God as Creator means there is a something that pre-existed the creation of all we know, including supernatural beings such as angels.  This is the image of the reality of the resurrection, even as we also are earthly creatures, fully embodied as creations of God.  Into this life steps even Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity and Son of God, who chooses voluntarily not only to become one of us, but also to experience human death and Resurrection.  So essential to our understanding of our faith and our lives is this story, that without it, we do not understand quite where we are, who we are, or what we are to be about.  For so much of this story depends upon the "supernatural," on Christ's experience of death, and His liberation of souls in hades, defeat of the devil and death, and Resurrection as almighty Lord who will someday return in judgment and to a transfigured new heaven and new earth (Revelation 2:11).  But, in their question posed to Jesus about the resurrection, all of these things are lost on the Sadducees.  They see only what they see, and imagine in that context that resurrection is nonsensical, and so pose this question without understanding.  Christ corrects them both by referring to the Scriptures they don't acknowledge, but also to the power of God (as He states in St. Matthew's text), of which they are also ignorant.  Stripping away all recognition of life beyond this world might make life seem simpler, for then there is no concern about what is unknown in this sense.  But to do so is to severely limit our lives to only what we have in this world, to the death we experience which will eventually come, and to nothing beyond that.  Moreover, an effective acknowledgement of spiritual life means that we participate in something much greater than we are, that we are known by a Creator who has created us in love and whom we can come to know through faith.  Beauty and mystery in life take on meaning and form, and develop as part of our own faith and awareness of who we are -- even when we are defeated, or alone, or trampled upon by worldly standards of life.  Let us consider the resurrection Christ describes, in which human beings are equal to the angels and sons of God, if we are sons of the resurrection (sons, meaning heirs, regardless of  gender).  Perhaps more importantly, Jesus teaches us the doctrine of life, in which all live to God, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all generations of the righteous, of those who love God, where there is no time or space to divide us in this great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).  Modern science speaks of time as dimension, of space as continuum, of existences where matter appears and reappears, of life shaped by expectations, even consciousness.  Faith has taught us that all of this is possible, that nothing is impossible with God.  Let us measure our lives by what is real and true, and has stood the test of time, and hearts that seek the truth and meaning of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."   But after that they dared not question Him anymore. 

 

- Luke 20:27–40 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus told the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers against them, the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 

 

  Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."   But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  The Sadducees imagine that the concept of resurrection frames an extension of earthly life, but they are mistaken.  Jesus explains that there is no earthly marriage in the resurrection, for those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  Moreover, the Sadducees do not comprehend the Scriptures, for in the burning bush passage (Exodus 3:1-6) it's indicated that Abraham and his sons are alive in God, even though they are physically dead.  My study Bible adds that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.  

The Sadducees were a wealthy landowning class, who formed a kind of aristocracy around Jerusalem.  They did not believe in the resurrection, nor in angels, but followed only the first five books of Scripture; that is, the Pentateuch, or Torah.  Thus, in some sense, their question here reflects their perspective.  We could even note the importance of worldly inheritance and authority in the question.  As their faith was limited to the Scriptures containing the Law of Moses, we see also the importance of Moses' command regarding offspring.  But they rejected the oral traditions of the Pharisees, and the prophets and historical writings as authoritative.  They formed the inherited priestly caste, especially the high priests, and thus assumed many roles within the temple.  They were also favorable to compromise with the Romans.  Thus, their question to Jesus frames a worldly perspective, without the understanding of a life beyond this world in which existence is not the same as we understand it and live it.  It's in a sense ironic that in it is in Jesus' answer to this particular question, and to these particular men, we receive a great teaching about the resurrection, and the life of the resurrection.  Jesus teaches us that first of all, those in the resurrection are the ones who are counted worthy to attain that age.  By that "age," Jesus means a different era of time, not the present age in which we live.  So the first thing Christ indicates is that the resurrection is for those counted worthy of that life.  Jesus explains clearly that in this age, marriage such as we know it does not exist.  Moreover, those who dwell in this age cannot die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  So, we're given a picture of immortality, and a role, perhaps, which is in some way equal to the angels.  This gives us a picture of a kind of realization of potentials inherent within human beings for a different, and changed, role in the whole perspective of creation itself.  Jesus describes this as equal to the angels, which perhaps gives us the sense of something akin to the angels but not replacing them or their roles.  To be sons of God and sons of the resurrection is in some sense to be perhaps something "like" the angels, and equal to the angels as Jesus says.  But these terms indicate offspring, and heirs; that is, to be both inheritors and products of this special status of those counted worthy.  They indicate a rebirth into something new, and changed, with characteristics that make for a different and new life for those who come into it.  Jesus gives us these intriguing hints, in response to the Sadducees, indicating for all of us that there are hints that were always there in the Scriptures, if one  knows how to read them and to understand them, to see into them.  For all of these things -- for the attainment of the resurrection, for that new life in that new age, for the understanding of the Kingdom which Christ invites us into, to be "sons" of the resurrection and of God -- we need the spiritual eyes and ears to perceive what is there, already hidden in the ancient Scriptures.  Jesus will continually call people to such spiritual sight and hearing, echoing the words from Isaiah, "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive" (Isaiah 6:9).  Jeremiah echoes the same call to those who cannot perceive, "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear" (Jeremiah 5:21).  God keeps calling us to this new and resurrected life, the life of the age to come, one in which there is a role for humanity equal to the angels, immortal life, and one prepared for us by Christ who ascended with His human flesh and bearing the scars of the Crucifixion.  For what does He prepare us?  We can but take this glimmer, and follow the path He set out for us to get us there, to make us sons of the resurrection, and sons of God.  "For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." 

 

 

 

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening

 

Transfiguration Icon, late 16th century - St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

 

- Luke 9:28-36 

 

On Wednesday we read that, as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

 

  Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  The first hint we have that something very important is happening here is the reference to eight days.  Eight is an important number, and since this is in the context of days, it gives us another important reference.  At the Feast of Tabernacles (which makes its appearance in another reference further along in today's reading), the eighth day was the last, great day of the feast (John 7:37).  This was also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, and so here we have a hint about what is manifesting for these apostles on the mountain.  In Christian tradition, and specifically because of the Resurrection, Sunday is known not only as the first day of the week for our worship, but it is also called the "eighth day," which my study Bible says symbolizes eternity, a day without end.  If seven is a number of completeness, eight is that step beyond.  To go up on the mountain is symbolic of a holy place, a place closer to God.

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  Here we begin to understand something truly special is happening, for this is the story of what is called the Transfiguration, a major feast day in the Church.  This alteration of Christ's face, and particularly the white and glistening quality of His entire appearance, makes this moment a theophany.  Theophany means a manifestation of God, and in particular here, what is revealed is a display of Christ's uncreated, divine energy.  Because God is light (1 John 1:5), there are several elements which combine in the reading to convey that Jesus is God.  Here, in particular, the white and glistening quality of the light emanating from Christ's person.  Matthew reports that Christ's face "shone like the sun" (Matthew 17:2).  In some icons of the Transfiguration, this light is shown as beyond white, a bluish-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.  In Greek, the word for transfiguration is metamorphosis/μεταμορφωσις.

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.   My study Bible says that Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- since he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  My study Bible comments that their presence here shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  Moreover, it is noted here that what is translated as Christ's decease is in Greek exodus/ἔξοδος, which literally means "departure."  My study Bible adds that Christ's death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, as Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  This term, exodus, reveals that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover and is the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  Also, it adds, that this revelation of divine power also confirms Christ's upcoming death was not imposed on Him by outside forces, but was a voluntary offering of love, as no arresting soldier could have withstood such glory if He had not consented (Matthew 26:53).

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  My study Bible notes the words of an Orthodox festal hymn of the Transfiguration:  "Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could bear it, so that when they saw You crucified, they would understand that Your suffering was voluntary."

 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. Here is another reference to the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, in which the time Israel wandered toward the Promised Land and dwelt in tents, or tabernacles was commemorated.  My study Bible says that Peter sees what is happening as a sign that the Kingdom has come, and in this sense, he asks to build booths as was done at that feast, to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  Some also suggest that Peter knows he is witnessing what might be called a "divine council" meeting, and so the presence of the gathering tents is a natural association for his time and place.  Additionally, the presence of Moses and Elijah here manifest the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable and they talk with the Lord.  Now, my study Bible says, the disciples are able to understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" (Matthew 17:2) referring to John the Baptist.  It notes that their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.  Finally, what truly makes this event a theophany is the manifestation of the Holy Trinity:  Christ is transfigured, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship here, and the Holy Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person, overshadowing the whole mountain. 

When we think of the Transfiguration, we think of this dazzling white light.  To remind us, my study Bible says it is beyond white, symbolizing its divine, heavenly origin.  White light might be something to ponder, because when we think of earthly white light, we get an interesting phenomenon.  Truly white light is in some sense "misleading."  This is because while the color white in a material sense may reflect the absence of all color as in a bleached garment, reflected light is different.  White light is actually composed of every color in the spectrum, while darkness is the absence of light.  So if we consider that Christ is here reflecting not simply "all things" in the spectrum of worldly light, but even more beyond that, heavenly light in origin, then we truly have the Christ.  That is, another manifestation here of the Incarnation, both divine and human (that is, both divine in origin and also earthly in origin).  So we could think of the Transfiguration as completing this revelation of Christ's identity also in this dual sense of the light.  Moreover, if white light reflects a whole spectrum of worldly light, then Christ's transfiguring "beyond white" divine light transfigures all of our worldly realities and experiences, and that is what He -- in the Incarnation -- is also here to bring to us.  It is even what He will bring to His Passion and Crucifixion, transfiguring the Cross with the same light so that it becomes the symbol of salvation and Resurrection that we know.  In this sense, the Cross is the truly transfiguring symbol we have, for it tells us that all things, and even death, are transfigured in Christ and in the power of Christ, and this transfiguring power is offered to each of us.  If we can think of that in this sense when we read Christ's words that we are to take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), then we will understand more clearly the power that is conveyed in that cross, for we are meant also to be transfigured as followers of Christ, as participants in God's grace and Kingdom, even as we live through whatever struggles and experiences we have in this world.  The icon above is from St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai, home to what is considered the Burning Bush in Moses' vision (Exodus 3).  If we remember that for the ancient world, fire was the source of light besides the sun, we begin to perceive the ties between the Burning Bush of Moses, and the Mount of Transfiguration.  The energies of God are present in both places, both on the holy mountain, and both with Moses as witness to the testimony of God, to theophany in both Old and New Testaments.  Let us consider the mystery, the fullness of revelation, and the Resurrection to come in this light.

 

 

 

Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

 

Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard  the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him,"Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him. 

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

 

- Mark 12:13-27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem.  The events in our current readings take place during Holy Week, beginning with Monday's reading.  As He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.  

 

 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard  the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him,"Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  My study Bible explains that the Herodians were Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great and therefore willing servants of Rome.  Therefore, this question regarding Caesar and paying taxes is relevant in the context of those who ask it.  It is designed as a trap.  If Jesus answers in the affirmative He will be seen as against the Jewish people and supporting the Roman occupiers; if He answers "no" it could bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But Christ's answer defeats the trap, and shows that a faithful person can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible comments that, as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God (see Acts 4:19; 5:29).  Moreover, my study Bible says that this distinction between things that are Caesar's and things that are God's does not imply the division of a believer's life into the secular and the sacred.  God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  But we fulfill governmental requirements that do not conflict with our first responsibility to God.  To pay taxes and fulfill similar civil duties are not detrimental to holiness. 

 

 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."   My study Bible notes here that the Sadducees represent landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem.  They held many high offices in Israel, and controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin.  They were distinguished from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent, adapting to the presence of the Romans.  They were extremely conservative in terms of how they interpreted the law, more rigid than the Pharisees in the sense that, unlike the Pharisees, they rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.  In His response, Jesus confirms there will be a resurrection, but that its nature is something quite different from what the Sadducees can imagine.  It is not a continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage).  Their mocking and absurd scenario is a reflection of their ignorance of the Scriptures.  As Jesus implies, the Scriptures reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, making their questions irrelevant.  Moreover, my study Bible adds, they fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  It notes that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

The Sadducees ask Jesus a very materially oriented question.  It would seem, if we extrapolate from Jesus' response to them, that their very worldly-grounded perspective -- with its denial of both the resurrection and the existence of angels -- limits them in their capacity to understand the things of God.  At least this seems to be the clear teaching of Jesus.  Moreover, their rigid method of understanding the law prohibits them from truly understanding the Scriptures and reading what is there.   Let us note how important each word of the Scripture is, especially from Christ's response.  Jesus quotes from Exodus 3:6 ("I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"), and we are meant to understand how very important the word am is in the quotation.  Indeed, if we understand the Scriptures properly, God is the I AM (Exodus 3:14).  God is existence itself.  Therefore the resurrection is not a continuation of earthly life, but the life of eternal existence in God, who sustains all that is.  This sense of the name of God, the I AM, is carried over into Christian iconography and symbolism.  In the nimbus (or "halo") that surrounds the head of Christ in Byzantine icons, we can read Ο ΩΝ.  This might be literally translated as "the Being" (or even the "Be"), the God who is.  In the Armenian Apostolic tradition, God is often represented by the seventh letter of the Armenian alphabet, “Է” (pronounced "Eh"), which also means "is."  From these ancient Christian traditions, we understand the power and importance of this notion of existence itself, what is -- or perhaps better phrased, Who is.  God is the One Who is.  Nothing is sustained without the One who is, life is in the One who is.  Thus, God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all those who live in God, even if they no longer live in this world.  This passage is important in that it teaches us about Scripture and how to read it.  It teaches us about the limitations of assuming that whatever we read has simply a pedestrian meaning and needs to be stripped of all of its attendant mystery and possibilities.  Jesus asks us to do quite the opposite, and flatly instructs the Sadducees that they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.   In our own time, there are many who would minimize the power and mystery of God, and the true richness of Scripture.  Scripture is tied to Christ, as both are "the Word of God."  If we understand it as Jesus teaches in today's reading, Scripture adds "more abundantly" to what we know of life.   In the true power and mystery of God, the Scriptures reveal to us something far beyond our imagination, an unlimited treasure that has kept on giving throughout the ancient world of Christianity to the present.  Let us pay attention to His words, and minimize nothing of what we are given.  

 

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

- Luke 20:27-40

Yesterday, we read that the chief priests and the scribes that very hour (after He told the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers against them) sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."    We've already read that some groups in the leadership are plotting against Jesus, and in yesterday's reading we saw how the chief priests and scribes sent spies to lay a trap for Jesus by asking a question in which either a "yes" or "no" answer would lead to dire consequences.  Today it's the Sadducees who approach Him, with a question relevant to who they are.  The Sadducees were a wealthy, aristocratic type of landowning class in Jerusalem.  They made up a part of the Council, and as a group they died out after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.  They did not generally hold to the idea of resurrection, so the question is pertinent to their views.  One might also extrapolate that questions of inheritance and property would also be very relevant to their own lives and understanding.

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.   Jesus teaches them about the true picture of resurrection:  it's not to a life identical to worldly life.   My study bible suggests that Jesus is pointing out here the Sadducees' unawareness of the Scriptures, which reveal that the life to come is a complete transfiguration of worldly life -- so their questions are irrelevant.  They fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  My study bible notes:  "It is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of resurrection."   The scribes, whose job it is to know the Scriptures, are awed and silenced by Jesus' response.

It's interesting to look closely at the characteristics of life "in the age to come" and in the resurrection from the dead, that Jesus leaves us here.  It's a clear depiction -- even to these Sadducees who do not believe in resurrection -- of how life is changed from worldly life to the life of the Kingdom.  First of all, there is no marriage.  Life is eternal.  This suggest that the ties between people are no longer structured on basic family units, but given that the Scriptures teach us that God is love, relationships become those embraced through love and not through questions of inheritance or longevity.  That puts the focus of the legacy of our lives -- in this heavenly place -- squarely on our own legacy of love, and not physically upon descendants or lineage.  It's a focus that is really important to the gospel message, a facet of what it is to live life "in spirit and in truth."   To be a "son of God" is to inherit Gods' kingdom, male and female in the worldly sense, each via faith becomes a "son of God" and "son of the resurrection."  Maybe most of all in importance is the very focus on life that Jesus puts here to us.  The fact that God is the God of all the generations of the faithful ("the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob") tells us something about an eternal present, life itself as an eternal reality in which we can participate by faith.  It's important that this is tied to the burning bush:  a symbol of flame that doesn't burn, an eternal energy, a force of love and pure life itself.    In the Eastern Church, the burning bush is also considered an "icon" or "type" of the Virgin Mary, the one who was visited by the Holy Spirit and remained intact in her purity of heart.  Jesus tells us plainly that all live to God; that is, it is God who not only is life and declares life, but in whom our lives exist; our true reconciliation in God therefore is true life itself.  It is the reality, the presence, and the gift of life -- surpassing every limitation we know or can imagine.  What's even more awesome to think about is that this life and love is the very foundation of all of creation; whatever we may think we know from a worldly perspective, the "in between" of everything is love, the burning fiery life of God in which we may be included by our faith.  We worship, Jesus has said, in spirit and in truth -- and there we share His life as "sons."

He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

- Luke 20:27-40

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was in the temple teaching.  It is Holy Week, the week of Jesus' Passion, as we read through Luke's gospel.  Jesus has just spoken a parable against the leadership in the presence of the crowds.  He quoted from Scripture, warning them:  The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people--for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."    My study bible explains, "The Sadducees:  the high priestly and landowning class which controlled the temple and the Jewish Council.  In a striking difference with the Pharisees, the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead and they came to Christ to dispute it."

Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."  Here in Jesus' answer we have an intriguing glimpse of the resurrection, of "life after death."  These few details have caused endless theological treatises on the life that we look forward to, and they continue to fuel our understanding of what the afterlife is like, the future for mankind in God's eternal plan.  That those in the resurrection "neither marry nor are given in marriage" nor do they die anymore, that they are "equal to the angels and are sons of God" as "sons of the resurrection" has opened up our eyes to the possibilities in this transfiguration of resurrection.  Clearly we await a different sort of a life than the one we have lived in this world.  Along with the visitations of the Risen Christ, these are the teachings to which we turn to understand something of the eternity, the "age to come" that awaits His return.

"But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  My study bible says that "Jesus' answer is concise and irrefutable.  Since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, both those who are physically alive and those who are deceased, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all live to Him."

It's quite striking how awed the scribes are at Jesus' answer.  It's clear that His expertise in dialogue and debate is extraordinary.  His answers remain to us remarkable, concise, deft, irrefutable.  But that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, is a remarkable statement to think about.  It gives us first of all an affirmation about the nature and Person of God to begin with, that God is life.  All things originate with our Creator, and all things live to and in the life of God.  So we take our assurance about our own lives when we practice our faith, when we pray, when we seek the word and life of God.  Jesus has said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life."   He has also taught that "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  In Christ is the abundant life that we wish to have more of in our own lives.  Through participation in the energies of this God to whom all live, we seek life in abundance, and we receive that which constitutes life -- and life more abundantly.  Furthermore we are assured that all live to Him.  Those whom we love are not lost to us, but they live to Him as well.  The Patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, referred to in the burning bush passage, live as do the saints, and we are in communion with them.  We trust that in that life of God, the life of Christ, we all live to Him.  It is a promise about eternity, and time, just as the promise of the life in the age to come, made so tantalizingly here with a few hints about that life in that age, gives us a sense of life as eternal and the promise of the Resurrection.  As we go through Passion Week, we will see those determined to put Him to death, and we know His human suffering.  But He is our Teacher of life.  His word is with us that we may have it more abundantly.  Let us consider our prayer and worship; that when we do so we enter into this life, abundantly, that He promises.  How does it activate things in you that need healing, and perhaps to take a look at?  How does it contribute to your life through a deepened sense of wonder, of joy, of understanding -- perhaps of transcendence?  Let us remember, as noted in yesterday's reading, that every good and perfect gift is from above.  We have the gift of life, and Christ came that we may have it more abundantly.  While the world may be full of sorrows, let us remember that in His life we also may have joy, and that it promises to be for us, "abundantly."  In the image of the burning bush, let us understand the "fire" and energies of God, that burn but don't consume  --  that continue to fire and illumine our lives with God's presence. 

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.