John 8:48–59

Read the passage.

Now everything comes to a head. Jesus reveals the unbelief in the hearts of these Jews who had started to follow Him, and they respond with accusations of insanity. Ironically, because they think Jesus is influenced by a demon, they end up committing the blasphemy they accuse Him of. They also call Him a Samaritan, which can be taken to mean, “You’re not a real Jew like us!” It cast aspersions on His bloodline, and possibly His mother’s reputation, depending on how personal one wanted to make it.

Jesus’s response deserves further study and reflection. He doesn’t respond in kind, of course, but He doesn’t just take the insults like a punching bag, either. He refutes the accusation of having a demon, but not the one about being a Samaritan, and then He gently rebukes them. In a time when the Jewish people were often Hellenized (i.e., absorbing Greek culture) Jesus’s Jewish heritage was probably so obvious that there was no need to take the accusation of being Samaritan seriously. On the other hand, having a demon would not necessarily be obvious, and is a much more serious thing for the Messiah to be accused of. As evidence that He doesn’t have one, Jesus says He honors His Father, which is the perfect defense. (1 John 4:1-2)

That might have been the end of it, but then Jesus makes another outrageously true claim, that those who believe in Him will not see death. The Jews rightfully understand that this is a big deal, and would make Jesus greater than all the prophets or patriarchs. “Who do you make yourself out to be?” they ask. (v. 53) Jesus doesn’t answer because He says it’s not His job to glorify Himself, but the Father’s. He reiterates that His listeners do not know the Father like they say they do, or they would have believed Jesus in the first place.

Then we get to the part that sends the Jews over the edge. Jesus says Abraham was glad to see Jesus’s day. The Jews understood this to mean that they met face to face, which is indeed what happened when he met the angel of the Lord. (Genesis 18) They didn’t understand how this 30-year-old man in front of them could have been around 2,000 years before. So Jesus drops the bomb on them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!” (v. 58) That switch from past tense to present is an invocation of the eternal present of God’s timelessness. Jesus saw Abraham because He is Yahweh, the “I Am Who I Am”. (Exodus 3:14)

The Jews do not accept this, so they get ready to execute Jesus for blasphemy. Jesus hides and escapes because it is not yet the time for Him to die. I’ve always wondered how this could work, but it finally occurred to me that this discussion was happening in the Temple. Most likely there wasn’t a bunch of rocks lying around there for a convenient stoning. So the mob has to mill around a bit to find enough heavy stones, Jesus’s disciples read the mood and run interference, and Jesus is able to slip away. How much of this was natural inattention and how much was divine interference? The answer, as always, is “Yes, both.”

We rejoice in the eternal life that we will have with You.