John 8:12-59
Title: The
Great I Am.
Analysis:
Jesus
has continued to speak with the religious leaders and the people, proving that
He is from God and does the works of God above. In this second “I am”
declaration the mounting hatred of the people becomes extremely evident as they
attempt to murder the Messiah.
The
Pharisees, ignorant of the previous claims of Christ in 7:16-18, when He proved
His authority from the Father, accuse Christ again of testifying of Himself
(8:13). Jesus counters and gives proof of His authority by declaring His
beginning, “…I know where I came from and where I am going…” His partnership
with the Father, “…I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent me…” and
finally His intimacy with His Father, “…if you knew Me, you would know My
Father also.”
Jesus
in verses 21-30 reveals the consequence of the Pharisees unbelief in Him. The
Pharisees were self-righteous, thought of earthly things, were unbelieving, and
ignorant of Jesus. They would not listen to His words nor believe in His name.
Only the ones who would believe and know the truth would truly be free. For all
men are enslaved to sinfulness but if men believe in the Son of God, they will
be freed from this bond (vs. 35-36). Jesus, spoke these things because they
were the words from His Father who was in heaven. Once again though, the Jews
did not understand Him or His Father.
In
verse 39 they respond to Jesus saying, “Abraham is our Father.” But little did
they really know who Abraham was. If they were the children of Abraham they
would have believed in Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus knew their hearts, and their
hatred towards Him and exposed them for who they really were in verse 44
saying, “You are of your Father the devil, and you want to do the desires of
your father. He was a murderer from the beginning…” Just as the devil was a
murderer, the people and Pharisees for that matter wanted to murder Jesus.
Jesus
continues to call to the people saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone
keeps My word he will never see death.” The Jews were even more angered by this
and responded in verses 52-53, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, and
the prophets also…Surely you are not greater than our father Abraham who
died…whom do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered them by saying, “If I
glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies me…and you
have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him,
I will 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. (Vs. 54-56)
Tragically, the Jews mock the Lord again saying in verse 57, “So the Jews said
to Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Because
of their continual unbelief in Him as God the Lord Jesus now says to them in
verse 58, “Truly, Truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am.” In this
statement Jesus declares Himself to be the eternal pre-existent Yahweh God of
the O.T. This statement is the culmination of the continual discussion Jesus
has been having with the Jews. They continually rejected Him as the rightful
Messiah, and when He finally declares that He is the great I Am, they are
filled with hatred. Immediately they pick up stones to throw at Christ but He
hid himself, and eluded their grasp.
Response:
This
was by far the most difficult passage for me to write an analysis on. It
contains so much discussion and rich truth it is hard to just slightly skim over it and
give the main thrust. But what it comes down to is this; Jesus is the light of
the world, the God-man, the Saviour of the world, and the Great ‘I Am’!
For personal application, verse 36
sticks out the most to me. It says, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be
free indeed.” I know as a believer that it is the truth of the gospel and the
belief in Jesus Christ as Lord that brings us freedom. This freedom is a
privilege that God gave us when we were saved. It is a freedom to obey Christ
and be submissive to His will and His Word. As Christians we live in this
freedom from sin for our entire lives until we go to be with the Lord or He
comes to take us home.
Blessings,
Lucas C.
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