John 8:51-59

John 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

So the Jews said to him,

“Now we are sure that you are possessed.

Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,

‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

Or the prophets, who died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?"

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;

but it is my Father who glorifies me,

of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

You do not know him, but I know him.

And if I should say that I do not know him,

I would be like you a liar.

But I do know him and I keep his word.

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;

he saw it and was glad.”

So the Jews said to him,

“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,

before Abraham came to be, I AM."

So they picked up stones to throw at him;

but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I praise you for your marvelous works and the covenant you have made with us. Even though we acted like rebellious children and abandoned you, you did not abandon us. You are faithful forever.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Power to Save People from Death: In his debate with the Pharisees after the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus doubled down and claimed not only that he reveals the truth that sets us free (John 8:31-32, but also that he has the power to save people from death (John 8:51). The two claims are related. The grace and Spirit Jesus pours out upon believers not only frees us from the power of sin but also liberates us from eternal death. In both claims, Jesus invites us to abide in his word (John 8:31) and to keep his word (John 8:51). These claims made Jesus’ opponents think of Abraham and the prophets. They thought that Jesus was possessed when he declared that his word could do something that neither Abraham’s words nor the words of the prophets could do. They ask almost sarcastically: “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died?” (John 8:33). They were mistaken, thinking that when Jesus spoke about his word preserving someone from death, he was speaking about bodily death and not spiritual or eternal death. Jesus demonstrates through the restoration of Lazarus that he can restore a person to earthly life. This invites us to believe that Jesus can resurrect us to eternal, heavenly life.

2. Greater than Abraham: In the Gospel, Jesus’ opponents asked him to declare his identity: “Who do you make yourself out to be?” (John 8:53). John’s readers know many things about Jesus: that he is the eternal Word of the Father, that he is the Bridegroom, that he is the Son of Man, that he is the giver of the water of the Spirit, that he is equal to God the Father, that he is the new Moses who gives his body as the Bread of Life, that he is the source of living water, and that he is the Light of the World. Jesus’ opponents continued to refuse to accept Jesus’ claims. In the Gospel, Jesus now claims to be greater than Abraham, who actually rejoiced when he saw Jesus’ day (John 8:56). This was an allusion to the manifestations of the divine to Abraham in Genesis 15 and 17. “In Genesis 17:17, Abraham laughed at God’s words that he and Sarah would conceive a child in their old age. The verb ‘rejoiced’ in John’s Gospel interprets Abraham’s laughter as joy rather than astonishment. In Genesis 15:13-16, God appeared to Abraham and revealed the future events of the exodus to him. … John 8:56 seems to imply that this revelation to Abraham included the knowledge that the Messiah would be his descendant” (Martin and Wright, The Gospel of John, 169).

3. The Response to Jesus’ Declaration that “I AM”: When his opponents pointed out that Jesus was less than fifty years old and couldn’t possibly have seen Abraham, who lived well over a millennium before Jesus, Jesus revealed to them that he doesn’t just have a human origin, but also has a divine origin. Thus, the debate with the Pharisees after the Feast of Tabernacles culminates with Jesus declaring his divine identity (John 8:58). In a way, this is the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, which looked forward to the day when God and his Messiah would dwell and tabernacle among his people once again. Jesus declared openly that his identity is “I AM,” the divine name revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:15. Just as the chief priests will condemn Jesus to death when he declares his divine identity at his trial, here his opponents try to kill him, thinking he has committed blasphemy by claiming the divine name for himself.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I embrace in faith the mysteries of your life but recognize that I can never fully comprehend or exhaust them. I welcome this and will seek to share more deeply in the mysteries of your life through the liturgy and the service of charity.

Living the Word of God: Like Abraham, we too should rejoice as we experience the day of Jesus. Having been baptized into Christ, we walk by faith and know that we will receive the inheritance of the children of God. Jesus comes to us today in the Eucharist. We receive his Body and Blood, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. We see the victory over sin and death when we contemplate Jesus on the Cross. We rejoice because we contemplate God’s love for us. We deserved death but were instead given new life in Christ. How can I rejoice, like Abraham, in Jesus today?