Saturday, June 8, 2013

Trinity & Divinity, Part 3, John 8:12-59

This is adapted from a post about John 8:58 and its context. And at that point a difficulty appears. The context of John 8:58 is more than 80% of the 59-verse 8th chapter of John! This post ain't gonna be brief!

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." 13 So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true." 14 Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 "You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. 16 "But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. 17 "Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. 18 "I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me." 19 So they were saying to Him, "Where is Your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
Setting the scene, this passage begins an extended dispute about the nature of Jesus. On several levels, the skeptical Jewish leaders are unable and refuse to see beyond what they can see in front of them, i.e. very superficially. So, looking at things in this passage. Twice in these 7 verses Jesus used the phrase, “I am”. Innocuous in Greek, this would at least have been irritating to the ears of the Jewish religious leaders present, as “I Am” is the meaning of the Divine Name by which God identified Himself to the Jewish people. In the verses above and in those that follow, that irritation can be seen, and Jesus kept prodding that sore spot.

Who, but the Creator, can claim to be the “Light of the world”? The world is a creature; no creature can claim to be its light! Only the Creator can make such a claim.

It's easy to overlook, but in verses 16-19, in claiming to be a witness along with the Father and in verse 19 (notice that Jesus switches from “the Father” to “my Father”), Jesus is stating that He and the Father are peers, equals. In the Jewish Scriptures – in Isaiah 43-45, for instance – God repeatedly states that there is no God besides Himself, that He has no peers.

John 8:20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
Why would it be remarkable that no one seized Jesus? Unless Jesus was claiming something of Himself – that He was God – for which such seizure would be an appropriate response?

John 8:21 Then He said again to them, "I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come." 22 So the Jews were saying, "Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?" 23 And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
Jesus continues to irritate the Jewish religious leaders, on a couple of levels. Showing some of their irritation, they start to get snidely personal with Jesus, with more and worse to come. First, Jesus tells them they will die in their sins. Really? How can Jesus know this? Who but God has the authority to tell them that their sin offerings and such will mean nothing? Then there's Jesus' statement of where He is from. He isn't claiming to be from the Moon or Jupiter or some distant galaxy. Jesus is stating that He is not part of creation, but is the Creator! Note the word “Therefore” in Jesus statement and where/how He used it: He said that His knowledge that the Jewish leaders would die in their sins derives from His not being part of creation (i.e. not knowledge revealed to a creature such as a prophet).

John 8:25 So they were saying to Him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 "And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.The religious leaders come to the point … the point toward which Jesus had been goading them: "Who are You?" Jesus has been controlling this argument, but they think they have Him! Here in these verses Jesus acknowledges what they can see – He is fully human – but then He uses that “I am” phrase, and even more blatantly. In verse 12, Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world“; in verse 18, Jesus said, "I am He who testifies about Myself”. So to speak, Jesus buffered His “I am” claim with “the light of the world” and “who testifies ...”. Not so verse 28! There Jesus makes a clear claim: “I am He” (in the Greek, “egw eimi”, “I am”).

The Father “taught”, “sent”, is “pleased” by Jesus – “the Word became flesh”, and thereby subjected Himself to human limitations. As a child, Jesus had to learn to speak, to walk, to read, etc., as any human. But did not cease being “the Word”; Philippians 2 says a bit more of this, including the other side of Jesus coming, that Jesus chose to come, to become human.

John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
“My word”? Not in the third person possessive, “God's” or “the Father's” word, but in the first person, “My”. That word is Jesus' word. And it is Jesus word that can set men free! No creature could say this! Only God can make such claims!

John 8:33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?" 34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
A bit a racial pride here on the part of the religious leaders. Jesus points them to a deeper level; their slavery to sin. And claims that He, the Son, has the authority to set them free. Again, a claim no creature could make!

John 8:37 "I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 "I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father." 39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 "But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 "You are doing the deeds of your father." They said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God."
Note one thing Jesus said that the Jewish leaders did not dispute: that they were seeking a pretext to kill Jesus. Why? Because Jesus had been claiming to be God! At this point the dispute about personal origins took a nasty turn. Jesus pointed out that the leaders' actions – seeking to kill Him – contradicted their claim to be Abraham's descendants. The leaders' response was, essentially, “At least we're not bastards, like you!” And then claimed God was their Father ...

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
Like I said above, Jesus was in control of this argument from the start. And Jesus was ready for their claim in verse 41. Who could make the claim – a serious claim, not lashing out in an insult – such as Jesus made in verse 44. And don't miss what Jesus says of Himself in verses 44-45; people speak from their nature; Jesus spoke the truth; therefore Jesus' nature is truth. Yet another claim only God can make!

John 8:46 "Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 "He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God." 48 The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" 49 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 "But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death."
Don't miss something Jesus stated: His words, spoken from His nature (per verse 45), are the words of God! And keeping Jesus' word will result in eternal life. More insults: calling Jesus a demon-possessed Samaritan (insinuating that Jesus was a demon-possessed half-breed bastard).

John 8:52 The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.' 53 "Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?" 54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; 55 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. 56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57 So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Can a finite creature know, truly know God, the infinite Creator (verse 55)? How could Abraham, who died 18 or 19 centuries before Jesus' time, see Jesus “day”? Why would that be significant to Abraham? More to the point, the question Jesus responded to in verse 58, how could Jesus have seen Abraham? That Jesus had seen Abraham is obvious from Jesus response in verse 58. But that would be true of an angel, a creature. Jesus precludes that possibility with His 4th “I am” claim”. Two basic facts must be kept in mind: the Greek, “egw eimi”, means “I am”; Jesus, Who created human speech, language, and grammar, would know how to express exactly what He meant in proper grammar! And just to make the silly idea that Jesus would use improper grammar all the less tenable and all the more silly, John included how the Jewish leaders responded. They made moves to kill Jesus, right there in the temple! Those two facts could only mean that they understood Jesus to be claiming to be God! These Jewish leaders would not kill some one randomly or for ambiguous statements! They understood Jesus' clear claim to be God! Either Jesus was committing blasphemy, or Jesus was, indeed, God. Jesus words and the leaders' response leave no other alternative meaning (unless you think it all has no meaning, and think the appropriate response is, “Yes, I will have fries with my flamingo casserole.”).

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