John 8:56-59 -- Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. 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?”[a] 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
The adventure in chapter eight of John comes to a close today. It has been a very intense journey following Jesus as He has engaged with the religious leaders whose only goal now is to trap, arrest, and have Him killed.
The religious leaders had twisted Jesus' words and were attempting to use it to prove He was demon possessed. He responds to them by making clear He does nothing for Himself, all He does is for God the Father, whom He knows and keeps His Words.
Jesus continues in today's verses and brings up Abraham again, whom the religious leaders kept clinging to. He tells them Abraham understood and would rejoice over Jesus, the Messiah, being there. The Pharisees of course reject this and again turn it into an attack. However, Jesus' reply sends the loudest and most explosive bomb they'd heard yet.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."
Jesus has just claimed to be God. There are people out there who say Jesus never said He was God and try to point all over the place to prove it. This statement right here in John 8:58 is straight from Jesus' mouth calling Himself, "I am". Some might argue, well He didn't exactly say He was God. Then I would have to ask this: Why then did this sneaky, deceitful, group of religious leaders, rulers, and teachers go from trying repeatedly to trap Him with questions and words, to immediately picking up stones to kill him?
The fact is these religious people who had dedicated their entire lives to memorizing, learning, teaching, the scriptures and knew them inside out. They had perfected living it outwardly, they hid behind it, and ruled over others with it. They knew instantly what Jesus was saying and it went beyond arresting Him, trying Him, then executing Him to just straight kill Him immediately. The reason is because they knew Exodus 3:14 by heart.
Exodus 3:14 -- God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Christian, we tend to put Jesus into categories such as, Baby Jesus, Miracle Jesus, Parable Jesus, Loving Jesus, Die on the cross for your sins Jesus, Empty Tomb/Easter Jesus. What we often lost sight of is Jesus is God. Now, He is God the Son, which is distinctly different than God the Father, but He is God.
I'm not trying to dive into the endlessly deep theological study and breakdown of the Trinity here. It was just on me how easy it is to lose sight of the fact Jesus is God. Especially when we habitually look at Him through separate lenses. Where, on the other hand, we generally view God the Father and Holy Spirit through a singular lens.
This led me over to Philippians 2:4-11, which I will close out with today.
Philippians 2:4-11 -- Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Don't take my word on it. Be the Berean and jump into the Word yourself!
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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