The Great I AM - John 8:48-59

One of the really interesting aspects of John 8, and really John 7 as well is just how much time Jesus spends arguing with the religious establishment. He’s been in a perpetual state of conflict.

I counted something like twelve disputes between Jesus and the Jews in chapter 8. I could be off, but I think there’s more than ten.

Regardless, it’s a lot. And normally, you don’t associate this with Jesus, until you really walk through the gospels. It’s so much back and forth. And it only escalates. Jesus never really restrains his words.

If Jesus was a modern evangelical Christian he might get accosted for all the conflict he’s caused. By this point, someone would have definitely asked Jesus, “what is all this accomplishing?” Just let it go, Jesus!

This isn’t unifying! Ultimately, it is the religious establishment that has Jesus crucified.

And it raises a very interesting question: how much abuse, opposition, dare I say, persecution are you willing to endure for the truth of Jesus Christ? We often say here in America that we don’t really face “real persecution” which to a certain extent is true. Christians in other countries legitimately face death for their faith in Christ.

As it stands right now, I don’t think anyone received a death threat for coming to church this morning. But at the same time, so many are not willing to take even the smallest stand for the truth of Jesus Christ. Recently, someone shared with me an article by Carl Trueman entitled, “Are evangelical leaders as courageous as J.K. Rowling?” J.K. Rowling is the liberal author of the Harry Potter book series and an avowed feminist. But in the twisted and confusing times that we live in, Rowling has been an outspoken voice against the transgender movement. Trueman’s article simply asks, “are evangelical leaders willing to take a similar bold stance?”

Of course, I’m not encouraging anyone to be unnecessarily adversarial or hostile, but when your back is against the wall, what will you do? When someone bluntly asks about your personal religious beliefs and what you say might cost you something, what will you do? Because we all know the cost, don’t we? The cost we face is the scorn of the world. We face being sidelined culturally. Taking a stand might end up getting you ignored or ridiculed which for many professing Christians is a price too high.

There aren’t many hills worth dying on, but standing on the truth of Christ and boldly claiming that there is no salvation under any other name is that hill worth risking everything for.

Defending the gospel is worth it. And we see it in this passage. We’ve seen it throughout chapter 7 and 8, but really see it here in verses 48-59.

In fact, we see three exchanges or mini debates. And in each of these debates or exchanges, Jesus reveals something about himself in increasingly weighty terms.

First, Jesus tells them that he grants eternal life (vv. 48-51). Second, he tells them that he is glorified by God (vv. 52-57). And finally, Jesus tells them that he is God (vv. 58-59).

So much of this week and last week centers around one question: who is the central Biblical figure? Is it Abraham? Perhaps a prophet of old? Or is it Jesus?

The Jews were totally wrapped in their religion and blinded by unbelief. Which is why it was so shocking last week when Jesus told the Jews that they’re father was the devil.

It’s still rather shocking. Just imagine telling someone that their father is the devil. Unbelievers would still find that insulting. That conversation would not be pleasant.

Exchange 1: Jesus Grants Eternal Life (vv. 48-51)

In the first exchange Jesus clearly states that it’s only through him and his words that one can receive eternal life.

But notice the scenario in which these claims come about: he makes incredible claims in response to personal attacks. Notice they insult him twice: they accuse him of being a Samaritan and having a demon.

Calling Jesus a Samaritan was a pretty severe insult for a few reasons: first, Samaritans were ethnically unclean. They were only partially Jewish. But even worse than that they had adopted improper worship practices. Jesus addressed much of this in John 4 with the woman at the well.

And it was for all those reasons the Jews and the Samaritans hated one another. They couldn’t stand each other. In many ways, the Jews considered the Samaritans worse than full blown pagans.

But really, suggesting that Jesus was a Samaritan was a way of questioning the purity of his Jewish ethnicity, because there was uncertainty over who was his biological father, due to the virgin birth.

They hinted at this in verse 41, when they said to Jesus, ““We were not born of sexual immorality.”

They also accuse him of having a demon, which is ironic because Jesus had just told them that their father is the devil. They’re essentially telling Jesus, “Nuh uh, you are!” It’s almost as if the Jews are going, “we’re not of the devil, because you have a demon!”

It has a real, “I’m rubber you’re glue” feel to the whole discussion.

But the real insult is in how they frame the question: “Are we not right in saying…” In other words, we’ve all sat down and hashed it out about you Jesus, you’re a Samaritan and have a demon. The insult is in the fact that they discussed him privately behind his back and have all come to the same conclusion - so they say.

And everything that Jesus says in verse 49 is related because he said, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge.”

Jesus honors God. He’s doing His will. Therefore, it is impossible for him to have a demon. And on the last day, on judgment day, everything will be revealed.

But the real meat of this first exchange is what Jesus said in verse 51, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

What glorious news! If you keep his word, that is, accept it by faith, obey it, and watch over it, then you’ll never see death, which is of course, spiritual death. It’s the separation from the love of God and the crushing weight of God’s wrath and condemnation forever.

It’s only in Christ, and in the truth of what he has revealed to us that you will never see death.

You know, all people believe there is something after this life whether or not they’re willing to admit it. You know how I know? Because of funerals. This is actually a point that John Calvin makes in his Institutes of the Christian Religion.

In every culture and corner of the earth, they have some form of funeral service. It’s innate for us to feel like we need to honor those that have recently passed away.

But why? If we’re just blobs of random cells stuck together what difference does it make when someone passes away? Why do we honor the deceased?

It’s hard for the atheist to answer, but it’s easy for the Christian isn’t it? Because we’re all spiritual beings. We believe life continues! Ladies and gentlemen this isn’t it!

With every passing year, death becomes a little more real. You sense your own mortality. But think about the beauty of Christ’s words, if you listen to him, you’ll never see death. Because physical death for the Christian doesn’t have the final word. It’s rather a gate that you pass through to reach the glorious other side. You enter into the heavenly promised land. There’s something better waiting for you on the other side of this life.

That’s wonderful news isn’t it? And the Jews receive this wonderful news with all joy and gladness, right? Well, no they don’t.

Jesus continues to point the Jews to himself.

Don’t you love being around a ‘one upper?’ Someone who’s done everything you’ve done but bigger and better? Oh you have a 2010 Honda Odyssey, well I have a 2011 Honda Odyssey! Oh you went skiing at Snowshoe? I’ve done it in the Swiss Alps! Oh you just got back from Myrtle Beach, well I just got back from Jamaica! Aren’t those conversations the best?

It’s typically really annoying to be around someone that constantly reverts the conversation back to him or herself. This is a classic one upper move.

But for Jesus, it’s not a one upper move because the words of eternal life hang in the balance. It’s not egotistical for him to point them back to himself, it's merciful.

But that’s not the case with Jesus is it? It’s gracious and merciful for him to revert the conversation back to himself because the truth of the gospel hangs in the balance!

Exchange 2: Jesus is Glorified By God (vv. 52-56)

We read of the second exchange in verses 52-56. In this exchange, Jesus reveals another glorious truth about himself, namely, that He is glorified by God Himself.

But just like verses 49-51, there’s a build up to that point. Look at verses 52-53 with me.

“Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died!”

Essentially the Jews are saying, “Jesus you’re crazy! Everyone died including Abraham and the prophets, but if anyone keeps your word he will never taste death?”

And again, as we’ve seen so many times before, the Jews are taking Jesus’ words literally, whereas, he was revealing a profound spiritual truth. They’re just thinking, all the great men of God in the Old Testament have died, which by the way, isn’t true! Enoch and Elijah never tasted death. So they’re own point doesn’t hold up, but nevertheless, they persist in it.

But really, they’re arguing over the validity of Jesus’ claims. And so, it’s in response to their question,”who do you make yourself out to be?” that Jesus reveals another glorious truth about himself.

How does he respond in verse 54? “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.” In other words, it’s not really about what I think of myself. It’s empty talk to simply brag about yourself, isn’t it? I like what Matthew Henry said. He said, “Self-admirers are self-deceivers.”

It’s obnoxious whenever someone tries to convince you of how great they are. It’s what makes one-uppers obnoxious. And typically, in the process of trying to convince you how great they are, you begin to lose respect for them. People that think highly of themselves are often those that are held in low regard.

But if someone else acknowledges or expresses respect for you, then that says something. It’s why references are so helpful.

So Jesus doesn’t glorify himself and he doesn’t have to - because his Father glorifies him. “It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.”

It’s what Paul tells us in Philippians 2: “And being found in human form, [Jesus] 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.”

The Father glorifies and exalts the Son. The glory of Christ isn’t his own because it comes from the one true God.

This is another glorious truth isn’t it? And in many ways it supports what Jesus had previously said. He wasn’t just out there making it up as he went along. He was fulfilling the will of God.

And ironically, it’s one true God that the Jews claim to honor and worship.

Jesus continues in verse 55, “But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.”

Tell us what you really think, Jesus!

Here’s the issue: Jesus really knows God, and fulfills his word and is glorified by him. But the Jews do not know God because they reject Jesus Christ.

And here’s where things get a little complex. The Jews have consistently pointed to Abraham as the source of their religious confidence. They thought because God covenanted with Abraham, we’re Abraham’s descendants, therefore, we’re good. God loves us, we’re all set.

But Jesus tells them, Abraham didn’t think that! Verse 56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

The Jews understand these words, literally, but Jesus doesn’t mean them to be taken literally.

So what day is Jesus referring to? He’s referring to the day that Abraham’s son, Isaac was born. That day was incredible because he had been waiting for Sarah, his long barren wife to have a promised son, and as we know she eventually did. But what made the day that Isaac was born so special was that it was the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Yes, it was the fulfillment of the promise that he would have a son, but more than that, it was clear evidence that the Lord would indeed bless the nations through Abraham’s offspring. Abraham understood that God’s promise was true! The Lord would send a Savior from his lineage that would bless the world! In other words, Abraham saw Isaac's birth as pointing to a promised Redeemer!

It's an incredibly rich irony isn’t it? The Jews point to Abraham for salvation, but Abraham looked to Christ for his.

Exchange 3: Jesus is God (vv. 57-59)

And all of this leads up to a final exchange. The last exchange in verses 57-59 is the most significant.

Again, the Jews miss Jesus’ point, don’t they? “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus was making a theological point, but they’re continuing to think very literally.

But the apex of this whole passage, and really, the whole chapter is found in what Jesus said in verse 58. “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

There are those two little words again, that we’ve seen before: “I AM.” The Greek words, ‘ego eimi’. This is an incredibly significant statement because Jesus is not merely identifying with the Lord, he is declaring that He is the Lord.

He’s applying God’s covenant name that was revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3, “I AM WHO I AM” or “I AM THAT I AM.” Jesus is applying the Lord’s covenant name, YAHWEH, to himself.

In other words, Jesus tells them that before Abraham was ever on the scene he was there. He is preexistent. He’s the eternal Son of God. He’s the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is the Great I AM. Jesus is God.

It’s with this point in mind that John begins his gospel. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Notice too, the Jews haven’t always been able to understand Jesus’ theological points, but they get this one. They completely understand what he’s saying, because they pick up stones to stone him with. They’re ready to murder him on the spot for blasphemy.

After all, Jesus just declared himself God.

There’s only one reason that this is highly offensive. It’s only highly offensive if it isn’t true. But if it’s true, well, that changes everything doesn’t it?

Perhaps you’ve noticed as I have that Jesus stands in there and takes a lot of abuse, doesn’t he? He’s constantly being debated, he’s mocked, and here at the end his life is threatened. At what point would you have just shrugged your shoulders and just said, “I’m done. This is going nowhere.” Or even more accurate, how many of us would have said, “I don’t have to take this?”

But Jesus doesn’t do that. He only slips out after his life had been threatened because it wasn’t his time.

The truth of the gospel is always worth fighting for. But I think it’s incredibly important that we always remember why Jesus was so willing to contend with the Jews, it wasn’t motivated out of a desire to simply win an argument. He didn’t set out to try to humiliate them.

Rather, his motivation was love!

Jesus said in Matthew 23, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

Jesus didn’t contend with the Jews because he hated them, he contended with the Jews because he loved them.

Our Lord has so much more love for the world than we do, and by we, I mean particularly people in the church and broad evangelicalism, because he’s willing to face the scorn, the opposition, and ultimately willing to die for the truth of the gospel.

The most loving thing you can do for anyone is to tell them the truth about Christ. If you love someone you’ll tell them the truth about Christ. If you profess Christ and are unwilling to do that, can you really look yourself in the mirror and say that you care?

Christians contend, struggle and fight for the faith, not out of anger or hostility for the world but out of love. Because there is no greater way to demonstrate your love for others than to tell them the truth about Christ. It’s what our Lord did. Let’s pray together.