31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Read John 8:31-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Part way through His ministry as He is visiting Jerusalem for a festival, Jesus gets in a debate with some Jews in the temple. As this debate is ending, Jesus makes one of His craziest claims, and this one claim shifts the focus of those He is debating from thinking He is crazy and should be ignored to He is crazy and should be killed.
Leading up to this moment, we find Jesus telling the Jews that they don’t know God the Father. Jesus says, “Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” (v. 55-56)
I’m not sure if these Jews misunderstood Jesus when they responded, or if they were getting irritated and were trying to put words in His mouth. On hearing Jesus say this, they respond by saying, “You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham!” (v. 57)
In Jesus’ earlier statement, unless there is something suggested in the original language, Jesus simply suggests to these leaders that Abraham looked forward to the day when God would send the Messiah. To make this point, Jesus could have used any of the hundreds of righteous people throughout Biblical history because they all looked forward to God’s Messiah. Jesus did not need to prove through scriptures that one of the greatest heroes in the Old Testament looked forward to the day when the Messiah would arrive.
However, Jesus recognizes this misunderstanding, but He also knows He has the conversation exactly where He wants it to make His greatest claim. It is at this moment Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!” (v. 58)
This claim is one that speaks directly to Jesus’ divinity. While Jesus had been alive on earth for only a little over 30 years, in this claim, Jesus points to His divinity and the fact that He existed as part of the Godhead prior to Abraham being born. This single claim would be enough to invalidate anyone’s ministry at any point in history, and in Jewish law, anyone making this claim was condemned to be stoned. John tells us that “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.” (v. 59)
However, God would know the heart of anyone making this claim, and God the Father would not support a self-centered lunatic making this claim by also enabling this person to perform wonderful miracles to help draw attention onto himself. But God did visibly support Jesus, which gives authority to His hard-to-believe claims.
Also, while John describes the Jews picking up stones to throw at Jesus, He says that Jesus hid Himself and escaped the temple unharmed. While this is understated in John’s gospel, the only way for this to have happened is if God protected Jesus and allowed Him to get out. The part of the temple they were in was likely the innermost courtyard where only Jewish men could be, and Jesus would have needed to successfully navigate unseen past various checkpoints on His way out – all while He has a death warrant on His head.
This leaves us with one conclusion: Since God supported Jesus and His crazy sounding claims about divinity and because God protected Jesus until the right time and place for His death to fulfill prophecy, we must conclude that Jesus’ was truly the Son of God. This also means that He existed before time began and that even if we don’t always understand what He taught, His life and death on the cross demonstrates God’s love for each of us!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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