Session 14: September 17, 2022
Scripture Reading: John 8:12-59
12 Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees objected, “You testify about yourself; your testimony is not true!” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you people do not know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You people judge by outward appearances; I do not judge anyone. 16 But if I judge, my evaluation is accurate because I am not alone when I judge, but I and the Father who sent me do so together. 17 It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I testify about myself and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
19 Then they began asking him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” 20 (Jesus spoke these words near the offering box while he was teaching in the temple courts. No one seized him because his time had not yet come.)
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will look for me but will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” 22 So the Jewish leaders began to say, “Perhaps he is going to kill himself because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 23 Jesus replied, “You people are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Thus I told you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, “What I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the Father who sent me is truthful, and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.” 27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.)
28 Then 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 just what the Father taught me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone because I always do those things that please him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many people believed in him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they replied, “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the family forever, but the son remains forever. 36 So if the son sets you free, you will be really free. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. But you want to kill me because my teaching makes no progress among you. 38 I am telling you the things I have seen while with the Father; as for you, practice the things you have heard from the Father!”
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father!” Jesus replied, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would be doing the deeds of Abraham. 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! 41 You people are doing the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Jesus, “We were not born as a result of immorality! We have only one Father, God himself.” 42 Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come from God and am now here. I have not come on my own initiative, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot accept my teaching. 44 You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I am telling you the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond because you don’t belong to God.”
48 The Judeans replied, “Aren’t we correct in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed by a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father—and yet you dishonor me. 50 I am not trying to get praise for myself. There is one who demands it, and he also judges. 51 I tell you the solemn truth, if anyone obeys my teaching, he will never see death.”
52 Then the Judeans responded, “Now we know you’re possessed by a demon! Both Abraham and the prophets died, and yet you say, ‘If anyone obeys my teaching, he will never experience death.’ 53 You aren’t greater than our father Abraham who died, are you? And the prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. The one who glorifies me is my Father, about whom you people say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 Yet you do not know him, but 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 obey his teaching. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”
57 Then the Judeans replied, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!” 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden from them and went out from the temple area.
Main Themes
The Light of the World
Jesus is the light of the world. This is not the first time we encounter this imagery. Recall John 1:4-5, “In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.” This imagery, in fact, was prophesied in the Old Testament. Consider Isaiah 42:5-7:
5 This is what the true God, the Lord, says—
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it,
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it:
6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you;
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people
and a light to the nations,
7 to open blind eyes,
to release prisoners from dungeons,
those who live in darkness from prisons.
Also consider Isaiah 49:5-6:
5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth to be his servant—
he did this to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength—
6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant of Israel?
I will make you a light to the nations,
so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
We have already discussed that early Judaism applied the idea of light to multiple entities, particularly Wisdom and Torah. Jesus is a greater light though, both in nature and reach. He is the very source of truth, and his reach will extend beyond Israel to all the earth.
Jesus’ use of light imagery could relate to a torchlight ceremony that was part of the Feast of Tabernacles, which commemorated the pillar of fire in the wilderness. However, given Jesus’ repeated use of light symbolism, this is probably not the main connection the audience is intended to make.
The light is contrasted to walking in darkness. Walking in darkness works in both a literal and a symbolic sense. On a literal level, one who walks in darkness is more prone to trip because he cannot see where he is going. At the symbolic level, the idea of “walking in darkness” had already become a standard depiction of humanity living in sin.
You Testify About Yourself
In first century Israel and the Greek world, self-praise was considered dishonorable and discrediting. Jesus’ opponents point this out as well as bring in a forensic charge. As we have discussed, Jewish law required that important legal matters be settled by the testimony of two or three reliable witnesses. Here Jesus praises himself and brings no other witnesses, or so his opponents imply.
Jesus has a two-fold rebuttal. Jesus can testify about himself because he has a special kind of knowledge. He knows where he is from and where he is going. In other words, he is divine. His knowledge is not like the knowledge of a human witness. It is self-sufficient. And, Jesus adds, even if I played by your rules, I have a second witness: God. Well, or at least we know that is what he meant. Jesus does not use the term God but “his father.” The religious leaders express confusion, “Who is your father?”
The question “Who is your father?” may have worked as a demand to produce the witness. You cite a witness, produce him! In which case Jesus’ reply amounts to, “I did. You just didn’t recognize him.” Alternatively, the question could express confusion, but a confusion brought upon by disbelief.
I Am Going Away
The conversation heats up. Jesus claims he will go away where his opponents cannot follow. Jesus adds, “[you] will die in your sin.” Jesus will die soon and eventually so will them, but they will not go to the same place—that much is clear. Jesus is returning to the Father. They, therefore, are not. Jesus’ language is reminiscent of texts like Sirach 16:9 (which is a deuterocanonical book), “He showed no mercy on that nation which he doomed to destruction for its sins.”
Notice that the requirement to avoid dying in one’s sins is simple: believe that Jesus “is he.” Actually, the way I quoted the text eliminates a powerful double entendre that we ought not miss. Jesus says to believe that “I am [he].” The he is implied. This is an allusion to texts like Isaiah 43:10,
10 “You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen
so that you may consider and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me.
The allusion is a bit cloaked and we could miss it. But the theophanic formula becomes clear in verse 8:58.
What about the discussion about being from above or below? Jesus is not making a distinction between heaven and hell. He is distinguishing between heaven and earth. Unlike the Hellenistic world that understood the evil realm to be below the earth (i.e., Hades), the Jews of Jesus time were more prone to understand Satan’s realm as being earth.
When You Lift Up the Son of Man
I’m sure you are tired of me pointing this out again and again, but in classic Johannine style we find another powerful double entendre when Jesus claims that the religious leaders would lift him up. The word for “lifting up” can also mean “exalting.” Conceptually this is true in English as well. You may have heard the Christian worship song that says, “Lord of all the earth / And all of heaven / I come and seek Your face / Worship You with all I have within me / Humbled by Your grace / Every heart every nation / Every tribe all creation / Will bow before Your presence and sing / You are high and lifted up.”
Consider Matthew 23:11-12 as an example of “lifting up” being translated as exalting,
The greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
So, Jesus’ opponents probably heard the following: “When you exalt me, then you will know that I am who I say I am.” (Notice that we have the same “I am [he]” potential double entendre, but I think the religious leaders would have missed that too.”) They are not happy. We are not going to exalt you, they are surely thinking.
The careful listener, particularly the Gospel reader, knows what Jesus meant. “When you lift me up on the cross my deity will be revealed.”
Persevere in Belief and Know the Truth
As in prior chapters in John, we again find the fact that some believed in Jesus. Jesus warns them, though, that only if they continue to believe are they truly a disciple. Some who initially believe fall away. The greatest example of apostasy in John’s gospel is Judas. However, Jesus explains the same idea in a parable found in the other gospels. Consider Matthew 13:3b-9,
“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. The one who has ears had better listen!”
Jesus then explains in Matthew 13:18-23,
So listen to the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path. The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing. But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”
The passage in John then explains that those who continue to believe will “know the truth.” This idea functions in two levels. On the first level, it relates to what Jewish teachers would have meant at the time—knowing who the true God is and knowing his law (Torah). But, in John’s gospel this idea of knowing takes on an experiential component. It is to live and worship with integrity. (John 3:21, “But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.) In John’s gospel, there is no knowing without acting upon it. Moreover, Jesus is the truth itself (this is a sneak preview of John 14:6). To know the truth is know Jesus.
The Truth Will Set You Free
What will knowing the truth do? Set you free. The Jews take offense to this. They claim they have never been slaves. This is an interesting claim. Surely it is not a historical claim since that would be absurd. The heart of the Torah is the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, where they were slaves. The Israelites also became slaves during their times in exile. Perhaps the audience means that they, personally and not as a people, had never been slaves. There is some truth to this. Under Herod, the Romans allowed Israel more freedom than to other conquered nations. Surely this would have been a point of pride for the Jews and calling them slaves was to put them at the level of the lowlier peoples. Additionally, there is Jewish tradition that would increase the insulting nature of the term slave. Jesus alludes to this in the following verses. Slaves were not permanent members of the household. They were not inheritors. Jesus has already explained that he will make us children of God (John 1:12)—true members of the family who will inherit the Father’s kingdom. Jews already saw themselves as such. Perhaps, in their minds, even when they were physically conquered and enslaved they were never truly slaves. They were always children of God who would reign in the end. Jesus tries to warn them—without him, that is not the case.
What is freedom? In this context, it means rising from slave status to sonship status with all the privileges that implies. Jesus says as much. But Jesus also says that we are slaves to sin. What do we make of that? This actually goes along with the slave/son duality. Imagine sin as a different household. Jesus is saying, you cannot return to your true household and enjoy the life of a son because you are being held in a different household as a slave. Someone has to set you free before you can return. Remember the story of the prodigal son? It is the same concept.
Notice the reply to Jesus’ words, “Abraham is our father!” The Jews are setting the record straight. They don’t need to be brought into Abraham’s household; they are already part of it. Jesus denies it. If they were, they would do as Abraham does. This is another important theme in John’s gospel. There is no dividing who you are from what you do. They do as Sin does, so they are of the household of Sin. To be a slave to sin is to be a slave to one’s false ideologies and passions. This was a well known concept in both the Jewish and Hellenistic worlds.
Finally, Jesus stabs and then twists the knife. If I paraphrase, “Abraham certainly did not try to kill me. He spoke of me! If you were truly of Abraham you would understand this. Your real father is Sin for his deeds you do.”
Children of God or the Devil
[I am working on this portion of the blog. There is a chance I may not be able to finish the blog post this week. If so, forgive me. There have been some extenuating circumstances.]