John 8: Jesus makes some big statements

Jesus continues to shock and stir up controversy in his conversations with those around him - in this context those of Jewish faith.  Chapter 8 is full of some big statements - here are three of the best!

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"I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". (John 8:12)

What a promise!  I don't know about you, but I can think of times when I have felt darkness surround me, and there are far many more in this word who have suffered more than I have - whether through poverty, persecution, sickness or loneliness.  Yet however dark the world may seem, Jesus promises him that we will never be in darkness. He is always there - our guiding light, our righteousness, our hope. It brings up the image of the sheep in Psalm 23, walking through the narrow valley, but being comforted hearing the rod and staff of the shepherd, banging on the rocks to guide them. "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4).

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"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  (John 8:31-32)

What is freedom?  Our society tells us that freedom is doing whatever we want, and following our desires.  But that is not Jesus's version of freedom.  He says that it is the truth that will set us free - the truth found in turning to him and receiving new life from him.

At the very beginning of my faith journey I had only a little knowledge of the Bible and virtually none about salvation - I didn't know why Jesus had died.  As a result, I did not have a strong foundation on which to set my hope.  I believed that God loved me and had created me for a purpose (all correct), but I didn't know that Jesus died to take away my sins, that he conquered sin and death, and that the Holy Spirit was with us with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.  I didn't know that his word was all God-breathed and useful.

Choosing our own path comes at a price.  We are free, but tossed around by waves and with nothing sturdy on which to put our hope.   How wonderful that Jesus is here to set us free.  It is freedom indeed.  When we follow his path our world does not get smaller, as many would assume, but bigger, and eventually eternal.

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"Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am!" (John 8:58)

I haven't analysed every one of Jesus' statements side by side, but I imagine this is probably one of the most 'blasphemous' ever.  Of course, I use the inverted commas as it was not actually blasphemous but seemed that way to those around him who did not understand who he was.  

Firstly, Jesus is saying that he is greater than Abraham.  To the hearers in their cultural context, the one who came before was of greater status than the one who came afterwards (e.g. parents were of higher status than their children).  So by saying he was 'before Abraham', Jesus is saying he is greater than Abraham.   This was a big deal - as the rest of the conversation shows.  God promised to make a great nation from Abraham's descendants and he was the father of the Jewish faith.

But there's more.  Jesus says "I am".  What does that mean?  It is not a misprint by a Bible translator who didn't understand English grammar.  It is a direct reference to the name God gives himself in Exodus 3:14 (Yahweh in Hebrew, which translates as "I am who I am").  I am refers to the fact that God has always existed and will always exist - he was, and is, and is to come.  There is no tense in the English language that covers God - he is over all things.

When we realise what Jesus is saying here, we realise the truth as C.S.Lewis famously put it - Jesus was either liar, lunatic or Lord - whatever he was, he believed he was God.  And if we believe his testimony about himself, then that's a game-changer.