Undeniable Divinity

1-14-2009
Undeniable Divinity

In John 8:48-59 we hear one of the most powerful statements ever made by Jesus Christ. Focus in on verse 58 especially.

“48The 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. 50I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."
52At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"
54Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55Though 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 keep his word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
57"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
58"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

Think about the significance of this moment in time. They call Jesus a demon possessed man, and try to stone him for claiming to be God. For Jesus to say, “I AM” indicates He is God, thus fully divine. I’m sure we can imagine the difficulty the audience had in hearing Jesus say these powerful statements, but it’s important we understand the significance of this passage of scripture. Jesus isn’t just some great guy. He is GOD! The irony of this situation is the Jewish leaders were going to stone Jesus for claiming to be God. In other words, they held God as the ultimate, and no one should ever put themselves on that pedestal. Therefore, they know God is the supreme leader of the world, but they didn’t realize He was standing right in front of them!

How often do we forget the accessibility of God? Just like the Jewish leaders that held God as the highest, we too forget to stop and listen to the words of our Savior. We get so caught up in the day to day, we lose track of the most important aspects of life. Let’s not be like the Jewish leaders and get so caught up in religious/legalistic matters, and let’s stay focused on Christ.