Friday 28 July 2023

Psalm 84

Background

This is the fourth and final section from John 8 for reflection this week. For those who’ve followed it all, it’s been quite a hard, possibly exhausting discipline. Jesus is in fierce conflict with the Pharisees and other leaders in the Jewish community in Jerusalem. They have been trying to find a way to arrest and convict him of an offence, and some of their efforts have been perverse. They don’t have much idea what Jesus is talking about. He eludes their snares and talks at length about his closeness to the Father (God) and the need to know God and believe in God. Otherwise they will die in sin. It’s heavy stuff.

The dialogue and the confusions and misunderstandings continue in today’s passage (verses 48-59). Jesus is accused of being a Samaritan (ie not a real Jew in their eyes) and of being possessed by a demon. They pick on whatever he says and raise objections, some of which are facile, others plain clunky. Jesus shows remarkable tenacity, although his frustration with their failure to understand does show.

The best question they ask is “Who are you?”, something already noted earlier in the chapter. Here it’s expressed as “Who do you claim to be?” (verse 53).

Verse 58, in which Jesus says he existed before Abraham, is a real climax. For Jesus to claim priority over Abraham was proof enough to the Pharisees that he had to go. They couldn’t recognise the relationship between Jesus and the Father (God), which is really the foundation of everything Jesus  says in this difficult chapter.

There’s been a lot of talk, but now it’s time for action: they prepare to stone him. However, Jesus eludes them again and gets away.

To Ponder:

• Imagine yourself there, overhearing the conversation. Can you have some sympathy with the Pharisees? What aspects of the dialogue give scope for such sympathy?
• What do you make of the grand statement “Before Abraham was, I am” (verse 58)?
• Is Jesus claiming to be God?

Prayer

Eternal God, great I AM, thanks and praise to you for Jesus through whom you are known and bring salvation. Amen.