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Jesus Kept Speaking To His Enemies
(John 8:21-29)
Mari Ikeda
Today we continue in the Gospel of John, and today we will read 8:21-29. What we see throughout this passage is that, as the title suggests, Jesus continued to speak to His enemies who were tormenting Him. Jesus did not give up on the Jewish leaders who were trying to kill Him, and He wanted to save them as much as possible.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies. So today’s story could be interpreted as teaching us that we must follow Jesus’ example and continue to communicate with those who torment us. But I don’t think that is the case. What today’s story teaches us is the magnitude of Jesus’ mercy in forgiving and loving even those who are trying to kill him. The Jews who were trying to kill Jesus were us. Before we follow Jesus’ example, we must remember that we ourselves were His enemies who tormented Him, and that it was Jesus who forgave us and loved us. Only when we know the mercy of Jesus can we afford to accept the unfairness of God’s love being equally poured out on those who torment us.
Loving our enemies is very difficult for us. It may seem impossible to love someone who hurts and torments us, or someone we love, when it is so difficult even to forgive them. We can only find the answer in each situation as to what exactly loving our enemies means. The important thing is to always make sure that God loves us with great love for our inability to forgive our enemies and that He is able to heal the brokenness that we feel we cannot help ourselves. Let us now consider how Jesus continues to forgive us, love us, and speak to us from today’s passages. First, let us read verses 21-24.
A. He has not given up on saving his enemies while condemning them.(21-24)
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” 22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?” 23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
At first glance, Jesus’ words give the impression that he is condemning and rejecting the Jews. Because He affirms, “You will die in your sin,” and he also says, “Where I go, you cannot come.”
But I want to focus on verse 24. He says, “if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” So, Jesus was not just condemning them, but He was trying to remind them that there was a way to be saved.
However, its content is a bit unclear. The words alone are ambiguous as to what is meant by “that I am he.” Although it is translated as “I am he” in English, there is no “he” in the original language. The literal translation of the original phrase would be only “that I am.”
Taken together with the words before and after, what Jesus was trying to say here is, “Know who God is through me.” which means, “Believe in God’s love shown through Jesus.”
So why did Jesus not explain this in plain language and use ambiguous expressions? It is because neither the Jews nor we can know God’s love unless we truly seek the true God. We cannot know God’s love unless we realize the limitations and mistakes of our self-centered way of life with ourselves as God. No matter how plainly Jesus explained it in words, it is meaningless.
Jesus is the one who saves us from living in sin. In one passage, Jesus says the following.
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
We are all sinners before God and enemies of God that grieve Him. But God does not leave us as His enemies, but invites us as children or friends in need of help. The decision to accept this invitation is left to each of us.
Now let’s move on to the following verses 25-26.
B. He hopes that even in the hearts of his enemies, God must be there. (25-26)
25 “Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
In verse 25, when Jesus is asked, “Who are you?” he seems to show some frustration, saying, “(It is) Just what I have been telling you from the beginning.” But perhaps this is not frustration, but Jesus’ patience. From the beginning, Jesus has always said that he is the light of the world, the bread of life, and the water of life, who came from God. He has patiently spoken to those who could not accept this.
And Jesus expects that God must be in the hearts of those who do not understand him at all. He said, “I have much to say in judgment of you.” but rather than judge them, He wanted them to know God. He says, “But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” I believe this means, “Even though you do not understand me, God is trustworthy and has sent me into this world to save you.” And Jesus expects us to understand that one day, and to understand that what He has spoken is what God has spoken.
Jesus’ expectations are even better understood from the words that follow. Let us read the last part, verses 27-29.
C. He believes God’s love can transform his enemies. (27-29)
27 They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
Jesus is very clear here, saying, “The time will come when you will understand.” He says, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he.” By “when you have lifted up the Son of Man,” he means when they crucify Jesus. In other words, taken as a whole, it means that when Jesus dies on the cross, people will truly understand His words and realize that He was indeed sent by God. It means that Jesus believed that God’s love, which he would prove by offering his life, could change even the hearts of those who killed him.
We may get have questions when we hear this, because we know the historical facts. Because after Jesus’ death, not all those who were His enemies believed in Him. Does that mean that Jesus’ expectations have failed? I do not think so. I think how Jesus hoped that God’s love can change our stubborn hearts is patient, compassionate, and still valid.
I would like to remind you of the passages of the Gospel of John that we have been reading recently. The scene that we are reading today takes place on the last day of the Feast of the Tabernacles. Do you remember how Jesus decided to join the feast? In my interpretation, Jesus originally did not want to come to the Feast of Tabernacles to avoid risking his own safety, but he joined the Feast because he could not bear the emptiness of the Feast and wanted to remind people of the true meaning of the Feast. What Jesus wanted to appeal to was that God is the one who desires to dwell in the heart of each individual. That is why He cried out loudly in the temple, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” (7:37) He cried out to those who did not understand Him and wanted to kill Him. Then, in the episode of the “woman caught in adultery,” which is inserted abruptly in the series of events during the Feast of Tabernacles, He said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Jesus does not change His attitude toward us even when we are not interested in Him, even when we consciously reject Him, even when we betray Him. He always keeps waiting for us in a hope and believing in us. And if we ask Jesus for help, He will give us a new way of life, a way of living that relies on Him. It is a way of living that seeks the way God wants this world to be and never loses hope in this world, by being guided by God’s Spirit.
If we live in such vast compassion of Jesus, we will be healed of the wounds we have received from others, we will repent of the wounds we have inflicted on others, and we will find a way to forgive one another and live together. It may take time, but Jesus is patiently waiting and patiently helping us.
(Prayer) Lord Jesus, thank you for the greatness of your mercy, the depth of your love, and your patience.
We often hurt each other in our relationships and are unable to forgive each other, but You are patient with us, patiently helping and guiding us.
In the midst of situations that seem out of our control, please help us to reaffirm Your love.
Help us to understand how You love even those who hurt us.
You are with us to carry the burdens that each of us carries.
May we simply ask You for help.
Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
Here, “enemy” means “he who torments me.” We were all Jesus’ enemies, tormenting Him by living selfishly without understanding Him. However, Jesus knew our thirst and did not give up on us. He continues to speak to each of us, believing that we have a heart to seek God and that His love can change our hearts.
For Discussion
1. What does it mean that we are Jesus’ enemies?
2. How do we connect Jesus’ love for us and our need to love those who torment us?