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Jesus’ Desire
(John8:48-59)
Marri Ikeda
Today we return to our series on the Gospel of John and read the last part of chapter 8. The discussion between Jesus and the Jewish leaders comes to a climax and an end here. What is striking in today’s passage is the way Jesus does not give up on those who refuse to believe in Him, but continues to speak to them. I believe that Jesus did this because he had a desire for all of us. From today’s passage, we can see that Jesus’ desire can be expressed in three ways. Let’s read verses 48-51 first.
A. That we gain life (48-51)
48 The 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. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
What was controversial here was that Jesus equated Himself with God. The Jewish leaders did not listen carefully to Jesus’ words and decided that he could not possibly be God, and wanted to think that he was crazy.
It is characteristic of today’s passage that after Jesus refutes these criticisms from the Jews, he adds some words of invitation. It is verse 51 here.
Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death. (51)
To those who denied and condemned him, Jesus was trying to show the way of salvation.I think here we can see the strong desire that Jesus has for all of us.
What does it mean, “Whoever obeys my word will never see death”? Let’s look back at Jesus’ words so far for a moment. First, in 5:24 we read:
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (John5:24)
Also it was said in 8:24;
…if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins. (John 8:24b)
In this way, the life Jesus refers to is eternal life, while death, on the contrary, refers to our state in which we remain in sin. In other words, the life Jesus refers to is different from physical life. If our body is alive but we remain trapped in our sins, we are as good as dead. On the contrary, if we receive God’s love and live in love with Him, we can be with Him whether our bodies live or perish. That is eternal life.
Jesus wanted all of us to have that life. There is nothing more wonderful than to be able to live with God while we live in this world and after we leave it, having confidence that God loves us and living our life to love Him. Jesus came to this world to let us know that that is God’s desire for us, and He proved it on the Cross.
All we need to do to receive this life is to admit that we cannot live on our own and must rely on God’s love. We are unable to lead ourselves in the right direction, and we often become overconfident in ourselves as if we were God ourselves. We must know that this is our sin that makes us and those around us unfortunate.
Now let’s move on to the next, verses 52-56.
B. That we have hope and joy (52-56)
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though 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 obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”
Again, after Jesus refutes the Jews’ pointless criticisms, Jesus speaks to them in the last verse 56, hoping that they will understand.
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.(56)
In the passage we read last time, Jesus denied that the Jews had said that their father was Abraham, but here he is speaking to them, “Abraham your father.” I think Jesus was hoping and was not giving up that they would understand His words, if they really respected Abraham and understood what they were supposed to learn from him.
However, Jesus’ words in this verse 56 is a little puzzling. What does it mean specifically, “Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad”?
First of all, “my day” as Jesus says it refers to the day when Jesus will judge all people at the end of the world, according to the meaning of the word when it is used in other passages. It is the time of the so-called Last Judgment. Although we tend to have a frightening image when we hear “the Last Judgment,” we need not. God knows that none of us are righteous, and He has compassion on us and tries to save as many people as possible. Jesus died on the cross to show us the extent of such God’s mercy. Therefore, we can say that what Jesus said here, “my day,” refers to the time of the Last Judgment as well as the time when God’s mercy will be shown through Jesus.
Now then, what does it mean that Abraham looked forward to that day and actually rejoiced to see it? I would like to read a passage that gives us a few clues, Romans 4.
16 …(Abraham) is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead —since he was about a hundred years old —and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Abraham believed that God was faithful who never breaks His promises, and that He is able to do the impossible. Therefore, even in the face of a reality that was beyond his control, he did not lose hope, but looked forward to what God would do. This is also written in Hebrews 11, so let’s read it.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. …11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. (Hebrews 11:8-13)
God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations did not simply mean that his descendants would increase in number and materially prosper. It means that there will be many who will learn from Abraham’s faith and carry it on. We are among them, and we are on the journey with Abraham toward the land that God promised. It is the Kingdom of God.
God’s Kingdom is not an afterlife; it exists here and now, but it will not be fully realized until the end of the world. It is something far away that we cannot reach in our lifetime, yet it is certainly present in our daily lives. God’s Kingdom in our daily lives is God’s power to give life to those who are as good as dead, to create something out of nothing, and to give birth to hope in the midst of despair. We can rejoice and hope in the certainty of God’s power expressed in our daily lives, looking forward to the full realization of God’s Kingdom far into the future.
Jesus wants us to live with hope and joy, just as Abraham did, confident that He is good and faithful to keep His promises.
Now let’s reach the last part for today, verses 57-59.
C. That we understand God’s love (57-59)
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” 58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, ‘I am’”. This phrase “I am” is a special expression, one that God used in the Old Testament when presenting Himself to people. It means “I am the Lord” or “I am God.” In other words, Jesus was here declaring that the God testified to in the Old Testament was Himself. That is, Jesus was saying that he is equal to the God who created this world, and that he has been protecting and guiding this world since before Abraham was born.
People did not believe in Jesus, saying that such a thing could not be true. And they wanted to kill Jesus for blasphemy. Jesus should have known that they would react that way, based on his previous interactions with them. Nevertheless, He proclaimed Himself in this way because He had to tell them it was true. Jesus and God are one, and Jesus came to this world as a human being to announce God’s will to us. It was Jesus’ mission to show that God loved us from the beginning when He created this world.
Jesus said in the beginning of this chapter 8 as follows.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John8:12)
It is Jesus’ desire that we not be defeated by the darkness of our own hearts, nor by the darkness of our society, but that we believe in God’s love and let God’s love be realized. To take part in that work would be our own hope and salvation. The source of hope is not in us, but in Jesus. God uses each of us to fulfill His good will, even when it seems impossible to us, even when we do not see the results in our lifetime. Just as Jesus continued to speak to the people, let us not give up, but continue to speak of God’s love in each of the places we have been given.
(Prayer) Lord Jesus, please come into the heart of each of us now. Show us that You are with us in a way that we can understand. Guide us to follow you and to walk through each of our lives with joy and without losing hope. Teach us more of the joy of sharing your love with others. Though what we can do is very little and we often make mistakes, still transform and guide us so that we can love one another as you have loved us. We pray in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Summary
Jesus’ desire, as we can see from this passage, is threefold. First, that we would have true life beyond physical death. Second, that we live with unending hope and joy. Third, that we know God’s love that protects and guides us through time. Jesus continued to speak these things to those who were trying to arrest Him.
For Discussion
- What is the life Jesus gives us?
- What hope and joy did Abraham have? (See also Hebrews 11.)