I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.
Here the Teacher makes an astounding promise. It certainly confused his enemies - Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?
They accused Jesus of being demon-possessed to make such an obviously outrageous claim. But Jesus didn’t say faith in Him would prevent the natural process of physical death.
The key to understanding what Jesus meant is in the condition He gives – if anyone keeps my word…
Jesus is claiming the power to give everlasting life when this life is over. For those who follow Jesus, death is not the end. Even physical death is but a door that opens to a never ending new life.
Jesus is actually claiming to be the source of all life. To have the power to give eternal life! To make such a promise is to make the claim to be God Himself!
“I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!”
I AM is the name God gave to Moses at the burning bush when He sent him to Pharaoh to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. When Moses inquired of God, whom shall I say sent me? God said…tell the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.
When Jesus says, I AM, He is claiming to be God. I AM – the One who has life in Himself.
Jesus’ power over death is not impossible if He is God. For He would then be the One who created life in the first place! He could as easily then re-create life out of death.
Life in place of death! A promise well worth keeping the words of this Teacher! Because becoming a student of Jesus is the difference between life and death.
While on one hand we realize that Jesus is God's Son, that He was involved in creation, that He was part of salvations plan since before the world began, it is amazing that Jesus, a man, is claiming deity! As denny pointed out and anonymous the other day - Jesus is saying he is God - "I Am"
ReplyDeleteHaving the story written down, and able to study it from the complete story perspective, that is easy to see.
But put yourself in the position of a Jew in Jesus' day and ask yourself if that would have been so easy to understand.
How would you react today if a human walked around claiming to be God the creator?
Do we really grasp that god came down, walked, lived taught among men, then died for their sins and rose again? How often do we contemplate and let that sink in?
Anyone else who made the claims Jesus did - would be guilty of blasphemy! Jesus only wasn't because he actually Was and Is the Son of God, I Am.
For those of us who know and believe that, do we act on it? Continually? Are we the true students we should be? Are we attempting always to learn more and put those lessons in practice?
Since he was God, we should hang on his every word!
Everything man needs has been offered by Jesus. He said "I am the bread of life, he that comes to me shall never hunger. If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life". Now in these verses he offers life itself. Actually he's offering for us to never see death. All these things sound really good to me. How about you? So why not give him a chance. It's certainly worth investigating.
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