I was a senior in high school when President Kennedy was assassinated. The aura of his presidency made him very popular with my generation. As a young man I read a biography of Kennedy written by two of his closest aides and it confirmed everything I believed about Kennedy. Years later I would learn that Kennedy, as any human, had many character flaws. The biography I read ignored or glossed over those flaws and omitted anything that would cast Kennedy in an unfavorable light.
There was no one closer to Jesus than John the author of this Gospel. In telling the story of Jesus he certainly cannot be accused of editing out anything that may be a bit controversial. In fact all four gospels resisted any temptation to reinterpret through hindsight the events in Jesus’ life. All four contain passages like the one we read today that either accuses Jesus of being possessed by a demon or of being in league with the devil.
It is clear that the religious leaders in Jerusalem were listening to Jesus so they could obtain evidence to use against him. They weren’t interested in truly listening to what Jesus was saying. Much of what Jesus said is difficult to comprehend and takes time and thought and prayer to sort out and apply to our lives. In today’s passage Jesus is speaking from the heavenly perspective of time. Jesus is able to interpret what it really meant for Abraham to be justified by faith. God told Abraham he would be the father of a great nation. Abraham believed God. Abraham believed God was going to do something extraordinary and thus was glad. I don’t think Jesus is implying Abraham specifically knew the nature and mission of Jesus; just that if God is in control, miraculous things are going to happen.
Jesus has been asserting that he is working and speaking in complete harmony with his Father. There was nothing in the experience of the people that prepared them to easily comprehend such statements. Like Abraham they would need to take a leap of faith and believe Jesus.
Jesus’ third I am statement is astonishing to the people. To say of himself that he is ‘I AM” is to take for himself the sacred name for God the Jews would neither write nor speak. (Instead, they inserted four consonants into their manuscripts; YHWH. In English translations that word is rendered YAHWEH or as LORD.)
Such a claim was blasphemy to the Jews and they were ready to stone Jesus to death. For us today, Jesus’ claim should be awe-inspiring as Jesus is affirming in his words what John wrote about him in the opening lines of this Gospel (1:1-2):
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
What word or phrase in these verses
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word or phrase.
What insights come to you?
How does this passage touch your life today?
20-Mar-12 John 9:1-34
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