In the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
Welcome to Coptic Orthodox Answers Deep Dive where we study together the Gospel of John. We have seen lately the story of the adulterous woman and the Son of God's mercy on her, His compassion towards her. And again, the idea of Him being the Son of God and the Son of Man are at the centre of the debate and He's been debating or talking with many of the Jews. And when many of them believed, today, we will see how He continues that discussion with those whom believed in Him.
So at this point, the Pharisees had left Him and He was discussing only with those who believed in Him. That's why verse 31 says:
'' 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ''If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'' '' (John 8:31-32)
We can see, here again, the emphasis on the meaning of the word believe. It's not only a mental activity, because here, he's saying to those who already believed: If you abide, so, there's a if... If you abide in My Word, now you are My disciples indeed. So, it's not just a mental activity getting to know God. In 2 Peter 2:20, it says:
'' 20 For if, (...) they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.'' (2 Peter 2:20)
Meaning, here, he's talking about certain people who escaped the pollutions of the world, so, they escaped sin, getting to know... because they knew who Christ was. Yet they fell again. They were entangled by sin. They were overcome by sin. And the latter end is worse for them than in the beginning. So, it's very clear that it's not only about a mental activity, but about unity with God, getting to really know God, to abide in His word, abide in Him, to love Him with all our hearts, mind, soul and strength.
Now, because Christ told them that the truth shall make you free, they were kind of offended. So, in verse 33, it says:
'' 33 They answered Him, ''We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?'' (John 8:33)
And this, you know, verse is very worrisome, because it demonstrates or that they are complete liars, or they're completely in denial, because at that point in time, they were under the Roman authority, right? So potentially, their national pride really was offended and they couldn't take what Christ was telling them. So:
'' 34 Jesus answered them, ''Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.'' (John 8:34)
You think that I speak about outer freedom and outer slavery. No, I'm speaking about the slavery within, the slavery to passions. That's why he says to them: Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. I'm here to rid you of sin, to grant you freedom, to grant you true life.
'' 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. [So, I want you... I want to make you sons and daughters, right?] 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'' (John 8:35-36)
You will notice, in verse 35 and 36, that there is, again, a comparison between Him, Christ being the Son of God, and, you know, us, as humans, as sons and daughters. So, Christ wants to tell us: I want to move you away from slavery into sonship within God. But that sonship is the adopted sonship, right?
But then, in verse 36, He says: If the Son, capital S, if the Son or the Son of God that makes you free, you shall be free indeed. And here, we see the difference between us, as humans, and Him. He is the true natural Son of the Father and therefore, He's already free and He has the authority to make us free. And therefore, He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Man. So God continues proclaiming to them who He is. He wants to instil this idea or this truth in their minds, so, He continues and says:
'' 37 ''I know that you are Abraham's descendants [so fine, naturally speaking, biologically speaking, you are his descendants], but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you [and again, you sense that authority. It's my word. My word has no place in you]. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.'' [And there's a contrast, here, between the two fathers and we'll get to that later.] 39 They answered and said to Him, ''Abraham is our father.'' Jesus said to them, ''If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.'' '' (John 8:37-39)
So in other words, God is telling them that you are biologically Abraham's descendants, however, you are not his children, because you do not do the works of Abraham. And by the same token, you might be Jews nationally speaking, right?, however, you are not God's
children, because although you may believe partially, my word does not abide in you and that partial belief is therefore not enough.
But this is not only about the Jews. This is also about us today, as Christians. How is our belief? Is it partial? Does God's word abide in me? Do I live by His word? Is Christianity a life that I live or it is just mere ideas? It's theory, but not practice. No, we ought to abide in God's word to be truly His children.
Moving on to verse 40:
'' 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.'' Then they said to Him, ''We were not born of fornication; we have one Father─God.'' (John 8:40-41)
So according to them, since they can trace their lineage back to Abraham and Abraham was chosen by God, therefore God is their Father. That's in their understanding. But at the same time, they are implying or kind of insulting Christ. By the fact that they're saying that they are not born of fornication, they're implying that He is born of fornication. And St. Cyril of Alexandria mentions how this is potentially because they knew that something was unusual about St. Joseph and St. Mary and they potentially thought, you know, there were probably rumours around thinking that St. Mary had relationships before her engagement with Joseph, because, you know, she was pregnant. So, potentially, this word was around, and therefore, they're implying that Christ was born of fornication, but not themselves, when the reality is actually quite the opposite.
So, Christ responds to them. Verse 42 says:
'' 42 Jesus said to them, ''If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God [Again, He associates Himself with the Father]; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.'' '' (John 8:42)
And the meaning, here, is that, you know how, if you have a friend and you love your friend, obviously, and your friend begets children, automatically, by extension, you'll love these children, because they are the children of your friend whom you love. So, it's the same idea. God is saying, here, or Christ is saying: If God were your Father, you would love Me. So, you would love me by extension, since I am the Son of the Father.
Now, verse 43 explains why they're not able to love Christ. It says:
'' 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.'' (John 8:43)
There's no room in your heart for My word to come and work, because your heart is full of something else. It's full of sin. It's full of corruption. It's full of darkness. You do not seek the truth, but you seek your own agendas. And because of this, you're not able, you're not capable to listen to My word. Your heart is hardened. It is not a good ground. It's a trochee ground. It's a stony ground, right? So, we ought to have our hearts cleansed to be able to have God's Word come in us and produce fruit. And therefore, we ought to be led to repentance, as Christians, to be able to truly love God with all our hearts and to do His work.
Then Christ continues:
'' 44 You are of your father the devil...'' (John 8:44)
Bang! like... He brings it down. So earlier, He was comparing Himself with His own Father and He kept on saying: But you're of your father. Your father, here, He clarifies who He means: You are of your father the devil.
'' 44 ...and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning ['cause he indirectly killed Adam and Eve... indirectly, right?], and does not stand in the truth [so he has no truth in him, right?], because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.'' (John 8:44)
And because you are also lying, therefore you are, you know, sons and daughters of your father, the devil, who is the source of lies. So here, we find that the devil is the opposite of who God is. God is truth; the devil is the source of lies. God is love; the devil is hatred. God is being; the devil is in a state of non-being, a state of non-existence, which is a state of hell, because hell is the disconnect from God who is the source of all good things, including life. And when I disconnect from Him, then I move on to non-existence, non-being, and I become the son or the daughter of the devil. And we all share in that state of non-existence, which is eternal death, because it's an eternal disconnect from the source of life Himself.
Then in verse 45, Christ continues with His message. He says:
'' 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words [If your hearts are ready and you desire God, you desire the truth, then you will know that what I say is truth]; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God [you are not the children of God].'' (John 8:45-47)
So obviously, here, the tension is escalating, right? So, in verse 48, it says:
'' 48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, ''Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon? '' [Calling someone a Samaritan is an insult at the time, you know, from the Jewish perspective. And then they say that He has a demon.]
49 Jesus answered, ''I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges [here, meaning the Father]. 51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.'' (John 8:48-51)
So, Christ was saying earlier that, you know, He will cleanse people from their sin. He will give them true freedom and therefore, they will not see death. Here, it's a similar understanding: whoever keeps His word will never see death.
The Jews, here, are reacting very strongly, because in their own understanding at the time, they thought that all Jews had a share in the kingdom to come, regardless if they considered that kingdom in the spiritual realm or here on earth, but this was their understanding. So, they thought that all of them were gonna have a share in that kingdom. But Christ, here, is tellin' them: No, you're not even sons of God. You are the sons and daughters of the devil. And because of this, they couldn't take it and therefore, they reacted that strongly and insulted Him and called Him a Samaritan and told Him that He had a demon.
Now verses 52 and 53 are a reaction to verse 51. And in verse 51, Christ says: Whoever keeps My word shall never see death. And this phrase is huge, because the implication here is that not only is Christ greater than Abraham, right?, because he says whoever keeps My word shall never see death, meaning that His word is powerful, like His word is the source of life itself. And since Abraham died, right?, Christ, here, is making Himself greater than Abraham. But not only that. He says whoever keeps His word will also not see death. So, whoever keeps the word of God or Christ also is greater than Abraham, because Abraham is dead, right? Again, they're not considering, you know, the spiritual realm and so on and so forth. So, from their understanding, what they just heard was beyond blasphemous. So, their reaction is this:
'' 52 Then the Jews said to Him, ''Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.' 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?'' '' (John 8:52-53)
Of course, Christ understands that He's creating this tension. But He does it out of love, because He understands that they have to understand that He is the Messiah, because they will not be able to find life in someone else. He is the source of life and therefore, He is willing to create this tension, which is about to come to a climax in this conversation very shortly, right?, to tell them that He is the Messiah, regardless of their reaction. And He does this out of love for them.
We can only expect this from God, because He is the light. And when people are living in darkness, He wants to guide them towards the light, the light of life. He is the one who is the source of light and also the source of life, and therefore, He wants to give them life. He does not want them to remain in death. And therefore, He must have this conversation with them out of love for them.
So then, it continues as verse 54:
'' 54 Jesus answered, ''If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, 'I do not know Him', I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.'' 57 Then the Jews said to Him, ''You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?'' '' (John 8:54-57)
So, the fifty years old, here, is obviously a round number, but more importantly, verse 56: Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad. This could have two different potential meanings. The first one is that Abraham, being a prophet, he saw in a vision the Messiah being incarnate, right? So, that would have happened 2000 years, you know, prior to this event. The other potential meaning is that, since Abraham is alive, right?... So, the saints are still alive, right? So, in Matthew 22, God says:
'' 32 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, (...) the God of Jacob.'? God is not the God of the dead, but [the God] of the living.'' (Matthew 22:32)
These saints are alive. The victorious Church, right?, is there, is alive. So, Abraham, currently being alive at the time of that event, saw the incarnation. He's currently seeing this discussion and he is rejoicing to see the day of the Messiah happening for the salvation of his people.
Now, the words I am, when said by Christ, do not always mean a divine declaration. For example, when He says I am the good shepherd, this is not a divine declaration. When He says I am the bread of life, grammatically speaking, it's not a divine declaration, although it might be in a different sense. So, when He says I am followed by something, this is not a divine declaration. However, when He says I am on its own, Eγώ είμαι (Egó eímai) on its own, this is a divine declaration. Like in this case, for example, when He says, you know:
'' 58 ...before Abraham was, I AM.'' (John 8:58)
And the evidence that He makes Himself equal to God or proclaims that He is God is the fact that the Jews wanted to stone Him. It's very easy. There's two other passages where He does this as well. In John 6:19-20, He says:
'' 20 ...It is I; do not be afraid...'' (John 6:20)
This is when He was walking on the water. It is I, here, in Greek, is Egó eímai. This is a proclamation of His divinity. Also in John 18:6-8, the... He ask... He told the soldiers whom do you seek? They answered Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered I am He, Egó eímai. When Jesus said to them I am He, they retreated and fell to the ground, again, because He's proclaiming, He's showing His divinity. Jesus answered I told you that I am He, right? Egó eímai. So, in these three cases, He was proclaiming His divinity, but not necessarily in every case He said the words I am.
Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith. And glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.
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Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.