John 8:12-59
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”
19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.
Dispute Over Who Jesus Is
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.”
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.”
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.” 30 Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Jesus’ Claims About Himself
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.”
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.”
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.
In John's Gospel (8:58), Jesus says "before Abraham was, I AM," He is making a profound statement with many different meanings...And the Pharisees do not believe Him or in Him...The Pharisees placed a strong emphasis on the old oral tradition and their interpretations of Jewish law...Jesus, however, challenged these interpretations and emphasized the Spirit of the law over its strict adherence...He cannot get the Pharisees to see His point of view...
Then Jesus speaks about Abraham and how He existed before him...Jesus is telling us that He existed at leas over eighteen hundred years ago, before Abraham even was born...Abraham is the first Patriarch and father of Judaism...So Jesus existed before Judaism began...The Pharisees thought the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham...But Jesus cannot be a descendant of Abraham if He preexisted before the First Patriarch and was with God in the beginning...But He can be Divine, and have existed before Abraham was born...And Jesus is making these claims about Himself as He speaks in Truth and Spirit and much about His Personal Nature...
The name I AM echoes the Name of Jesus' Father, who is God...By using this Holy and Sacred Name, Jesus is implicitly claiming to be God, the Eternal, Self-existent Being and the Source of Creation...In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word is Jesus...Jesus was with God in the beginning, so He did exist before Abraham...Through Him all things were made and creation was made...Without Jesus nothing was made or created that has been made or created...In Him is life, and that life is the Light of all mankind and of the world...The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...
So the statement "before Abraham was, I AM" suggests that Jesus transcends time and is not bound by human limitations...He was with God in the beginning and from the very beginning reinforces His authority and message, places Him above the authority of Abraham and the Jewish law...And this statement seems to be culminate the differences in the debate with the Pharisees...
The reference to Abraham connects Jesus to the Abrahamic Covenant, a foundational promise of God to bless the world through Abraham's descendants...Jesus implies that He is the fulfillment of this Promise since He is the One who fulfills all Scripture, offering Salvation not just to Jews but to all people...
The Pharisees understood the weight of Jesus' claim and were deeply offended by what He said in His statement about Abraham...They saw it as blasphemy and attempted to stone Him for claiming to be God...This reaction reveals the radical nature of Jesus' statement and the potential for conflict and controversy that He knew it would create...
To say before Abraham was, I AM is a statement that shows how Jesus and His Father do have a Special Relationship in Eternity...It is a statement of Spirituality...His powerful claim to is one that tells us, He is Divine and He pre-existed with God His Father...Jesus challenged the established religious authorities and set the stage for further conflict and ultimately, His crucifixion and resurrection...He still challenges us today to believe who He says He is...He is the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One...