John 17v6, He speaks of “thy word”-the
general term; in v8 He says, “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them.” The evidence that they were in relationship
to God was that they received His words.
Paul says a similar thing in 1st Timothy 6v3-5, “If any man teach
otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine, which is according to
godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing but doting about questions and strifes
of words whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse
disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth…”
Such were the rulers of Israel, and
such are many today, who profess godliness but have no reality.
They continued in their stubborn ignorance,
and resorted in typical style to insults-“Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan
(the most hated nation in Israel) and hast a devil” (the greatest insult
to a man of God.) When rational thinking
disappears, insincere men, especially religious ones, resort to wild
accusations. Jesus answers them straight,
“I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one
that seeketh and judgeth. Verily,
verily, I say unto you. If a man keep my saying, he shall never see
death.”
He simply says that no one who honours
the Father has a devil; that He is not here to seek glory for Himself. There's
only One who seeks glory for Himself, and every right to do so, that is the Father.
And He's the only one who can judge, not
them, who have indulged in offensive insults.
He again asserts His Deity when he says that those who follow His
teachings (unlike them) will have eternal life-only God can offer this. The
issues are that great; it is not about public debate, it is about relationship
to God. The word “see” in the phrase, “shall
never see death” is very strong. According to Westcott, the sight here
mentioned is that of “a long, steady, exhaustive vision, whereby we become
slowly acquainted with the nature of the object to which it is directed.” When
the gospel of the Lord Jesus comes to my soul, and I keep His saying by faith,
I am turned full circle. My back is to
death, and my face is towards life eternal.” (Spurgeon) Jesus only ever spoke of things that were
real. He constantly turned the attention
of His hearers away from their own pre-conceptions to the realities of
eternity. Their need was greater than
they imagined.
Lost in their own
darkness, the Jews said unto Him, “Now we know that thou hast the devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets and thou
sayest If a man keep my sayings, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham which
is dead and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?” Who do you think you are?” Again, His answer was clear. I know exactly who I am.
“If I honour
myself, my honour is nothing. It is my Father
that honoureth me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I should say I know Him not, I shall be
a liar like unto you; but I know Him and keep His saying.”
The way to answer
scepticism is to assert the truth time and time and time again. He continues, not only do you not know God as
your father, you don't really know Abraham your father. For “Your father,
Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad.” This is expanded in the great chapter of faith,
Hebrews chapter 11v10-16 where it is evident that the promises given to Abraham
were so vast and their concept such that it was impossible they would be
fulfilled in his day, or concerning his nation only. Abraham saw greater things and these are
Indicated as follows: ”For he looked for a city which hath foundations whose
builder and maker is God. Through faith
also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a
child when she was past age because she judged Him faithful who had promised;
therefore sprang there even of one and him as good as dead, so many as the
stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore,
innumerable. These all died in faith,
not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. For they that
say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that
country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have
returned. But now they desire a better
country, that is in heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their
God, for He hath prepared for them a city.” It should have been obvious that this promise
has not yet been fulfilled, that the City of God is not yet visible on earth,
that Abraham's vision has yet to be realised? And only in his seed, that is Christ, will the
promises be fulfilled, and all nations will be blessed. The fatal danger of spiritual ignorance! The final truth was about to be spoken. They
said to Him “Thou art not yet 50 years old and hast thou seen our father
Abraham? His reply was awesome. “Verily,
verily, I said to you, before Abraham was I am!”
He existed before
Abraham; He existed before everything, before the worlds were made. He is the Eternal Son of the Eternal God who
lives in the eternal present- who never had a beginning and will never have an end. He has been present in every generation of
time, and He has been actively present during all those times, and will ever be
actively present at all times. He is the
Great I am, He will be whatever He will be; He will be whatever we need Him to
be. This is our God and He has come
amongst us. We either accept Him or reject Him. The Jews rejected Him. They
took up stones to stone Him, but He moved out of their midst. Nothing they can do until God allows it.
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