The Gospel of John #51

By Robert E Guenther
    Continuing our review of the Gospel of John, Chapter 8, the debate on whether or not the rulers should believe that this man Jesus is indeed the Christ.   
     Vs John 8:51 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” The Lord is telling them that they will never experience death the way the unbelievers will. As we know believers are said to be asleep in Christ, awaiting their resurrection.   
    Vs John 8:52 “Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.” The Jews are very confident the Lord is lying to them by stating that believers will not die. We as true believers are living in a completely different way than the unbelievers do. Our eyes and ears are open to the Lord’s truths. We are truly alive because we know the Truth about life and death for believers.   
    Vs John 8:53 “Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?” The answer to their questions is YES. He is the great I AM because He existed before Abraham and the old testament prophets.  
    Vs John 8:54 “Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that He is your God:” Our Lord knows who He truly is and if the Jews would accept what the Father states about His Son they can have life in Him as well.   
    Vs John 8:55 “Yet ye have not known 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 insight that our Lord Christ Jesus has should convince them that He is the Son of God. If He would deny that He knows the father He would be a liar and as God He cannot lie. Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”   
    Vs John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” Yes, our Lord saw and knew Abraham intimately because Christ is the great I AM.            
    Vs John 8:57 “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?” This question reveals that these Jews did not recognize Christ as God Himself.   
to be continued….