S) "56 'Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' 57 So the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' 58 Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.' 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus his himself and went out of the temple."
John 8:56-59 (NASB)
O) Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees, because he told them they were slaves. They appealed to Abraham as their father, and said they (that is, their generation), hadn't been slaves to anyone. After Jesus told them they were slaves to sin, He went on to dismantle their argument that Abraham was their father (instead revealing the devil as their father, since they were enrapt by the world). Jesus said points out that as children, we act like our father (Jesus acted like God, and the Pharisees like the devil, not like Abraham). To put the final nail in place, Jesus remembers and recounts the joy Abraham had at seeing Him (see Genesis 18). After their outburst of incredulity, Jesus drops the final bombshell, when He tells them He existed before Abraham. However, not to be missed, is the wording He used to tell them, saying "I am." That must have drawn their minds, like it did mine, to the definition of YHWH (usually rendered LORD), being a form of saying, "I am." Also, Jesus was asserting His preeminence over Judaism, because He was before Abraham, who was the foremost forefather of the Jewish faith. Also not to be missed, after his mic-drop moment, Jesus fled.
A) First, this story should be remembered as more evidence that Jesus is God, and that He plainly claimed to be God. Naysayers will sometimes try to pretend these were claims that religious propagaters tried to project on Him later. Obviously, this story tells us differently. But, perhaps the most notable thing about this story, as an application to my life, is the way that Jesus stood His ground to speak the truth, up to a point. Eventually, He left the argument. Not only did He leave, but He hid Himself and fled. Obviously, that was because His time had not yet come (see v.20). More than that, though, I think this is another example that we aren't always supposed to fight. We aren't always supposed to stand our ground, to die defending a hill, even one so doctrinally important as Jesus being God. Like my Lord, the most important thing is for me to focus on obedience, and relying on the Holy Spirit to lead me in His timing for such things.
P) Father, I confess the preeminence of Jesus, my Lord. He existed before all, and through Hin, all things came into being, just as the Scripture says. I confess that His pre-existence means no religion is truly older than Christianity, in this way. Let me hold fast to these truths, the truth of the Bible, in the face of any argument. Let me be bold enough to speak Your truth, no matter who is opposing it. At the same time, lead me in all things. Help me be sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit, that I would know when to fight, and when to flee. I only want Your will to be done, so use me how and when, as You please. I am Your servant. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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