The Reality of …

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been under the weather and haven't felt like doing much of anything until the last couple of days.

Shortly after I got my driver's license I was driving too close to the middle of a narrow road and I sideswiped another car. The crash tore the front fender, two doors, and the rear fender from my dad's car. After I found out everyone was okay, I stood in the ditch and prayed, "Dear God, I pray this didn't happen." I opened my eyes and saw that the car was still wrecked, so I closed my eyes, squinted real hard, and prayed again, "Dear God, it didn't happen." Then I opened my eyes, but it happened anyway. - Jay Kesler, Raising Responsible Kids, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991, p. 75.

When we first started this chapter we saw the religious leaders bring the woman caught in adultery to Christ Jesus to try and trap Him. As usual Christ Jesus turned the tables on the religious leaders and then He forgave the woman of her sins and told her to sin no more. Then we heard Christ Jesus make one of His “I am” statements in vs. 12, where He said, “I am the light of the world;” And then we heard Christ Jesus accuse the religious leaders of not following God, but that nstead they really are children of the devil.

Now the discussion turned ugly. Christ Jesus' opponets had already questioned His proof and family connections. These were not the common people, they were the scribes and Pharisees. They were men of consequence, who, when called out for obstinate infidelity to God, scornfully turned on Christ Jesus. These men denied the reality ...

John 8:48-59
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 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." 52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he 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 keep 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," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" 58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59 At this, they picked up 

1. The Reality of Christ Jesus' Words (vs. 48-51)

The religious leaders struck out with anger and bitterness - “you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed.” There was no greater insult to a Jew in the 1^st century than this.

Christ Jesus ignored the name calling, and stuck to His basic theme of true discipleship. By this statement the religious leaders were rejecting Christ Jesus. When you reject the message of the pastor or teacher or evangelist, you are not rejecting them; you are rejecting Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus reminded the religious leaders that He had not come of Himself like a false prophet. He was not about glorifying Himself, but instead He honors the Father by glorifying Him. “Amen, Amen, I say to you” or “What I say to you is trustworthy” - Christ Jesus who is the Truth wanted to emphasize what He was saying was the truth and needed to be heard.

How many times do you have to hear the word “truth” to get the picture? Christ Jesus who is “Truth” says, “Truely, truly, what I say is the truth, live by it and you will never die.” “Never see death” - Wow immortality, the stuff of legend or science-fiction. Not when it comes to Christ Jesus, with Him it is a reality. (John 11:25-26) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" Who ever keeps Christ Jesus' words are true disciples and true disciples are children of God. And as such you are granted life eternal with Him in His heavenly kingdom.

Satan – the father of lies and the way of death; Christ Jesus – the Truth and the way to eternal life. It's up to you, which will you choose?

2. The Reality of Eternal Life (vs. 52-53)

The question of who would die and when and how and what would happen after death had occupied Jewish theology for centuries. 

Now Christ Jesus appeared, talking about life after death in almost casual terms and assuring hearers that acceptance of truth means that the true disciples would never die. Back in verse 24 Christ Jesus had warned the religious leaders that they would die in their sin if they did not believe His message. 

Christ Jesus spoke about the Father's presence and returning to the Father. But the religious leaders didn't understand, kind of like many people today. They only saw the earthly interpretation – Abraham died, the prophets died, everyone dies. But this Galilean promised a life without death. He was saying that he was greater than Abraham, and the prophets, what arrogance. This man must be demon possessed. 

Also notice there is a switch in the key question from “Who are you?” in verse 25 to “Who do you think you are?” here in verse 53. The privilege of the believer - you will by not see death forever separated from God. In this world you cannot avoid seeing death, and tasting it. Still you will some day be where death and pain will be no more forever if...if you are a true follower of Christ Jesus.

3. The Reality of the Father's Glory (vs. 54-55)

In His answer Christ Jesus does not rely on His own testimony concerning Himself, but waives it as not sufficient or conclusive (v. 54) Self-honor is no honor; and the pretense of glory is both the sacrifice and the voiding of it: it is not glory - It is not good to eat much honey, Nor is it glory to search out one's own glory. (Prov 25:27) Honor of it's own creating is a mere grotesque product of the imagination. There is nothing to it, and therefore is called vain-glory. Self-admirers are self-deceivers. 

Our Lord Christ Jesus was not one that honored Himself, as they falsely accused Him. He was crowned by Him who is the fountain of honor, God. Christ Jesus did not need to glorify Himself. Instead He glorified the One who sent Him. The message that Christ Jesus' brought was not His message at all, but it was the

message of the Father, the very one the religious leaders claimed as their God.

These religious leaders were so taken up with the study of their traditions concerning things frivolous that they missed the most important and useful knowledge – they did not ginosko (key-noce'-ko) – know God by a personal relationship. Like the false prophets of old, who caused people to forget God's name by their dreams, these religious leaders falsely represented God. 

Knowing God but falsely representing Him is far worse than not knowing Him at all. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.” (Mark 9:42)

 You may be able to dispute the subtly concerning God, and because of this

think that you are a Christian, but like the religious leaders; you are not. Why? Because you never knew Him. You must come to God the Father through the Son, Christ Jesus. There is no other way.

4. The reality of Christ Jesus' Eternality (vs. 56-59)

In his obedience and sensitivity, Abraham was allowed to see the fulfillment of all that God had promised him. Christ Jesus called it ‘My day’—His coming, His whole earthly ministry, and finally His saving death and Resurrection. Abraham had rejoiced in what was to take place.

By this time the religious leaders' patience had been bent to the breaking point. “Before Abraham...I am.” “I am of the past and I am of the present.” Extending the present into the past is hard for linear thinkers like ourselves. It tends to be hard for us to wrap our minds around time that is not linear or finite. God is however not constrained by our limited minds, even though we tend to think He is.

The Jews were baffled, and again they applied worldly standards of measurement to Christ Jesus' words. Christ Jesus did not even seem to be fifty years old, the time of mature manhood, and Abraham had lived and died centuries earlier. Then how could this man make the absurd statement that Abraham had seen Him?With this statement Christ Jesus pushes the religious leaders beyond the breaking point.

“Before Abraham was, I AM.” Christ Jesus made clear the towering meaning of His claim by contrasting His own eternal existence with that of Abraham. Abraham who, though he was the father of his nation, was a fragile human being. Christ Jesus is not saying, “I was,” but “I AM.” Abraham died, but Christ Jesus is the Giver of life; Abraham is created, Christ Jesus is eternal/uncreated.

“I AM” is that sacred name for deity Moses heard at the burning bush. “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Ex. 3:14). Raymond Brown, a careful Catholic scholar, has written “no clearer implication of divinity is found in gospel tradition.” And Leon Morris, a renowned evangelical writer, says that Christ Jesus’ dramatic statement brings out the meaning of His preexistence in a “more striking fashion” than anywhere else in the Gospel.

Now there was no way that these Jews could miss the startling meaning of Christ Jesus’ claim. He had spoken blasphemy, openly and brazenly. According to the law there was only one thing they could do, stone Him to death (Lev. 24:16). As they picked up their stones to do so, Christ Jesus slipped away unseen “and so passed by” (v. 59). What a suggestive phrase. He had come to the feast, quietly and alone, and now He left the same way. 

Conclusion: Reality, what is it? The Buddist say that all is just an illusion, there is no reality. Some say one's reality is another's dream. But let me give you true reality – Sin and death entered this world through Adam and Eve. Christ Jesus (God/man) came to free you from sin and death. He did this by living a sinless life, dyeing on the cross for all sin, raised from the dead three days later – thereby conquering sin and death. 

If you place your faith in Him you will not die, you will live with Him forever, no more death, pain or sorrow. If you don't put you faith in Him you will live forever separated from Him in pain and agony.