Day 56: I AM

John 8:48-58

New International Version (NIV)

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. ⁵⁵Though 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!”

Verse 58 is one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture. It's one of the places where I just have to marvel at the pure genius of the Word. 

In English, one of the first thing you learn in the very basic "past, present, future". There is nothing that happens that isn't in our past, in our present, or in our future. But Jesus comes from such a different place that he can't even define Himself in those very basic terms. He IS. He just exists. He has always been and always will be. It's mind boggling, to tell the truth. And it's why he can say things like, "If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you." Wow, that's strong language. But he had the authority to say those sorts of things, because if you're not bound by the laws of nature, you don't have to be bound by the rules of etiquette, either! 

This is one of those truths that I know to be true, but I also know that I don't fully comprehend it. It's hard to imagine eternity. For me it's hard to imagine even wanting to live eternally. I have to admit that I struggle with that. But what's he's promised in this passage is we who obey him will never see death. So I have to believe that whatever eternity is like, it's an incredible reward. A gift. And it's ours.