John 8:51-59 - Thursday's Gospel
51 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death."
52 (So) the Jews said to him, "Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.'
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?"
54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.'
55 You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word.
56 Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.
57 So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM."
59 So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
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Wednesday's reading left off at John 8:42, so we have a small gap before today's gospel starts. A key verse from this gap is John 8:44.
44 You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
So far in John 8, we have seen Jesus claim the following:
- The name "I AM"
- That the Pharisees do not know God
- That they do knot know the truth
- That they are liars
- That they are sons of the devil "from the beginning."
In today's reading he claims:
- To have the words of eternal life
- That God himself is his father
- That he has seen Abraham
- That he existed before Abraham came to be
- Once again, the name "I AM"
We've been looking at this dialogue in small chunks, but it really helps to step back and imagine the highly confrontational scene. John 8 occurs in Jerusalem, right at the completion of the Feast of the Tabernacles, which typically occurs toward the end of October. This is one of the three feasts (the other two are Atonement and Passover) where Jews within a certain radius were required to come to Jerusalem.
This dialogue occurs in a public setting, with at least some of the crowds still in town. The people he confronts were in all likelihood the most visible and honored people at the Feast. All eyes had been on THEM, in their flowing robes, sitting at the seats of honor. Into this mix comes Jesus, making a series of unprecedented claims. Among which are (to them) a blasphemous claim of divinity, and that THEY are liars, and that they come from the devil!
Think of it from the Pharisitical perspective. This man is a direct challenge to your life and your livelihood. How would you take this?
Showing posts with label Galatians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Galatians. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Daily - 9/11/08
Galatians 6:1-8
1 Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted.
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.
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As Romans says, all of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. We do it, and so do our brothers. We are called to our own spiritual development certainly, but we are also called to help others along the path. As v1 says, those who are spiritual should correct others in a gentle spirit. We are to help bear another’s burden, and remember that it is Christ who enables us to do so – not ourselves.
1 Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted.
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.
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As Romans says, all of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. We do it, and so do our brothers. We are called to our own spiritual development certainly, but we are also called to help others along the path. As v1 says, those who are spiritual should correct others in a gentle spirit. We are to help bear another’s burden, and remember that it is Christ who enables us to do so – not ourselves.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Daily - 5/14/08
Galatians 5:16-25
16 I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.
18 But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,
21 occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 Now those who belong to Christ (Jesus) have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
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The fruit of the Spirit (verses 22 and 23) is what I want. Christ isn’t calling us to live a boring, dull life that’s no fun. Rather, he came that we could have an abundant life. So … how do I get this abundant life? What exactly does it mean to live by the Spirit? In my opinion this is a very difficult question. I’d hoped to sit down and write a description of how you live in the Spirit, but the scriptural basis is literally all over the New Testament. Just compiling it takes hours/days. Let alone understanding it and trying to put it into personal terms.
I’m convinced one can devote a lifetime to answering this question, and I’m also convinced that God is calling me to do just that. I'm going to be spending some time on this question going forward.
16 I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.
18 But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,
21 occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 Now those who belong to Christ (Jesus) have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
----------------------
The fruit of the Spirit (verses 22 and 23) is what I want. Christ isn’t calling us to live a boring, dull life that’s no fun. Rather, he came that we could have an abundant life. So … how do I get this abundant life? What exactly does it mean to live by the Spirit? In my opinion this is a very difficult question. I’d hoped to sit down and write a description of how you live in the Spirit, but the scriptural basis is literally all over the New Testament. Just compiling it takes hours/days. Let alone understanding it and trying to put it into personal terms.
I’m convinced one can devote a lifetime to answering this question, and I’m also convinced that God is calling me to do just that. I'm going to be spending some time on this question going forward.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Daily - 4/29/08
Sometimes you’ll see the life in the flesh referred to as “the world” by Jesus in the gospels, and Satan as the “prince of the world.” When we commit our lives to Christ, we die to the life of the flesh (ie, “the World”), and move to the life in the Spirit. Paul describes this process in his letters, but sometimes you have to move from one to another to see the whole picture:
2 Corinthians 5:17
14 For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.
15 He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer.
17 So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Galatians 2:19-20
19 For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ;
20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.
Romans 8:5-13
5 For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit.
6 The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.
7 For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.
12 Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This transition from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit is what happens when we make a commitment to Christ. In my experience, this isn’t something that happens according to a calendar. Although I had gone through the standard Catholic progression of sacraments, I didn’t make a commitment to Christ until I was 32 years old. The transition from life in the flesh to life in the spirit didn’t begin in earnest until then. It’s still going on, and it will continue until I die.
And quite frankly it has been difficult at times. Although the spirit of Christ lives in us, we still live in the world, and we’re also stuck with these mortal bodies that are sinful by nature. Paul himself mourned this struggle in Romans 7. More on that tomorrow.
2 Corinthians 5:17
14 For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died.
15 He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
16 Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer.
17 So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Galatians 2:19-20
19 For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ;
20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.
Romans 8:5-13
5 For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit.
6 The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.
7 For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it;
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.
12 Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
This transition from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit is what happens when we make a commitment to Christ. In my experience, this isn’t something that happens according to a calendar. Although I had gone through the standard Catholic progression of sacraments, I didn’t make a commitment to Christ until I was 32 years old. The transition from life in the flesh to life in the spirit didn’t begin in earnest until then. It’s still going on, and it will continue until I die.
And quite frankly it has been difficult at times. Although the spirit of Christ lives in us, we still live in the world, and we’re also stuck with these mortal bodies that are sinful by nature. Paul himself mourned this struggle in Romans 7. More on that tomorrow.
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