"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever keeps my word will never see death."
What sort of individual could make such a claim? It was unparalleled in the history of religion. Other religious leaders might claim to reveal God's word, and even say that following that word could lead to heaven or enlightenment. But they did not argue it was because it was their word that it had this power, but precisely because of its truth independent of their identity. Prophets might argue that keeping God's word would lead to life in some sense. But no one was so bold as to claim that their words could keep anyone from seeing death. And after all, the whole history of the world was marked by great men and women with teachings who nevertheless died, including Abraham and the prophets.
The sense in which the followers of Jesus would not see death was not simply that they would go on living forever on this earth in their present lives. But there was a real sense in which the they experienced death was no longer the same as it was for others. Physical death had been, as it were, defanged, and transformed into a doorway that led to life with God, and ultimately to the resurrection of the body. Death, the death worthy of fear, was the one which destroyed both body and soul and Gehenna (see Matthew 10:28). Christians, by keeping the word of Jesus, would keep their souls alive spiritually and ultimately even receive back their bodies on the last day. The part the was the most difficult for the crowds to accept was that this was somehow entirely contingent on their response to the person of Jesus himself.
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.'
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.
The way to know Jesus was who he claimed to be was to allow the Father to reveal what flesh and blood could not, just as he did for Peter (see Matthew 16:17). But the Judeans closed themselves to the Father by the way they responded with hostility to Jesus himself. The revelation was in fact of a piece. Jesus in their midst was a living revelation of the Father. And the Father wanted to work in their hearts to show them the identity of Jesus himself. But this was only possible to the degree that they would turn away from commitment to the lies they chose to believe and to tell about themselves and the world, lies to justify sin, stemming ultimately from the father of lies.
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
before Abraham came to be, I AM."
Sometimes we wonder why Jesus sometimes hid his identity, why he was not more immediately clear about who he was. But here we can see something of the reason. He did very much desire to reveal himself, to give the gift of his word, leading to eternal life. But when he did so his hearers were more ready to respond with confusion and hostility than with belief. The more clearly he spoke, the greater the hostility with which he was met. Yet after foundations were laid it was eventually necessary to be perfectly clear that he himself was the great "I AM", was himself God in the flesh, even though it would be this claim that finally made his death on the cross inevitable.
I will render you exceedingly fertile;
I will make nations of you;
kings shall stem from you.
God himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, did all that was necessary to fulfill his covenant promises, including those made to Abraham. When we were too weak, too committed to our lies and self-deception, to preoccupied with our own business, he nevertheless came so that in him all the nations of the earth could be blessed. When we couldn't be bothered to recognize who he was he went as far as dying on the cross to manifest his love for us as clearly as possible, to draw all to himself. Only by realizing this love, by dedicating ourselves to the words given to us by the source of all love, could we hope to enjoy love with him forever, which was the deepest meaning of all of God's promises.
I will give to you
and to your descendants after you
the land in which you are now staying,
the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession;
and I will be their God.
Let us rejoice that the identity of Jesus has been made known to us by the Father and that the love of the Father for us has been made known by the Son. Let us look to the love poured out on the cross and be reassured beyond all doubt that he is for us, not against us. Then we will have unshakable hope in his promises, that they do not depend on our human weakness. How might life be different for us if we truly believe that we will never taste death? Yet this is his gift to us. May his word take ever deeper root in our hearts.
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