“Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ ⁵⁵ though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. ⁵⁶ Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” John 8:54-59

In John 8:54-59, we see Christ’s disregard for accepting Glory. He goes on to say that it will be his Father who gives him glory—and actually it will be on the cross that Christ achieves such glory. But he can only bear the cross event with the help of the Father. But Christ is certain of his lineage and his relationship with the Father that nothing, not even the scourge of the words of his enemies will get him down.

Our reading ends with the words, “So they picked up stones to throw at him…”  How often do you feel the world is throwing stones at you because of your faith or your devotion to the church? Does the world come into conflict with your beliefs or your faith life?  When the stones of contempt or the slings of persecution come from those in the world who have yet to come to know Jesus, we need to remember the words of scripture: before the world was, Jesus was – and in keeping his word, the sting of death will not be the final word in our lives.

Pastor Dave 

“Again he said to them, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² Then the Jews said, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” ²⁵ They said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Why do I speak to you at all? ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. ²⁹ And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.” John 8:21-30

Why do so many people live as if there is no room in them for the Word of God? In the many ways that Jesus speaks about heaven, one time he describes heaven as a mansion with many rooms. If we are to believe this description of heaven, we then should consider that God has prepared a place for us with many rooms in which we may dwell with the divine. In the meantime, should we not live as if there are many rooms inside us for the Word of God to dwell? And, if the Word of God is to dwell inside us, do we lock the door and keep this word inside us, or do we seek others to whom we can share this wonderful news? 

Jesus says, “I speak these things as the Father instructed me.”  Sometimes we are afraid that we do not know what to say, so we choose to say nothing about our faith. It doesn’t have to be that hard. I challenge you to come up with a seven word phrase that you can tell someone why Jesus matters to you. Here is mine: “I Need a Savior-Christ Saves Me.” It is a starting point for sharing the Gospel.

Pastor Dave