Reading
John 8,51-59
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. 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 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!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
Meditation
The observance of the teachings of Jesus is the source of eternal life (cf. Jn 11:25), a life that not even physical death will be able to extinguish. Jesus exhorts not only to listen to his words but to observe them: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (Lk 11:28).
The expression "will never see death" is equivalent to "will not die forever". Jesus' adversaries misunderstand his words, taking them literally (v. 52). It is no coincidence that they replace the verb "to see" (Gr. Theoreo) with ti know (Gr. Geuomai), literally "to taste", in the sense of "to experience". Faith in Jesus projects our gaze beyond the horizon of death.
The Jews who oppose Jesus are scandalized by his promise, since he, unlike Abraham and the prophets, who as creatures were devoted to the tomb, claims to be able to give life to those who observe his word. Jesus is not only greater than Abraham and the prophets but as the eternal Son of the Father, he is their God. Only the divine nature of Christ can justify the absolute need to conform to him in following his gospel. The Father himself bears witness to Jesus, glorifying him through the great works he accomplishes and even more so through the resurrection.
The words of Jesus confirm the belief in the Jewish tradition that Abraham saw the secrets of the ages that were to come. This belief is also recalled by the letter to the Hebrews: "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance," (Heb 11:13). Abraham, in particular, saw in Isaac the beginning of the promise of blessing on all nations (Gn 17.17; 21.6). Paul also considers the promise made to Abraham fulfilled in Jesus (Rom 4; Gal 3). As Abraham rejoiced in glimpsing the day of the Messiah (v. 56), faith in Christ fills our hearts with joy. The doctors of the law have lost their joy because they have lost their faith. And in truth, they have also lost the law because the heart of the law is love.
With the expression "I am", which in the Old Testament God uses to define himself (Ex 3.ì:14; Dt 32:39; Is 41:4; 43:10) Jesus affirms his own pre-existing divinity. The Jews understand well what Jesus means and collect stones to stone him for blasphemy, as prescribed by the Mosaic law (Lv 24:16). Jesus escapes arrest and death because the hour of the fulfillment of his sacrifice has not yet come. His moving away, due to the spiritual blindness of the opponents, is an image of the distancing of the presence of God from the Temple (cf. Ez 10-11). When man rejects Christ he "passes beyond", but for those who welcome him, he is the life of the soul, the source of that joy which the world does not know (Jn 14:17) and which will never be taken away.
Prayer
Grant us to contemplate your face, o Lord, and to welcome you as a source of salvation; so that we can rejoice in you by staying true to your gospel. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
