Post by foxjj on Sept 20, 2024 20:55:02 GMT
I Am He
The following verse’s are a continuity of the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees which took place in The Temple treasury in Jerusalem:
“So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘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 unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.” - John 8:21-30 (ESV)
Jesus begins this portion of His dialogue by inferring to His soon return to The Father, a place from which the Pharisees disqualify themselves because of their denial of the legitimacy of His ministry. In verse 23 and 24 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 unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” Spirituality speaking, the people of our world are divided into two types, those who believe in the God of The Bible and His Messiah, and those who refuse to believe the teachings of Scripture, of whom Jesus classified are of this world - living in spiritual darkness.
When Jesus said “I am he” he is repeating a title by which Yahweh identified Himself. As an example Isaiah 41:4:
“Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD, the first,
and with the last; I am he.”
The Pharisees were proud of their knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures consequently, they would recognize Jesus claim that He was from Yahweh. However, in saying I am he, Jesus could also be claiming to be Messiah as foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—“
Therefore, in their desire to find fault with Him they asked outright: “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.””
It was in verse 28 that Jesus told them: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.”
In referring to the crucifixion, Jesus may have had the fulfillment of Psalm 22:16-18 in mind:
“For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
We can read of the fulfillment in John 19:23-24:
“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,
“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things,”
Verse 29 speaks to the unity of The Father and The Son: “And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”” We see in Matthew 17:5, the approval of The Father for Jesus: “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.””
The Father’s instruction has not changed, and is still relevant for you and I today - “listen to him.”
Today, let us give thanks to The Father for The Son.
John Joseph Fox.