John 8 - The Debate Intensifies

John 8:47-59 (NRSV)

Jesus said, ‘Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.’ The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’ Jesus answered, ‘I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ 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”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

It is no wonder that John 8 cannot be found in the Sunday lectionary! This chapter exposes the great divide between a Galilean prophet and the religious establishment in Jerusalem. The text is too scandalous, too divisive, and goes against the “prim and proper” way most Christians wish their Sunday morning worship to be. It is a shame that the Church leaves out major portions of the Scriptures for fear they might upset the folks in the pews or shine some light on the more human side of Jesus. By doing so, we miss a great opportunity to explore some of the real life issues that haunt our society and plague our church communities.

If one takes the time to read Chapter 8 in its entirety, both sides of this debate (Jesus and “the Jews”), which takes place on the Temple Mount, come out looking less than attractive. The leaders of the faith are upset that Jesus is exposing them for what they have become – frauds and opportunists. Jesus is upset that the message is falling on such deaf ears and ratchets up the rhetoric to a boiling point. While this may be offensive to the modern day Christian, there are important lessons to be learned from this emotionally charged dispute about the abuse of power, the unwillingness to listen to one another, and the ongoing search for truth.

In this final section of the chapter, Jesus holds nothing back. In verse 45 through 47, we read, “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.” Ouch! Jesus is basically telling the leaders of the Jewish faith that they are a sham. He is calling them out. Jesus is “poking the bear.” 

How do the leaders  respond? Like most of us, when pushed into a corner, we respond by name calling: “The Jews answered him, ‘Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?’” Now calling Jesus a “Samaritan” was accusing him of having no Jewish heritage. The leaders attack Jesus with the same charges that he used earlier in the debate saying that they were not descendants of Abraham but of the devil. By linking Jesus with the Samaritans, the “establishment” was connecting him with a group of people perceived by the Jerusalem leadership as “outsiders”, “nobodies”, or “outcasts”.

Having spent the last two weeks watching political conventions and listening to the vitriolic language being used by both parties, I am resigned to the notion that regarding human nature “some things never change”! Instead of working together for the betterment of the American people, we witness two political machines that throw lies and insults at each other with few concrete ideas on how to move the country forward, on healing our divisions, and on bringing about prosperity for all people. It is shameful what is happening in this country. It seems as if the only desire our political organizations are interested in is power and the ability to manipulate such power for selfish and material goals. Where is the collaboration? Bi-partisanship? The desire to put the good of the whole above blatant self-interest?

The same charge can be made about the institutional Church. Those of us who call ourselves Christian can throw no stones at others when we ourselves have fallen so short of the mark. No one in the Church these days seems interested in listening and understanding the truth. Insisting that “our” side is right and that the other side is wrong, we divide, injure, and destroy the fragile Body of Christ (the Church) that Jesus sacrificed his life for. We Christians do this in such a self-righteous ways believing and acting that God is on our side. Well, it is shameful. It is sinful. It cheapens our faith and most importantly destroys our witness and any hope we might have of attracting others to the faith.

Jesus Collage

Notice in the text that Jesus rebuts the charge of having a demon and utterly ignores that claim of being a Samaritan. Why is this so? It is important when studying the Gospel of John to be able to separate the words of Jesus from the words and thoughts of the Fourth Evangelist. The Samaritans receive a much more positive light in John’s Gospel than elsewhere. Scholars believe that this is so because at the time of the creation of this Gospel the Johannine community had the same sort of relationship with the Jerusalem establishment that the Samaritans had: inheritors of the promise of Abraham but denied access to the promise by the leaders of Judaism. This is a marvelous example of the two levels of the Gospel which often occur in the Fourth Gospel. Jesus is portrayed as the outsider which means he shared in the struggle that the Johannine community and the Samaritans experienced in their every day lives.

The argument escalates to its climactic moment. When challenged that Jesus was not yet fifty years old and that he could not have known father Abraham, our Lord makes a startling claim: “I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” Such a declaration would be seen as blasphemous, the punishment would be execution by stoning, which is why it is recorded that those gathered were suddenly busy grabbing stones.

There are many moments in the Gospel of John were Jesus seems to disappear, vaporize, if you will, into the crowds. This is one of those moments. When you begin to consider the immensity of the Temple complex and the presence of all of the adversaries that Jesus had to deal with, this narration seems very odd. The answer lies in the fact that this is a literary function used by the author to keep the story moving along until “his hour had come.” That will not happen until Chapter 13, so we must continue to read ahead.

Love One Another - Brian