John 8:57-59 57Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59So they picked up stones in order to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
The dialogue between Jesus and the Jews in the temple courts reaches a crisis point in these verses. The Jews appealed to an absurd conclusion so that they could win the argument and condemn Jesus. They concluded that if Abraham saw Jesus, then Jesus must be thousands of years old, which is impossible and the point of their illogic. That would mean that Jesus was crazy or demon-possessed, and thus, they win their argument. They use a round number of fifty. We should not take that number literally, that Jesus was that old. It simply means he was under that age. He was a middle-aged man in that culture because few people lived long. He was in the prime of his life, healthy and vigorous since we walked all over Israel and Galilee. The Jews were simply making a point that there was no way Jesus and Abraham could be contemporaries.
Jesus’ response in verse 58 is one of the most significant statements in John’s Gospel. He uses another “I am” (egō eimi; see verses 24 and 28) statement in the form of another timeless truth. It could be argued that other “I am” sayings without a predicate could be interpreted more grammatically as “I am he,” like some modern translations. This example is clear that Jesus is making a sweeping statement about his association with the Great I AM of the Old Testament. There is an echo in this verse from Isaiah 41:4 and 43:13. Another key thought is found in the preposition before (prin), which is not a common preposition in the New Testament, only occurring fourteen times. It specifically refers to a prior point in time. Jesus was making the claim that he existed before Abraham. The only logical conclusion would be that he was claiming to be God since only God could transcend time like that.
The Jews recognized the significance of what Jesus said and considered it blasphemy and worthy of death by stoning (Leviticus 24:16). It was not yet time for Jesus to die, so he easily and miraculously walked out of the temple. Jesus reaches the high point of his self-revelation in verse 58. He had shown his divine abilities through miracles. He had claimed to be the mouthpiece of God the Father. He taught the truth as he received it directly from the Father. Now he claims to be one with the Father. He was God in human form.
The Incarnation becomes clearer and, at the same time, more mysterious in this verse. Walking away from the temple could also have symbolism in the context of John’s Gospel. The Jewish leaders and scholars, the elite of the people, could not humble themselves to have simple faith. Their intellect–at least what they thought was knowledge but only humanistic thinking–got in the way. They are examples of what not to do when one meets Jesus. The story is not over, and they have more opportunity, but their hearts were hardening to the point of no return.
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