John 8:21-30, The Message
Then he went over the same ground again. “I’m leaving and you are going to look for me, but you’re missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me.”
The Jews said, “So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by ‘You can’t come with me’?”
Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You’re at a dead end. If you won’t believe I am who I say I am, you’re at the dead end of sins. You’re missing God in your lives.”
They said to him, “Just who are you anyway?”
Jesus said, “What I’ve said from the start. I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don’t accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning—not me but the One who sent me.”
They still didn’t get it, didn’t realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. “When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am—that I’m not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn’t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.”
When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe.
In my experience, this passage in John is not quoted, taught, or preached often in the normal life of the Christian church. To the extent that is true, it may be because the concept Jesus is trying to convey is one that is hard to grasp. Indeed, in the passage itself, those with whom Jesus is speaking are failing miserably at understanding what He is talking about. This is the reason I used Eugene Peterson’s The Message rendering of the text here. Peterson does much to make the text more accessible.
However, part of the point John is trying to help us see is that, from a human point of view, what Jesus is trying to explain is IMPOSSIBLE to fully comprehend without help. In our very next reflection, we will hear Jesus say, “and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (8:33) But it’s clear that Jesus is expressing that the possibility of a time when they will know the truth is in the future, not now. Right now, they are “at the dead end of sins.”
Sin in the gospel of John is less a description of immoral behavior and more about a state in which humans find themselves. It is a state where one is disconnected from the life of God, or as Jesus expresses it in this gospel, the living water and/or light that is God’s Spirit. It is through accepting the gift of Jesus (stated here as “believing in” Jesus) that we are reconnected. Only upon being reconnected can we even understand what it is that we have been given (later expressed as “the way the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) In a very real way, we decide to trust in this gift before we even understand it. Further, to understand it, one must begin to live it.
This is why, in verse 30, it states, “many people decided to believe.” The decision to believe precedes understanding, but it is the first step toward moving away from the “dead end of sins.” It is the decision to accept the gift God offers. And once we receive that gift, our spirits begin to become attuned to the life of God and our understanding grows over the remainder of our lives as we live the truth we have been given.
Questions: Do you recall a time when spiritual truth expressed in the Christian faith seemed like nonsense? If so, how has that changed?
Prayer: Lord, we believe and trust in You. We freely accept the gift of Your Spirit. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for deeper understanding of the faith you profess today.
Song: Secret Kingdom – Newsboys
Weekday Word w/ Eric 
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