Your Faith is Not a Possession

John 8:39-58, CEB

They replied, “Our father is Abraham.”

Jesus responded, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do Abraham’s works. Instead, you want to kill me, though I am the one who has spoken the truth I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this. You are doing your father’s works.”

They said, “Our ancestry isn’t in question! The only Father we have is God!”

Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God. Here I am. I haven’t come on my own. God sent me.  Why don’t you understand what I’m saying? It’s because you can’t really hear my words.  Your father is the devil. You are his children, and you want to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has never stood for the truth, because there’s no truth in him. Whenever that liar speaks, he speaks according to his own nature, because he’s a liar and the father of liars.  Because I speak the truth, you don’t believe me.  Who among you can show I’m guilty of sin? Since I speak the truth, why don’t you believe me?  God’s children listen to God’s words. You don’t listen to me because you aren’t God’s children.”

The Jewish opposition answered, “We were right to say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon, weren’t we?”

“I don’t have a demon,” Jesus replied. “But I honor my Father and you dishonor me.  I’m not trying to bring glory to myself. There’s one who is seeking to glorify me, and he’s the judge. I assure you that whoever keeps my word will never die.”

The Jewish opposition said to Jesus, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never die.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died and the prophets died, so who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is meaningless. My Father, who you say is your God, is the one who glorifies me.  You don’t know him, but I do. If I said I didn’t know him, I would be like you, a liar. But I do know him, and I keep his word. Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see my day. He saw it and was happy.”

“You aren’t even 50 years old!” the Jewish opposition replied. “How can you say that you have seen Abraham?”

“I assure you,” Jesus replied, “before Abraham was, I Am.”  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the temple.

                In the last reflection, we made the case that one cannot be “born a Christian.”  As the conversation with the Jewish leaders continues, we see that we cannot stop with just that assertion.  Not only can you not be born a Christian, you cannot receive your Christian faith from the teaching of your parents (or anyone else for that matter).  You cannot pass your faith on to your children.  Many parents already know this from the painful experience of watching their children move away from the Christian faith despite every effort on the parents’ part to help them embrace Christ.  Faith is not a precious heirloom that can be passed down to the next generation.  Each generation must embrace faith as a gift given only by God directly.  And even after embracing faith, we find that it is never a possession. 

                Lesslie Newbiggin, in his commentary on the above passage, says it this way:

“Thus again and again (and certainly not only among the Jews) does “the world” seem to encapsulate the promise of the living God and make of it an asset among its own possessions and a security against the fresh action of God” (p. 115)

                The Jewish leaders habitually misunderstand (and resent) Jesus because their “faith” is assumed by virtue of ancestry and tradition.  But Jesus, especially in the gospel of John, claims no authority from his earthly family or tradition.  His authority comes from being sent by God directly.  He finally breaks though the leaders’ misunderstanding when He uses language that they understood fully – “before Abraham was, I AM.”  Jesus identifies fully with the name of their God.  There is no ambiguity; Jesus is fully claiming His divinity with this statement. The leaders, who believe Jesus to be nothing more than a demon-possessed Samaritan (half-breed), pick up stones to kill Jesus on the spot.

                Jesus is not disrespecting Abraham in this exchange.  On the contrary, Jesus is actually contending that, had the Jews embraced the same faith that Abraham had, they would have rejoiced in the revelation that Jesus is.  In a surprising way, Jesus is claiming a superior connection to Abraham to that professed by the leaders.  He is the One that Abraham embraced.  He is the One that stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac.  He is the One that Abraham knew as “I AM.” 

                The invitation of God to every generation is to embrace and trust their lives to the sovereignty and grace of God.  Each person has direct access to it.  Our parents and others can help us recognize the gift that is being offered, but they cannot embrace it for us.  Further, our embracing of God does not ever allow us to possess the relationship or take it for granted.  The faith we hold is always grace, grace, grace and nothing but grace. God holds us, but we can never hold God. We simply trust and obey.  The Jews in this story, and many Christians since then, forgot this truth.  May we never make the same mistake.

Question:  Are there ways in which you have taken your faith for granted?

Prayer:  Great I AM, you are the “author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)  Help us not ever to forget this truth nor dimmish the grace you have offered us.  May we never miss your “fresh action” because we assumed we knew better.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Thank God today for the people that have helped you embrace the faith offered to you by God. 

Song:  God of Abraham – Vertical Worship