Stagnation or Transformation?

Romans 12:1-2                          Philippians 2:5-11                        John 8:48-59

Stagnation or Transformation?

I know that there have always been many angry people in the world…ever since Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, people have been mad at each other. It’s no surprise then to read that the very first son of our collective ancestors killed his brother. Anger plus the blame game always spirals into violent behaviour. 

Now, perhaps it is because of the media or because there are so many more people in the world today, but it just seems as if a kind of irrational anger has become the new norm in society…anger ranging from a simmering sense of having been offended to a resentful dissatisfaction to picketing to protesting to boycotting to rioting to vandalising and, ultimately, to killing. 

And just by the way, you can do all those things figuratively too…just think about it. 

Although most folks have different reasons for being angry, they all tend to share a sense of justification for their resentment. This is one of the reasons people fail to deal rationally with their anger. If you believe you are right to be angry, then you cannot let it go even when confronted with the truth. 

Of course, not all anger is wrong…there is a time when we ought to be angry about how people abuse creation and their fellow creatures…but the kind of anger I'm talking about is an anger born out of a sense of entitlement. This is an anger that is often emotional, unreasonable, and lacking in any form of logic. It is an anger that is wielded as a weapon of self-determination and self-preservation. Letting go of this type of anger is equivalent to eroding the very foundation of the angry person’s existence. To admit that their anger is unfounded would be to admit that their perspective on life is groundless. 

People generally get angry when they believe their perceived truth has been violated in some or other way, and this causes them to feel personally wronged. When this happens, we have one of two options in dealing with the anger. The first is to stop, listen and evaluate the other position without interruption, and then to sensibly decide which of the two positions holds up to reason and logic. Of course, sometimes the conclusion may be that both positions appear to be equally valid and therefore any negative response is not appropriate, but nevertheless, this option is a rational and reasoned reaction to a difference of opinion. 

The second option is to stubbornly refuse to budge regardless of how many well-structured arguments for the alternative view are given. At this point, the only choices open to you would be to attack your perceived opponent or to play the martyr. 

Those arguing with Jesus in the Temple in John 8 seem to have selected the second of the two options and they decided to attack. They had just received consistently coherent counter-responses from Jesus – responses peppered with quotations and allusions to the Scriptures – but because they clung to their traditional understanding and their traditional interpretation of the Scriptures, they failed to comprehend the truth. And, as they were not about to back down and play the martyr, they chose to attack.

Now, in order to understand the reaction of these folks in our Gospel passage, you need to recall the events immediately prior to this concluding confrontation. Jesus had just exposed their unbelieving hearts through a masterful process of reasoning. If they were children of Abraham as they claimed, then they would have acted like Abraham. If God was their Father, then they would have heard his voice through his Son. As it were, their behaviour showed that they were neither children of Abraham nor of God…rather, their behaviour mirrored that of the father of lies, the devil himself. Behaviour reveals belief…you can only act out of what you think is right and true.

Now, I might be wrong, but other than those dabbling in the occult, very few people take kindly to being called children of the devil, especially if they believe themselves to be the exact opposite. These folks in the temple were no exception, but what appears to have intensified their anger is the fact that they lacked a satisfactory response to these accusations. 

Their only recourse was to resort to throwing the accusation back at him with brass knobs on. “Aren’t we right in saying you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” Now, assuming that they were speaking Aramaic to each other at the time, it is possible that the word rendered “Samaritan” in Greek here would have been one of two Aramaic words used for a Samaritan that could also mean either ‘heretic’ or ‘child of the devil’.  Either way, in any sense, literally or figuratively, calling someone a Samaritan was the ultimate insult for any 1st-century Jew. 

Whichever way we look at the slanderous statement, it meant that they considered Jesus to be a person of impure faith and therefore of illegitimate heritage. Of course, this was designed to counter his assertion that they were not children of Abraham or of God, but what strikes one as strange about their insults is the lack of connection with what had just transpired. 

They had not even attempted to refute the outcome of the previous section of the debate. It would have been better for them to have evaluated his assertions regarding the difference between their behaviour and that of Abraham…or to have evaluated Jesus’ words and works according to Scripture. But they did neither…and when no logical response is possible, the only other option is to resort to mockery and ridicule. 

Now, you might recall that this was not the only time Jesus was accused of being demon-possessed. In Matthew 12:24 the Pharisees said that he cast out demons by the prince of demons. The tragic irony of that statement is that the exact opposite was true…Jesus cast out demons by the Holy Spirit of God. To be so blind as to mistake the Holy Spirit for the devil is blind indeed. This is why the only unforgivable sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals reality, so if we mistake him for the devil, how can we ever possibly know the truth? 

And so, Jesus cautions them not to dishonour him because by his life – his words and his works – Jesus brought honour to the Father. He had just challenged them to convict him openly of a sin that would stick, and they could not. The basic premise of his discourse was that a tree is known by its fruit. His entire life was a testimony to the truth – to surrender and obedience to the Father. 

In Philippians 2:5-8 Paul, in an attempt to encourage the believers in Philippi to be more Christlike, said, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to (or to take advantage of). Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (NLT) 

From conception to ascension, Jesus’ life demonstrated a consistent obedient submission to the Father. If they could not see that, then they could not possibly know the Father… it's really as simple as that. Their actions and their accusations exposed their real nature and as this debate continued, they progressively displayed their incomprehension, and their inability to counter the increasing conviction led them to the final and only option left…a rising violent anger.

But Jesus was not done yet. In verse 51 he said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word, will never see death.” This statement is at once a comfort to those who have ears to hear as well as a challenge to those who do not. This is an echo of several statements from the Old Testament regarding obedience to God’s decrees and his laws. Those who obeyed his Word would live. (See for example Ezekiel 20:11, 13, 21) 

Obediently abiding and persevering in obedience to God’s Word is the only assurance we will ever have of eternal security. Those who endure to the end are saved from eternity to eternity. Whoever keeps God’s Word…walks in God’s Word…consistently obeys God’s Word…they will never see death. Of course, the opposite is just as true. He who does not keep God’s Word will see death…that much, these folks seemed to have understood.

And so, in verse 52, they hit back with an argument that seems to be a literal fusion of what Jesus said about Abraham’s obedience in verses 39-41 and then what he said about eternal life as a result of obedience here in verse 51. If Abraham was faithful in keeping God’s Word and if obedience to God’s Word resulted in eternal life, then, he ought not to have died. Yet it was obvious that neither he nor the prophets were still alive. That’s the gist of their reasoning. 

Now, of course, this is a ridiculously childish argument, but then again angry people often do not think rationally. Their rage at being stumped over and over again blinded them to all logic and consequently, the angry rhetoric that spews forth from their mouths is simply devoid of any reasonable sense. Of course, some folks just keep saying ludicrous things…and they keep pleading a lack of understanding of what is obvious…and they do so long enough to convince themselves that they are right. 

So, at this point, Jesus threw down the gauntlet, so to speak. This was a challenge of perceptions. They somehow perceived him to be dishonouring the Father by claiming to be greater than the Patriarch and so they were offended.  In other words, they were accusing him of self-exaltation. But their perception was faulty. Jesus was not asserting himself in making his claims. Rather his claims were based on his obedient fulfilment of what his Father had sent him to do. If he denied this connection between him and the Father, he would be false and a liar like them. 

As for their claim to covenantal inclusion through Abraham, Jesus once more exposed the difference between their attitude and Abraham’s attitude. They dishonoured him while Abraham, on the other hand, rejoiced at the prospect of the fulfilment of God’s promise. Because he believed so explicitly, Abraham knew that the promise of global blessing would be realised one day…this kind of faith is just as good as seeing. But unfortunately, when Jesus added, “he saw it and was glad”, they assumed that he meant his day and the days of Abraham were concurrent. Again, an overly literal interpretation of what was said here. 

But instead of responding to their absurd literal interpretation, Jesus blew their whole argument apart by revealing his eternal existence as the great I AM. “Before Abraham was,” he said, “I AM.”  There was no way they could not understand this blatant claim to divinity. This was the name God revealed to Moses when he called him to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. 

And here the rising river of rage burst its banks. No more words. No more debate. They picked up stones (which would have been in abundant supply as the Temple was still under construction) to stone him. 

You see when you can’t win an argument despite bombastic rhetoric or dismissive slander, and when you are unwilling to concede, well then, the only remaining option is to silence your opponent. But, as his time had not yet come, they failed to do so as he simply slipped away from the Temple grounds.

 To each successive generation, as with our present generation, Jesus still comes as the light of the world, the bread of life, and as the great I AM. Like the Jews in this Gospel passage, we too have choices to make…yes, even those of us who claim to know him…after all, they claimed to know him too. 

Brennan Manning once said: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” 

If we claim to be followers of Jesus, do we do the works of Jesus? Do we hold to His Word? Do we know the truth? Do we trust the truth? When people look at us, do they see Jesus? Do they see the same kind of obedient submission to the Father? Or do they see a sanitized or maybe even not-so-sanitised version of themselves? There’s just no attraction in that…

As we come to participate in the meal that serves to remind us of the selfless sacrifice of Jesus, let us consider the words of Paul: “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023