Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
REFLECTION
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
Doubters are sometimes seen as negative, stubborn, or lacking faith. Heckling and taunting are disruptive, confrontational and very rude behavior. Jesus was not met with believers nor did they try to listen and see if they knew who was truly there before them.
Jesus asks the Jews to see what they cannot see. They hear the words but choose to close their minds and believe He is possessed. 'Who do you make yourself out to be?" He challenged them to accept His word....He claimed to know God. Jesus claims His divinity and unity with God. He invites believers to trust in the promise of eternal life which surpasses physical death.
Jesus is the light of the world; he who follows Him will not walk in darkness. He is the way, the truth and the life. “The way has itself come to you (us), it has woken you up from sleep. So since you have been woken up from sleep, get up and walk,” (St Augustine)
Let us this Lent move beyond a superficial understanding of Jesus and toward a deeper faith.
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