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Who is Jesus? The popular answers include: great teacher, social influencer, godly man, or maybe prophet.
But not everyone has such an unexceptional answer. Others consider Jesus as a fraud or cause of violence in the world today. In his letter to the Romans, the divinely inspired St. Paul declared that, apart from faith in Christ, we are spiritually “enemies of God” (Romans 5:10). Those who neglect Christ and His kingdom are not just indifferent, they are hostile enemies. And they would be right if Jesus was not whom He claimed to be. Even C.S. Lewis said that if Jesus was not whom He claimed, then He must be a lunatic, a liar, or worse. His point was simple: how could Jesus be a great teacher while also being insane or lying?
What do you suppose many people consider to be one of the great problems of humanity? Would you be surprised if I told you – religion in general, and Christianity in particular? Consider John Lennon’s song “Imagine.” It’s one of the most popular songs of modern times, and the best-selling song of Lennon’s solo career. The Guinness World Records named it the second best single of all time, and in 2004 Rolling Stone ranked it number three in their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It was featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and a theme song in the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Great song? I don’t think so. The lyrics imply that the world would be a much better place without religious beliefs and that religion and the ideas of heaven and hell are the principal causes of … or at least contribute to … not war and violence. Here are a few lyrics:
Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try
No hell below us Above us, only sky
Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too
John Lennon himself said about the song that it is “An anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalist song, but because it’s sugar-coated, it’s accepted.” (Giuliano, Geoffrey. Lennon in America: 1971 – 1980. Cooper Square Press, 2000)
Personally, I’d rather “imagine” a world in which the true and Triune God was actually revered, feared, loved and trusted above all things.
In today’s Gospel, we see that we don’t have to imagine the True God because He’s revealed himself in Christ and so we consider the theme: “Knowing the True God.”
Today we move into that long season “after Pentecost,” the so-called “non-festival half” of the Church -year. In this portion of the Church year we focus a bit less on specific events in our Lord’s life and more on his teaching.
Today’s Gospel continues the debate Jesus had with the Jews in Jerusalem. In the verses prior to our text Jesus told them that they were not of God but of the devil (8:39-47). Of course, they were offended and lashed out with some pretty strong insults. As in the today’s world of academics, politics, philosophy, theology and more, it is common to throw ad hominem attacks at the messenger when one doesn’t like the message.
Calling Jesus a Samaritan was one such insult. Samaritans were considered half-breeds, from both ethnic and religious points of view. They were considered unclean and were to be shunned. Saying Jesus has a demon is another insult. But the proof that Jesus does not have a demon is seen in the fact that He honors the Father which no demon would ever do. Jesus tells the Jews that He gives honor where it is due and they do not. Since Jesus honored the Father, the Jews were not only defaming Jesus but the Father as well. Thus, they are guilty of rejecting the Trinity.
Then the great irony. The Jews say Jesus is a demon-possessed Samaritan, YET if they would never see death it is HIS word that they must keep. However, the Jews call the Father “God,” but do not know Him. And they are liars because they dishonor the very one sent by God.
Jesus shows the Jewish leaders who reject Him that He is indeed the eternal Son of the Father, known already to Abraham in the Old Testament. The Son receives honor from the Father as He graciously promises that all in Him will never see death.
Jesus also makes it clear that He was present in the days of Abraham. He boldly declared, “before Abraham was, I am” (St. John 8:58). “I am” is the same name God applies to himself in Ex 3:14 when Moses asks God’s name . The text does not indicate what Hebrew or Aramaic word Jesus would have used, but it is quite likely the tetragrammaton (YAHWEH). No doubt the Jews understood that with these words Jesus claimed to be God … why else would they want to stone Him for blasphemy (8:59).
In the text we see a reflection of the world’s hostility to Jesus. They may know of God, but they don’t know God. And the god of their imagination is a false god. We, also, must confess that we do not always acknowledge who Jesus is, or His redeeming, sacrificial love for us. And so, we come to doubt His mercy and grace. And it is no surprise that we also struggling with His authority over us, disobeying Him.
And this sin flows out of our sinful nature. Apart from faith in Christ we are all spiritually blind, spiritually dead and enemies of God. We inherited the sinful nature from Adam and Eve. Because of this and the resulting actual sins of which we are guilty we deserve physical death and eternal punishment in hell.
Because God does not want us to perish temporally or eternally, He calls us to repent. And when we do repent it is God enabling us to do so. He makes us contrite on account of sin. His Holy Spirit brings us to believe the Gospel which tells us that “sin has been forgiven and grace has been obtained through Christ” (AC XII.5).
When we repent then God forgives us of our sinful nature and all our actual sins. He forgives us for the sake of Christ Jesus. In the text Jesus says: “It is my Father who glorifies me” (v. 54b). Except for the indwelling Holy Spirit, we cannot comprehend how the Father brings glory to Jesus by sending Him to the cross to accomplish our salvation. At the cross Christ carried all sin for all time for all of humankind in His own body. At the cross Jesus is our substitute … the innocent for the guilty. He suffered and died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. He rose again from the dead – victorious over sin, Satan and death. And now forgiveness, life and salvation is available through faith in Christ Jesus.
Jesus says, “if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (v. 51b). To keep His Word is to abide in, to obey, to observe, to pay attention to His Word. This is the Christian life. When the Spirit brings us to faith, we hold to the saving promise of the Gospel and we are made righteous. As the Spirit continues His work in us, He sanctifies us as the Word of God bears the fruit of faithful obedience in our lives.
To keep the Word of Christ means that we have faith in who He is, the Son of God, as we will confess in the Athanasian Creed: “It is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man”. Only the Son knows the Father and it is only through the Son that we can know God.
The grammatical construction of the Greek in v. 51b is such that it could be translated “he will never, ever see death” emphasizing the certainty of the eternal life Jesus has won for us. Death, the last enemy, no longer has power of us. Indeed, eternal life is certain as the Spirit brings us to the knowledge of the true God and strengthens that faith by the means of Grace: the Holy Scriptures and the Sacraments – in the death of the Old Adam and rising to new life in Holy Baptism, in the comfort and consolation of having the forgiveness of sins applied personally and individually in Holy Absolution, and in the bread and wine of the Holy Supper which is the true body and true blood of Christ given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.
Imagine a world in which God is honored as did the divinely inspired King David in today’s Psalm: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Ps 8:1:b). Imagine a world that acknowledges “the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith” and that worships “the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty” as we prayed in the Collect. Imagine a world that acknowledges that Christ is “exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:33) as Peter proclaimed in the second reading.
Abraham didn’t have to imagine the kingdom of Christ. By faith “He saw it and was glad” (56b). Likewise, we don’t have to imagine any other world but the one where Jesus is revealed as the divine, eternal Christ, the second person of the Triune Godhead.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.