John 8: 51-59, (Thursday, March 13, 2008)

Jesus Christ reveals himself to the people as “I Am.” They were very familiar with God’s revelation of himself to Moses as the “I Am.” For them, Jesus must be going crazy to think of himself as God. Jesus is making so many assertions that they are finding uncomfortable. He is telling them that if they keep the word, they will never die. How can they make sense of this?

Abraham kept the word, and for that it was credited to him of all righteousness. The prophets kept the word and that is the reason they continued to be the messengers of God. But these all died. For them, Jesus is making a very illogical assertion. What they failed to understand is that good logic does not always translate into good theology, neither does the word of God follow human logic. Jesus Christ was referring to the eternal life that he offers. For Christian people, death is not a total annihilation but a transition into a new life. It is in this sense that Jesus Christ was speaking to them. It is this eternal life that Jesus Christ offers everyone of us that keeps his word.

How can we keep the word of God?