This morning in my readings from the Gospel according to John, my attention was drawn to two passages in chapter 8, quoted below:
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
John 8:28 – 29 King James Version
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 8:56 – 59 King James Version
The scribes and Pharisees who questioned the ancestry of our Lord in John chapter 8 could not believe and refused to understand the truth that our Lord Iesus came from God.
" . . . he that hath sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone;" said the Lord in verse 29.
Just before making that statement, Iesus had told his skeptics that when they had "lifted up the Son of Man" then will they know that "I am He", i.e. Iesus is the promised Messiah, the Christos, the Anointed One.
The expression lifted up was used in those days to refer to death by crucifixion, during which a convict was lifted up on a cross. See John 3:14; 12:32,33.
Later on in the passage, the Jews questioned the credibility of our Lord's assertion that Abraham rejoiced to see his day – perhaps referring to his advent and earthly ministry. They asked Iesus how he could have seen Abraham when he was not even fifty years old yet, to which our Lord gave his famous reply in verse 58, "Before Abraham was, I am."
John 8:58 comes across to me with a profound meaning — that our Lord had already existed in eternity long before Abraham came into being.
Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us hold fast our belief the words of our Lord, " . . . then shall ye know that I am He."
About ten years ago, I wrote my observations from John chapters 7 and 8, that Iesus is the Anointed One who came from God. In another post that I wrote the following year, I elaborated on the need to understand correctly the expression "lifted up", that our Lord was crucified when he was lifted up on the cross.
