Joh 8:29 | KingComments | STEP | The Jews continue to respond with counter-questions that all demonstrate their unbelief. They ask Him Who He thinks He is by speaking such presumptuous words. The Lord continues to respond to their questions and gives testimony of Who He is with great power. To faith, His answers increasingly reveal His glory. So here as well. Every attack of the devil reveals, on the one hand, man’s incorrigible evil, but on the other hand it gives the Lord Jesus the opportunity to show more and more of His glory. It is like a diamond, the brilliance of which is all the more striking when placed on a black background. Once again, his answer to the question “Who are You?” gives such a brilliant impression of His glory. He is not only the way and the life, but also the truth. He does not only do what He says, but He is what He says. He Himself is the logos , He not only speaks about God, but He Who speaks, is God Himself. All His speaking reveals His inner being, that is, His speaking reveals Who God is. It is the expression of His perfect Person. That is why no man has ever said that and no man can ever say that. Only He can say this. Everything He says is perfect truth. What He says makes perfectly clear Who He Himself is, Who God is and who man should be before God. Good and evil only become known through Him. And Him the Jews reject. By doing so they are deprived of the truth. Because of the perfect knowledge He has of His opponents, He could speak a lot about them and judge them. All His speaking and judging would perfectly reveal who they are, but the time of that speaking and judging is yet to come. That is not the purpose for which He has come into the world. Sent by the Father, He has now come to earth to speak to the world what He has heard from the Father. He knows Him as the One Who is true and He reveals Him as the One Who is true. In this way He reveals everything in its true character. The purpose the Father has with that – and the Son is in perfect agreement with that purpose, and He serves that purpose – is to bring people to the heart of the Father. That is only possible through the Son. Unbelief is blind to the true meaning of His mission because it does not recognize Him as the Son of the Father. The Lord knows that they do not comprehend that He has told them that of the Father. He points ahead to a time when they will know Who He is, namely when they will have lifted up Him, the Son of Man, on the cross. That act, through which they make their rejection of Him complete, will in the future be the cause of their acknowledgment that He is the ‘I am’. When the Lord Jesus returns in glory, every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him ( ; ). Then they will stand face to face with Him Whom they now reject. In that meeting, their whole history will pass them by as in a flash. They will acknowledge that He had once come to earth as the ‘I am’, while at the same time He said nothing on His own initiative, but spoke everything as the Father had taught Him. In the spirit the Lord places Himself behind the cross, as if His work on the cross had already taken place. Here He can show the results of it. He does this for example also in John 17 ( ). However, at the moment the Lord Jesus says these things, the cross is still before Him and the work has yet to be accomplished. In accomplishing that work He knows that the Father Who sent Him is with Him. Even though the leaders still so oppose Him, even though the crowd does not understand Who He is and seek Him out of self-interest, even though He is still so wrongly judged by the Jews, He knows that the Father has not left Him alone. He also knows that the Father is not with Him out of pity for the opposition He is experiencing. The Father rejoices in being with His Son because His Son always does the things that are pleasing to Him. The Father joyfully connects Himself to the Son in His way on earth. The Father has also testified of that joy several times ( ). What He has said does not fail to touch many others who are not hostile to Him. They believe in Him. By His speaking, they feel that He is a special Person. However, this does not necessarily mean that always conversions and subsequent following Him is connected to that. It is the same as the other times we read about this ( ). We can see this when He then gives the conditions for discipleship.

‏ John 8:29

Jesus Is All That He Has Been Saying

The Jews continue to respond with counter-questions that all demonstrate their unbelief. They ask Him Who He thinks He is by speaking such presumptuous words. The Lord continues to respond to their questions and gives testimony of Who He is with great power. To faith, His answers increasingly reveal His glory. So here as well.

Every attack of the devil reveals, on the one hand, man’s incorrigible evil, but on the other hand it gives the Lord Jesus the opportunity to show more and more of His glory. It is like a diamond, the brilliance of which is all the more striking when placed on a black background.

Once again, his answer to the question “Who are You?” gives such a brilliant impression of His glory. He is not only the way and the life, but also the truth. He does not only do what He says, but He is what He says. He Himself is the logos, He not only speaks about God, but He Who speaks, is God Himself. All His speaking reveals His inner being, that is, His speaking reveals Who God is. It is the expression of His perfect Person. That is why no man has ever said that and no man can ever say that. Only He can say this.

Everything He says is perfect truth. What He says makes perfectly clear Who He Himself is, Who God is and who man should be before God. Good and evil only become known through Him. And Him the Jews reject. By doing so they are deprived of the truth. Because of the perfect knowledge He has of His opponents, He could speak a lot about them and judge them. All His speaking and judging would perfectly reveal who they are, but the time of that speaking and judging is yet to come. That is not the purpose for which He has come into the world.

Sent by the Father, He has now come to earth to speak to the world what He has heard from the Father. He knows Him as the One Who is true and He reveals Him as the One Who is true. In this way He reveals everything in its true character. The purpose the Father has with that – and the Son is in perfect agreement with that purpose, and He serves that purpose – is to bring people to the heart of the Father. That is only possible through the Son. Unbelief is blind to the true meaning of His mission because it does not recognize Him as the Son of the Father.

The Lord knows that they do not comprehend that He has told them that of the Father. He points ahead to a time when they will know Who He is, namely when they will have lifted up Him, the Son of Man, on the cross. That act, through which they make their rejection of Him complete, will in the future be the cause of their acknowledgment that He is the ‘I am’. When the Lord Jesus returns in glory, every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him (Rev 1:7; Zec 12:10-14). Then they will stand face to face with Him Whom they now reject.

In that meeting, their whole history will pass them by as in a flash. They will acknowledge that He had once come to earth as the ‘I am’, while at the same time He said nothing on His own initiative, but spoke everything as the Father had taught Him.

In the spirit the Lord places Himself behind the cross, as if His work on the cross had already taken place. Here He can show the results of it. He does this for example also in John 17 (Jn 17:4). However, at the moment the Lord Jesus says these things, the cross is still before Him and the work has yet to be accomplished. In accomplishing that work He knows that the Father Who sent Him is with Him.

Even though the leaders still so oppose Him, even though the crowd does not understand Who He is and seek Him out of self-interest, even though He is still so wrongly judged by the Jews, He knows that the Father has not left Him alone. He also knows that the Father is not with Him out of pity for the opposition He is experiencing. The Father rejoices in being with His Son because His Son always does the things that are pleasing to Him. The Father joyfully connects Himself to the Son in His way on earth. The Father has also testified of that joy several times (Mt 3:17 ; Mt 17:5).

What He has said does not fail to touch many others who are not hostile to Him. They believe in Him. By His speaking, they feel that He is a special Person. However, this does not necessarily mean that always conversions and subsequent following Him is connected to that. It is the same as the other times we read about this (Jn 2:23 ; Jn 7:31). We can see this when He then gives the conditions for discipleship.