Joh 8:49 | KingComments | STEP | The Jews dare to utter the greatest blasphemy, that He has a demon. They do so because the Lord Jesus does not acknowledge them as of God, as God’s people. That is the greatest insult to them. Their reaction is extraordinarily vehement, as is always the case when a man is confronted with the falsehood of his religion, a religion that gives him all his importance. We have nothing else to expect. The disciple is like the Master. How admirable is the reaction of the Lord after such a gross insult. It is an example for us, how we can react when such things are attributed to us. The Lord answers calmly that He has no demon, but that He honors the Father and that He Himself is dishonored by them because of that fact. He does not defend Himself, but surrenders everything to the Father. He is content to serve and is capable and ready to save. This attitude clearly shows that He is not seeking His own glory, but the glory of the Father. Because He does so, He knows that the Father seeks His glory and will in His time make His judgment of His Son public. How completely different that judgment about Him will turn out to be compared to the judgment His opponents are now making about Him. In view of that time, the Lord expresses once more the great assurance that he who keeps His word will not taste of death for all eternity. He again prefaces its great significance with the double and therefore emphatically “truly”, followed by the authoritative “I say to you”. He explicitly presents the greatness of the blessing that belongs to faith in Him in contrast to the darkness and death that belong to His adversaries. To the Jews, this special assurance is also nothing more than the affirmation of their prejudices. They are now completely convinced that He has a demon. How can He speak of “never taste of death” when all those great men from their ancestry have died, like Abraham and all the prophets? How could His word preserve from death? What He has now said is, in their eyes, the pinnacle of contempt. Does He imagine Himself to be greater than Abraham? That is what His words lead them to believe. Their conclusion is correct, but in their blind unbelief they give that conclusion a false explanation. By pointing to the death of Abraham and the prophets, they think they have incontrovertible proof that His words have come to a dead end. They ask Him the challenging question which is full of unbelief: “Whom do You make Yourself out [to be]?” The Lord continues to answer. It is not about Him wanting to convince them, because they do not want to be convinced. His concern is that He bears witness to His Father and how the Father judges everything. The judgment of people is of no significance to Him. Whether they want to make him King or kill Him is of no importance to Him. He does not seek the glorification of Himself in any way. He only seeks the Father’s judgment. He knows that the Father finds joy in the way He bears witness to Him and that the Father glorifies Him for that. He Whom they call their God, but with Whom they have no living relationship, is the One Who seeks the honor of the Son. They may call God ‘our’ God, but they do not know Him. The Son does know Him because He has come from Him. The Lord adapts Himself to their use of speech when He suggests the possibility that He would be equal to them, a liar, if He said He did not know Him. To Him applies the opposite of what applies to them. They say they know God and they lie. He would be lying if He said He did not know God. It is one or the other. If we know God and in spite of that say we don’t know Him, we are also liars. That the Lord knows Him is apparent from keeping His word. For us, too, we can say that we know the Father, but that this is only evidenced by keeping His word.

‏ John 8:49

The Father Glorifies the Son

The Jews dare to utter the greatest blasphemy, that He has a demon. They do so because the Lord Jesus does not acknowledge them as of God, as God’s people. That is the greatest insult to them. Their reaction is extraordinarily vehement, as is always the case when a man is confronted with the falsehood of his religion, a religion that gives him all his importance. We have nothing else to expect. The disciple is like the Master.

How admirable is the reaction of the Lord after such a gross insult. It is an example for us, how we can react when such things are attributed to us. The Lord answers calmly that He has no demon, but that He honors the Father and that He Himself is dishonored by them because of that fact. He does not defend Himself, but surrenders everything to the Father. He is content to serve and is capable and ready to save.

This attitude clearly shows that He is not seeking His own glory, but the glory of the Father. Because He does so, He knows that the Father seeks His glory and will in His time make His judgment of His Son public. How completely different that judgment about Him will turn out to be compared to the judgment His opponents are now making about Him. In view of that time, the Lord expresses once more the great assurance that he who keeps His word will not taste of death for all eternity.

He again prefaces its great significance with the double and therefore emphatically “truly”, followed by the authoritative “I say to you”. He explicitly presents the greatness of the blessing that belongs to faith in Him in contrast to the darkness and death that belong to His adversaries.

To the Jews, this special assurance is also nothing more than the affirmation of their prejudices. They are now completely convinced that He has a demon. How can He speak of “never taste of death” when all those great men from their ancestry have died, like Abraham and all the prophets? How could His word preserve from death?

What He has now said is, in their eyes, the pinnacle of contempt. Does He imagine Himself to be greater than Abraham? That is what His words lead them to believe. Their conclusion is correct, but in their blind unbelief they give that conclusion a false explanation. By pointing to the death of Abraham and the prophets, they think they have incontrovertible proof that His words have come to a dead end. They ask Him the challenging question which is full of unbelief: “Whom do You make Yourself out [to be]?”

The Lord continues to answer. It is not about Him wanting to convince them, because they do not want to be convinced. His concern is that He bears witness to His Father and how the Father judges everything. The judgment of people is of no significance to Him. Whether they want to make him King or kill Him is of no importance to Him. He does not seek the glorification of Himself in any way. He only seeks the Father’s judgment.

He knows that the Father finds joy in the way He bears witness to Him and that the Father glorifies Him for that. He Whom they call their God, but with Whom they have no living relationship, is the One Who seeks the honor of the Son. They may call God ‘our’ God, but they do not know Him. The Son does know Him because He has come from Him.

The Lord adapts Himself to their use of speech when He suggests the possibility that He would be equal to them, a liar, if He said He did not know Him. To Him applies the opposite of what applies to them. They say they know God and they lie. He would be lying if He said He did not know God. It is one or the other. If we know God and in spite of that say we don’t know Him, we are also liars. That the Lord knows Him is apparent from keeping His word. For us, too, we can say that we know the Father, but that this is only evidenced by keeping His word.