What do you think of what JESUS said to the religious people of his day?

Question

John 8

51I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

52At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

54Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

57"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"

58"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

Answer 1

I think he would be speechless!

Answer 2

Do you mean, what do I think of his statement "before Abraham was born, I am."?

I think he is revealing to them his deity. The term "I am" is not just past, present, or future... it is all of the above. Only God could make that claim.

Or do you mean, what do I think of him calling the religious leaders liars?

I think he's calling them out on their hypocrisy, plain and simple. They claimed to want the Messiah to come, but when he's right in front of them, they won't accept it. They wanted a political Messiah, not a spiritual Messiah.

Or what about him saying "they will never see death."?

That's referring to spiritual death, like in the Garden of Eden, when he told Adam and Eve, whoever eats of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil will die. Not there on the spot, one day, they would physically die, but when they disobeyed, they died spiritually, and since then, all are spiritually dead in sin until they accept Christ.

There are a few controversial statements in that passage. I'm just curious to which one you're referring.

Answer 3

I think it sounds liek Jesus is saying anyone who knows Him as the living God will have eternal life. He also notes the Father is greater than He is, but that by the Father's will everyone who accepts Him will not experience death the same way secular people will.

☼ Hope that helped ☼

Answer 4

I doubt he spoke English and I doubt the translation is anything like correct even if there was a person taking notes when he supposedly said these things...it's not likely there was a stenographer on hand so it must have been largely made up well after the event and not likely to be very accurate at that.

Answer 5

Christ was either the biggest egotist that ever lived or He was God. I know Him to be my Lord and Savior and God.

The religious leaders of the temple were corrupt, self seeking, and hypocrits as Jesus called them. Of all people who should have recognized Jesus, they should have. A few
Pharisees did, but very few.

Answer 6

I like it. It shows that Religious people can be totally wrong and sometimes the sinner is closer to God than the Religious person is.

Answer 7

There are Many Definitions that go with the word "death".
Physical death.
Spiritual death.
so on and so on.