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“Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was
glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old
and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say
to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” So they picked up stones
to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
John 8:56–59
What was it that infuriated the Jews so much that they “picked up
stones to throw at” Jesus? As we have reflected upon the past few
days, in Chapter 8 of John’s Gospel, Jesus gradually becomes
clearer and clearer about His divine identity. The final lines of
that chapter, quoted above, contain Jesus’ clearest
self-revelation, which was beyond what some of the Jews were
willing to accept.
Jesus said that before Abraham “came to be, I AM.” That line is
rich in theological meaning that might be missed in the English
translation. The words “came to be,” which refer to Abraham, use
the same Greek verb used in the Prologue to John’s Gospel: “All
things came to be (ἐγένετο) through him, and without him
nothing came to be” (John 1:3). Jesus was essentially pointing out
that Abraham was created and came into existence at a particular
point in history.
However, Jesus then associates Himself with the divine identity by
using the Greek verb “I AM” (εἰμί), which expresses being in
an absolute, eternal sense, independent of time and creation. I AM
(εἰμί) is reserved for God’s self-identification as the
Logos (Word) made flesh: “In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
This distinction between Abraham’s contingent existence
(ἐγένετο) and Jesus’ eternal being (εἰμί) reveals the
heart of the mystery of Christ’s identity. Jesus is not merely a
historical figure; He is the eternal Word who entered into time.
This profound claim of divinity explains why the Jews responded
with outrage, picking up stones to throw at Him. They understood
that Jesus was not simply claiming preexistence before Abraham—He
was claiming to be God Himself, which they considered blasphemy.
Their reaction reflects their refusal to accept that mystery.
Truth be told, what Jesus taught was a lot to take in. Imagine a
powerful preacher arriving on the scene today—performing miracles,
preaching with clarity and authority, and then revealing that He is
the eternal Word who has come from Heaven to Earth to usher in the
Final Judgment. The Book of Revelation and the Catechism
clearly indicate that this will happen in a glorious way, but
imagine, for the sake of reflection, if Jesus were to return first
in the same humble manner in which He came the first time. Would
you find it difficult to believe Him?
On a purely natural level, using our human reason alone, it would
be difficult to believe. And that is why many of the Jews were so
outraged. Believing something so extraordinary—that the man
standing before you is the eternal Word of God, without beginning
or end—is beyond what our natural minds alone can discern and
believe. Though the exercise of incredible miracles might help, our
natural minds need more. We need the gift of directly infused faith
so that we might understand and believe. The sin of those who
wanted to stone Jesus was that they obstinately refused the gift of
faith, clinging instead to their own understanding and expectations
of God. Their pride and reliance on human reason alone blocked them
from receiving the truth.
Reflect today on how open you are to every divinely revealed
supernatural truth. Faith is not just believing without knowing.
Faith means we know and believe. We know because God
communicates His truth to us, directly into our minds. It’s as if
we had a sixth sense—a spiritual sense—by which we hear, see,
understand, and then are given the opportunity to believe. Listen
to every extraordinary truth God is speaking to you. Let it sink
in, ponder it, believe, and profess it. That is the only way that
we, along with Abraham, will be able to rejoice in Jesus’ divine
identity.
My divine Lord, You were in the beginning before the world was
created, existing from all eternity with the Father and the Holy
Spirit. At a particular moment in time, You took on flesh and
became man. You will come again in glory at the end of the ages to
judge the living and the dead. I believe these and every other
truth You have revealed. I open myself to all that You still wish
to say, so that I may come to know and believe most fully. Jesus, I
trust in You.
Image: The Hospitality of Abraham. Holy Trinity. Illustration in
Byzantine style.
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