April 7, 2025 • 22 mins
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John 8: 21-30- 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man then you will know what I am He.'
Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs:
- 211 (in 'a God merciful and gracious')- By giving his life to free us from sin, Jesus reveals that he himself bears the divine name: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will realize that "I AM"." (abbreviated)
-653 (in 'The Meaning and Saving Significance of the Resurrection')- The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he." The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself (abbreviated).
-1693 (in 'Life in Christ')- Christ Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father, and always lived in perfect communion with him. Likewise Christ's disciples are invited to live in the sight of the Father "who sees in secret," in order to become "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."
-2824 (in 'Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven')- In Christ, and through his human will, the will of the Father has been perfectly fulfilled once for all. Jesus said on entering into this world: "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." Only Jesus can say: "I always do what is pleasing to him." In the prayer of his agony, he consents totally to this will: "not my will, but yours be done" (abbreviated).
-2825 (in 'Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven')- Although he was a Son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered." How much more reason have we sinful creatures to learn obedience - we who in him have become children of adoption. We ask our Father to unite our will to his Son's, in order to fulfill his will, his plan of salvation for the life of the world. We are radically incapable of this, but united with Jesus and with the power of his Holy Spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose what his Son has always chosen: to do what is pleasing to the Father.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:11):
Hi everyone. Thanks again for tuning in to
the Daily gospel exegesis podcast.
I hope you're really enjoying this way of studying the Bible
and today the readings from the lectionary is another one from
John, and probably another one that you might not have heard
before. So John chapter 8 verse 21 to
Thirty. Jesus said to the Pharisees, I
(00:35):
am going away and you will look for me and you will die in your
sin where I am going. You cannot come.
The Jews said to one another will he kill himself?
Is that what he means by saying,where I am going, you cannot
come. Jesus went on.
(00:56):
You are from below. I am from above.
You are of this world. I am not of this world.
I have told you already. You will die in your sins.
Yes. If you do not believe that I am
he you will die in your sins. So they said to him, who are
(01:17):
you? Jesus answered what I have told
you from the outset. About you.
I have much to say and much to condemn.
But the one who sent me is truthful and what I have learnt
from him, I declare to the world.
They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the
(01:38):
father. So Jesus said, When you have
lifted up the son of man then you will know that I am he and
that I do nothing of myself. What the father has taught me is
what I preach. He who sent me is with me and
has not left me to myself. For I always do what pleases
(02:01):
him. As he was saying, this, many
came to believe in him. So, once again, we have a really
interesting interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees where
Jesus is talking about his identity and the Pharisees just
don't seem to get it and a lot of Scholars here, so that
(02:22):
basically, they're just talking past each other.
They're talking on completely different levels.
So let's start at the start verse 21, Jesus said to the
Pharisees. So let's keep that in mind.
Whenever you're doing an exegesis, you want to ask
yourself, who is Jesus talking to or who is who are the other
characters talking to Because that's going to help us
understand what Jesus is trying to convey to his original
(02:45):
audience. And here he is speaking to the
Jewish leaders in Jerusalem as he has been for the last few
chapters. He's not talking to the crowds
in general. It's to the Jewish leaders here.
He says, I'm going away and that's a reference to his
Ascension into heaven. It's a prediction that he is
soon. Going back to heaven.
Then says, you will look for me.It's not entirely clear what
(03:09):
that means. Since the Pharisees didn't
really look for Jesus after his Ascension.
They thought he was dead. So, there's no reason why they
would look for him. So, there's a couple possible
meanings here when Jesus says you will look for me, he might
be now, kind of talking to the crowds as a whole possibly,
although, as I said, just then, that doesn't really seem to fit
(03:30):
the context. So, possibly, it's a reference
To the later trouble that the Jewish people and the Jewish
leaders would have about 30 years.
After this point, when the Romans came in and just destroy
Jerusalem. Often, Jesus talks about this,
as a time of great sorrow for Israel and its leaders.
(03:51):
So the events of around, 65 to 70 AD.
So, perhaps Jesus, you are saying you will look for me as
in in the future when the Romanscome and try to wipe you out,
maybe at that point, they I might ask, you know, wish Jesus
was there and ask for his help or perhaps recognize that he's
the Messiah. Certainly the Christian
(04:12):
understanding is that in 70 AD. It was a proclamation that
Christ was indeed the Messiah and that he was indeed
Victorious, over his enemies. And that's something we've
talked about in this podcast, a couple of times.
So, maybe Jesus is thinking ahead to that day, on 70 AD when
the Jewish leaders would recognize that Jesus was the
(04:32):
Messiah all along. But it is a bit of a disputed
passage there. He then says something else.
You will die in your sin. Now in the context of John's
gospel that basically means dying in a state of separation
from God, So Jesus here is saying the Pharisees in general
(04:52):
as a group will not repent and turn to God before their death,
so they will die in a state of separation from God.
Now, a bit later in the passage,he gives a bit more information
as to what he means by that. He then says something else
where I am going, you cannot come.
So we've already established thewhere Jesus is going is heaven
(05:14):
in his Ascension. And so what he basically means
here is he says to the Phariseesbecause you will not repent
before you die. After you die, you will not get
to be with me in heaven. You do you cannot come where I
am going because you do not repent.
So that's an interesting teaching.
Jesus has been pretty clear thatthey're not saved and they're
(05:35):
not going to Get into heaven unless and there isn't a unless
and a bit later on, he tells us what the unless is verse. 22 is
of the Pharisees respond. Now, they just don't understand
him. So they say, will he kill
himself? Is that what he means by saying,
where I am going? You cannot come.
(05:56):
So they're kind of almost on theright track, aren't they?
But they're not quite correct. Why did they mention?
Why is their first thought he? Maybe he plans to kill himself.
They might be thinking somethinglike this.
If he kills himself he will go down to the place of the Damned
and we as the Pharisees a righteous and we're not going to
go to the place of the Damned sowe can't follow him where he's
(06:18):
going. If he kills himself and that
would fit with Jewish beliefs, the Jewish belief was if you
kill yourself, you're damned foreternity.
So that's one reason why they might jump to this conclusion.
That Jesus. Kill himself.
Verse 23, Jesus responds? He says you are from below now
(06:40):
in this context. It doesn't mean he'll he's not
saying you are from hell as a rubber to see it just means
Earthly, as, in there from the earth, the Pharisees are focused
on the things of this world. In contrast Jesus says, I am
from above. So Jesus comes from heaven and
that's beyond the Earthly world.He then reiterates it by saying
(07:01):
you are of this world. I am not of this world.
Why is Jesus saying this here? He's probably trying to
emphasize that when he goes away, he's going to go to heaven
and that's not going to be part of this world anymore.
So there's going to be a radicalseparation between where he is,
and where the Pharisees are Heaven versus Earth kind of
thing. Verse 24.
(07:23):
He then says, again I have told you already, you will die in
your sins. So he's quite serious about it
because he reiterates it, but then he adds an extra bit of
information. Yes, if you do not believe that
I am he you will die in your sins.
Now this point it's worth talking about the translation of
(07:45):
some of the words here. When Jesus says I am he more
literal translations have this as I am.
And if you know anything about the way Jesus uses these words
and the old, and in the New Testament, whenever Jesus says,
I am, he's basically claiming tobe God because that's the name
of God in the Old Testament and that's why the The Jews wanted
(08:06):
to kill him. Actually, it was because he
claimed to be, I am he claimed to be God.
So and our translation has this.As if you do not believe that I
am he as in if you don't believeon the Son of God you will die
in your sins. But if the right translation is
I am, then Jesus is making an even greater claim and he's
saying if you don't recognize that, I'm God.
(08:29):
So either one is legitimate and either one works.
Certainly the catechism, takes it to be.
I am as in Jesus is at this point, claiming to be God.
So if the translation is, if youdo not believe that I am, you
will die in your sins. Jesus is saying, if you don't
recognize that I'm God, you willdie in your sins.
(08:51):
But let's take it back a step and assume that he just means I
am the Son of God. Jesus is the son of God is the
only one who can heal Humanity of sin and reconcile it with the
father. So Jesus here is telling the
Pharisees there is one way they can have their sins forgiven,
they can avoid. Going to hell if they accept
(09:11):
this one condition that is, if they recognize that he is the
Son of God, they will not die intheir sins.
That's what Jesus teaches them. But if they refuse to recognize
that he's the son of God, they will die in their sins.
That same basic principle still applies to us today.
If we recognize Jesus is the sonof God, and obviously that
(09:32):
includes continuing to stay in to stay in God's grace and to
continue to accept that Jesus isthe son of God, then we can be
with him in heaven, and if we reject that, then we can't,
obviously there's a bit of nuance there that I've left out,
and there's more to say about itfrom a Catholic teaching
perspective, but the basic principle still applies here.
(09:56):
Verse 25. So they're still confused and so
they say who are you probably prompted by the fact that Jesus
has just said if you don't believe that I am he in order to
be forgiven of your sins then you're not going to be forgiven
your sins. So they want to know who is this
guy? What does he mean by saying I
am? He Jesus responds and there's
(10:18):
actually different ways of translating.
This is what I have told you from the outset.
So in other words, Jesus answer to their question.
Who are you is I have told you this already several times and
you aren't listening. But other manuscripts have this
as why do I talk to you at all? Which is an interesting
translation. The Dewy Rheims translation
(10:41):
which many Catholics still use today.
Translates this a little differently.
So it says the Pharisees asked who are you?
And then the Dewey Rheims translation says the beginning
as in. That's his answer to the
question. I am the beginning. so, that's
that's another way you could look at this particular verse
(11:03):
Verse 26. Jesus goes on about you.
I have much to say a must to condemn.
Remember it. Remember, he's talking to the
Pharisees here and if you've been following Jesus ministry
all throughout, yeah. All throughout his ministry.
Jesus constantly gets frustratedthat the Pharisees who are who
(11:23):
are the leaders of God's people.They're the ones God has
appointed to be their leaders ifthey were doing their job
properly, they would bring people closer to God.
But in fact, they end up pushingpeople away from God because of
their complex legal system and that's Jesus main issue with
them. Not that their leaders.
He hasn't got a problem with them being leaders but the way
they're exercising their leadership is the issue Jesus
(11:46):
has, because he wants people to be able to come to God freely.
So, Jesus says about you, I havemuch to consider much to say a
much to condemn as in there's a lot, he would like to say to
them. But the one who sent me is
truthful, he's talking about thefather in contrast to the
Pharisees, the father is truthful and what if I what I
(12:07):
have learned from him, I declareto the world.
So Jesus this is important Jesusdoesn't make stuff up himself.
He only teaches people what he he is from the father.
It's not Jesus own initiative every single.
Jesus does every single word that comes out of his mouth.
He is revealed by the father. That's how close the
(12:27):
relationship is. So this phrase, as a whole about
you, I have much to say much to condemn, but the one who sent me
is truthful and what I have learned from him, I declare to
the world. So as a whole, that basically
means there's a lot that I wouldlike to say about you Pharisees.
But I only say what I hear from my father.
(12:50):
Verse 27. The Pharisees did not understand
that he was talking to them about the father.
So the Pharisees really strugglewith this idea of Jesus being
the Son of God. That's not language that they
would use. Now they did believe that one
day, the Messiah would come and the Messiah would be sent from
God, that certainly true. But Jesus is constantly talking
(13:11):
about, in terms of him, being the very Son of God, and that
was something that they just couldn't understand or accept.
Verse 28. So Jesus said notice the word.
So as in what he's about to say is a response to the fact that
they don't realize he's talking about the father. when you have
lifted up the son of man, Yeah. On the one hand, that's a Jewish
(13:34):
way to st. Crucified, as in, when you've
lifted him up from the Earth, But it also is a reference to
the fact that Jesus is going to be exalted.
So when Jesus dies on the cross,that's the moment at which the
son of man shines forth in the most glorious way possible and a
really good book, which brings this out as called the crucified
King by Jeremy treat. So if you're interested in this
(13:57):
idea of Jesus, being crowned, asKing on the cross, it's quite an
incredible book. The crucified King.
So Jesus, probably has both meanings in mind here.
When he says, when you have lifted up the son of man, then
you will Know that I am he now there's a bit of mystery here
because Jesus is teaching that when they crucify him or at
least at some point after they crucify him, they will recognize
(14:22):
that he was in fact, the son of man or the Messiah and it seems
that immediately although some people did you know like the
Roman person who is at the foot of the cross.
He recognizes that Jesus is the son of God, but it seems like
most of the Pharisees don't but perhaps some of them did maybe.
Hi. This is correct and maybe some
of the Pharisees at the moment. Jesus is crucified recognize
(14:44):
that he is the Messiah. We don't know, we don't know how
each individual Pharisee turned out.
Remember this other translationsof this though.
So then you will know that I am.He the catechism takes this as
you will realize that I am. So again, Jesus is claiming to
be God, and in that case, Jesus is saying, when I'm crucified,
(15:09):
you will realize that I am God. So it's a fairly strong claim.
And he finishes by saying and you'll realize that I do nothing
of myself. What the father has taught me is
what I preach. Verse 29.
He goes on. He who sent me is with me and
has not left me to myself. He's talking here about the
(15:30):
father. So Jesus here is telling us that
the father is constantly with him empowering him for his
Messianic mission. For I always do what pleases
him. So Jesus lives this life of
perfect obedience to the father.We often talk about his death,
but we forget to talk about his life, but the New Testament does
(15:51):
focus on this aspect quite a lot.
That Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life, and he's able to
have this closest possible intimate communion with God.
Now, this phrase for I always dowhat pleases him.
It's not clear with it, whether this is causal as in God, the
(16:12):
father has not left me because Ialways do what pleases him that
would be causal or it could justbe a general descriptive
statement. As in I have a close
relationship with the father. So there's some nuances of the
text that school was kind of argue about what does it mean
for Jesus to be perfectly obedient and what consequences
does that have roof with his relationship with the father?
(16:32):
And that's discussed a bit in trinitarian theology.
The last verse here, verse 30, as he was saying this, many came
to believe in him, so that couldrefer to the Pharisees, as, in
those who was directly talking to or it could, the many could
just be the crowd, someone from the crowd, did believed in him.
Remember the, by the time Jesus is crucified, will often get
(16:55):
this picture. Because certainly at the trial
with pilot, the whole crowd is yelling out crucify him.
In reality, it probably wasn't the entire crowd.
We know from the gospels that bythis, Point lots of people in
Jerusalem and the surrounding regions did believe that Jesus
was the Messiah. It's not like the entire people
(17:16):
was turned against him. It's just that there was a very
dominant group and a quite vocalgroup that was against him and
they were the ones that had him put to death.
So it's important to keep that in mind.
So that's your passage for today.
There's two places in this passage, which the catechism
spends a lot of time discussing.And that is the the I am
(17:37):
statements and secondly, right at the end here, when Jesus
says, I always do what pleases the father.
So, both of those get a lot of attention in the catechism.
So let me read out a few of these catechism paragraphs.
Paragraph 211 in the section about how God is merciful and
gracious. It says by giving his life to
(18:00):
free us from sin Jesus reveals that he himself Bears.
The Divine name when you have lifted up the son of man, you'll
realize that I am Paragraph 6, 53 is in the section about the
significance of the Resurrection.
It says the truth of Jesus Divinity is confirmed by his
resurrection. He had said, when you have
(18:22):
lifted up the son of man, then you will know that I am.
He the resurrection of the crucified one shows that he
truly was? I am the Son of God and indeed
God himself. And this is important to talk
about and certainly theology canbring this out a bit more, but
often students will say to me students that I am teaching.
(18:46):
Jesus, wasn't God. He was the son of God.
Certainly that's Jesus preferredlanguage to use of himself, the
Son of God. And in fact, the son of man, but
the Catholic teaching is very clear that in these phrases.
When Jesus says, I am, he is claiming to be God.
He's both the Son of God and Godhimself paragraph 1693.
(19:09):
Now, we shift to the section about Jesus being obedient says
Christ. Jesus always did what was
pleasing to the father and always lived in perfect
communion with him. Likewise Christ's disciples are
invited to live in the side of the father who sees in secret in
order to become perfect. As your heavenly father is
perfect, So notice that paragraph of the catechism tells
(19:37):
us that just as Jesus lived a life pleasing to the father
Christ's disciples, that's us. If we're Christians are invited
to live in a similar way and Godwill see us in secret living for
him. And then in paragraph 2, I 2 4,
and also 2825. That's a commentary on the line
of the, Our Father, which says, thy will be done on Earth as it
(19:59):
is in heaven. This is quite a powerful
section. So I'll read it out from
paragraph, 28, 24 in Christ. And through his human, will the
will of the father has been perfectly fulfilled once for all
Jesus on entering into this world lo I have come to do your
Will O God. Only Jesus can say I always do
(20:22):
what is pleasing to him in the prayer of his Agony.
He consents totally to this willnot my will but yours be done.
Although he was a son, Jesus learned to be tian's through
what he suffered, how much more reason to.
We, sinful creatures, need to learn obedience, we who in him
(20:43):
have become children of adoption.
We ask our father, to unite our will to his sons in In order to
fulfill his will his Plan of Salvation for the life of the
world. We are radically incapable of
this but United with Jesus, and with the power of His holy
spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose
(21:05):
what his son has. Always chosen to do, what is
pleasing to the father. So quite an awesome summary of
the teaching about Jesus obedience and what that means
for our own lives and how we can't do it, unless we're
powered by the spirit of Jesus himself.
So, all of those paragraph paragraphs from the catechism
(21:28):
will be in the show notes. Thank you again, for tuning in
to today's podcast, please continue to share this around
with others, who would benefit from hearing more about the
literal sense of the text will see you again tomorrow.
Hi everyone. Thanks again for tuning in to
the Daily gospel exegesis podcast.
I hope you're really enjoying this way of studying the Bible
and today the readings from the lectionary is another one from
John, and probably another one that you might not have heard
before. So John chapter 8 verse 21 to
Thirty. Jesus said to the Pharisees, I
(00:35):
am going away and you will look for me and you will die in your
sin where I am going. You cannot come.
The Jews said to one another will he kill himself?
Is that what he means by saying,where I am going, you cannot
come. Jesus went on.
(00:56):
You are from below. I am from above.
You are of this world. I am not of this world.
I have told you already. You will die in your sins.
Yes. If you do not believe that I am
he you will die in your sins. So they said to him, who are
(01:17):
you? Jesus answered what I have told
you from the outset. About you.
I have much to say and much to condemn.
But the one who sent me is truthful and what I have learnt
from him, I declare to the world.
They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the
(01:38):
father. So Jesus said, When you have
lifted up the son of man then you will know that I am he and
that I do nothing of myself. What the father has taught me is
what I preach. He who sent me is with me and
has not left me to myself. For I always do what pleases
(02:01):
him. As he was saying, this, many
came to believe in him. So, once again, we have a really
interesting interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees where
Jesus is talking about his identity and the Pharisees just
don't seem to get it and a lot of Scholars here, so that
(02:22):
basically, they're just talking past each other.
They're talking on completely different levels.
So let's start at the start verse 21, Jesus said to the
Pharisees. So let's keep that in mind.
Whenever you're doing an exegesis, you want to ask
yourself, who is Jesus talking to or who is who are the other
characters talking to Because that's going to help us
understand what Jesus is trying to convey to his original
(02:45):
audience. And here he is speaking to the
Jewish leaders in Jerusalem as he has been for the last few
chapters. He's not talking to the crowds
in general. It's to the Jewish leaders here.
He says, I'm going away and that's a reference to his
Ascension into heaven. It's a prediction that he is
soon. Going back to heaven.
Then says, you will look for me.It's not entirely clear what
(03:09):
that means. Since the Pharisees didn't
really look for Jesus after his Ascension.
They thought he was dead. So, there's no reason why they
would look for him. So, there's a couple possible
meanings here when Jesus says you will look for me, he might
be now, kind of talking to the crowds as a whole possibly,
although, as I said, just then, that doesn't really seem to fit
(03:30):
the context. So, possibly, it's a reference
To the later trouble that the Jewish people and the Jewish
leaders would have about 30 years.
After this point, when the Romans came in and just destroy
Jerusalem. Often, Jesus talks about this,
as a time of great sorrow for Israel and its leaders.
(03:51):
So the events of around, 65 to 70 AD.
So, perhaps Jesus, you are saying you will look for me as
in in the future when the Romanscome and try to wipe you out,
maybe at that point, they I might ask, you know, wish Jesus
was there and ask for his help or perhaps recognize that he's
the Messiah. Certainly the Christian
(04:12):
understanding is that in 70 AD. It was a proclamation that
Christ was indeed the Messiah and that he was indeed
Victorious, over his enemies. And that's something we've
talked about in this podcast, a couple of times.
So, maybe Jesus is thinking ahead to that day, on 70 AD when
the Jewish leaders would recognize that Jesus was the
(04:32):
Messiah all along. But it is a bit of a disputed
passage there. He then says something else.
You will die in your sin. Now in the context of John's
gospel that basically means dying in a state of separation
from God, So Jesus here is saying the Pharisees in general
(04:52):
as a group will not repent and turn to God before their death,
so they will die in a state of separation from God.
Now, a bit later in the passage,he gives a bit more information
as to what he means by that. He then says something else
where I am going, you cannot come.
So we've already established thewhere Jesus is going is heaven
(05:14):
in his Ascension. And so what he basically means
here is he says to the Phariseesbecause you will not repent
before you die. After you die, you will not get
to be with me in heaven. You do you cannot come where I
am going because you do not repent.
So that's an interesting teaching.
Jesus has been pretty clear thatthey're not saved and they're
(05:35):
not going to Get into heaven unless and there isn't a unless
and a bit later on, he tells us what the unless is verse. 22 is
of the Pharisees respond. Now, they just don't understand
him. So they say, will he kill
himself? Is that what he means by saying,
where I am going? You cannot come.
(05:56):
So they're kind of almost on theright track, aren't they?
But they're not quite correct. Why did they mention?
Why is their first thought he? Maybe he plans to kill himself.
They might be thinking somethinglike this.
If he kills himself he will go down to the place of the Damned
and we as the Pharisees a righteous and we're not going to
go to the place of the Damned sowe can't follow him where he's
(06:18):
going. If he kills himself and that
would fit with Jewish beliefs, the Jewish belief was if you
kill yourself, you're damned foreternity.
So that's one reason why they might jump to this conclusion.
That Jesus. Kill himself.
Verse 23, Jesus responds? He says you are from below now
(06:40):
in this context. It doesn't mean he'll he's not
saying you are from hell as a rubber to see it just means
Earthly, as, in there from the earth, the Pharisees are focused
on the things of this world. In contrast Jesus says, I am
from above. So Jesus comes from heaven and
that's beyond the Earthly world.He then reiterates it by saying
(07:01):
you are of this world. I am not of this world.
Why is Jesus saying this here? He's probably trying to
emphasize that when he goes away, he's going to go to heaven
and that's not going to be part of this world anymore.
So there's going to be a radicalseparation between where he is,
and where the Pharisees are Heaven versus Earth kind of
thing. Verse 24.
(07:23):
He then says, again I have told you already, you will die in
your sins. So he's quite serious about it
because he reiterates it, but then he adds an extra bit of
information. Yes, if you do not believe that
I am he you will die in your sins.
Now this point it's worth talking about the translation of
(07:45):
some of the words here. When Jesus says I am he more
literal translations have this as I am.
And if you know anything about the way Jesus uses these words
and the old, and in the New Testament, whenever Jesus says,
I am, he's basically claiming tobe God because that's the name
of God in the Old Testament and that's why the The Jews wanted
(08:06):
to kill him. Actually, it was because he
claimed to be, I am he claimed to be God.
So and our translation has this.As if you do not believe that I
am he as in if you don't believeon the Son of God you will die
in your sins. But if the right translation is
I am, then Jesus is making an even greater claim and he's
saying if you don't recognize that, I'm God.
(08:29):
So either one is legitimate and either one works.
Certainly the catechism, takes it to be.
I am as in Jesus is at this point, claiming to be God.
So if the translation is, if youdo not believe that I am, you
will die in your sins. Jesus is saying, if you don't
recognize that I'm God, you willdie in your sins.
(08:51):
But let's take it back a step and assume that he just means I
am the Son of God. Jesus is the son of God is the
only one who can heal Humanity of sin and reconcile it with the
father. So Jesus here is telling the
Pharisees there is one way they can have their sins forgiven,
they can avoid. Going to hell if they accept
(09:11):
this one condition that is, if they recognize that he is the
Son of God, they will not die intheir sins.
That's what Jesus teaches them. But if they refuse to recognize
that he's the son of God, they will die in their sins.
That same basic principle still applies to us today.
If we recognize Jesus is the sonof God, and obviously that
(09:32):
includes continuing to stay in to stay in God's grace and to
continue to accept that Jesus isthe son of God, then we can be
with him in heaven, and if we reject that, then we can't,
obviously there's a bit of nuance there that I've left out,
and there's more to say about itfrom a Catholic teaching
perspective, but the basic principle still applies here.
(09:56):
Verse 25. So they're still confused and so
they say who are you probably prompted by the fact that Jesus
has just said if you don't believe that I am he in order to
be forgiven of your sins then you're not going to be forgiven
your sins. So they want to know who is this
guy? What does he mean by saying I
am? He Jesus responds and there's
(10:18):
actually different ways of translating.
This is what I have told you from the outset.
So in other words, Jesus answer to their question.
Who are you is I have told you this already several times and
you aren't listening. But other manuscripts have this
as why do I talk to you at all? Which is an interesting
translation. The Dewy Rheims translation
(10:41):
which many Catholics still use today.
Translates this a little differently.
So it says the Pharisees asked who are you?
And then the Dewey Rheims translation says the beginning
as in. That's his answer to the
question. I am the beginning. so, that's
that's another way you could look at this particular verse
(11:03):
Verse 26. Jesus goes on about you.
I have much to say a must to condemn.
Remember it. Remember, he's talking to the
Pharisees here and if you've been following Jesus ministry
all throughout, yeah. All throughout his ministry.
Jesus constantly gets frustratedthat the Pharisees who are who
(11:23):
are the leaders of God's people.They're the ones God has
appointed to be their leaders ifthey were doing their job
properly, they would bring people closer to God.
But in fact, they end up pushingpeople away from God because of
their complex legal system and that's Jesus main issue with
them. Not that their leaders.
He hasn't got a problem with them being leaders but the way
they're exercising their leadership is the issue Jesus
(11:46):
has, because he wants people to be able to come to God freely.
So, Jesus says about you, I havemuch to consider much to say a
much to condemn as in there's a lot, he would like to say to
them. But the one who sent me is
truthful, he's talking about thefather in contrast to the
Pharisees, the father is truthful and what if I what I
(12:07):
have learned from him, I declareto the world.
So Jesus this is important Jesusdoesn't make stuff up himself.
He only teaches people what he he is from the father.
It's not Jesus own initiative every single.
Jesus does every single word that comes out of his mouth.
He is revealed by the father. That's how close the
(12:27):
relationship is. So this phrase, as a whole about
you, I have much to say much to condemn, but the one who sent me
is truthful and what I have learned from him, I declare to
the world. So as a whole, that basically
means there's a lot that I wouldlike to say about you Pharisees.
But I only say what I hear from my father.
(12:50):
Verse 27. The Pharisees did not understand
that he was talking to them about the father.
So the Pharisees really strugglewith this idea of Jesus being
the Son of God. That's not language that they
would use. Now they did believe that one
day, the Messiah would come and the Messiah would be sent from
God, that certainly true. But Jesus is constantly talking
(13:11):
about, in terms of him, being the very Son of God, and that
was something that they just couldn't understand or accept.
Verse 28. So Jesus said notice the word.
So as in what he's about to say is a response to the fact that
they don't realize he's talking about the father. when you have
lifted up the son of man, Yeah. On the one hand, that's a Jewish
(13:34):
way to st. Crucified, as in, when you've
lifted him up from the Earth, But it also is a reference to
the fact that Jesus is going to be exalted.
So when Jesus dies on the cross,that's the moment at which the
son of man shines forth in the most glorious way possible and a
really good book, which brings this out as called the crucified
King by Jeremy treat. So if you're interested in this
(13:57):
idea of Jesus, being crowned, asKing on the cross, it's quite an
incredible book. The crucified King.
So Jesus, probably has both meanings in mind here.
When he says, when you have lifted up the son of man, then
you will Know that I am he now there's a bit of mystery here
because Jesus is teaching that when they crucify him or at
least at some point after they crucify him, they will recognize
(14:22):
that he was in fact, the son of man or the Messiah and it seems
that immediately although some people did you know like the
Roman person who is at the foot of the cross.
He recognizes that Jesus is the son of God, but it seems like
most of the Pharisees don't but perhaps some of them did maybe.
Hi. This is correct and maybe some
of the Pharisees at the moment. Jesus is crucified recognize
(14:44):
that he is the Messiah. We don't know, we don't know how
each individual Pharisee turned out.
Remember this other translationsof this though.
So then you will know that I am.He the catechism takes this as
you will realize that I am. So again, Jesus is claiming to
be God, and in that case, Jesus is saying, when I'm crucified,
(15:09):
you will realize that I am God. So it's a fairly strong claim.
And he finishes by saying and you'll realize that I do nothing
of myself. What the father has taught me is
what I preach. Verse 29.
He goes on. He who sent me is with me and
has not left me to myself. He's talking here about the
(15:30):
father. So Jesus here is telling us that
the father is constantly with him empowering him for his
Messianic mission. For I always do what pleases
him. So Jesus lives this life of
perfect obedience to the father.We often talk about his death,
but we forget to talk about his life, but the New Testament does
(15:51):
focus on this aspect quite a lot.
That Jesus lived a perfectly obedient life, and he's able to
have this closest possible intimate communion with God.
Now, this phrase for I always dowhat pleases him.
It's not clear with it, whether this is causal as in God, the
(16:12):
father has not left me because Ialways do what pleases him that
would be causal or it could justbe a general descriptive
statement. As in I have a close
relationship with the father. So there's some nuances of the
text that school was kind of argue about what does it mean
for Jesus to be perfectly obedient and what consequences
does that have roof with his relationship with the father?
(16:32):
And that's discussed a bit in trinitarian theology.
The last verse here, verse 30, as he was saying this, many came
to believe in him, so that couldrefer to the Pharisees, as, in
those who was directly talking to or it could, the many could
just be the crowd, someone from the crowd, did believed in him.
Remember the, by the time Jesus is crucified, will often get
(16:55):
this picture. Because certainly at the trial
with pilot, the whole crowd is yelling out crucify him.
In reality, it probably wasn't the entire crowd.
We know from the gospels that bythis, Point lots of people in
Jerusalem and the surrounding regions did believe that Jesus
was the Messiah. It's not like the entire people
(17:16):
was turned against him. It's just that there was a very
dominant group and a quite vocalgroup that was against him and
they were the ones that had him put to death.
So it's important to keep that in mind.
So that's your passage for today.
There's two places in this passage, which the catechism
spends a lot of time discussing.And that is the the I am
(17:37):
statements and secondly, right at the end here, when Jesus
says, I always do what pleases the father.
So, both of those get a lot of attention in the catechism.
So let me read out a few of these catechism paragraphs.
Paragraph 211 in the section about how God is merciful and
gracious. It says by giving his life to
(18:00):
free us from sin Jesus reveals that he himself Bears.
The Divine name when you have lifted up the son of man, you'll
realize that I am Paragraph 6, 53 is in the section about the
significance of the Resurrection.
It says the truth of Jesus Divinity is confirmed by his
resurrection. He had said, when you have
(18:22):
lifted up the son of man, then you will know that I am.
He the resurrection of the crucified one shows that he
truly was? I am the Son of God and indeed
God himself. And this is important to talk
about and certainly theology canbring this out a bit more, but
often students will say to me students that I am teaching.
(18:46):
Jesus, wasn't God. He was the son of God.
Certainly that's Jesus preferredlanguage to use of himself, the
Son of God. And in fact, the son of man, but
the Catholic teaching is very clear that in these phrases.
When Jesus says, I am, he is claiming to be God.
He's both the Son of God and Godhimself paragraph 1693.
(19:09):
Now, we shift to the section about Jesus being obedient says
Christ. Jesus always did what was
pleasing to the father and always lived in perfect
communion with him. Likewise Christ's disciples are
invited to live in the side of the father who sees in secret in
order to become perfect. As your heavenly father is
perfect, So notice that paragraph of the catechism tells
(19:37):
us that just as Jesus lived a life pleasing to the father
Christ's disciples, that's us. If we're Christians are invited
to live in a similar way and Godwill see us in secret living for
him. And then in paragraph 2, I 2 4,
and also 2825. That's a commentary on the line
of the, Our Father, which says, thy will be done on Earth as it
(19:59):
is in heaven. This is quite a powerful
section. So I'll read it out from
paragraph, 28, 24 in Christ. And through his human, will the
will of the father has been perfectly fulfilled once for all
Jesus on entering into this world lo I have come to do your
Will O God. Only Jesus can say I always do
(20:22):
what is pleasing to him in the prayer of his Agony.
He consents totally to this willnot my will but yours be done.
Although he was a son, Jesus learned to be tian's through
what he suffered, how much more reason to.
We, sinful creatures, need to learn obedience, we who in him
(20:43):
have become children of adoption.
We ask our father, to unite our will to his sons in In order to
fulfill his will his Plan of Salvation for the life of the
world. We are radically incapable of
this but United with Jesus, and with the power of His holy
spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose
(21:05):
what his son has. Always chosen to do, what is
pleasing to the father. So quite an awesome summary of
the teaching about Jesus obedience and what that means
for our own lives and how we can't do it, unless we're
powered by the spirit of Jesus himself.
So, all of those paragraph paragraphs from the catechism
(21:28):
will be in the show notes. Thank you again, for tuning in
to today's podcast, please continue to share this around
with others, who would benefit from hearing more about the
literal sense of the text will see you again tomorrow.
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