Before Abraham

Read: John 8

 John 8 provides us with the opportunity to consider two of Jesus’ “I Am” statements.  The first one we looked at was when Jesus says that He is the Light of the World.  Now, we will consider John 8:58: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’”

First, we will want to dig into Abraham and why he was such an important person to the Jews then and to us now.  Abraham is a descendant of Noah through the line of Noah’s son Shem.  Abraham (originally Abram) was married to Sarah (originally Sarai).  They came from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans and moved to Canaan upon God’s prompting.  Abraham is the recipient of what is now called the Abrahamic Covenant with God.  God promises Abraham:

            “‘I will make you into a great nation,

            I will bless you,

            I will make your name great,

            and you will be a blessing.

            I will bless those who bless you,

            I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,

            and all the peoples on earth

            will be blessed through you.’” (Genesis 12:2-3)

The weight of this covenant cannot be stressed enough.  God takes the fulfillment of this covenant upon Himself, meaning He will fulfill whether Abraham lives up to it, resulting in the tribe and nation of Israel and the blessing upon all believers today.

Abraham, at this time in his story, is childless.  He and Sarah cannot have children, so this promise would have to be fulfilled miraculously and only at the hand of God.  Being childless at this point in history would be a mark of great shame for Abraham and Sarah, in particular.  Lois Tverberg sheds some light on the importance of family in this era:

“Consider the fact that in the ancient world, people regularly experienced infant mortality and witnessed death by accident, disease, and warfare.  What was enduring was not so much the individual but the family, and people thoroughly invested themselves in the larger identity of their family…The family is what is important and long-lasting.” (Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, 119)

This covenant with God hinges on Abraham having a child of his own.  The subsequent chapters in Genesis narrate the very human failings of a man and woman who, on the one hand, obey and believe God but, on the other hand, also try to take matters into their own hands.  Eventually, though, the promised son is born.  Per God's command, they name the boy Isaac, meaning “laughter.”  I can imagine they laughed with joy and relief.  He was the physical proof of God’s promise to Abraham, and their hope for a future was secure in the legacy of their son.

While Abraham is not perfect, nor is that ever suggested, God sets him apart from everyone else in the world.  He is chosen to be the recipient of a promise that has its roots in Genesis 3 (when sin enters the world), a promise that will eventually result in a Son who will bless the entire world.  Abraham will never see the full completion of God’s promise (Heb. 11:13a), but he trusts God.  Romans 4 tells us: “He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully convinced that what God had promise, he was also able to do.  Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness” (4:20-22; see also Gen. 15:6).  Abraham’s faith leaves a legacy of not just physical descendants in the Jews but also spiritual descendants in all who have faith like him.  Paul further writes in Galatians:

“…those who have faith, these are Abraham’s sons.  Now the Scriptures saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and proclaimed the gospel ahead of time to Abraham saying, All the nations will be blessed through you.  Consequently, those who have faith are blessed with Abraham, who had faith.” (3:7-9, see also Gen. 12:3)

Abraham is not just the physical forefather of the Jews but also our spiritual forefather.  Abraham’s importance cannot be discounted.

When we get to John 8, Jesus and the Jews are having quite the discussion about Abraham and his role.  The Jews claim that Abraham is their father (John 8:39), and from a physical standpoint, they would be correct.  However, Jesus says to them, “‘If you were Abraham’s children…you would do what Abraham did’” (8:39).  Them’s fightin’ words.  The Jews are furious (and confused) at the insinuation that Abraham is not their father.  Jesus is, though, speaking from a spiritual standpoint.  Abraham is not their father because they do not have the faith that Abraham had.  Lois Tverberg adds to our understanding of this concept when she says, “Because it was assumed that descendants would be like their forefathers, it made sense that Abraham would instill in his children his strong faith in God, and a great nation of believers would result” (Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, 122).  One would expect the Jews to believe as Abraham did.  Yet they did not listen to Jesus, and they did not believe Him. 

Jesus tells them that if they keep His word, they will not see death (John 8:51).  He means they will no longer be separated from God. Even though they will experience physical death, they are no longer in danger of spiritual death or eternal separation from God.  The Jews question Jesus combatively and say, “‘Are you greater than our father Abraham who died?  And the prophets died.  Who do you claim to be?’” (John 8:53).  Oh, if only they knew.  John himself tells us at the beginning of his gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4)

Jesus is God Incarnated.  He is our Creator and Lord of all creation.  He is the source and sustainer of all life.  When speaking to the Jews, though, Jesus states, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

And how do they respond?  They try to stone Him – their Creator, King, and Savior. 

Abraham was long dead, of course.  Yet Jesus claims to know him and states that Abraham saw the day of Jesus and was glad (8:56).  Abraham was intimately acquainted with God.  He had experiences with God that very few could ever claim.  God Himself calls Abraham his friend (Isaiah 41:8)!  Abraham knew what God had promised him and his line, and Abraham rejoiced in the eventual fulfillment of the promise – Christ, our King and Savior, here.  The Jews did not understand this.  All they saw was a man who claimed equality with God and named Himself with the divine name – I Am (Exodus 3:13-15). 

Much like the Jews then, we are faced with the same question – do we trust Jesus is who He claims to be?  Will we have faith like Abraham, who trusted God even when he did not see God’s promises fulfilled in his lifetime?  We do not have to be perfect; Abraham certainly was not, but we must decide if we will make the same choice to trust and obey God that he did.