You will realize that I Am
Published Mar 23, 2021 12:06 am
REFLECTIONS TODAY
In the discussion with the religious leaders in Jerusalem during the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus identifies himself consistently with the Father who sent him. He even refers to himself as “I AM,” the divine name by which God revealed himself to Moses (Ex 3:14). Jesus then proclaims his intimate relationship with the Father who sent him. He trusts in the Father. Always obedient to the Father’s will, Jesus is confident that the Father will never abandon him. Jesus confesses that the unbelievers will crucify him (they will “lift him up”) and his closest disciples will abandon him, but he will never be alone because the Father will be there for him. In fact, his crucifixion will turn out to be another “lifting up,” this time by the Father who will give him glory, the glory that he had in the beginning. Thus, it will truly be clear why he can say “I AM.”
GOSPEL • JOHN 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2021,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
In the discussion with the religious leaders in Jerusalem during the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus identifies himself consistently with the Father who sent him. He even refers to himself as “I AM,” the divine name by which God revealed himself to Moses (Ex 3:14). Jesus then proclaims his intimate relationship with the Father who sent him. He trusts in the Father. Always obedient to the Father’s will, Jesus is confident that the Father will never abandon him. Jesus confesses that the unbelievers will crucify him (they will “lift him up”) and his closest disciples will abandon him, but he will never be alone because the Father will be there for him. In fact, his crucifixion will turn out to be another “lifting up,” this time by the Father who will give him glory, the glory that he had in the beginning. Thus, it will truly be clear why he can say “I AM.”
GOSPEL • JOHN 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2021,” ST. PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.