Judica

Last week we read from John chapter 6, where Jesus fed the five-thousand. The crowd was so pleased with the bread Jesus gave that they showed up the next day looking for more. But they were disappointed. Instead Jesus said, “Do not labor for the bread that perishes. Labor instead for the bread that endures to eternal life, which I will give you. I am the bread of Life. Unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6:27, 35, 53). At this the crowd was offended, and they turned and followed Jesus no more. In our Gospel text two chapters later, Jesus is addressing these Jews who had at one time believed in him but are now angry because of his words. There are many such Christians today. They may have been baptized and catechized in the church, but now they are offended by Jesus’ words.

Jesus said to them, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not of God” (Jn 8:47). Naturally, this made them even angrier than before. The sinful nature wants to believe that it is a true follower of God, even though it does not want to hear God’s words. But they were unable to refute Jesus’ words because he spoke the truth, so they resorted to name calling. To the Jewish people, what was the only thing worse than a Samaritan? A demon-possessed Samaritan. “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” they asked (Jn 8:48). Here they slander both Jesus’ person and his words. You are a Samaritan and your words come from the devil, the father of lies.

Let us pay attention to how Jesus answers his accusers. “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father” (Jn 6:49). Jesus does not address the personal insult of being a Samaritan. “Say what you will about me, but do not speak against my Father or his words. My words are the words of my Father. When you dishonor my words, you dishonor my Father. If you reject my words, you reject my Father.” Martin Luther writes that we ought to follow this example: “When [our accusers] impugn our reputation and life, we should tolerate it and repay them love for hate, good for evil. But when they attack our doctrine, then God’s honor is attacked, and then love and patience should be at an end and we should not keep silent” (LW 76:411). Jesus does not need to defend his own honor and glory. But he does strongly defend his teaching and his words, because they are the words of his Father. They are the words of eternal life. “I do not seek my own glory; but there is One who seeks it, and he is the Judge” (Jn 6:50).

And now we need to pause and consider what Jesus says next. He is being attacked and slandered by men who once followed him, by those who grew up in the church, by people who claim to be the children of God. And yet they are filled with rage at Jesus’ words. They regard his doctrine as being from the devil. They accuse Jesus in the vilest manner possible. Here is a curious thing: How can someone claim to love God if they hate God’s words? But what does Jesus do next? He has every right to pronounce judgment and condemnation. He has the power to call down fire from heaven. Instead, he speaks a wonderful promise to his enemies, a promise full of love, compassion, and hope: “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see eternal death” (Jn 8:51). These words are spoken to all who hear, to us who used to be enemies of Christ, and to those who even now cannot bear to hear the doctrine of Christ. These words are filled with promise, “If anyone keeps my word, he shall never see eternal death.”

The word which is translated “keep” means so much more in the original Greek language. It means to hold fast, to guard, to protect. “Whoever holds fast to my word,” Jesus says, “whoever guards my word, whoever protects my word, I solemnly promise that he shall absolutely never see eternal death.” Do you hear Jesus’ promise to you? Nothing could be more revelant to your life today than these words. Many of us have had to make some tough choices in the past month. The devil has been busy. He has been prowling around as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And he always comes asking the same old question, “Did God really say? Are you really going to trust words in a book that are thousands of years old? Certainly, you are more progressive than that! We are smarter now. We know better than God. We have new standards for what is right and what is wrong. Are you a Samaritan? Are you a bigot? Are you a hater?”

The devil will do his best to convince you that if you hold fast to God’s Word, you will lose everything of value. You will lose your reputation, your friends, even your family. But the devil is a liar, and the father of lies. A dying church is not a church with a declining membership. A dying church is a church that has abandoned the Word of God. But wherever there is a people that holds on to God’s Word, a group of believers, no matter how small, that guards and protects the doctrine of Christ, there is the church that Jesus has promised to build, and the gates of hell will never prevail against it.

We must never forget that our enemies are not flesh and blood. We are not battling against people. Satan often deceives people and to uses them for his wicked purposes. He even decieves Christians, as he did Adam and Eve, and causes great harm in the world and the church. But our attitude toward those who are decieved is one of compassion, love, and forgiveness. We follow our Lord’s example, who said from the cross, “Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.” We remember that it was not the Romans or the Jews who crucified Jesus, it was you and I. The nails in his feet and hands were my wicked deeds. The thorns driven into his head were my evil thoughts. And even though we were his enemies, Jesus still gave us this promise, “Whoever guards and protects my word shall never see eternal death!”

When the Jews heard this they answered, “Now we know that you have a demon and speak lies. Abraham died, as did the prophets. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” (Jn 8:52–53).

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn 8:58). Who does Jesus make himself to be? That is the wrong question. Who has Jesus always been from before eternity? He is Lord God of heaven and earth, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End. He is the almighty Creator of the universe, whose word holds all things together. He is Abraham’s Creator and God. Jesus is the One who walked with Adam in the garden, the One who appeared to Abraham, the One who revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush, saying, “I AM WHO I AM.” Jesus is the God of the Jews. He is their Maker, and he has come to be their Redeemer, and yet he is hidden from their eyes. They were blind to see him, and deaf to hear his words. The almighty God who always was and ever shall be took on mortal flesh and walked among us. The eternal Word by which the heavens and earth were created, is given to us in the form of an old book which the world regards as foolishness. The power and strength of the immortal God was hidden in the form of a dying man upon his cross. Here is our God, hidden from the eyes of the wise and mighty, but revealed to all who believe his words, revealed to you. “Truly, truly,” this God says to you who hold fast and guard his words, “You shall never see death.” The one greater than Abraham has spoken, and his word is truth and life. Amen.