'He said to them again, “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 (Jn. 8:21-30).
Jesus told the Jews that he was returning to the Father but they did not understand. For John, unbelief is a sin so Jesus was telling the Jews that they will die in their unbelief (their sins v. 24). The crowd asked amongst themselves, “He is not going to kill himself, is he (v. 22)?” In their ignorance they spoke truth and did not realize it as Jesus would not commit suicide but would sacrifice his life for the salvation of the world. The crowd could not go where Jesus was going because he came from his Father in heaven, but they were of an earthly origin. They did not accept that Jesus is the revelation of God (I AM v. 24). He told them that when they crucify him they will realize that he came from God and is the light of the world. Many were converted by his words.
Almighty God, you sent your son to bring light into the darkness of this world and to lead all those who believe in him along the path of everlasting life. In your mercy, increase our faith when it is weak, help our unbelief when we doubt, strengthen our trust when it is lacking, and help us to turn to You when we are disobedient. This we pray through Chris our Lord. Amen.
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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