The Jews answered and said to him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed?” 49 Jesus answered, “I am not possessed; I honor my Father, but you dishonor me. 50 I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the one who judges. 51 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” 52 [So] the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad. 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
The Jews insult Jesus by accusing him of being a Samaritan who was possessed. Being called a Samaritan was an insult because Samaritans did not perform the religious rituals correctly and had ideas about God that were incompatible with traditional Jewish worship. They were the adulterated remnant of the 10 Northern tribes of Israel (descendants of Abraham) who were conquered by the Assyrians around 722 B.C. and mixed in with Babylonian and Mesopotamian tribes. As a result, their culture, religion, and identity were substantially erased.
Jesus told the Jews that in dishonoring him they dishonor the Father. It is the Father who judges and will honor him and condemn them. Jesus then told those who believed that all who believe in him and keep his word will never spiritually die but be raised in glory. This provoked misunderstanding among the Jews as they thought he was speaking about physical death. They accused Jesus of proclaiming himself to be greater than Abraham or the prophets who died. Jesus again told them that he keeps the word of his Father, whom they call their God, and his Father will glorify him. Jesus called the Jews liars for saying they know God, and there was a further misunderstanding when Jesus said, “Before Abraham came to be, I AM (v. 58)”. The crowd understood Jesus to be making himself equal to God (I AM) and thus he was guilty of blasphemy which was punishable by death.
Almighty God, grant us the grace to discern good from evil and to never dishonor you with our words, thoughts, or actions. Help us to know you more deeply and truly believe in your Son who died so that we may receive the gift of eternal life. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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