Hearing and Accepting the Word

Salem Bible Study
Teachings on Community

John 8:39-47 (The Message)


 ³⁹"Abraham is our father," they answered.
   "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. ⁴⁰As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹You are doing the things your own father does."
      "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself."

The Children of the Devil

 ⁴²Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. ⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? ⁴⁷He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

For Reflection: Christ does not pull punches.  His logic is unquestionable.  Some Jewish leaders wish to eliminate this threat to the usual ways of faith.  Jesus asks, "What don't you understand about 'I am the truth and the light?"  Who do you think Jesus is referring to when he says that they are responding not as their father Abraham, but to the Devil?  If He is using a metaphor, to what does it refer?  What does it mean to belong to God?

Pray that you hear the good news as Christ proclaims it.  Pray to believe in Christ more deeply.  Praise God for completing the law in the resurrected Christ.  Hear what God says.