Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
“Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been claiming all along,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.
Yesterday in a Bible study at church we spent some time discussing this confusing passage. I say confusing because throughout it, Jesus seems to be talking in riddles. He says things that sound more like the disjointed ramblings of a madman than the coherent thoughts of a deity.
And yet, there is verse 30, standing in stark contrast to the rest of the passage, declaring that while Jesus’ words troubled and confused the Pharisees, the people watching were prompted to put their faith in him.
This stands out to me as one of those times when simply reading the written account probably fails to fully capture all that was happening. Jesus’ words as recorded here don’t evoke faith in me. They evoke confusion. Even frustration. Why can’t you just say what you mean, Christ? What was it about this encounter that the masses found so…encouraging?
I think it had to be the way Jesus said what he said rather than the content of what he said.
Think about it: there are several times in the gospel accounts when we’re told that Jesus spoke “with authority”. Something about the way he presented himself gave the impression of strength and comfort. In this passage, he’s talking about his connection to the Father, which is fitting, as I believe this is the source of Jesus’ confidence. Certainly, Jesus thinks it’s the source of his message, (vs. 26 & 28).
I’ve met people like that before, people who know who they are so much that I find myself willing to follow them almost immediately. It does evoke a kind of faith, that underlying strength. More to the point, though, I want to be one of those people.
The good news is that this is the call of God—to be so genuine, so real, so confident in my knowledge of my own identity through my knowledge of his identity that I reverberate his strength in an elemental way. People will respect it, even fear it, regardless of whether or not they agree with it. (Think about the apostles. Men so feared that most of them were put to death because of the threat they posed to the religious establishment. Much like Jesus, himself.)
The bad news it that this requires great courage and undivided loyalty. If you are not one part warrior, one part monk, you cannot be this sort of person because that’s the kind of heart that is required. And yeah, God is in the business of transforming hearts, but it’s a messy and painful business. Being this real will very nearly kill you.
Funny. That aspect of being like Jesus hasn’t changed much.
