In Yerushalayim for Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) ~ Part 9

In our last post, we learned that YeshuaWarns Against Unbelief and more. In this post, we will learn that Yeshua Declares His External Existence.

As in our last several posts, Yeshua is still speaking on the last day of Sukkot, Hoshana Rabbah.

Yeshua Declares His External Existence

⁴⁸ The Judeans answered Him, “Aren’t we right in saying you are from Shomron and have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Yeshua replied, “Me? I have no demon. I am honoring My Father. But you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking praise for Myself. There is One who is seeking it, and He is the judge. ⁵¹ Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever obeys My teaching will never see death.”

⁵² The Judeans said to Him, “Now we know for sure that You have a demon! Avraham died, and so did the prophets; yet You say, ‘Whoever obeys My teaching will never taste death.’ ⁵³ Avraham Avinu (Father Abraham) died; You aren’t greater than he, are You? And the prophets also died. Who do You think You are?” ⁵⁴ Yeshua answered, “If I praise Myself, My praise counts for nothing. The One who is praising Me is My Father, the very one about whom you keep saying, ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵ Now you have not known Him, but I do know Him; indeed, if I were to say that I don’t know Him, I would be a liar like you! But I do know Him, and I obey His word. ⁵⁶ Avraham, your father, was glad that he would see My day; then he saw it and was overjoyed.”

Avraham…would see My day. In Jewish tradition, details about the final judgment of all people are revealed to Avraham before his death.

⁵⁷ “Why, you’re not yet fifty years old,” the Judeans replied, “and you have seen Avraham?”

You’re not yet fifty years old. The implication is that Yeshua appears close enough to fifty for the statement to be meaningful as a reasonable upper limit to His estimated age. Yet, we know that He was “about thirty” when he began his public ministry (Luke 3:23) and that His ministry lasted no longer than three years. Conclusion: He must have looked older than He was.

⁵⁸ Yeshua said to them, “Yes, indeed! Before Avraham came into being, I AM!” ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to throw at him; but Yeshua was hidden and left the Temple grounds. ^[1]

Before Avraham came into being, I AM. This and Yochanan 10:30 are Yeshua’s clearest self-pronouncements of His divinity. It was obvious to the Judeans exactly what Yeshua’s claim was because they immediately took up stones to kill him (v. 59) for blasphemy. Claiming to be God and, specifically, pronouncing God’s name (as Yeshua had just done) were punishable by death. See Exodus 3:14 and Leviticus 24:15-16.

In our next post, we continue with our new series on Yeshua’s Journey to Yerushalayim for the Feast of Sukkot. In our next post, we come to one of my all-time favorite passages: The Healing of the Man Born Blind.

Click here for the PDF version.

^[1]  Yochanan 8:54–59.