AMEN NEMA Studying the Amen Amen Sayings of

AMEN NEMA Studying the “Amen, Amen” Sayings of Jesus NEMA

AMEN NEMA “The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed? ” “I am not possessed by a demon, ” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death. ” At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demonpossessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are? ”

AMEN NEMA “Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad. ” “You are not yet fifty years old, ” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you, ” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds (John 8: 48 -59)

AMEN NEMA • Imagine that in our passage, Jesus was surrounded by a group of religiously elite Jews who pressed in on Him as they lobbed hand grenade-type questions His way.

AMEN A Questionless Question NEMA • “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demonpossessed? ” (John 8: 48) • In essence, they accused Jesus of what they envisioned to be two of the worst things imaginable. They seemed to imagine their doubly offensive charge against Jesus might discredit Him – or at least silence Him - but their ploy to heap multiple insults on Jesus – calling Him all the dirty names they could think of – fell painfully short.

AMEN A Compassionate Response NEMA • Rather than responding snidely, Jesus refused to take the “Samaritan origins” bait and flatly denied being possessed of a demon. • Christ’s MO has been one of humble self-deprecation and overt exaltation of God and stands in opposition to the behaviour of one possessed of a demon. • Even in the face of such dishonouring comments, Jesus responded with compassionate concern. • Jesus revealed that, in their insults against Him, the gathered Jews have approached a point where they are in very real danger of God’s judgment.

AMEN A Compassionate Response NEMA • Rather than condemn them, He entreats them to accept that “whoever obeys my word will never see death” (John 8: 51), extending to them the gift of salvation. • Rather than receiving this gracious gift in humility, this extension of grace and mercy from Jesus is met with a mocking response from the crowds. • Jesus’ response brimmed with humility as He refused to elevate Himself even in responding to their question, instead revealing that it was God who would glorify Him, revealing a close, obedient and intimate relationship with Him.

AMEN • Jesus made a very bold claim, revealing that “your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad”, suggesting that He was witness to this anticipation and rejoicing of Abraham some 2, 100 years earlier. • The crowd picked up on the fact that Jesus was indicating firsthand knowledge of this reality and asked how Jesus could possibly have seen this since He was yet not even 50 years old. NEMA

AMEN • “Very truly I tell you, ” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8: 58) • Note that Jesus does not say “before Abraham was, I was”, but “before Abraham was born, I am”. • Removing any of the shadowy figurative language used up to this point, Jesus identifies Himself as God, “I am” in human flesh. NEMA

AMEN NEMA • The response of the crowd reveals to us that they were less interested in righteousness and more interested in proving right their own evaluation of Jesus. • They already knew Christ’s answer to the question “who do you think you are? ” before they asked it and they had sadly already determined for themselves who Jesus was; a lying blasphemer deserving of death.

AMEN NEMA 1. Who do you say Jesus is? • Is He a liar, a lunatic or the Lord? • “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord, ” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. ” (Romans 10: 9 -11)

AMEN NEMA • Specific to our text for the day, it means that we recognize Jesus as God enfleshed, as divinity made incarnate. • Honestly declaring Jesus as Lord, then, requires that life transformation occurs; it requires that our lives, once sinfully oriented around ourselves, now becomes oriented around Jesus, His Kingdom and His concerns

AMEN NEMA 2. Do you know Jesus as Lord of your life and does this recognition result in ongoing life transformation? • Just as Jesus revealed Himself as the “I am”, I ask is He the “I am” of your life right now? 3. As Lord of my life, in what specific area are You desiring to exercise Your Lordship today?

AMEN NEMA Might we all profoundly know Jesus as Lord of our lives, live accordingly, and increasingly experience our lives being transformed by Christ’s Lordship.

AMEN Discussion Questions NEMA 1. What do you think it means to have Jesus as Lord of Your life? 2. Why is it important that declaring and believing in Jesus as Lord translates into living differently because of this declaration and belief? 3. In what specific area of your life do you believe Jesus is desiring to exercise His Lordship today? DISCUSS