John 8:48–59

John 8:48-59 - Daily Devotion - 24 April 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 48 The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge. 51 Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”52 “Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death. 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’ 55 You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”58 “Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am! ”59 At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.[I]REFLECTIONSWritten by Adam Davies“Who do You claim to be?” What a great question! Who is Jesus claiming to be? He talks about glory, never seeing death, being before Abraham – it seems to be the right question to ask: Who do you claim to be?Either Jesus is crazy or he’s claiming to be way more than just some guy. I’ve heard some people talk about how Jesus is either Liar, Lunatic or Lord. Our answer to that question seems to change everything doesn’t it?Trouble is, I don’t think the Jews who were asking Jesus in John 8 really wanted the answer. “We KNOW that You have a demon” (v 52) – it seems like they’ve already made up their minds. But for us, we really need to figure out whether we think Jesus is a demon possessed loony – delusions of grandeur, someone very unwell, perhaps needing our pity or to be put in care. Or if we think he’s a liar – trying to deceive us like some guru who claims to have answers if we’ll just give some money or sign our lives away to him, but who is just seeking their own gain. Or we realise that he is Lord – that his claims that he was before everything, that God is his Father and gives him the same glory, and that he has authority over life and death are all true, because he is God the Son, the eternal I AM, God come to us in the flesh.Our world seems to have moved from ignoring Jesus the loony, to really hating Jesus the toxic oppressive liar, but I’m thankful to hear from pastors I know that there are people turning up to church for the very first time, eager to know if Jesus might actually be Lord and hold the key to forgiveness and eternal life. I’m certain that he does! ABOUT THE AUTHORAdam is a member of our Fairfield Morning congregation.