“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” John 8:56-59
How could Abraham have seen Jesus’ day? The Jews asked this when Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” They said to Jesus, “Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?”
How could Abraham have seen Jesus’ day when Abraham lived about 2,000 years before Jesus was born? We go back to Genesis for the answer.
In Genesis 12:1-3, we learn that “the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
In Genesis 12:7, we read, “And the LORD appeared unto Abram …” And the LORD spoke or appeared to Abraham numerous times (cf. Gen. 13:14; 15:1ff.; 17:1ff.; 18:1ff.; 21:12ff., 22:1ff.).
In Genesis 18, the LORD appeared to Abraham, along with two of His angels, ate with him, and walked and talked with Abraham regarding the coming birth of Isaac and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Did Abraham see Jesus’ day and rejoice in it? Yes, if Jesus was and is the LORD God in human flesh and blood, if it was the eternal Son of God, the pre-incarnate Christ, who appeared and spoke with Abraham and gave Him the promises of God to send the Messiah and Savior, the promised Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed!
And how did Jesus answer the doubts of His hearers? “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
Do you understand what Jesus was saying? His Jewish hearers did, and they took up stones to throw at Him. Jesus claimed to be the eternal Son of God, who appeared to Abraham and later to Moses. Jesus claimed to be the I AM of Exodus 3, Jehovah God Himself, who appeared to Moses at the burning bush and later to Moses and God’s people at Mt. Sinai.
In Exodus 3:13-15, we read: “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
When Jesus spoke these words in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:4-6), those who came to arrest Him fell backward to the ground. Here, in John 8, when the Jews sought to stone Him to death, “Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”
So, who is Jesus? And are His words calling upon all to repent of their sins and place their faith in Him and His cross for pardon and forgiveness true? Most certainly! He is Jehovah God Himself, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great I AM who appeared to Moses at the burning bush. He took on human flesh and blood and became true man, born of the Virgin Mary, that He might redeem us from sin and eternal damnation by His innocent sufferings and death in our stead and make it sure to us by His glorious resurrection!
Listen to His words, turn from your sinful ways and trust in Him and His cross for mercy, and rejoice in His promise to raise you up to life everlasting. His words are sure!
O merciful Savior, grant that I see You for who You are and trust in You for life and salvation. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]