Episode 87 - "I know that his commandment is eternal life" John 12:44-50
John 12:44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Throughout this book, Jesus’ primary antagonists have been the religious leaders. But, in this context which I’ve been covering these past few episodes, many people are ultimately refusing to trust Jesus despite the evidence of the miracles he has worked. Conversely, John adds that some of the leaders did believe in him, but refused to confess it before others because they were more concerned about what others thought over what God thought of them. The picture John gives us with these details is that in Jesus’ life and ministry, there has been ample evidence to demonstrate his identity and authority. Yet people, in general, found a reason to not trust Jesus.
In this segment, Jesus is concisely expressing God’s message that John has reported to us throughout this book. That message is God’s offer to mankind for eternal life. As he has emphasized before, Jesus reiterates that he came to speak God’s message and gracious offer of eternal life. So, to not trust Jesus is to reject God. To believe Jesus’ works and words is to trust God. Jesus is the “light” that shines into the darkness which we are in by nature. He reveals God’s love and power to give us abundant and eternal life.
Christian faith is not understanding everything in the Bible perfectly. Faith that leads to eternal life is simply saying, “God - I am trusting you that Jesus is the Way to eternal life.”
In my fifty-seven years of life, I am finding it valuable to reaffirm that trust each day. It’s not that I think that somehow I lost eternal life by something I did or didn’t do. No. I believe when God gave me eternal life it was . . . eternal. What I find is that being reminded of who Jesus is and why he came into this world and simply saying in my mind “I believe that” has a way of helping drive out the darkness of the world around me and how it can so easily impact me when I’m not careful.