Christian Art | Jesus And The Father
John 8: 31-42 – Lent Week 5, Wednesday (Audio Bible, King James Audio Bible, Spoken Word)
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 ¶ They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
We are asked to consider the truth about ourselves and to consider the truth of freedom: what does it really mean for us to be free?
The Jewish people, for so much of the Bible, equate freedom with political autonomy. In the time of Jesus, they seek to be free of the rule of a foreign power. They continue, in the Bible, to long for their promised land. Even in our own time, the promised land is a highly contested site, and the Jews of modern day Israel find themselves beset on all sides by those who wish to destroy them. It is a great tragedy that, even now, there should be such conflict. We and they find ourselves, for we are all one family, caught in a trap of history.
It is a sadness to think of the conflicts now and to remember the troubles of the two thousand years since Christ, including the oppression by Christians of Jewish people. There is evil in the hearts of people, in our hearts. We are called through Christ to confess and to repent of this evil. We are called to know Christ and through him to be released and to have freedom.
There is a great deal here that must be contentious to think about. In the Holy Land, the Jewish people feel that they contend for their survival. Many followers of Islam seek to destroy them. Christians also find themselves in danger as the politics of the Middle East shift. And, as Christians, we are called to mercy and to peace and to understanding, through our God the Father, and through God the Son, whose divinity the Muslims and also Jewish people reject, while they respect Jesus as a great prophet and teacher. This is dangerous territory and demands great care. For Christians, through Christ we are called to escape this trap of history. We called to the opposite of hatred, namely love.
Christ’s accusation of those who contest with him is just. They wish to see that they have righteousness because they are the sons of Abraham. They declare themselves to be just, rather than see the truth and submit themselves humbly to God’s mercy, and recognise his Son as a path to mercy. They wish also to be justified through their own merits. No matter how such good lives, giving all their best efforts, they may lead, this is to the Christian a false position. Our true calling, through the whole of the Bible, is to penitence and faith in Christ.
These are difficult thoughts. We must pray for the unity of all human beings and weep for the divisions, which often lead to murder and other suffering, between us.
We are reminded also that it is not for us to set up a rival good to God’s, to proclaim ourselves as free, and as our own judges, when really we are still slaves to sin.
So much in our modern world is to do with self-determination, this taken to the point whereby we arrogate to ourselves the right to decide what is right and what is wrong. This, the Christian knows, is to condemn ourselves, to reject the knowledge of Jesus, to reject the teachings of Jesus, to go to hell and, furthermore, to live hellishly in this life.
This is a matter of absolute seriousness. We are called by Jesus to know reality. We are, through this recognition of reality, called to love. This is no frivolous or sentimental notion of love. This is the reality of God, which we can approach only through Jesus Christ and which is love absolute and everlasting.
It is in the midst of conflict, in our own souls as between different people and peoples, that we are called to know Jesus as God the Son and to respond accordingly.
‘The truth will set you free. How great a truth is this, which opens the way to freedom and gives it meaning throughout our lives. I will sum it up for you, with the joy and certainty which flow from knowing there is a close relationship between God and his creatures. It is the knowledge that we have come from the hands of God, that the Blessed Trinity looks upon us with predilection, that we are children of so wonderful a Father. I ask my Lord to help us decide to take this truth to heart, to dwell upon it day by day; only then will we be acting as free men. Do not forget: anyone who does not realise that he is a child of God is unaware of the deepest truth about himself. When he acts he lacks the dominion and self-mastery we find in those who love our Lord above all else.’ St Josemaria Escriva
Audio Bible KJV | King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
Jesus Of Nazareth | God The Son
John 8:31-42 provides a powerful theological affirmation of Jesus as God the Son. Jesus declares his divine identity to the Jews who are challenging him, saying: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.’ (John 8:58, KJV) This statement echoes the divine name revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14) and is a clear declaration of Jesus’ eternal and divine nature.
This affirmation of Jesus as God the Son is the central tenet of Christian theology, affirmed by numerous theologians throughout history. As Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas writes: ‘Christ is not only man, but also God; he is not only a creature, but also the Creator.’ (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae) This underscores the essential unity of Jesus’ human and divine natures, the hypostatic union, and the central role that Jesus’ divinity plays in our understanding of Jesus’ teachings and mission.
As Protestant theologian John Calvin writes: ‘We must hold it as a principle, that nothing is more preposterous than to measure the boundless power of God by our own limited capacity.’
The Gospel emphasizes the importance of seeking truth and freedom through our relationship with Jesus. Jesus declares that ‘the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32, KJV), reminding us that the search for truth is a search for God.
By following Jesus and living according to his teachings, we are enabled through grace to experience the ultimate meaning and purpose of our lives and find true freedom and healing through our relationship with Jesus.
This message is particularly relevant during the season of Lent, as we reflect on our lives and seek to grow in faith. As we seek to follow Jesus and live according to his teachings, we take comfort in the knowledge that we are not alone, but rather are united with God in a relationship of love and grace.
An aspect of John 8:31-42 is the significance of Abraham in Jesus’ declaration of his divine identity. When the Jews challenge Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, they point to Abraham as their ancestor and ask: ‘Art thou greater than our father Abraham?’ (John 8:53, KJV) Jesus responds by saying: ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.’ (John 8:56, KJV)
This statement is significant in that Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, recognized Jesus’ divinity and rejoiced in it. Jesus is no mere human teacher or prophet, but rather the fulfillment of God’s promises to his people throughout the Old Testament. As Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas writes: ‘The whole Old Testament bears witness to Christ.’ (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae)
Jesus’ reference to Abraham underscores the continuity between the Old and New Testaments and the importance of understanding Jesus’ teachings in the context of the Jewish tradition. As Protestant theologian John Stott writes: ‘The Old Testament is the indispensable background to the New…The Old Testament and the New together form a unity, a single unfolding revelation of God’s purpose and salvation.’ (Stott, Understanding The Bible)
As Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar writes: ‘Faith is the key that unlocks the door to salvation…The key to faith is the revelation of God himself in Christ.’ (von Balthasar, Love Alone Is Credible) By placing our faith in Jesus and seeking to follow him in our lives, we can and must experience the fullness of God’s love and mercy, and find the ultimate meaning and purpose of our lives in accordance with our baptism.
As Protestant theologian Wayne Grudem writes: ‘Jesus’ claim to be the ‘I AM’…is one of the strongest statements of his divinity in the entire New Testament.’ (Grudem, Systematic Theology)
The poem is an introspective dialogue in which Herbert contemplates a tension between worldly values and divine realities. The poem opens with an expression of disdain for the superficial trappings of honour, wealth, and beauty. These are dismissed as transient, ‘fair dust’ that, despite their allure, amount to no more than ‘gilded clay’ or ‘fine grass or hay’. This imagery diminishes worldly achievements and possessions, positioning them beneath Herbert’s spiritual footing as something to be trodden upon rather than exalted [ … ]
The Sadducees deny the resurrection, because they are rich and so proclaim the false belief that the Messianic Kingdom has already arrived, their riches being their reward for living according to the Law. In order to challenge Jesus, they present him with a fictional case of a widow passed from brother to brother, according to the Levirate Law, hoping to make the resurrection look ridiculous [ … ]
Office Of Readings | Tuesday, Lent Week 5 | A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great ‘The cross of Christ is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces.’ Context And Authority Of The Preacher Pope Saint Leo the Great served as Bishop of Rome from 440 to 461, during a time of both doctrinal dispute and political upheaval in the Western Roman Empire. A formidable theologian and administrator, Leo is perhaps best known for his Tome to Flavian, which played a decisive role at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in defining the doctrine of Christ’s two natures, divine and human, in one person. In his sermons, Leo combined robust doctrinal teaching with pastoral urgency. His Lenten and Paschal homilies frequently dwell on the mystery of the Passion of Christ—not as an occasion for pity, but as the moment of divine triumph. This sermon reflects that theme with particular clarity, inviting believers to see the cross not as a defeat, but as the very axis around which salvation and history turn. The Hour Of The Cross As The Hour Of Glory Leo begins with the Johannine declaration: ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ (John 12:23) This ‘hour’ is the Passion—Jesus’ betrayal, suffering, crucifixion, and death. But for Leo, as for John, this hour is not one of defeat but of exaltation. The cross is the throne from which Christ reigns, the place where he exercises judgment, mercy, and kingship. ‘Now is the judgment of the world,’ Christ says. ‘Now will the prince of this world be cast out.’ (John 12:31) The cross, Leo teaches, is the instrument by which the dominion of sin and the devil is overthrown. It is not merely a historical event, but an ongoing act of cosmic redemption. When Christ is ‘lifted up’, he draws all people to himself—not just by example, but by the objective power of his redemptive act. The Cross As The Fulfilment Of All Sacrifices Leo then turns to the sacrificial character of the cross. In doing so, he places Christ’s Passion in continuity with the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant. The temple rites, the offerings of animals, the ministry of the Levitical priesthood—all of these are fulfilled and transcended in the one perfect sacrifice of Christ. ‘The different sacrifices of animals are no more: the one offering of your body and blood is the fulfilment of all the different sacrificial offerings.’ Here Leo anticipates later Eucharistic theology by linking Christ’s self-offering on the cross with the offering of the Church in the Mass. He draws a typological line from the foreshadowings in the Law of Moses to their perfection in the Paschal mystery. Importantly, Leo emphasizes that the cross did not simply end the old order; it transformed it. There is now a ‘more distinguished order of Levites’, referring to the Christian priesthood, and a ‘greater dignity for the rank of elders’. The Christian sacramental economy flows directly from the cross. The Cross And The Unity Of The Church One of the most profound claims in this sermon is that the cross is not only redemptive but unitive: ‘There is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples.’ This is a subtle but powerful statement of ecclesiology. The cross unites the scattered children of God into one body—the Church. It is through the cross that division, especially between Jew and Gentile, is overcome (cf. Ephesians 2:14–16). Christ’s Passion creates a universal communion, not merely by calling all nations, but by reconciling them through his blood. For Leo, the Church is not an afterthought to the cross but its very fruit and fulfilment. Christ Died For Sinners | The Unmerited Nature Of Grace Leo next turns to the soteriological core of the Christian message: ‘Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful.’ This line echoes Romans 5:8 and stresses the unmerited nature of divine mercy. There is no room for self-righteousness or spiritual pride in Leo’s theology. Salvation is the free initiative of God, who meets humanity in its need, not in its strength. Leo uses the language of substitution: though the divine nature cannot suffer, Christ assumed a human nature ‘so that he could offer something on our behalf.’ The idea is not that God required suffering, but that only by taking on our condition could Christ redeem it. His death is a confrontation with death itself—a defeat of death by means of death. The quotation from Hosea 13:14—’O death, I will be your death’—highlights the dramatic reversal: death, once the master of humanity, has been overcome by the dying and rising of Christ. The Cross As The Pattern Of Christian Life While the sermon focuses on the objective power of the cross, its pastoral implication is never far from view. For Leo, the believer is not merely a recipient of the benefits of the cross but is called to share in its pattern. Although Leo does not explore this in detail in this passage, his broader corpus makes clear that the Christian must imitate Christ’s humility, obedience, and love. The cross is not only a source of grace but a template for discipleship. This is particularly relevant during Lent, when the Church contemplates the Passion in preparation for the renewal of baptismal vows at Easter. A Reading From The Sermons Of Pope Saint Leo The Great Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord’s words when he spoke of the imminence of his passion: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterwards he said: Now my soul is troubled, and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. […]
