55 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 keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
Interestingly, in our first sentence for today Jesus uses two different words for “know” and therefore the sentence could be rendered as the following: “Though you have never had the initial experience of knowing Him, I intuitively know and am acquainted with and familiar with Him” – an indication of Jesus’ intimate knowledge of the Father as His One and Only Son. These Jews had no knowledge of God through experience which was evidenced by their lack of keeping His Word and therefore remained in the dark regarding His ways. While Jesus, on the other hand, has knowledge of God in the absolute sense and sets forth for us an example of obedience to His Father’s Word. They are One – having the closest possible unity of purpose – Jesus’ will being identical to that of His Fathers. Indeed, they are both One in will and nature as they are both God. In our verses today, Jesus clearly professes His knowledge of His Father with the greatest certainty and rightly so. Our Lord states later in John:
30 I and the Father are one." John 10:30 (NIV)
Once again Jesus gives us an indicator of who belongs to God – those who keep His Word. He rightly inferred these Jews did not know God as they were ignorant of His character, His will, and His purposes – professing to know Him yet by their works denying Him. How often is that the case? Faith is claimed yet the tree is barren. Many pretend to have an interest in God and say that He is theirs who have no just cause to say so – knowing Him in Name only. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we will know who are His by their fruit:
15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matt 7:15-20 (NIV)
Neither Jesus nor the Father will manifest themselves to those who are disobedient to Christ’s teaching – proving by their actions their lack of love for the Lord. Obedience in a life is the outflow from one who loves Jesus and His Word. He gives us the following Truth:
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:23-24 (NIV)
"God doesn't reveal Himself to the curious or the careless, but to those who are ready and willing to obey." Warren Wiersbe
“Obedience to God is the most infallible evidence of sincere and supreme love for Him.” Nathanael Emmons
“Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will.” C. S. Lewis
Lastly, Jesus tells His hearers the great joy which comes from faith citing Abraham as an example. The Patriarch had been given the promise of the Messiah to come – he was expectantly awaiting something marvelously great which he longed to know more of. Indeed, the wording Jesus used here regarding Abraham’s actions indicates a leaping joy – a joy which gets physical. Certainly a confirmation of the definition of faith listed in Hebrews:
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. Heb 11:1-2 (NIV)
In its essence, faith is both sure and certain regarding unseen hopes and realities. It believes God to be True and when we truly believe something, it will change the way we behave. Our behavior is an indicator of what we believe - just as our checkbooks and our calendars indicate how we spend our money and our time. Faith is also a lens through which we view all of life’s experiences giving purpose and meaning to a life. No longer tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, the believer in Jesus is firmly planted on the Rock of his salvation. It believes what Jesus says to be True no matter what our circumstances. It keeps our eyes fixed on the goal which, of course, is Christ:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb 12:1-3 (NIV)
“The great difficulty is to get modern audiences to realize that you are preaching Christianity solely and simply because you happen to think it true; they always suppose you are preaching it because you like it or think it good for society or something of that sort...” C.S. Lewis