Taking Jesus’ Words at Full Face Value
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Whoever is of God hears the words of God. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.
“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
I trimmed out all of the other talk in this section so that you get a straight dose of the good and positive promises of this section. Jesus is talking to a mixed group of believers and non-believers. He says some hard and true things to the folks that don’t believe, but I’ve skipped over those for this excerpt to focus on the true things that count for those that believe in Christ.
Jesus didn’t just show up at a random time in history and have some brilliant ideas. He was deliberatly sent by God the Father at the perfect time in history to do God’s perfect will.
His promises are true, and they are backed with a few thousand years of preparation. It’s good to rest in His words.