Anchor My Faith

I Do Not Have a Demon!

Scripture: John 8:48-51

With this lesson we begin a new section but continue with the same conversation Jesus was having with the Jews. This part of the conversation is placed in a new section because Jesus is going to make another claim about who he is. In this section, Jesus will say to them, “Before Abraham was, I am.” to which they pick up stones to throw at him.

Let us back up to the beginning of the section and pick up the conversation from the previous section. ^{Jn 8:48} “The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”’

The response of “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan” would seem to indicate a customary saying among the Pharisees of contempt and reproach toward the Samaritans. This brings to mind the history of the fourth chapter of John and how the Jews would avoid passing through Samaria and the time Jesus spent in Samaria with the woman from Sychar he met at Jacob’s well. After the brothers of Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the feast, John 7:10 describes Jesus going up privately and secretly. There is a good chance that Jesus passed through Samaria to get to Jerusalem.

Several times Jesus has been charged with having a demon. The first was in John 7:20 when the crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” The second occurrence is here when the Jews said he had a demon, and the third occurrence will occur in John 10:20 when there was division among the Jews over Jesus and many said, ““He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” For Jesus to go the Samaritans and be friends with them and teach them about the gospel was proof enough to the Jews that Jesus had a demon. The Jews saw the devil as an accuser and since Jesus had accused them of not being of God, they considered that also as proof that he had a demon.

^{Jn 8:49} “Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”’

Notice that Jesus makes no response to the charge of being a Samaritan. By identifying with them he is indirectly pointing out that they are more truly a child of God than these Jews. To the second part of their charge, Jesus responds with, “I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.” All that Jesus did and taught had a connection with the spiritual world and a connection to the Father. What Jesus does and says brings honor to the Father, but what they say and do brings dishonor to Jesus and thus to the Father.

Jesus did not seek his own glory; to exalt or to vindicate himself but was willing to accept reproach and be despised. Jesus was not concerned about himself because he believed God would take care of his reputation. Jesus can commit his cause into God’s hands knowing that he seeks his welfare and honor.

Jesus then points out the importance of his words; anyone who keeps his words will never see death. We will see in the next lesson that the Jews hear Jesus saying physical death, not spiritual death.

Conclusion

When one has not been born spiritually, like these Jews, one can not understand spiritual things as they are seen as foolishness. If we are born spiritually and thus have eternal life, then evidence of that will be our desire to know the words of Jesus and to obey them.