Sunday, August 27, 2023  

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Today’s Scripture Reading 
John 8:12–20

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’ Then they said to him, ‘Where is your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’ He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (NRSV)

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Reflection
The audacity. Wouldn’t you like to have been a fly on the wall during this interaction? Or imagine having been a Pharisee receiving such testimony; this, after having brought before this nonconformist a woman you and your colleagues caught in adultery (John 8:1–11), only for him to offer her pardon while condemning you for your own fallibility! Multiple scandals unfolded on that day, not the least of which was that of a man who invoked the witness of a divine authority among religious leaders “in their own house.”

Were it not for the fact that “his hour had not yet come,” Jesus surely would’ve been stoned on the spot by the temple authorities. The intimacy and proximity of his relationship with the divine as none other than the Son of God posed threats to both religious and imperial law and order. Standing in his power before the authorities, and all assembled, Jesus saved a life from corporal punishment. Jesus’ life-saving power in confronting punitive authorities bears witness to the life-giving power of the One who sent him — none other than the Almighty.

As followers of Jesus, we serve the incarnate God who defies all systems and structures to extend life-giving grace to us as the beloved. Jesus is the figure that speaks ultimate truth to superficial power, rooted in his status and nature as the Son of God.

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Prayer
God of truth, give us courage to bear witness to the life-giving power of your Son to confront all that would threaten to separate us from your grace. Amen.

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Written by Nancy Benson-Nicol, Associate Pastor for Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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