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Holy Trinity Sunday, 06/16/2019
Sermon on John 8:48-59, by Andrew Smith
John 8:48–59 (English Standard Version, Copyright, Crossway Publishers.)
The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 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.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Just that little statement is at the heart of what the Church celebrates today. Critics of traditional small "o" orthodox Christianity will often try to make the case that the idea of the Trinity, that Jesus is fully God the same way that the Father is God and that the Holy Spirit is God the same way the Father and the Son are God, is "not in the Bible." "The word Trinity is not in the Bible," they say. And I say, "You're right that the word, Trinity, is not in the Bible but the idea is all over the place. It's in our Gospel reading for today. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." That's a big statement. Just how big, maybe we should take a minute to understand, if only to try to help our friends who don't understand what we mean when we use this word Trinity, or today, Holy Trinity, to describe God.
God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and He is for You to rescue you from the dominion of sin and to deliver you into the realm of His activity. That's the Good News we are called to share.
Jesus says, "Before Abraham was, I am." Abraham lived centuries before Jesus. That's what Jesus Jewish critics are trying to wrap their heads around. "Abraham rejoiced to see my day," says Jesus! So that's the kind of thing Jesus is claiming. Abraham had faith that the Lord would send His Messiah. Abraham believed in Jesus! And why? Because Jesus, born of Mary, was before Abraham. He is the great "I am." Remember when Moses was talking with God, actually arguing with God about whether he should go to the people of Israel in Egypt and bargain with Pharaoh to release them. "Who should I say has sent me?" Moses asked the Lord. The Lord replied, "Tell them, "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent you." Tell them, 'I Am who I Am' has sent you." In this back and forth with the Jewish rulers, Jesus is claiming nothing short of being God Himself. That is why they took up stones to stone Him." Jesus claim to their ears was nothing short of blasphemy.
This claim, that before Abraham was, I am, was central to the Church's discussions and debates about Jesus in the first three centuries. Contra Dan Brown and The DaVinci Code, and many others like him, the Church did not invent the idea that Jesus was God. Jesus Himself made those claims. And over the first three centuries of the Church, that idea, that Jesus was actually just as much God, in every sense and essence/substance, that idea became clearly articulated in the words of the Nicene Creed. It's why we confess the creeds. Our faith is based on the statements of Jesus and the teaching of the apostles and the teaching of the prophets, even prophets like Solomon here from Proverbs, chapter 8. By the way, this was another touchstone passage the bishops discussed for weeks as they met in Nicea.
Historically, it's not like the Council at Nicea was a one and done kind of event. Over the next three hundred years, the learned bishops and teachers of the Church, both from the East and from the West, met to refine and clarify what we mean, what Jesus meant and why that's important for us and for our salvation.
In the end, this is not about some philosophical debate, it's about whether Jesus is the one whose death, as moth fully God and fully man, was enough to save the world. It's about whether Jesus' life, as fully man and fully God, who even now "lives and reigns, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever." That's not just a formula for the ending of a prayer. It's a confession that Jesus "IS" not just "WAS." That He is ruling even now from heaven on our behalf and will, one day, bring everything to its completion when He comes again in glory.
If a shamrock helps you understand how God who is three unique persons but one divine Godhead, great. I don't want to confuse matters for you. But God is bigger than a shamrock. Jesus who "IS" still IS. And as we heard last week, He sent His Spirit to speak of Himself and to lead the apostles into all truth.
God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and He is for You to rescue you from the dominion of sin and to deliver you into the realm of His activity. That's all very Good News. To God be the glory. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.