Reflection for April 10 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent: John 8:51-59

Gospel: John 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” So the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died?  

Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar.   

But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.  So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM. So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

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Reflection:

How would you feel if a religious leader told you this: “If you follow me, you will never die”? You would not believe this leader for the simple reason that it is not true. 

Jesus, in the Gospel, tells us that anyone who keeps His word will never see death. 

What is this death that the Lord is speaking about? Obviously, this doesn’t pertain to physical death, for we will all die. The death that Jesus is alluding to is spiritual death. We are taught by our faith that when we die, our mortal remains will decay. And we are also taught that if we have a close and personal relationship with Jesus, our spirit will continue to live, for it does not die along with our mortal body. 

None of us has been to the afterlife, but this one thing is true: we will not be afraid to pass through physical death if we are close to Jesus and if we have a personal relationship with Him, because we know that everlasting life will only come after our mortal death. 

Mortal death is our launching pad to eternal life. But we have to believe in Jesus first, and we have to have a personal relationship with Him in order for us not to experience spiritual death. The Jews in our Gospel reading were critics of Jesus, and as such, they did not believe in Him—much less have a personal relationship with Him. 

Do you strive to have a personal relationship with Jesus? — Marino J. Dasmarinas