Truly, truly I tell you: if anyone keeps my word he will never see death.
The Jews said to him: -Now we know that you are demon-possessed. Abraham died and so did the prophets, and you say: "If anyone keeps my word, he will never experience death." Are you more than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you have yourself for?
Jesus answered: -If I glorify myself, my glory is worthless. My Father is the one who glorifies me, the one you say is your God, and you do not know him; I, however, know him. And if I said that I did not know him, he would lie like you, but I know him and I keep his word. Abraham, your father, was filled with joy because he was going to see my day; He saw it and was glad.
The Jews said to him: - Are you not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham?
Jesus said to them: - Truly, truly, I say to you: before Abraham was born, I am .
Then they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and left the Temple.
Christ's new declaration about his divinity. “…before Abraham was born, I am.” Jesus is the I am who brought Israel out of slavery in Special Data Egypt and who led them to the promised land. This is also how Saint Paul explains it:
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and all were baptized into Moses by the cloud and by the sea; and they all ate the same spiritual food; and they all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ.
Since Christ was telling them to their faces that he was God, there were only two attitudes: either they believed in Him or they tried to stone Him. They opted for the latter but the time for our Lord's atoning sacrifice had not yet arrived.
This Lent we must ask ourselves if we believe that Christ is God. If the answer is yes, we must act accordingly. His promise is firm: if we keep his word, we will never see death. That is, if we are in grace, we are in eternal life and, in due time, we will be resurrected to be with God for all eternity.
We cannot say that we believe in Christ if we do not keep his word. It is not possible to recognize the sovereignty of God if we do not give him full sovereignty over our lives. It is not possible to live in sin without conversion, it is not possible not to repent when, due to our weakness or rebellion, we sin. Confession is the instrument that God gives us to hold on to eternal life. That is why Christ died on the cross. So that our sins are forgiven. And so that the conversion is true and not ephemeral, he sent us the Holy Spirit, whose work cleanses our soul and makes us grow in holiness.
Grant us, Lord, to recognize your Majesty and your Royalty in our lives, so that we can walk in your ways and be an instrument of the salvation of many.