Reading Upstream

Steven’s Scribbles
“Reading Upstream”
John 8:56-59
    
    When reading in the New Testament we see in sermons, epistles, and prophecy various Old Testament quotations. My advice is “always read upstream.” What that means, is you should go back and read the original reference in the Old Testament. Often, those inspired men would quote everything, but if you were versed in the Scriptures, certainly it would have brought to your remembrance what that section of scripture was speaking on more broadly. My favorite example of this is Jesus explaining his deity to the Jews by reminding totem of Abraham. He was trying to teach them that he was the ultimate fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham all the way back in Gen. 12 & 15. “‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and 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 born, I am.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:56-59). “Reading upstream” is what gives us insight as to why they were so infuriated by this message. In Exodus 3, Moses speaks with God through the burning bush. We know that Moses didn’t know how to tell the Hebrews that God had sent him, so Moses was told, ‘“I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Ex. 3:14). In Exodus 3 we know that the LORD uses his special name, Yahweh. Why did the Jews want to kill Jesus in John 8? He was telling them that He and the Father were one, they are God together. This infuriated them, but by reading upstream we see why. They could not accept that Jesus from Nazareth, was and is indeed the Christ.


In His service,
Steven Hugley