He said to them again, “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” 27 They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. 28 So Jesus said [to them], “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
John 8:21–30 presents a profound theological dialogue in which Jesus confronts the unbelief of His listeners by declaring His divine origin and mission. He warns that unless they believe that “I AM”—a direct allusion to the divine name revealed in Exodus 3:14—they will die in their sins. This self-identification not only asserts His divinity but also highlights the critical necessity of faith in Him for salvation.
Jesus speaks of “going away” (v. 21), a veiled reference to His death, resurrection, and ascension. His audience, bound to worldly categories and spiritual blindness, misunderstands His meaning. The phrase “you will die in your sins” (vv. 21, 24) recalls Isaiah 59:2, where sin separates humanity from God. In John’s Gospel, this sin is rooted above all in the rejection of Jesus, the one sent by God (cf. John 3:18).
Continuing the contrast between Himself and His audience, Jesus contrasts their earthly origin with His heavenly one (v. 23), echoing Isaiah 55:8–9, which speaks of God's ways and thoughts being higher than human ones. By declaring, “You belong to what is below… I do not belong to this world”, Jesus underscores His divine mission as the one sent by the Father.
Jesus' consistent reference to being sent by the Father (vv. 26, 29) echoes Deuteronomy 18:18 and Isaiah 48:16, where a divinely commissioned prophet or servant speaks only what God commands. Jesus fulfills and surpasses these prophetic roles, not only speaking what the Father commands but revealing the Father Himself in His person (cf. Jn. 1:18; Heb. 1:1–2).
When He says, “When you lift up the Son of Man…” (v. 28), He points to the crucifixion, using language drawn from Numbers 21:8–9, where the bronze serpent was lifted up for healing. As in John 3:14, this typology signifies that belief in Christ crucified brings eternal life (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18). In John's Gospel, the “lifting up” of the Son of Man is both His crucifixion and His glorification—the beginning of the Paschal Mystery: His suffering, death, and resurrection.
This passage underscores that salvation hinges on recognizing Jesus as the “I AM”—the divine Son of God. Belief in Him brings reconciliation with the Father and escape from the death of sin (cf. Rom. 6:23). His teaching also anticipates the mystery of the Cross as the moment when His divine identity will be unveiled (cf. Phil. 2:8–11).
John 8:21–30 speaks directly to Lenten themes of repentance, the seriousness of sin, and the urgent need for faith in Christ. As Lent calls believers to return to God with contrite hearts, this passage reveals that the consequence of unbelief is death in sin—but the path to life is through the crucified and risen Son, lifted up for the healing of the nations.
Almighty God, You revealed Your name to Moses as I AM and when Your Son was lifted up on the Cross, You fulfilled the healing promise foreshadowed in the wilderness. Open our hearts to believe in the One You sent, that we may not die in our sins but walk in the light of Your mercy. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
Comments