Year 5, Day 256: John 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

In John 8, we can catch three very detailed examples of identity.  The first one is the adulterous woman.  Clearly she is an adulterer.  The religious leaders see her as an adulterer.  She even sees herself as an adulterer.  But how is it that Jesus sees her?  Jesus sees her as a woman in need of redemption.  Jesus removes the external identity imposed upon her by the religious leaders and substitutes his own influence of her identity after the religious leaders leave.  He tells her that He does not condemn her.  He also tells her to go and sin no more.  He gives her a new identity and a challenge to go with it.

Speaking of the religious leaders, we can see their identity in this chapter as well.  They see themselves as the chosen ones.  They see themselves as Abraham’s descendants.  They see themselves as superior to the world around them because of their lineage.  However, Jesus sees them differently.  Jesus sees them as slaves to sin.  Jesus sees them as liars who refuse to see the truth.  The religious leaders and Jesus find themselves in conflict because they cannot agree on the identity of these religious leaders.

That same point is true about Jesus, too.  The religious leaders and Jesus cannot agree on His identity.  They believe that Jesus is demon possessed.  They believe that Jesus is a dangerous teacher leading people away from genuine belief in the Father.  They see Him as a threat to all that they value.  However, Jesus sees Himself as the Son of the Father.  He sees Himself as a person who seeks to do the will of the Father.  He sees Himself as one who speaks and acts with the authority of the Father.

Of course we know who is right in each of these situations.  Jesus is getting His identity from the Father.  He also perceives the identity of the others – religious leaders and the adulterous woman alike – through the eyes of the Father.  Jesus gives us a great picture here in this chapter of how to see through the eyes of the Father in addition to how to understand the difficulties that will come when we cannot agree on identity with the people around us.

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