Then You Shall Know

John 8:28-32

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." As He spoke these words, many believed Him.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."


I am struck by the phrase "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself." When He is lifted up...when He is crucified...when He dies but is risen after three days... All those things He said would make more sense. He did nothing out of His own will. God the Father's plans would be accomplished for the sake of all mankind.

Oh, how I am reminded that we all go through trials and have occurrences in our lives that cause us to make decisions. Jesus certainly did. How do we react, what do we do, where do we go, what do we say? Life in Christ won't be smooth. He perfects us every step of the way and sometimes that means having to go through something to cause us to look to Him for help. If we remain close to Christ He will go through whatever it is with us if we allow Him, if we seek Him and call on Him for strength and wisdom.

I am reminded that knowing Christ opens our spiritual eyes to things the world does not understand. The spiritual things of God. A richer knowledge of Who He is. Then you shall know...

Those who began to believe would see. They would seek Him and listen to His words. They would, as any follower of Christ, know the truth and be made free. They would no longer need to fear. He did not fear man, not even those who so strongly opposed Him,  so why would they need to if they believed in Him? We see people around the world, even to some degree in our country being persecuted for their belief in Christ. No one ever will stop Him from His plans. In fact, what we see in the world may all be part of His plan to bring about the last days. Keep trying to remove Him and His return may be sooner than expected.

We can hold on to this promise below for ourselves if we choose to believe and follow Christ. It's all about what Jesus can do for us. Our eternal security.

Hebrews 13:5-6 - Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"