Possessed
Opening Prayer
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16). Thank You, Jesus.
Read John 8:48-59
[48] The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” [49] “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. [50] I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. [51] Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” [52] At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. [53] Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?” [54] Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. [55] Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. [56] Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” [57] “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” [58] “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” [59] At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What barriers kept the Jewish leaders from believing in Christ?Why do you believe Jesus’ words? With the benefit of hindsight it can be easy to vilify this group of Jews for accusing him of being demon-possessed. Perhaps they thought they were being loyal to what they’d been taught about God; maybe we would react similarly in their position. So how do we evaluate the claims of Christ–and others who claim to be from God? What evidence did these Jews have for trusting him at this stage? Thousands of people in more than 35 countries are followers of a man called Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, who not only claims to be Jesus Christ, but also (confusingly) the antichrist! Through his church in Miami and his broadcasting network in Latin America, de Jesus preaches that there is no devil, no sin and that his followers can do no wrong. “The prophets spoke about me,” says de Jesus. “It took me time to learn that, but I am what they have been expecting for 2,000 years.” How do you decide whether to believe the words of such a man? It’s important to know why we follow Christ and to be able to disentangle the truth from the lies. Everything hinges on his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12-22).
Apply
Be ready today to explain why you believe the claims of Jesus Christ.
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