Church Fathers Commentary John 8:57-59

"The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. They took up stones therefore to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple." — John 8:57-59 (ASV)

St. Gregory the Great: The worldly minds of the Jews were focused only on the flesh; they thought only of His age in the flesh. The Jews then said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?" This is to say, many ages have passed since Abraham died, so how then could you have seen him? For they understood His words in a worldly sense.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Christ was then thirty-three years old. Why then did they not say, "You are not yet forty years old," instead of fifty? This is a needless question; they simply spoke as the thought occurred to them at the time. However, some say that they mentioned the fiftieth year because of its sacred character, as it was the year of jubilee, in which they redeemed their captives and returned the possessions they had bought.

St. Gregory the Great: Our Savior gently draws them from their worldly perspective to the contemplation of His divinity. Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Before Abraham was, I am. "Before" is a word indicating past time, while "am" indicates the present. The divine nature has no past or future, but only an eternal present. Therefore, He does not say, "Before Abraham was, I was," but, Before Abraham was, I am, as it is written in Exodus, I am that I am. "Before" and "after" can be said of Abraham in reference to different periods of his life, but to exist in the present tense is a quality of the truth alone.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Since Abraham was a creature, Christ did not say, "before Abraham was," but, "before Abraham was made." Nor does He say, "I am made," because, in the beginning WAS the Word.

St. Gregory the Great: However, their unbelieving minds could not bear these indications of eternity, and not understanding Him, they sought to destroy Him: Then they took up stones to cast at Him.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Such hardness of heart—where could it run but to its truest likeness, the stones? Now that He had done all He could as a teacher, and they in return wished to stone Him because they could not bear correction, He leaves them: Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

He did not hide Himself in a corner of the temple as if He were afraid, or take refuge in a house, or run behind a wall or a pillar. Rather, by His divine power, He made Himself invisible to His enemies and went through their midst: Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

St. Gregory the Great: If He had chosen to exert the power of His divinity, He could have, without a word and by a mere nod, seized them with the very stones in their hands and delivered them to immediate death. But He who came to suffer was slow to execute judgment.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For His purpose was more to exhibit patience than to exercise power.

Alcuin of York: He fled because His hour had not yet come, and because He had not chosen this kind of death.

St. Augustine of Hippo: So then, as a man, He flees from the stones; but woe to those from whose stony hearts God flees.

The Venerable Bede: Mystically, a person throws a stone at Jesus whenever he harbors an evil thought; and if he acts on it, as far as it is in his power, he kills Jesus.

St. Gregory the Great: What does our Lord mean by hiding Himself, except that the truth is hidden from those who despise His words? The truth flees the company of an unhumbled soul.

His example shows us that, in all humility, we should retreat from the wrath of the proud when it arises, rather than resist it, even when we are able to do so.