May 26, 2023
Age Has No Barriers in Matters of Faith
“So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’”
John 8:57-58 (NASB)
In late 2017, I met an elderly gentleman who wanted to join our church. I inquired about his salvation. He was not sure but wanted to be sure. I led him to Christ after church when I recognized he was lost. Within the next year, this dear man died crossing Interstate 95 to help his niece who had car failure. In his advanced age, he still came to Christ. Over the last 35 years in church, I have noticed one thing which stands out clearly. The physical age of a person has no bearing on their spiritual maturity. I have met eighty-year-old babes in-Christ, and twenty-year-old adults in-Christ. What was the key? Christ through the Holy Spirit. This depended upon their availability/ teachability to the Word of God, along with their obedience to it. So, the next time you meet someone older, know that their age is not proof of their spiritual maturity. The Jews tried this method, and it didn’t work trying to assess Jesus’ age as being more spiritually mature.
“You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” This phrase is not pointing to the age of Jesus. He was about thirty when He began His ministry (Luke 3:23). “Fifty years was with the Jews the completion of manhood” [Alford].”[1] This was a rebuke of disgust to Jesus’ remarks in verse 56, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” The Jews words insinuated even if Jesus were fifty years old, He still would not have known Abraham, as he had died long before. “This led to further ridicule from the Jews. Did Jesus really expect them to believe that He had been alive in Abraham’s time or that Abraham had known Him? In all calmness, without the least egotism on the one hand or apology on the other, Jesus affirmed the plain fact He knew to be true: “Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58).”[2] Note, Jesus does not say, “I was,” to the Jews. He says, “I am.” To refer to “I was,” would mean there was a time when Jesus was and was not, in the past. There would be a beginning for Jesus, which there is not. In His statement, “I am,” Jesus says, “I am, I was, I shall always be, even to eternity.” To God all things in time are not past, present or future, He simply “is.” We often refer to things in timeline landscape because we are subject to time. God exists outside of time; He is not subject to time for everyone else. All things simply “are” to Him. He does not need to recall anything either. We have to search our memories, but with God it simply “is,” as if it is right in front of Him. This is why 2 Peter 3:8 tells us, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” God doesn’t live on a time line. We on the other hand, live under the premise of time. The Jews made this mistake as they asked, with underlying scowl for Him.
We often go to those who are older than us for guidance many times in life. Some of the advice can be great, but not all is good advice. Some often leads to more problems than before. When you consider the advice from someone in the future, see if it matches with the Word of God first. If it does, it is wise counsel. If it is not, then consider taking God’s counsel first!
[1] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 145.
[2] Lewis Foster, John: Unlocking the Scriptures for You, Standard Bible Studies (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1987), 105.