44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. 45 He who sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day. 49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”

John 12:44-50 - World English Bible

What is the power of God's word? For a moment, think of God as an army general who gives a command. That order makes it way down the chain of command; the men who receive it put it into action. If the power of the imperative creates action on the battlefield, how much more will the word of God have an effect. It creates life!

The notion of command lay in the background of this passage. The Father ordered his Son to go into the world. Those who accepted the word would share in eternal life, for obedience to the command brought intimacy with God. Those who rejected the order to believe in the Son rejected the command and its source, the Father. Hence, he said in 12:48b: "The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day."

Like many other passages in John's gospel, Jesus wove in the metaphor of light and darkness. His presence and ministry "enlightened" a dark world. His message brought new insight; his "signs" brought a new hope. For John, the Christ came into the world, not to proclaim a new political reality, but something much deeper, a new spiritual reality, one based upon union with the Father.

How have you listened to God's word this week?