, besides the passage just quoted from Zechariah. In the
28th verse of Ps. xxii., which was written by David, it is said: "All
the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord; and all
the _families_ of the Gentiles shall worship before Thee." The
realization of the blessing announced in Genesis, to all the families
of the earth, appears in this psalm as being connected with the
wonderful deliverance of the just. Another reference is in Ps. lxxii.,
which was written by Solomon. In ver. 17 of this psalm it is said of
Solomon's great Antitype: "And they shall bless themselves in Him, all
nations shall bless Him." In these words the realization of the
Abrahamitic blessing is distinctly connected with the person of the
Redeemer.

Among the New Testament references, the most remarkable is in John
viii. There, in ver. 53, the Jews say to Christ: "Art thou greater than
our father Abraham, which is dead? Whom makest thou thyself?" Jesus, in
ver. 56, answers: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he
saw it, and was glad," In ver. 57 the Jews reply: "Thou art not yet
fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" In ver. 58 Jesus thus
says to them: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I
am."

Let us here, in the first place, consider only the declaration of
Jesus, that Abraham rejoiced to see His day, and was glad. It is
altogether out of the question to think of any such explanation of this
as the one given by _Luecke_, after the example of _Lampe_ namely: "that
Abraham, in the heavenly life, as a blessed [Pg 51] spirit with God,
saw the day of the Lord, and in heaven rejoiced in the fulfilment." For
it is the custom of Jesus to argue with the Jews from _Scripture_; and
He cannot, therefore, here be appealing to an assumed fact which could
not be proved from it. The answer of the Jews, in ver. 57, is likewise
opposed to such an explanation, inasmuch as it proceeds from a
supposition which Jesus had acknowledged to be true, namely, that the
question at issue was a meeting of Christ with Abraham not mentioned in
history; and in ver. 58 Christ sets aside their argument, "Thou art not
yet fifty years old." But _Luecke_ must himself bear testimony against
his own interpretation, inasmuch as, according to it, he is obliged to
speak of "the very foolish question of the adversaries."[2]

Jesus saw Abraham, and Abraham saw Jesus. Not the person, but the day
of Christ, was future to Abraham. And th