A Study of John 8:39-47

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

John 8:39–47 ESV

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

A group of Jews speaking to Jesus exclaimed that Abraham was their father. However, because they did not believe and obey Jesus, He told them they were not true children of Abraham. If they were true, spiritual children of Abraham, they would not have sought to kill Jesus for telling them the truth. Jesus makes it clear this is not what Abraham did, but it is what their father did.

In response to this the people roared back that they were not born of sexual immorality, and that God was their father. Jesus tells them this is not true, because if God were their father they would love Him, but they don’t. Jesus then informs them that they cannot understand Him or accept what He says because their father is the devil, and he was a liar and a murderer from the very beginning. The devil has no truth in him and he is the father of lies. Therefore, because Jesus told them the truth they did not believe Him. Jesus then closes this section of the discourse by saying, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Textual Analysis and Implication (what is being said and what does this mean?):

In the verses previous to these, Jesus told a group of people who rejected His word and disputed His teaching that they had two different fathers. Jesus made it clear to this point that God is His Father, but without yet explicitly stating who their father is, He made it clear they have a different father. In response to this the people told Jesus, “Abraham is our father.” However, Jesus responded by telling them if they were truly Abraham’s children, they would do what Abraham did, that is, believe in and trust God. But their rejection of Jesus, and desire to kill him for telling them the truth, proves they are not true children of Abraham. By this point it had become clear Jesus was speaking of spiritual/moral heritage. Their conduct showed their spiritual paternity lay elsewhere. Their rejection of and open hostility toward Jesus showed their father is not God, but someone else.

In the second half of verse 41 the crowd replied, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” By this, the Jews were very likely alluding to the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth just like they did in John 8:19. Essentially, they seem to be implying that they were not born of fornication, but Jesus was. Of course, Jesus was not born of fornication, but such was their skepticism over the virgin birth as they rejected Jesus even in the face of His many miracles and unparalleled teaching. They also went on to say God is their Father because of Old Testament passages such as Exodus 4:22 and Deuteronomy 14:1-2, among others, where God referred to the people of Israel as His children. But as we will see, Jesus is quick to dispute this claim.

In verse 42 Jesus tells them if God was their Father, they would love Him, because He came from God. In saying this Jesus is not contradicting the Old Testament, but rather, correcting their lack of understanding. Among the signs of true spiritual sonship of God, is love for God and obedient submission to His word. This means, true children of God will love Jesus, but because they hate Jesus and reject His word, they have shown they are not children of God. This implies that when God spoke of Israel being His child, He did not mean that every ethnic Jew is a child of God by virtue of their ethnicity. Instead, He meant that everyone who loves and trusts Him, Jew and Gentile alike, are children of God. By rejecting Jesus, God in the flesh, these people exhibited their rejection of God. It is not possible to love God and reject Jesus, because Jesus is God.

Next, Jesus went on to say they could not understand what He said because they could not bear to hear it. The word used for “hear” in the original Greek is used in such a way as to communicate hearing with obedience. The reason they could not understand Jesus was not because He was a bad communicator. They could not understand Him because they rejected the content of His message. They were wholly opposed to it. There was a spiritual blockage between them and Jesus. This tells us the ability to listen to and accept the words of Jesus is a gift to be asked for, received and treasured. We are all born as sinners opposed to God, but by a miraculous work of His Spirit, we can be granted repentance and a love for Him and His precious word (2 Timothy 2:24-26).

In verse 44 Jesus explicitly states who their father is. Their father is the devil, who has been a liar and murderer from the beginning, and their will is to do their father’s desires. By this, Jesus of course meant they are spiritual children of the devil, as opposed to God. While God is the Creator of all, those who oppose God are in effect children of the devil because they, like him, oppose God and all that is true. Again, it is spiritual and moral paternity being spoken of here. And there are two aspects of the devil’s character referred to. First, that he is a murderer. This probably refers to the temptation of Adam and Eve leading to the fall in Genesis. By successfully tempting them to sin, He killed them because the wages of sin is death. And second, the devil is not only a liar, but the father of lies. It was lies and deceit that he used to tempt the first humans to sin and in so doing led to the fall of the entire human race.

While liars deceive others, what is perhaps equally tragic is their own inability to understand and believe the truth. In verse 45 Jesus tells them it is because He told them the truth that they do not believe in Him. True children of God will love the truth and therefore will love Jesus. But the children of the devil will be so at one with deceit that they will be unable to accept the truth and believe in Jesus precisely because He is the truth. However, if we are all born estranged from God and enslaved to sin and death, then how can anyone come to believe? Jesus provided the answer to this question in John 6:44 when He explained that people can only come to God because He draws them to Himself. This rips away any cause for pride or arrogance among those of us who believe. We believe because God has graciously and lovingly drawn us to Himself and set us free from slavery to sin and death. While we have a responsibility to respond to His loving call, the ultimate initiative always lies with God. He is the supreme and ultimate First Mover in all things.

Coming to the end of this section of the discourse Jesus asked if any of them could convict Him of sin. He knew they thought He was a sinner because they accused Him of breaking the Sabbath and of blasphemy. But Jesus knew Himself to be perfectly sinless so He challenged them to bring forward any evidence of sin on His part. He knew He was guiltless before the only court that matters, the court of Heaven. Now, among this crowd were the religious leaders, the great theologians of Israel. Here Jesus invites them to look at what is plain to see. If there is no sin in Him, then they must consider the possibility that He has come from God and that everything He says is true. In the face of this though, why did so many of them still refuse to believe His words? Jesus answers this question in verse 47 quite succinctly, “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” From this we see again that spiritual parentage is revealed by how a person responds to Jesus. Those who belong to God believe in Jesus, and those who belong to the devil do not believe in Jesus.

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage should cause us to consider our own spiritual paternity in light of how we have responded to Jesus. We are all born as slaves of the kingdom of darkness, or as “children of the devil,” as Jesus puts it here. But all of us can be rescued from slavery to sin and death and be born again to new and eternal life as children of God if we believe in Jesus Chirst as our Lord God and Savior who died to pay for our sin and rose again.

We should also consider the pattern of our life in light of Jesus’ explanation that the children of the devil cannot bear to hear the truth, but the children of God hear the truth and believe. Are our lives characterized by a love for the truth, even and especially when it is a hard truth to listen to? The people Jesus spoke to could not bear to hear the truth that they were enslaved to sin and needed to be rescued by God, even though Jesus told them this truth with love and grace. Hatred for the truth and love for deceit leads to death. But the followers of Jesus are set free by the truth and given eternal life in His glorious Kingdom.

Self Reflection:

1. Is there any hard truth about my life that I have been unwilling to listen to or humbly consider?

2. What are some of the ways Jesus, the truth Himself, has set me free?
3. Is my life characterized by a humble submission to and belief in the true, inerrant word of God?