John 8

Chapter Introduction:

Nearly all translations include verse 7:53- 8:11, however, the earliest and best manuscripts of John do not include this story of the woman caught in adultery. Later manuscripts have it inserted in one of two places, either after 7:36 or 21:24.

The account of this woman being brought before Jesus is another failed attempt by the Pharisees to trap Jesus. Would he honor the law of Moses? Would he defer to Roman law? The story certainly rings true. However, it doesn’t fit the context of John and interrupts the flow of the narrative.

The end of chapter seven at 7:52 should be joined with 8:12.

John 7:53-8:2

Verse fifty-three was added later and not part of the original. It essentially puts an ending on the narrative of chapter seven, which is Jesus in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths. The Pharisees and chief priests were trying to get the officers of the temple to take Jesus. The time was not right for such things.

The inserted pericope then shows Jesus going to the Mount of Olives and then returning the next morning. We see Jesus doing this same thing in the synoptic gospels, mostly later in His ministry. The Mount of Olives is the ridge east of the temple across the Kidron valley. The Kidron runs along the east side of the old city, then the terrain rises rapidly to the Mount of Olives that is 200 feet higher than Temple Mount. From the Mount of Olives, one could look across the Kidron to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem.

This is an important place for Jesus. It's from here He will weep for Jerusalem. It's here He will deliver the Olivet discourse. We see Him in the garden praying before He is betrayed. Zechariah said the Mount of Olives will split at the return of Jesus. For now, this is a place of solitude and prayer, a place where Jesus went to spend time with the Father.

Jesus is shown returning to the temple. The great crowds that came for the Feast of Tabernacles had gone home. Jesus taught in the normal setting of people around the temple. John tells us “all” the people came to Him. He sat down and taught them.

John 8:3-4

The Accusation

We repeatedly see the scribes and Pharisees never miss an opportunity to challenge Jesus. However, in this case, they seem to have somewhat manufactured the scenario. Imagine the interruption. Jesus was teaching this crowd in the temple court when these men bring this woman right into the middle of this setting. She had been caught in the very act of adultery.

The seventh of the Ten Commandments tell us we shall not commit adultery. Then in the book of Leviticus, the law tells us that the adulterer and the adulteress are both deserving of death. Both were to be stoned to death by the accusers, beginning with the oldest. However, before one was stoned, this thing had to be established as fact. This was done by the accusation of one and the testimony of two or more witnesses. All had to have first-hand account, witnessing the transgression.

Now several problems arise. First of all, it takes two to tango. The man was just as guilty as she was and deserving of the same judgment she was. Second, how did these men catch her in the very act? Was the entire thing a setup? Was the other party one of the priests? We don't know the answers to these questions but what we do know is that they are using this opportunity to try to discredit Jesus.

Jesus taught of love and compassion, he brought healing and redemption. These men were men of the law, bringing condemnation and conviction. This is a standoff or a showdown, as if law and grace come face to face. What would win out? Would law stand up? Would grace and love and compassion be defeated?

If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.

NKJV: Deuteronomy 22:22; 1982, Thomas Nelson

Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

NKJV: Deuteronomy 17:6-7; 1982, Thomas Nelson

The Pharisees and scribes had no interest in fundamental merits of the case. They had no interest in assuring that justice was done. They treated this woman as a tool to be used for their purposes. They were simply setting a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Jesus.

John 8:5-6

The Trap

The smug scribes and Pharisees must have thought they had Him. If He deferred to the law, He would be standing against Rome that removed capital jurisdiction from their courts, except for temple violations. This woman was one those sinners He came to save. The people watched, would He turn her over to be condemned and punished by the religious authorities while He was teaching salvation and forgiveness. Jesus would appear weak and ineffective in the midst of the scribes and Pharisees.

If Jesus went against the law and refused to stone her, He was taking a stand against justice and the law as defined by Moses. They were pitting Jesus against Moses. If Jesus opposed Moses, the Pharisees were prepared to portray Him as standing with Rome. The very purpose of the law was to point to need of a Savior. It was the law that defined the sin for which Jesus came to die.

Imagine the crowd looking on in silence. “What do you say now Jesus?”

The law and grace came from the same God.

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

NKJV: John 1:17; 1982, Thomas Nelson

The law said the adulterer must be stoned. What would grace and truth say? Was there a higher law to supersede the stoning? Like the Pharisees that circumcised on the Sabbath, they violated one law to be obedient to another. Like Jesus healing the man on the Sabbath, He violated the Sabbath for a higher law of love and compassion.

Jesus refused to respond quickly. He calmly and quietly stooped and began to write on the ground with His finger. This ground was that which He created. It was the same ground from which He formed Adam. The Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God.

Some speculate Jesus wrote in the dirt the first line of the tenth commandment from the Septuagint.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

NKJV: Exodus 20:17; 1982, Thomas Nelson

If so, all who stood before Him were immediately guilty. This is the same idea Jesus taught and was recorded in Matthew.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

NKJV: Matthew 5:27-28; 1982, Thomas Nelson

At this, we all find ourselves in the place of that women, before Jesus, guilty as charged and without defense. The accuser is not only correct in the accusation but they are vicious and zealous to bring punishment. They stood over her as though they had never committed adultery in their heart.

There have been many speculations about what Jesus might have written that day. Was He writing down the sins of the Pharisees and scribes? Did He write those things for which the law said they should be stoned? Did he write the name of the man, the other party of the adultery?

Some believe He may be writing out the warning of Jeremiah 17:13:

“Those who depart from Me

Shall be written in the earth,

Because they have forsaken the Lord,

The fountain of living waters.”

NKJV: Jeremiah 17:13; 1982, Thomas Nelson

The bible tells us that all have fallen short. Whatever Jesus wrote seemed to have informed everyone there that everyone had sinned. No man can stand before God and plead his righteousness. No person can make a case that they had never broken the law. Jesus knew the heart of the woman as well as the accusers. Their hearts were deceitful and wicked, as are ours. Their list of sins was just as long as this adulterous woman.

Part of our human condition is we expect more from others than we do ourself. We have a set of values for others that tend to be very legalistic, yet we are lenient and understanding of our failures. In our eyes, we deserve mercy, everyone else deserves justice. We have the ability to judge others harshly for the same sin we committed. We want God to understand it and others to overlook it.

John 8:7-8

The scribes and Pharisees continued asking Jesus? They were taunting, relentless, forcing an answer because they thought they had the Son of God boxed in.

The first stone was to be thrown by the accusers, by those who witnessed the transgression. Jesus invited the sinless one to pick up a stone and fulfill the law. His invitation was a little more specific than it at first appears. His invitation was really for the one who had never coveted the opposite sex. Whoever was without the sin of adultery could step right up.

Who of these men could claim to be without sin? To do so would infer equality with God, who alone was sinless. They had already accused Jesus of this.

The unspoken part of this may have been an acknowledgement that all sin will be judged. It is to be done righteously. The same judgment applied to all. This required a righteous judge. Jesus had already spoken of this to the scribes and Pharisees.

Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

NKJV: John 7:24; 1982, Thomas Nelson

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

NKJV: Romans 2:1; 1982, Thomas Nelson

Jesus invited the righteous to begin the executions with this woman, but the law would need to be applied to all and the righteous judge could execute all sinners. If you were an innocent bystander in the crowd that day, you would likely be looking for the exit. There are no innocent bystanders. As you hear this today, you each are reminded of what we deserve. Each of us has broken the law. Each of us has fallen short of God's perfect standard.

After the invitation to cast the first stone, Jesus stooped down and wrote again on the ground.

John 8:9-10

Jesus would not be bullied or cornered. He was always in control. His response is not emotional or manipulative. He wrote truth in the dirt and it brought conviction. Each man was found guilty. Those who would so quickly use this woman for their purpose and ask for her execution were now silenced. Those guilty of being a false witness were given the sentence which they sought. Were these men liars and adulterers at heart? Had they always held the Lord God in highest regard? Were they free from idolatry? Had they always kept the Sabbath, honored their parents and free from murder or hate in their heart? Had they never stolen anything, even as they attempted to steal this woman’s life for their purpose? We know they were guilty of violating all the law. Even as that woman was guilty before Jesus, so were they.

Had he written their names in the dirt at first and then stooped down again to write “guilty” by each one? We don’t know. Whatever Jesus wrote, the conscience of every person. They went away, one by one. The oldest man left first yielding his place to the next oldest. The older men had more sin-baggage in their life – they also had more wisdom. They realized what they were doing was wrong. The eye-witnesses left, leaving no legal charge or corroboration. Jesus was left alone with woman.

Note: The phrase “and saw no one but the woman” was not included in some texts.

The simple, quiet and controlled words of Jesus had turned back this seemingly defenseless assault. Jesus had held court and all were found guilty. In the end, the trap had been disarmed in a manner that perfectly preserved both Jewish and Roman law. At the same time, it exposed the wickedness of the accusers.

The knowledge of our sin and our place before God brings us to a fear of God. We often fear everything but God:

We fear governments.
We fear political agendas.
We fear things we don’t understand.
We fear viruses, cancer, old age.
We fear dementia and Alzheimer’s
We fear financial ruin, interest rates and inflation

It is the fear of God that is the beginning of wisdom. As we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these other fears find their proper place.

Each of us could be cast into the dust at the feet of Jesus and with a valid accusation.

***

It was just Jesus and this woman. Her sin was against God first and foremost. How fitting that she would be alone with Jesus. This is where we ought to take our sin. It can’t be tried in the public square or legalized in the political halls of man. We get alone with Jesus – in the dust, at His feet, is appropriate.

It was probably then she realized her shame had not lessened as the accusers left. The shame from her sin was manifest before Jesus. It appears she could have walked away also, but she remained there with Jesus. She couldn't hide her sin or ignore it any longer. He knew the sins of all men. She also saw what had been written in the dirt.

John 8:11

There was no one left to condemn the woman.

The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

NKJV: Galatians 3:24; 1982, Thomas Nelson

With no accuser and no witness, she was free to go. This does not mean she was sinless. Her guilt does not seem to be in question as much as the guilt of the accusers.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

NKJV: John 3:17; 1982, Thomas Nelson

The Pharisees had created this picture of the law doing its work. It had delivered her to Jesus. When all her accusers left, she could have run away and went back to her adulterous life. But her eyes were opened that day. She was convicted of her sin and knew she needed forgiveness.

In the end, her sin was condemned but the she was set free and didn’t have to pay the penalty for her sin. Jesus would soon make that payment on her behalf. This should sound very familiar to all of us.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.

NKJV: Galatians 3:13; 1982, Thomas Nelson

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

NKJV: Romans 8:1-4; 1982, Thomas Nelson

“Tell me what to do to be pure

In the sight of all-seeing eyes;

Tell me, is there no thorough cure,

No escape from the sins I despise?

Will my Saviour only pass by,

Only show how faulty I’ve been?

Will He not attend to my cry,

May I not this moment be clean?”

Ironside, H. A. (1942). Addresses on the Gospel of John (p. 349). Loizeaux Brothers.

John 8:12

This is the second "I AM" statement in the book of John. The first was, “I AM the bread of life” which began this confrontation. Jesus is identifying Himself with the God of the burning bush, the self-existent One. Whoever follows Jesus walks in the light of life. The unspoken part of this statement is: those who don't follow Jesus walk in darkness.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

NKJV: John 1:4-5; 1982, Thomas Nelson

This phrase “light of the world” was nothing new to the Jews. In Jewish literature this phrase was used to describe Israel, Jerusalem, the patriarchs, the Messiah, God, the law and some famous Rabbis. It was always used to point to something significant; something or someone to be considered or watched.

One of the most spectacular celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles involved torches that lit up the city; this feast, along with Hanukkah (10:22), was thus known for splendid lighting. That Jesus offers his light to the whole world, to all the nations, may suggest an allusion to Isaiah 42:6. Walking in darkness (cf. Jn 9:4; 11:9) is a natural metaphor for stumbling (Is 59:10; Jer 13:16), falling from the right way (Jer 18:15; Mal 2:8) or being destroyed (Ps 27:2; Jer 20:11).

Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary:

New Testament (Jn 8:12). InterVarsity Press.

The torch-feast, or the illumination at the feast of tabernacles. In the court of the women stood great golden candelabras, which were lit on the evening of the first day of the feast, and spread their light overall Jerusalem, while by the men a torch-light dance with music and singing was performed before these candelabras

Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008).

A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John (p. 277).

Logos Bible Software.

On the first day of the festival of the Feast of Tabernacles, the golden candelabras were lit in the darkness of the first day of the feasts. The light was said to light every courtyard in all of Jerusalem. There was music, dancing and singing before these candelabras. Light had great meaning to these folks. Maybe the most prominent meaning would be the remembrance of the pillar of fire that lit the night for them during the Exodus. They might also relate the light to the Shekinah Glory of the Lord at the Tabernacle.

Scripture regarding light might also have formed their thoughts:

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

NKJV: Psalm 27:1; 1982. Thomas Nelson

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;

When I fall, I will arise;

When I sit in darkness,

The Lord will be a light to me.

NKJV: Micah 7:8; 1982, Thomas Nelson

Maybe the most prominent would be the scripture that speaks of Messiah blessing the entire world:

The sun shall no longer be your light by day,

Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;

But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light,

And your God your glory.

NKJV: Isaiah 60:19; 1982, Thomas Nelson.

On the 8^th day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the empty pitcher had been shown to the crowd. It was symbolic of the end of their Exodus journey to the Promised Land. It also marked the end of the festival. Jesus declared Himself to them as the Living Water to which everyone could come to and drink.

In similar fashion, the candelabras would be burning down and beginning to dim on the 8^th day. Everyone would know that the light was about to go out, marking the end of the celebration. This is the context for Jesus’ declaration of being the light of the world.

He is the light that would never go out. He would dispel all darkness. He was the light of life.

“The light in the Temple is a brilliant light, but in the end it flickers and dies. I am the light which lasts forever.”

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of John (Vol. 2, p. 13). Edinburgh.

John 8:13-18

The Pharisees responded in typical fashion. They had already chastised him previously for testifying of Himself and He had answered in 5:31-47. The law said a thing was established by the witness or two or three. So, this was like the Pharisees calling a foul or illegal procedure! One could not establish fact by themselves. To make a statement about your self was bearing witness of Yourself.

(We do this all the time. Except, we normally follow our testimony with oaths and declarations. “I'm not lying, I swear! I always tell the truth. I wouldn't lie to you.”

Instead of answering their charge (of which He had already answered in 5:31), Jesus challenges their right to charge Him with error. They didn’t know who Jesus was or where He came from, yet they were judging Him. He threatened them and their ways. He threatened their power and authority. They accused Him of breaking laws they themselves couldn't keep.

No earthly witness was suitable to validate or discredit His divine origin.
No one in darkness was suitable to evaluate light.
No one judging the spiritual according to flesh would arrive at the truth.
Jesus was exempt from requirement, even so, He had the witness of the Father.

John 8:19-20

The Pharisees claimed to worship God, but didn't recognize Him when He stood right before them. It was so dark where these men stood, they couldn't even recognize the God they proclaimed. Their continued escalation displays these religious men’s distance from God.

Again, we see the misunderstanding of those in darkness as they relate to Jesus. If the Father was a witness, they would demand He appear in court. It is possible, and probably likely, that they were implying Jesus was born of illegitimate birth, as though, no one knew who His father was.

These men were supposed to be experts in the law and the scriptures, yet they had missed the point. They had not come to know the Father through His word. If they knew the Father, they would have known Him.

The treasury was in the Court of the Women. There were numerous colonnades. Tucked in among these columns was the treasury. It consisted of 13treasure chests into which people dropped their offering. Each chest was designated toward a specific purpose of the temple. The receptacles for giving looked like trumpets. They probably made significant noise when you put your coins in them.

Their challenge did not change the timing or mission of Jesus. No one would lay hands on Him till the time had come.

John 8:21-24

Jesus warned them that there would be a day when they would seek Him, but it would be too late. They completely miss the point again. They give no consideration to dying in their sin. They saw themselves as righteous and not having sin, because they had the law.

They thought Jesus was talking about suicide, showing they understood His thought about returning to the Father. Suicide was looked down on by most Jews. The only time it would be found acceptable would be as an act of honor and courage to prevent the surrender to their enemy’s sword. At Masada, 960 rebels committed suicide while under Roman siege.

Jesus drew a contrast of the earthly realm and the heavenly realm. The regions below are associated with this world, the earth and flesh. Alternately, the regions above are heavenly, of God and His kingdom. The Pharisees were of the lower realm while Jesus was from the heavenly realm.

Because they were of the earth, Jesus reminded them they would die in their sins. It was their sin that would keep them from following. He said it a third time, giving the cause of this. They didn’t belief that Jesus was God. They didn’t believe “I AM.” This is the “ego eimi” of the burning bush. It was their sin that kept them attached to earth and not heaven.

Now see that I, even I, am He,

And there is no God besides Me;

I kill and I make alive;

I wound and I heal;

Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.

NKJV: Deuteronomy 32:39; 1982, Thomas Nelson

“You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,

“And My servant whom I have chosen,

That you may know and believe Me,

And understand that I am He.

NKJV: Isaiah 43:10; 1982, Thomas Nelson

John 8:25-30

Jesus said, “I Am.” The Pharisees said, “Who are you?”

From the beginning, Jesus had been consistent. While He had many things to say to them, those things had to wait until they had an understanding of who He was. He consistently spoke in agreement and the will of the Father. He speaks truth. If they could move past that truth, then there would be much to discuss.

Jesus points to His impending crucifixion, atoning death and subsequent glorification. A day would come when they would come to understand. The path Jesus was on, that would lead Him to the cross, grave, resurrection and ascension, was the path of the Father. God so loved the world that He sent Jesus to do this.

Jesus always did the things that pleased the Father. Upon speaking these things, many believed in Him. This belief wasn’t born of miracles but of teaching and he words He spoke. Was this authentic discipleship? Belief must be tried and tested for authenticity. They would know soon enough.

The “lifting up” points toward the servant of Isaiah 52:

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;

He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

NKJV: Isaiah 52:13; 1982, Thomas Nelson

John 8:31-33

Anyone can say they believe, and it may even be sincere when it is originally said. The but reality and depth of that believe is shown when it is tested. If these who professed belief truly were disciples, then they would abide in this word they heard and it would make them free.

This reference to truth would have been understood in an Old Testament sense to those Jews. Truth was God and His ways. It was integrity and faithfulness to your word or character.

For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,

And I have walked in Your truth.

NKJV: Psalm 26:3; 1982, Thomas Nelson

These new disciples answered Jesus assuring Him that as descendants of Abraham they had never been in bondage to anyone. They were pretty proud of this statement, except it just wasn’t true. It is true they were not slaves. Yet, they had been under the yoke of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. In order to deal with these yokes, they claimed those nations were servants of God and they ultimately broke the yokes of those nations.

The lines were being drawn. For some Jesus was an offense. They were offended to the point of wanting to kill Jesus. We know others remained a distance, watching and evaluating this man named Jesus. A few may have been committed, they would not walk in darkness because they had the light.

To "follow" is to be wholeheartedly committed to Jesus. We see that same concept in the word abide. To abide was a continuous process of being with Jesus. Jesus said, if you abide in him; if you are engaged in this ongoing process of being in the presence of Jesus, you are His disciples. A disciple was one who submitted to the teacher; one who followed the teacher and listened to him and learned from him.

John 8:34-36

The Jews claimed to be of their father Abraham. Yet, if they were true descendants of Abraham, they would be like their father. Abraham was a friend of God. If they had been like their father, they would know God also, and they would know Jesus.

Jesus may have had Isaac and Ishmael in mind here. Bother were descendants of Abraham; one with the promise and one without. Both of the same house, but one was the son of the bondwoman and the other the son of promise. These Jews thought they were by default sons when in fact they were slaves of sin.

Their heritage was a great source of pride. Their heritage had blinded them. They trusted in bloodlines and association. They found salvation in the exodus, the law and in Abraham. Yet, God the Son stood right before them and they did not know Him. As Jews, they thought, because they had the law, they were free from the proclivity to sin. The other part of their belief was that Gentiles didn’t have the law, so sin was a big issue to them.

The “Most assuredly” is another “amen, amen” declaration from Jesus. It marks the beginning of something very important, a principal or truth that the listener needed to know. Whoever commits sin has become a servant of sin.

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

NKJV: Romans 6:16; 1982, Thomas Nelson

A Jewish slave was only supposed to serve six years and be set free in the seventh (Ex 21:2). A gentile servant could be set free, sold or traded. The bond to the house could be severed easily. The slave doesn’t abide in that house forever. Jesus may be implying there was another house in which to serve, as He stood in the Temple court. More importantly, freedom didn’t come from who you descended from or where you stood. True freedom was found in the Son. This is freedom indeed, freedom from sin.

No one would understand many of these statements until later.

John 8:37-38

Maybe we’ve stumbled across the reason why verses 1-11 were inserted into the beginning of the chapter. This account of the sinful women charged with adultery was brought before Jesus walked away a different person. She was not yet free from sin, but the bond had been broken. She was free from shame and guilt. There was no condemnation for her. The grace of Jesus was fully sufficient for her life and her circumstance. In Christ, she found freedom from the burden of the law. Jesus would pay it all. The debt she owed was deferred to the near future, very much like Abraham’s debt. She believed also, and it was credited to her as righteousness.

Jesus acknowledged their physical heritage. However, their desire to kill Him revealed a spiritual heritage that was inconsistent with Abraham. Jesus spoke consistent with His Father. If they were true descendants of Abraham, then Christ would be family to them. Yet, Jesus notes, they had spiritually descended from a different father. Like father, like son. The Jews were emulating the devil who, from the beginning, steals, kills and destroys.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.

NKJV: John 10:10; 1982, Thomas Nelson

All sin has a common thread and a common father. They weren't free at all. They thought they were sons when they were really slaves. The real Son of this house (temple) has the ability to free them from their slavery. He who the Son sets free is free indeed.

John 8:39-41

These people saw no need for freedom. In their deception, they saw themselves as already free. They weren’t acting like descendants of Abraham. They proudly proclaimed their bloodline again. How could they claim to be Abraham’s children and also seek to kill Jesus? Their traditions and misplaced trust were so ingrained in them, they could no longer see God. Jesus spoke the truth from God and this didn’t jibe with their truth, so they sought to kill the messenger. Abraham didn’t try to kill the messenger when he didn’t like the message from God. Abraham received God’s messengers in piety and with hospitality (Genesis 18).

The deeds the Jews were doing were inconsistent with Abraham but consistent with their spiritual father, the devil.

Their response was an appeal to God. Children of Abraham were children of God. To imply anything else was to accuse one of adultery (the very thing they charged this woman with in 1-11). The Jews were claiming a good and proper lineage. In doing so, they brought Jesus’ parentage into question.

John 8:42-47

We see how far these folks were from God. They could not understand Jesus. They couldn’t hear the message of the Father. The spiritual condition of their heart kept them from the truth. They were living under a great deception. Jesus said it about as clear as anyone could. They were of the devil. Their spiritual father was not Yahweh, but the devil!

Their desires were like the devil’s desires, to murder as he did from the beginning. He doesn’t stand in truth and neither did they. The devil is a liar and the father of all lies. The fact that they couldn’t believe Jesus is proof of this.

Which convicted Jesus of sin? There were no charges, no witnesses or testimony. Yet, they had murder on their heart. They did not hear and could not hear, because they were not of God.

John 8:48-51

This response has been around from the beginning of time. From the fall of man in the garden, we’ve always resorted to attacking the messenger if we run out of arguments and don’t like the message. These folks were initially favorable toward Jesus. The one they once “believed” in, they now called a demon possessed non-Jew. This was the worst of insults at that time.

There is no way these men would mistake Jesus as a Samaritan. He was teaching in the treasury of the temple. No Samaritan was allowed in the temple. In reality, these men use the word Samaritan to represent all that they find vile and contemptible. In this culture and time there was nothing worse a person could be called than a demon possessed Samaritan. Samaritans insulted the temple and challenged the Jews exclusive claim to Abraham. The insult of demon possession is an attack on Jesus’ words and prophetic claim.

Simply put, the words were flying and it was getting ugly.

The words of Jesus appear calm and true, firm and convicting. He honored God the Father and they dishonored Him. The Jewish understood this clearly: to dishonor the messenger was to dishonor the sender. Jesus wasn’t asking them to honor Him but to acknowledge Him to honor the Father.

“Most assuredly” is another “amen, amen” statement. Jesus promised eternal life at the keeping of His word.

John 8:52-56

They knew He is possessed then because He claimed to have power over death. Who did He think He was? Only God could make such a claim. After all, Abraham was dead and the prophets were dead. Did Jesus think He was better than them?

The Father honored Jesus. They claimed a relationship with the same Father but they wanted to kill Jesus. The reality was that they didn’t know the Father.

Jesus knew the Father
He would be a liar if He said otherwise (like they were liars when they said they knew the Father).
Jesus kept the word of the Father
Abraham longed for the Messiah. He rejoiced at the incarnation of Jesus.

How did Abraham see this? By Faith? He believed and it was credited to Him as righteousness. When did He see Abraham? Through Melchizedek? By faith in Gen 12:3? Gen 15? Gen 18 before Sodom and Gomorrah? Gen 22 when Abraham offered Isaac?

John 8:57-59

Jesus was thirty-something years-old. Fifty was the retirement age among Jews. Their point was that he wasn’t even old enough to retire, let alone to have seen Abraham.

Jesus began with another “amen, amen” to mark the importance of what he was about to say. Jesus pointed to a time prior to Abraham’s life. Even before Abraham was, Jesus was God. But he didn’t say “I was.” He said, “I AM.” This was a title for God that would have fresh on the minds of those who had just attended the Feast of Tabernacles. Within the ceremony, the priests would have uttered the words:

You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,

“And My servant whom I have chosen,

That you may know and believe Me,

And understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no God formed,

Nor shall there be after Me.

I, even I, am the Lord,

NKJV: Isaiah 43:10-11; 1982, Thomas Nelson

They understood exactly what Jesus said. In verse 30, many of them believed. By verse 62, they are picking up stones to stone Him for blasphemy. Jesus hid Himself from these unbelieving people. He then left the temple – going right through their midst.

This is a playing out of the truth that had just played out. They were blind to their Messiah. They had called Him a Samaritan and demon-possessed. They had called His birth illegitimate. He was right in their midst and they had no eyes to see. His leaving the temple was very much like the glory of God departing.

Though they bring up their children,

Yet I will bereave them to the last man.

Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!

NKJV: Hosea 9:12; 1982, Thomas Nelson

In 1 Samuel 4, Hophni and Phinehas had died in battle with the Philistines. The Ark of the Lord had been captured. Eli, the High Priest, had fallen backward off his chair and died. All seemed to be lost. Eli’s daughter was about to deliver her child when all this news came to her. She was also dying. He last words were to name her child Ichabod. Then she said with her dying breath:

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

NKJV: John 3:19; 1982, Thomas Nelson

The glory has departed from Israel!”

NKJV: 1 Samuel 4:21; 1982, Thomas Nelson

John