The New Testament with Commentary John 8

The Light of the world at work

1 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.* 2 And at dawn He went again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; so sitting down He started to teach them.

A dirty deal

3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees bring to Him a woman caught in adultery; and placing her in the center 4 they say to Him: “Teacher, we found this woman committing adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in our law Moses commanded that such women are to be stoned;† so what do you say?” 6 They said this to test Him, so that they might have an accusation against Him.

But stooping down‡ Jesus began to write on the ground with His finger, taking no notice. 7 But since they kept on asking Him, straightening up He said to them, “Let the one without sin among you throw the first stone at her.” 8 And stooping down again He continued writing on the ground.§ 9 Now upon hearing this, and being convicted by their conscience, they began to go out one by one, starting with the older ones down to the least. So only Jesus was left, with the woman in the center.*

10 So straightening up, and not seeing anyone except the woman, Jesus said to her: “Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 So she said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said to her: “Neither do I condemn you.† Go, and from now on don't sin any more!”

Jesus dialogs with the Pharisees

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again,‡ saying: “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk around in the darkness,§ but will have the light of the Life.”* 13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about yourself; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them: “Even though I testify about myself, my testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going.† But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You are judging according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judging is valid, in that I am not alone in judging, but I and the Father who sent me are together. 17 It is written precisely in your law that the testimony of two men is valid: 18 I am one testifying concerning myself and the Father who sent me testifies concerning me.” 19 Then they said to Him, “Where is your father?”‡ Jesus answered: “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me you would also know my Father.” 20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, while teaching in the temple; yet no one arrested Him, because His time had not yet come.§

“you will die in your sins”

21 Then Jesus said to them again: “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.”* 22 So the Jews said, “He won't kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”† 23 He said to them: “You are from below; I am from Above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.‡ 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, because if you do not believe that I am,§ you will die in your sins.”* 25 So they said to Him, “Who are you?” And Jesus said to them: “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge about you, but He who sent me is true, and what I myself have heard from Him—these things I say to the world.”† 27 They did not understand that He was speaking to them about the Father.‡ 28 Then Jesus said to them: “When you lift up the Son of the Man, then you will know that I am§ and that I do nothing from myself; but just as my Father has taught me, these things I speak. 29 And the One who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, because I always do the things that please Him.”*

“the Truth will make you free”

30 While He was saying these things many believed into Him. 31 So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed Him: “If you abide in my word, you really are my disciples;† 32 and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free.”‡ 33 They answered and said to Him: “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?”§ 34 Jesus answered them: “I tell you most assuredly that everyone committing sin is a slave of sin.* 35 Now the slave does not remain in the household forever; the son does remain forever.† 36 Therefore, if the Son should make you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham, but you are wanting to kill me because my word finds no place in you.‡ 38 On my part, I speak what I have observed with my Father, while on your part you do what you have observed with your father.”§

“your father is the devil”

39 They answered and said to Him, “Our father is Abraham!” Jesus says to them: “If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham; 40 but now you are wanting to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.* This sort of thing Abraham did not do! 41 You do the works of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication;† we have one Father—God.”‡ 42 So Jesus said to them: “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came forth from God and I am here.§ Further, I have not come on my own, but He sent me. 43 Why don't you understand what I say?—because you are not able to really hear my word.* 44 You are of your father the devil,† and it is the desires of your father that you want to do. He was a murderer‡ from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him.§ Whenever he speaks the lie he speaks from his own things, because he is a liar and the father of lying.* 45 But since I speak the truth you do not believe me. 46 Which of you convicts me of sin?† So if I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 The one who is of God hears God's words; that is why you do not hear, because you are not of God.”‡

48 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “We say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon§—are we wrong?” 49 Jesus answered: “ I do not have a demon; rather, I honor my Father, while you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Most assuredly I say to you, if anyone should keep my word he will never ever see death.”*

“before Abraham was, I AM”

52 So the Jews said to Him: “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘If anyone should keep my word he will never ever taste death’! 53 Surely you aren't greater than our father Abraham, who died?† And the prophets are dead. Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered: “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’‡ 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I do know Him. And if I should say that I do not know Him I would be a liar just like you (pl);§ but I do know Him and I keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed to see my day;* yes, he saw it and rejoiced.”

57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old,† and you have seen Abraham?!” 58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM!”‡ 59 Then they picked up stones to throw at Him;§ but Jesus was concealed* and went out of the temple, going through the middle of them; yes, that is how He got away!

* 8:1 There is a basic three-way split in the manuscript attestation for these twelve verses (7:53-8:11)—the three major groups represent three lines of transmission that are both ancient and independent. It follows that where two agree against one, the two presumably retain the original reading. In these verses there are 25 places where two groups agree against one, six others where 2½ agree against ½, and just one place where each of the three major groups has its own reading. It happens that one of the three groups is always in the majority (in the 31 places), so it is the only one that is always right in those 31 places—so in the one place where there is a three-way split I follow that group, because it has the best credibility quotient. † 8:5 According to Leviticus 20:10 both the man and the woman were to be executed—so where is the man? This was obviously a put-up job; if they got her “in the act” the man was probably one of them. Those guys were dirty! ‡ 8:6 Recall that He is sitting, so He just bends forward so as to reach the ground. § 8:8 A small minority of the manuscripts completes the verse with “the sins of each one of them”. I, for one, would like to know what Jesus wrote, and I wouldn't be surprised if He wrote just that, but I take it that John did not record that phrase. * 8:9 The center of what? The center of the crowd—the accusers had all left, but the crowd wasn't going any place! They hadn't seen a show like this for a long time! † 8:11 Jesus was not even a witness, and it required at least two witnesses to condemn; so of course He could not condemn her. But He makes clear that He does not condone her behavior. ‡ 8:12 “Them” refers to the crowd, and “again” means that He resumes His teaching after having been so rudely interrupted. The interruption occupies verses 3-11, so we are referred back to verse 2. § 8:12 “The darkness” = Satan's kingdom. * 8:12 There is a certain secret society that requires a candidate to declare that he is coming out of darkness in search of light. A Christian who does this is formally denying Jesus. † 8:14 An interesting argument—why would His knowing His origin and destination validate His witness? I imagine that He is really referring to His identity; as God His witness is always valid. ‡ 8:19 Their question is reasonable. Since Jesus is adducing His Father as a witness they want to know where they can find Him, to confirm the witness. But Jesus does not give a direct answer, as He usually did not, when dealing with Pharisees. § 8:20 Supernatural intervention is implied. * 8:21 I wonder if the Lord is not referring to two future stages, short and long range. Since there are still six months to go until His death, He will go away from Jerusalem (He divided those six months between Judea and Perea) and they will be looking for Him, to kill Him. That is the short range. Long range—since they will not repent they will die lost and so not go to Heaven. † 8:22 But of course they could kill themselves too, and would die sooner or later in any case, so they would be together in Hades (on that hypothesis). ‡ 8:23 Here we have a plain statement. § 8:24 Most versions supply a ‘He’, making the phrase “I am He”; but the Text just has “I am”. Any Jew would immediately think of Jehovah calling Himself ‘I am’. Having just said that He was from Above, and not of this world, it seems to me clear that Jesus is claiming to be Jehovah—but they just do not want to get the point. * 8:24 To “die in your sins” is to be spiritually lost. If they do not recognize Him as the Messiah, they are lost. They have already seen more than enough evidence, but have rejected it; since Jesus knows that they are not going to turn around, He states that they are lost. (Here it is ‘sins’ (pl) while in verse 21 it is ‘sin’ (sg); if a difference is intended I don't know what it is.) † 8:26 Again, Jesus links His teaching directly to the Father. ‡ 8:27 But they should have—their blind spot may have been the result of supernatural interference. (In John 5:17-18 they had already understood that He was making Himself equal with God.) § 8:28 With the supernatural darkness from 12:00 to 3:00, the earthquake, the torn veil, and later the report of the guards at the tomb, they would know for sure that they had crucified the Messiah. But they would not (perhaps could not) repent. Their doom was sealed. * 8:29 Presumably if we always did the things that please the Father He would not leave us alone either. I suspect that when we choose to do wrong the Father lets us fend for ourselves. † 8:31 So what happens if we don't abide in His Word? And how can you abide in something that doesn't exist (for you)? There are still thousands of languages spoken in the world that do not have even one verse of the Bible translated into them. How can speakers of such languages be true disciples of Jesus? I have actually heard some who claim they have been ‘baptized in the Spirit’ say they don't need the Bible, because the Holy Spirit speaks to them directly. Now why would the Holy Spirit speak to someone who disagrees with the Lord Jesus? In this connection, notice especially John 16:14-15. ‡ 8:32 Free from what? Free from self, free from sin. § 8:33 The ones who were believing were sprinkled throughout the crowd, but Jesus' opponents were still in the front row. I assume from verse 37 that it is the opponents who speak here in verse 33. They conveniently forget that they are under the Roman yoke. * 8:34 Apart from Jesus Christ every human being is a slave of sin. The only way out is to become a slave of Jesus Christ. The only true freedom available in this life is through submission to Him. † 8:35 A son becomes part of the genealogical record, a slave does not. Some versions capitalize “Son” here (as in the next verse), but I take it that Jesus is making a generic statement. However, in verse 36 it must be “Son”, because “make you free” is plural, referring to His hearers. ‡ 8:37 Their hearts were closed against His message. He was demanding a change of world view. § 8:38 Jesus has affirmed several times that He could observe the Father, but in what sense could the Jews observe Satan? Our Lord's statement makes me curious. Perhaps the Jews were doing what they saw Satan doing (rather than seeing him physically). Some 10% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘heard from’ rather than “observed with”. * 8:40 Here Jesus identifies clearly the source of His teaching: ‘my Father’ equals ‘God’. † 8:41 The Jews had doubtless done exhaustive research on Jesus. They knew that He was born within six months after the wedding of Joseph and Mary, and that He was born full size. [Recall that Jesus had been rejected by the people of Natsareth, so there were plenty of people who would be happy to ‘spill the beans’.] Assuming, as they did, that the father was human, whether Joseph himself or someone else, Jesus would be the result of fornication. So they here throw that information in Jesus' face. ‡ 8:41 Since Jesus has rejected their claim to Abraham, they now claim God! § 8:42 As John will write later, “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20). So anyone who loved the Father (not having seen Him) would certainly love the Son who was physically present and visible. Jesus keeps reiterating His divine origin. * 8:43 Their ‘father’ had blinded their minds (2 Corinthians 4:4). Those Jewish leaders were “sons of the disobedience” if there ever were any, and Satan is actively at work in such people (Ephesians 2:2). † 8:44 1 John 3:8 makes clear that in fact Satan has lots of other ‘children’. ‡ 8:44 They want to murder Jesus, showing thereby that they are worthy sons of their father. Satan instigated the death of the first couple, and may have influenced Cain to kill Abel. § 8:44 If there is no truth in Satan then I conclude that it is impossible for him to tell the whole, undistorted truth. He may tell a partial truth, etc., but always with the intent to deceive. * 8:44 So whenever we tell a lie we are doing Satan's thing. And whenever we accept a lie (like evolutionism, Marxism, Freudianism, humanism, relativism, etc.) we give Satan a foothold in our minds, which he usually turns into a stronghold. † 8:46 I suppose that the point here is that if they could point to any sin in His life this would raise a question about His character, and therefore about His credibility. But since they can't, His character is above question; so they should believe Him. ‡ 8:47 Here is another plain statement. § 8:48 A lot of people heard Jesus say that the leaders were not of God but of the devil. They did not want to swallow that in silence but they could not refute Him either, so they resort to ‘ad hominum’ argument. * 8:51 The Lord is unusually emphatic here. He is evidently referring to spiritual death, but the Jews took it as referring to physical death. Notice that He said “keep my word”—again the emphasis is on commitment and obedience. † 8:53 Of course He was greater than Abraham, but they were wearing spiritual blinders. ‡ 8:54 They have been refusing to understand repeated hints, so here Jesus makes a flat statement: His Father is God, Jehovah. Perhaps 30% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘your God’, making it an indirect quote. § 8:55 Their father is a liar; they are liars. Rather than being conciliatory, Jesus is definitely aggressive. If any of them are to be saved they have to start on the basis of abject surrender. * 8:56 What day was that? I suppose He is referring to the time that He, Jehovah the Son (the Angel of Jehovah), paid Abraham a personal visit. From the Record it is clear that Abraham knew very well that he was talking with Jehovah. Don't you know that was the high point in Abraham's life! Hey, just stop and think about what happened. † 8:57 This statement intrigues me. Jesus was thirty-three, and they had researched His past, so why did they say ‘fifty’? Could it be that Jesus looked older than He was? I wonder if the heavy pressures of His life style and ministry did not take a toll on His physical body, making Him prematurely gray, as it were. ‡ 8:58 Here Jesus is openly, unmistakably claiming to be Jehovah. They are obliged to get the point, and not wanting to acknowledge Him they pick up stones. At this point to argue, as some have done, that Jesus was merely a good, moral man won't wash. Either He was God, as He claimed; or He was a charlatan, a megalomaniac; or He was demonized. The Jews at that time took the third option; I take the first. § 8:59 Since certain situations demanded a stoning, there were doubtless piles of ammunition placed strategically around the temple premises. * 8:59 The familiar “hid Himself” is not the best rendering here. Jesus did not try to hide behind a pillar, or whatever. Obviously they would have seen Him and started stoning. He became invisible and simply walked out, passing right through the middle of them. About half a percent of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit “going through the middle of them; yes, that's how He got away” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). The 99.5% are doubtless correct, and supply an important detail.