For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
- "Again Jesus spoke" ties in to 7:38.
- Remember that 7:53-8:11 is not in the original; it interrupts the flow.
- Thus the statement is spoken in the context of the Feast of Tabernacles.
- In the second "I am statement," Christ claims to be the light of the world (v.12).
- Just as the pillar of fire led the Israelites through the desert after the Exodus, so Jesus will lead his people.
- Hence the emphasis on following the light. (The Israelites followed the pillar.)
- For more on the background to the "I am" statements, in addition to previous comments on John 6:35, see Isaiah 41:4 and 43:10-11, where the OT Greek LXX reads ego eimi ("I am").
- Jesus does not say, "Look -- there's the light," or "I've found the light!" Rather, he boldly claims, "I am the light."
- The Bible teaches that because God is our light (Psalm 27:1), Jesus is the light (John 8:12). Further, the Word is a light (Psalm 119:105), and as we live out the truth, we ourselves are to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
- The truth that Jesus is the light of the world (v.12) will be vividly illustrated in chapter 9 when Jesus heals the man born blind (9:5).
13 Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” 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 know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
- The Pharisees challenge his statement as unsubstantiated (v.13).
- They will not accept testimony without witnesses. Deuteronomy 19:15 requires witnesses for testimony to be valid.
- Jesus responds that his testimony corresponds with the judgment of his Father (vv.14-18), and thus is not at all invalid. God himself is Jesus' witness!
- They judge by human standards (v.15). See 7:24. Jesus claims to "judge no one": not a repudiation of judgment or the judgment day, but a denial of judging by human standards.
- Misunderstanding his reference to his Father (they are on "channel 2"), they then inquire about his earthly father (v.19).
- This interaction takes place in the treasury of the temple (v.20).
- The treasury was located in the Court of the Women, between the Court of the Israelites and the Court of Gentiles.
- The gadzophulakion (also Mark 12:41,43; Luke 21:1) is either the Temple Treasury or the offering box itself.
- The leaders wanted to arrest him, but it was not his time.
21 Again he said to them, “I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 Then the Jews said, “Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
- Jesus said that he would go away, where they could not follow (v.21).
- Many Jews believed that suicides would be consigned to the deepest part of Hades, the underworld.
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 I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.” 25 They said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Why do I speak to you at all? 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father.
- Jesus replies that he is from above -- it is they who are from below (v.23).
- Unless they believe what he has said ("I am," v.24), they will die in their unbelief.
- Again they question his authority, and identity (v.25).
- His response can be taken two ways, as in the NIV "Just what I have been claiming all along," or as above in the NRSV. The Amplified Bible has: "Jesus replied, [Why do I even speak to you!] I am exactly what I have been telling you from the first."
28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
- Jesus predicts that once he has been lifted up (crucified), men will better understand his divine origin and the truth of his words (v.28).
- Jesus claims to always obey the Father, for which reason he is not alone. God is with him in his life and words (v.29).
- Even at this point it seems that many believed Jesus was speaking the truth (v.30), although the antagonism continues into the final section of John 8.
- The negative reaction well illustrates 3:19-20. Darkness always resists the light.
- Verse 30 may be taken as the final verse in this section, or the first verse in the section that follows.
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
- Jesus now calls the Jews who believed his message (v.30) to an obedient faith (v.31). This is the only way the truth will set them free (v.32).
- They react poorly to the challenge, rejecting the freedom Jesus offers, which comes only from obedience (v.34ff).
- The irony of their retort is pathetic. What about the Egyptians? Midianites? Assyrians? Babylonians? Greeks? And what about the present Roman occupation (63 BC+)?
- They take their stand on nationalistic and religious pride (v.33).
- Ezra 9:9 is also à propos.
34 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
- Just as a train is "free" only when it stays on the rails, so humans experience true freedom when they walk in the path of God's commands.
- For more passages about spiritual freedom, see Psalm 119:45; Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 3:12; James 1:25, 2:12; 2 Peter 2:19.
- There are three passages in John where Jesus spells out what it means to be a disciple. (This also makes an excellent "discipleship study.")
- John 8 -- We must remain in his word.
- John 13 -- We must love one another as he loved us.
- John 15 -- We must live a productive (fruitful) life.
37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. 38 I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father."
- They have no room for his message (vv.37,43), and are ready to do away with Jesus.
- Jesus claims to have come from the very presence of God (v.38). In a number of places in this gospel he says that he has come down from heaven.
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, 40 but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. 44 You are from your father the devil, and you choose 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 according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God.”
- When the Jews retort, "We are not children of fornication" (v.41), they are claiming, in effect, "We are not guilty of spiritual harlotry."
- The prophet Hosea, and Jesus, accused Israel of spiritual unfaithfulness. They are defending themselves.
- It is possible that their words are a slur on Jesus' paternity, but this interpretation evolved in the early third century, and is probably not in view in this passage.
- Jesus reminds them that their antagonistic response is nothing like the attitude of Abraham, their alleged father. "Like father, like son." Their father is the devil (v.44), and they resemble him in several ways.
- Here Jesus also tells us several things about the devil (vv.44-45):
- His desires are contrary to God's.
- He is a murderer.
- He is not truthful, and lies.
- Putting it all together, we see a power bent on his own way, and willing to do whatever it takes to persuade others to follow him.
- "Which of you convicts me of sin?" (v.46).
- What a claim! On the lips of no other human would these words have been received with anything other than astonishment or offense. But the truth is, none of the charges against Jesus we find on the lips of his enemies is true. Nor is there any hint of sin in Jesus' personal life.
- Jesus is saying, in effect, that his life backs up his message and divine origin. "What action of mine warrants this response on your part?" There is no excuse for anyone to reject his teaching, let alone with such vitriol.
- Compare John 8:46 to 1 Kings 8:46.
- Those who do not accept the truth show that they are not of God (v.47).
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and he is the judge. 51 Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
- Unable to specify a particular sin, the Jews resort to name-calling (v.48). To this Jesus responds coolly and objectively (v.49ff).
- Why do they call him a Samaritan (v.48)?
- He was not a Judean -- at least by upbringing. Though born in Bethlehem in Judah, he probably had a Galilean accent, as nearly all his life he had lived in the north (Nazareth and Capernaum).
- Samaritans were viewed as heretics, as they had a slightly different Bible, even altering the Ten Commandments.
- They rejected the Temple and the Jewish priesthood.
- At least two Samaritan prophets made outrageous claims.
- Simon Magus (Acts 8) worked wonders and claimed to be "the Great Power."
- Dositheus claimed to be the Son of God.
- As for the claim of demon-possession, the second century Justin Martyr viewed both these Samaritans as possessed (Apol. 26:1,4-5).
- And yet Jesus was warm in his outreach to the Samaritans. For more on this, click here.
- Again Jesus returns to the theme of freedom.
- Whoever obeys his teaching, he promises, will not see death (v.51).
- He refers of course to spiritual death, not physical.
52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ 55 though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57 Then the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
- The Jews are greatly offended at this claim, realizing that Jesus is implicitly elevating himself above Abraham and the prophets. Even Abraham, spiritual father of the nation, had died, and here is Jesus, claiming it is possible not to die at all!
- Jesus knows God (v.55). Nowhere in John does he claim to believe in God, but to know him. This knowledge is not academic, but intimate. Christ knows the Father as he knows himself. (Another implication of divinity.)
- In regard to verse 56, Abraham saw into the future. See, e.g., Genesis 15:5-6,17-21; 12:1-3. It was common among Jews in the first century to ascribe to Abraham knowledge of the end of days and the Messiah.
- Verse 57 does not suggest that Jesus was nearing 50.
- In fact, he would only have been about 35 at the time of his death.
- The age of 50 simply denotes an elder, a man at the end of his working life (Numbers 4:2-3,39; 8:24-25). Jesus is not even 50 years old (v.57); it is ludicrous that he would have special information about a man who had died nearly two millennia earlier.
- "Before Abraham was born, I am" (v.58) has a parallel in the Greek O.T., which was the Bible of most early Christians. There we read: "Before the mountains were born / or you brought forth the earth and the world / from everlasting to everlasting you are (Psalm 90:2 [LXX Ps 89:2]).
- Jesus goes further:
- Abraham, to whom God had made promises about Messianic times, rejoiced in the things being fulfilled through Jesus' ministry.
- Pushing the crowd to the very limit, Jesus then implies his divinity: "Before Abraham was born, I am" (v.58).
- The response: the crowd wants to execute him for blasphemy.
- Jesus eludes them. (His time had still not come!)