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John 8

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1
but Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. ​
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And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
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And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, ​
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they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act.
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Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her? ​
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And this they said, trying him, that they might have whereof to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. ​
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But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. ​
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And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
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And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst.
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And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee?
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And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more.] ​

Jesus Declares Himself the Light of the World 12–20

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Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. ​
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The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true.
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Jesus answered and said unto them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye know not whence I come, or whither I go. ​
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Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
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Yea and if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
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Yea and in your law it is written, that the witness of two men is true. ​
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I am he that beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
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They said therefore unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye know neither me, nor my Father: if ye knew me, ye would know my Father also. ​
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These words spake he in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man took him; because his hour was not yet come. ​

Warning: You Shall Die in Your Sins 21–30

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He said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sin: whither I go, ye cannot come. ​
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The Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself, that he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come? ​
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And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. ​
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I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. ​
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They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning.
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I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you: howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these speak I unto the world.
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They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father.
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Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak these things. ​
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And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him.
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As he spake these things, many believed on him.

Discipleship and True Freedom 31–43

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Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; ​
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and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ​
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They answered unto him, We are Abraham’s seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? ​
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Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. ​
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And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever: the son abideth for ever.
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If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. ​
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I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; yet ye seek to kill me, because my word hath not free course in you.
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I speak the things which I have seen with my Father: and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father.
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They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. ​
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But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God: this did not Abraham.
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Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
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Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me.
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Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.

You Are of Your Father the Devil 44–47

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Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. ​
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But because I say the truth, ye believe me not.
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Which of you convicteth me of sin? If I say truth, why do ye not believe me?
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He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God. ​

Jesus Claims Pre-existence: Before Abraham, I Am 48–59

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The Jews answered and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a demon? ​
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Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and ye dishonor me.
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But I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death. ​
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The Jews said unto him, Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my word, he shall never taste of death.
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Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died: whom makest thou thyself?
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Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing: it is my Father that glorifieth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God;
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and ye have not known him: but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be like unto you, a liar: but I know him, and keep his word.
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Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad. ​
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The Jews therefore said unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? ​
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Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am. ​
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They took up stones therefore to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for John 8

Verse 1

the mount of Olives — Luke names the pattern: 'in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives' (Luke 21:37). It faces the temple (Mark 13:3), so the day's teaching begins and ends within sight of it.

Verse 3

taken in adultery — Katalambano is to seize. The scribes and Pharisees bring only the woman and set her 'in the midst' (mesos) as a case to be judged, though the law Moses gave named the adulterer as well as the adulteress (Lev 20:10).

Verse 5

Moses in the law commanded us — The law of Moses did require death for adultery (Lev 20:10), and for a betrothed woman named stoning: 'ye shall stone them with stones that they die' (Deut 22:24). Lithoboleo means to throw stones. The question 'what sayest thou?' asks him to rule on Moses.

Verse 6

tempting him — Peirazo, to test or try; the purpose is stated, 'that they might have to accuse him' (katēgoreō, to lay a charge). The text does not say what he wrote with his finger; Jer 17:13 speaks of those who forsake the LORD being 'written in the earth'.

Verse 7

He that is without sin among you — Anamartetos, 'sinless', is the word; the one who is to cast 'first' (protos) must be clear himself. The principle is the one Paul states: 'wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself' (Rom 2:1). The sentence stands, but the accusers are placed under it.

Verse 11

Neither do I condemn thee — Katakrino, the same verb as 'hath no man condemned thee?' in v.10. It matches 'God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world' (John 3:17). 'Sin no more' is the charge given to the healed man in John 5:14: forgiveness is followed by a changed life.

Verse 12

the light of the world — The 'I am' is emphatic (egō eimi). 'Light of life' is the light that belongs to life: 'In him was life; and the life was the light of men' (John 1:4). He repeats the claim before healing the blind man: 'As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world' (John 9:5).

Verse 14

I know whence I came — In John 5:31 he grants that his witness alone would not stand; here he rests it on his origin and destination, which the Pharisees cannot see. The pair is stated again to the disciples: 'I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father' (John 16:28).

Verse 17

the testimony of two men is true — The rule is that of Deut 19:15, 'at the mouth of two witnesses', which Christ applies to disciples too (Matt 18:16). In v.18 the second witness is the Father who sent him. He cites it as 'your law', the law in which they trust.

Verse 19

Where is thy Father? — The question treats 'Father' as an earthly man to be produced. The answer joins the two knowledges: 'if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also'; compare 'he that hath seen me hath seen the Father' (John 14:9). Not to know the Son is not to know the Father.

Verse 20

in the treasury — Gazophylakion, the treasure-house of the temple, where the people put in their gifts: 'Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury' (Mark 12:41). 'His hour was not yet come' repeats the reason given in John 7:30 for the same restraint.

Verse 21

die in your sins — 'I go my way' uses hypago, to withdraw. The words 'Ye shall seek me… where I am, thither ye cannot come' were first spoken in John 7:34, and Christ says them again to his own disciples in John 13:33. Here the threat is that unbelief will leave them in their sins (v.24).

Verse 22

Will he kill himself? — The Jews take 'Whither I go' as a place reached by death. The verb apokteino, 'kill', is the one used of their own purpose in vv.37 and 40, 'ye seek to kill me', so the suggestion falls on those who make it.

Verse 23

from beneath… from above — Kato and ano. 'He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly' (John 3:31). 'Of this world' marks origin and character; he says of his disciples later, 'not of the world, even as I am not of the world' (John 17:14).

Verse 24

I am he — 'He' is added in italic type by the KJV; the Greek is the bare egō eimi, 'I am', as in vv.28 and 58. The phrase recalls 'I AM hath sent me unto you' (Ex 3:14). Unbelief in who he is, not only in what he says, is what keeps them in their sins.

Verse 28

lifted up the Son of man — Hypsoo, to raise on high. It is the cross: 'as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up' (John 3:14). 'Ye' are the ones who lift him up, and after that they 'shall know' who he is, and that he does nothing 'of myself'.

Verse 31

continue in my word — Menō, to abide, the verb of 'the servant abideth not in the house' (v.35) and 'Abide in me' (John 15:4). He speaks to Jews who already 'believed on him'; the mark of 'disciples indeed' (alēthōs, truly) is remaining in his word, not only receiving it.

Verse 32

the truth shall make you free — Ginōskō, to know, and eleutheroō, to set free, the verb repeated in v.36, where the Son does the freeing. The truth is a person: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14:6). Verse 34 shows what the freedom is from.

Verse 33

never in bondage — Douleuo, to serve as a slave. The claim passes over Egypt, where Abraham's seed were told they 'shall serve them' (Gen 15:13). Jesus answers in v.34 about another bondage; they hear 'free' in the sense of civil status, 'Abraham's seed' (sperma) being their only ground.

Verse 34

the servant of sin — Doulos is a bondservant. 'Committeth' is a present participle, one who keeps on doing sin. Paul states the principle: 'to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey' (Rom 6:16).

Verse 36

If the Son therefore shall make you free — The servant of v.35 has no right in the house; the Son does, and so can free others: 'thou art no more a servant, but a son' (Gal 4:7). 'Indeed' is ontōs, really. The verb is that of v.32, so the truth and the Son do one work.

Verse 39

the works of Abraham — Here the word is 'children' (tekna), where vv.33 and 37 have 'seed' (sperma), so descent is granted and likeness is demanded. John the Baptist had warned the Pharisees, 'think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father' (Matt 3:9); 'they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham' (Gal 3:7).

Verse 44

a murderer from the beginning — Anthropoktonos, a man-killer; diabolos is 'slanderer'. John describes Cain as 'of that wicked one' who 'slew his brother' (1 John 3:12). The lie is traced to the serpent, 'as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty' (2 Cor 11:3).

Verse 47

He that is of God heareth God's words — Rhēma, spoken word. The test of belonging is hearing: 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me' (John 10:27), and he says to others, 'ye are not of my sheep' (John 10:26). It explains the 'cannot hear' of v.43.

Verse 48

a Samaritan, and hast a devil — The Jews make two charges, and Jesus answers only the second (v.49, 'I have not a devil'). The charge of a daimonion had been made before: 'Thou hast a devil' (John 7:20), and later, 'He hath a devil, and is mad' (John 10:20).

Verse 51

never see death — The Greek strongly negates ('by no means… for ever', ou mē eis ton aiōna). 'Keep' is tēreō, to guard. Compare 'whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die' (John 11:26). The Jews restate it as 'taste of death' (v.52).

Verse 56

rejoiced to see my day — Agalliao, to exult. Abraham was promised, 'in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed' (Gen 22:18). Hebrews says the patriarchs died in faith 'having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them' (Heb 11:13).

Verse 57

not yet fifty years old — The Jews invert his words: he said that Abraham saw his day; they ask whether he has seen Abraham. They measure him by a human age (fifty), which sets up the answer about being, not age, in v.58.

Verse 58

Before Abraham was, I am — The verbs differ: Abraham 'was' (ginomai, came into being), Christ 'am' (eimi, simply is). It is the egō eimi of vv.24 and 28, in the manner of Ex 3:14, 'I AM hath sent me', and it echoes 'In the beginning was the Word' (John 1:1) and 'before the world was' (John 17:5).

Verse 59

took they up stones — They treat the claim as blasphemy, for which the law ordered stoning (Lev 24:16). The charge is stated outright at a later attempt: 'for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God' (John 10:33). He 'hid himself' (kryptō) and passed through them.