And because I tell you the truth ,.... And no lie, the whole truth of the Gospel, and particularly the truth of his divine sonship: ye believe me not ; to such an infatuation and judicial blindness were they give up, to disbelieve him, because he told the truth, and to believe a lie, that they might be damned; which showed them to be the children of the devil, and under his power and influence. read more
Verse 45 45.But because I speak the truth. He confirms the preceding statement; for, since they have no other reason for opposing, but because truth is hateful and intolerable to them, they show plainly that they are the children of Satan. read more
describe a further conversation, not with the same audience. The words record a vivid conflict between the Lord and the Jews who believed him, who accepted the Messianic claims, but persisted in interpreting them, not by his word, but by their own ideas of the theocratic kingdom, by their privileges as children of Abraham, by their national animosity to their nearest neighbours the Samaritans, by their inability to press behind the veil of his humanity to his Divine nature. Their faith was... read more
(5) The offer of spiritual freedom to the seed of Abraham provoked bitter hostility and misapprehension. read more
The spiritual parentage of the faithless Jews. Jesus does not deny their legitimate descent from Abraham. Truth must be conceded to an adversary. I. THEIR MORAL PARENTAGE CANNOT BE TRACED TO ABRAHAM . "But ye seek to kill me, because my Word makes no progress in you." 1 . Our Lord concedes that his Word had somehow made an entrance, but national prejudices hindered its thorough acceptance in heart as well as mind. 2 . The explanation of the resistance given... read more
True spiritual paternity. Notice— I. THEIR MISTAKEN SPIRITUAL PATERNITY . "We have one Father, even God." This in a sense is true. 1 . They failed to recognize his connection with God. 2 . They failed to understand his message. Although 3 . They failed to believe him and his message. Although: 4 . These sad failures flatly contradict their pretended relationship to God. ( John 8:42-47 .) II. THEIR TRUE SPIRITUAL PATERNITY . "Ye are of your... read more
Then, turning to these children of the wicked one, Christ delivered a tremendous denunciation: But because I say the truth— because I am the Organ, Utterance, and Incarnation of the truth— ye believe me not . If he spake lies to them, they would greedily receive them. The very cause of their lack of credence is the utterance of truth. The "I" is emphatic, and set over against the "you" of the second clause. There is a tragic force about this charge almost unparalleled, implying the most... read more
John 8:44-47. Ye are of your father the devil Ye are the genuine children of Satan; and the lusts Τας επιθυμιας , the desires; of your father ye will do Namely, resolutely and obstinately, as the words, θελετε ποιειν , evidently imply. The account which Josephus gives of the wickedness of the Jews, about this time, abundantly vindicates this assertion of our Lord from any appearance of undue severity. He was a murderer Greek, ανθρωποκτονος , man-slayer, or man-killer; from the... read more
91. True freedom; true sonship (John 8:31-59)Jesus used an illustration from slavery to show the people how he could help them in their need. They all knew that slaves could not free themselves. The only person who could free them was the owner of the house in which the slave worked, or the owner’s son, acting on his father’s authority. The Jews were slaves, in bondage to sin and unable to free themselves. The only one who could free them was God, acting through his Son Jesus. They would find... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - John 8:38-47
Here Christ and the Jews are still at issue; he sets himself to convince and convert them, while they still set themselves to contradict and oppose him. I. He here traces the difference between his sentiments and theirs to a different rise and origin (John 8:38): I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have seen with your father. Here are two fathers spoken of, according to the two families into which the sons of men are divided?God and the devil, and without... read more