John 8

Chapter 8.

8 ¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

²At dawn he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. ³The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and stood her in the middle. ⁴They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? ⁶They said this to test him, seeking grounds to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger."

⁷When they kept questioning him, he stood up and said to them, "Whichever of you has no sin, cast the first stone at her."

⁸And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

⁹Hearing this, they left one by one, starting with the oldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing there.

¹⁰Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

¹¹She said, "No one, Lord." Jesus said, "I don't condemn you either. Go, and from now on, don't sin anymore."

I Am the Light of the World

¹²Jesus spoke to them again: "I am the world's light. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

¹³So the Pharisees said to him, "You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true."

¹⁴Jesus replied, "Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I'm going; but you don't know where I come from or where I'm going. ¹⁵You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶Even if I judge, my judgment is true, since I do not judge alone, but I and the Father who sent me. ¹⁷In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸I testify about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me."

¹⁹They asked, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

²⁰He said this while teaching in the temple, in the treasury; no one seized him—his hour had not yet come.

²¹So he told them again, "I am going away. You will look for me and die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."

From Below, From Above

²²So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, "You can't come where I'm going"?"

²³He said to them, "You're from below; I'm from above. You're of this world; I'm not of this world. ²⁴I told you that you'll die in your sins; if you don't believe I AM, you'll die in your sins." ^a a v24 Jesus claims the divine name. "I AM" is how our Father identified himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The crowd understood the claim later in this chapter and tried to stone him for blasphemy (v.59).

²⁵So they said to him, "Just who are you?" Jesus said to them, "Exactly what I've said from the start.

²⁶I have much to say and judge about you, but the One who sent me is true; what I heard from him, I tell the world."

²⁷They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father.

²⁸So Jesus told them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you'll know that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but say these things as the Father taught me. ²⁹The one who sent me is with me; he hasn't left me alone, because I always do what pleases him."

Abide in My Word

³⁰As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

³¹Jesus then told the Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

³³They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants, never enslaved to anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?"

³⁴Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I tell you: everyone who keeps sinning is sin's slave. ³⁵The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill me because my word has no space in you. ³⁸I speak what I've seen with my Father, and you do what you heard from your father."

³⁹They answered, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said, "If you were Abraham's children, you'd do the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰but now you want to kill me—a man who told you the truth I heard from my Father. Abraham didn't do this. ⁴¹You do your father's works." They said to him, "We weren't born of sexual sin. We have one Father—God himself."

⁴²Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you'd love me, for I came from God and am here. I didn't come on my own—he sent me. ⁴³Why don't you understand my speech? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not standing in truth, since no truth is in him. When he lies, he speaks from his own nature, since he's a liar and the lie's father. ^b b v44 Jesus exposes the foundational lie of Eden by name. The serpent who told Eve our Father was withholding good from her — the serpent who had rejected the Father himself — is the original liar, the father of every lie that paints our Father as distant. Those who reject the Son share that father, not Abraham, not God. ⁴⁵But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Who among you convicts me of sin? If I speak truth, why don't you believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever is from our Father hears his words; you don't hear because you're not from our Father."

⁴⁸The Jews replied, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?"

⁴⁹Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰But I'm not seeking my own glory; our Father seeks it, and he judges. ⁵¹Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

⁵²The Jews said to him, "Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.' ⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too! Who do you claim to be?"

⁵⁴Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' ⁵⁵You don't know him, but I know him. If I said I didn't know him, I'd be a liar like you. But I know him and keep his word. ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."

⁵⁷So the Jews said to him, "You're not yet fifty years old, and you've seen Abraham?"

⁵⁸Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." ^c c v58 'I AM' echoes God's name to Moses (Exodus 3:14) — a claim to be God, which is why they reached for stones.

⁵⁹So they grabbed stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and slipped out of the temple.