John 8 - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible

8:12 See section 5 of Truth-In-Action at the end of John.

8:12 The light of the world: The second of Jesus’ self-disclosing declarations in John, presupposing that the world is in darkness apart from Him.

8:13–20 The Pharisees objected that the witness of Jesus was true because He spoke for Himself, whereas two witnesses were necessary. Jesus reported that the Father added His testimony both by the written Word and by the works Jesus did.

8:29 For Jesus, doing the will of the Father was not an occasional choice in times of crucial decisions. Rather, the Father’s constant presence in His life signals that there never was a moment when He did not do the Father’s will. See text and note on 5:19–23.

8:31–59 The claim of the people to be descendants of Abraham was futile, because their deeds evidenced a lack of any moral relationship to him. If they were truly children of God, they would reverence the Son of God. Instead, their reaction against Jesus only revealed the sobering fact that the Devil was their father. It is not ethnic or family pedigree that makes one acceptable to God but honoring God by believing in and loving Jesus Christ.

8:48 The association of Jesus with the Samaritans is their way of saying He is not a true Jew, in either doctrine or practice. Have a demon: See note on Matt. 12:31, 32.

8:58 Before Abraham was: The verb ought to be translated “was born,” indicating that Abraham’s life had a specific beginning. This stands in sharp contrast to Jesus’ self-claim, “I AM.” In other words, He was without beginning—the ever-present One.

8:59 The claim of Jesus to be eternal was a claim to be divine. Thus, in the eyes of the Jews He was guilty of blasphemy, a sin punishable by stoning. This and related passages in this Gospel are devastatingly powerful in refuting the presumptuous notions of skeptics who say Jesus never claimed to be very God incarnate.