John 8 - CSB Study Bible for Women

8:12-20 John did not indicate the exact timing of these words from Jesus, but they were delivered during His visit to Jerusalem and possibly sometime after the Festival of Shelters. While in the temple complex, Jesus made a second proclamation: I am the light of the world (v. 12). During the Festival of Shelters the great menorah or lampstand was lighted. The special lighting in the court of the women initiated the festival on the first night and probably continued except on the eve of the Sabbath. The lights, of course, were symbolic, reminding the people of the pillar of fire that led them through the wilderness (Ex 13:21; Nm 9:15-23).

The question from the Pharisees (Jn 8:19) could have been a legitimate inquiry reflecting the confusion in their own minds just as easily as an insult to Jesus’s paternity. One is always wise to move slowly when considering judging motivations in the hearts of others. Nevertheless, even when Jesus answered, they refused to acknowledge His connection to the Father; and they continued to ask the same questions (vv. 25-27) and ignore His answers. Despite their hostility, Jesus was protected from them until His work was completed (v. 20).

Thirteen trumpet-shaped containers were placed in the treasury for receiving offerings from the people (see Mk 12:41-44 and the account of the widow who gave her “two tiny coins”). The treasury is commonly noted as being in the court of women within reach of women whose sacrificial giving has been a matter of record through the generations.

8:21-29 Throughout the Gospel of John there is a path to the cross. When you lift up the Son of Man is another marker (v. 28; cp. 12:32). “Lift up” (Gk hupsōsēte, “raise high, exalt”) was used in reference to the cross (3:14) with which Jesus compared the “pole” on which the “bronze snake” was mounted in the wilderness (Nm 21:9). The word often has the sense of exalting or setting something in a place of prominence.

The Jews knew exactly what Jesus was claiming—He declared Himself to be the “I AM WHO I AM” (Ex 3:14)—God Himself. The words I am (Gk egō eimi) are significant, occurring three times in this discourse (Jn 8:24,28,58). Some commentators believe these words are alluding to the title of God, revealed to Moses when he was commissioned by Yahweh God to lead the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt (Ex 3:14). Jesus’s claim cannot be missed: Jesus is Yahweh God of the OT. Rich in meaning, the title affirms preexistence and eternality. But the lesson does not stop with this affirmation of unity with the Father. Jesus’s statement that He did nothing on His own (v. 28) affirms yet again the Son’s subordination, as the redeemer and bearer of the message of salvation, to the Father. Four times Jesus noted that He had been sent by the Father (vv. 16,18,26,29). The Son’s devotion to the Father and His voluntary obedience to the will of the Father provide a perfect model for biblical submission. Equality in being but uniqueness in role is again affirmed. Here is a climatic declaration of the gospel and a beautiful unfolding of the theological foundations for the Godhead.

8:48-59 To accuse Jesus of being a demon-possessed Samaritan is an expression of heightened hostility and determined opposition as well as a double slur against His character. With the “Samaritan” designation, which in itself was a figure of speech expressing dishonor, the Jews probably were referencing Jesus’s differences with their traditional interpretations of the law since they viewed any differences as heresy. In John’s Gospel, Jesus was accused of demon possession three times (v. 52; 7:20; 10:20), a label probably understood as meaning “deranged” or “crazy.” Such disrespectful name-calling was typical of mob reaction. Jesus was straightforward in refuting their allegations concerning His character, and He was clear in connecting Himself with the Father and in revealing that His purpose was to glorify the Father and accomplish His will above all else (8:49-51).

Jesus distinguished between physical death and spiritual death and simply affirmed that one who believed in Him would not suffer spiritual death but would in fact inherit life everlasting (v. 51; cp. 3:36; 5:24; 11:25-26; 1Jn 5:11-12; Rv 2:11; 20:6).

Jesus was often subtle in the verbal affirmations of His deity. He chose to live His life and do His work so that His deity would not be questioned with any objective consideration. He never denied that He was God, but He did continually point to the Father and glorify Him, knowing that in so doing He would be vindicating Himself.

Jesus’s reference to His day was looking forward to His redemptive work on the cross (v. 56). He did allude to His deity in a veiled way, before Abraham was, I am (v. 58), implying continuing existence without beginning or end. “I am” in the Jewish mind was recognized as a title of deity (Ex 3:14). Obviously the crowd, perhaps inflamed by the religious leaders in their midst, understood exactly what Jesus was saying. They tried to stone Him, and He simply vanished from them, not because of fear or intimidation, but because His time had not yet come (Jn 8:59; see 7:30).