Section 8:39–59

Abraham saw Jesus

In this section Jesus continued to speak to those who did not believe in him. Although they said that they were Abraham’s children and that God was their Father, they did not do what those people would. They did not accept Jesus’ teaching and wanted to kill him. So he said that their real father was the devil, who was a murderer and a liar.

They replied that he was a Samaritan and had a demon. Jesus denied that and said that if they accepted what he said, they would never die. They said that Abraham died and asked if he was greater than him. Jesus replied that he knew Abraham and existed before him. Then they wanted to throw stones at Jesus, but he hid.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Those who rejected Jesus had the devil for a father
-or-
Jesus existed before Abraham

Paragraph 8:39–41

The people who had recently believed in Jesus were Jewish and therefore said that they were Abraham’s children. Jesus said that their actions proved that what they said was false.

8:39a

Abraham is our father: Abraham was the ancestor of the people of Israel. The Jewish people were all descended from him. Jesus’ opponents believed that just because they were descended from Abraham, they were God’s people, members of God’s family.

our father: The pronoun our is probably exclusive here. The Jewish leaders were contrasting themselves with Jesus. They did not know or care who his father was. The word father here means “ancestor” or “forefather.” If the word father confuses people, you may use the word “ancestor.” For example:

Abraham is our ancestor/forefather

they replied: The pronoun they continues to refer to the Jewish leaders who were Jesus’ opponents. (See the note at 8:33a. The pronoun they is not made clear until 8:48.) In some languages it may be natural to make explicit who the pronoun they refers to and to whom they were speaking. For example:

The Jewish leaders answered Jesus

General Comment on 8:39a

Place the speech introducer where it is natural in your language. For example:

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” (New Revised Standard Version)

8:39b

If you were children of Abraham…you would do the works of Abraham: There is a textual issue in this verse.

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have If you were…you would do This indicates that the Jewish leaders were not truly Abraham’s children, and they did not do what Abraham did. For example:

If you really were…you would do (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, King James Version, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts have “If you are…then do.” The second verb is a command. For example:

If you are Abraham’s children, do as Abraham did. (New Jerusalem Bible)

(New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) because most English translations follow it. However, if the major language translation in your area follows option (2), you may want to follow that instead. The UBS Handbook Handbook Greek New Testament gives option (1) a C rating, which indicates much doubt.

In option (1), Jesus said that the religious leaders were not Abraham’s children (descendants). This was shown by their behavior. They did not act like Abraham. They were, of course, descended from Abraham in the physical and biological sense. But they were not his “true” sons in the sense of being like him, similar to him in character and faith. Here are other ways to translate these clauses:

if you were really the children of Abraham, you would do the things Abraham did (New Century Version)
-or-
if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
if in fact you were true sons of Abraham, you would show it by acting/behaving like him

If you used a word like “ancestor” in 8:39a, you will probably want to use a word like “descendants” here instead of children. For example:

if you were really Abraham’s descendants, you would do what Abraham did

said Jesus: Again place this quote introducer where it is natural in your language. For example:

“If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus said, “then you would do the things Abraham did.” (New International Version)

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