John 8:39Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Here He often speaks of their criminal intention and mentions Abraham. He does this to turn them away from that kinship, to destroy their excessive vainglory, and to persuade them no longer to place the hope of salvation in Abraham or in natural kinship.

They must place it in kinship according to the disposition of the soul. What hindered them from coming to Christ was precisely that they considered this kinship sufficient for their salvation.

But of what truth does He speak? Of the truth that He is equal to the Father. Indeed, for this the Jews sought to kill Him, as He says: "You seek to kill Me, because I have spoken to you the truth which I heard from My Father."

To show that this is not contrary to the Father, He again has recourse to Him. What, then, are Abraham's works? Meekness, condescension, and obedience. But you act in the opposite way. You are disobedient and cruel.

He sets forth the devil as their father, because in their deeds He sees that they resemble him. But they continually set forth Abraham. The Lord often reminds them of their criminal intention and denies their kinship with the righteous man. He does this to cut off their excessive boasting and to convince them that hope must be placed not in vain pride over bodily kinship, but in likeness of will. Truly, as the Physician of souls, He calms in them the inflammation arising from their imagined kinship with Abraham. This prevented them from coming to Christ, for they considered this kinship sufficient for their salvation. Therefore you who breathe murder and seek to put Me to death are not children of Abraham.

"They answered and said to Him, 'Our father is Abraham.'" O exceedingly great ignorance, and a mind hardened in unbelief, carried away only by contentiousness.

For our Savior Christ had indicated and clearly said, "I know that you are Abraham's seed" (Jn 8:37). Yet they continue to remain with their former opinion, as if someone were insistently objecting and asserting that they were not of Abraham's seed according to the flesh.

Again they say, "Our father is Abraham." They are not ashamed to repeat the same words often, probably thinking they would not yield to Battus, and proving excellent rivals of that one vice of his tongue.

It was as though they said, "What will You say against Abraham?" They seemed to provoke Him to say something bad about Abraham, so that an occasion might arise to do what they were planning.

And yet above He says, "I know that you are Abraham's seed" (Jn 8:37). He does not deny their descent, but condemns their deeds. They belonged to him by the flesh, but not by life.

It was as if they asked, "What will You say against Abraham?" Or, "If You can, dare to condemn Abraham." It is not that the Lord did not dare to condemn Abraham.

Rather, Abraham was such that the Lord did not condemn him, but praised him. Yet they seemed to provoke Him to say something evil about Abraham, so that an occasion might appear to carry out what they had planned.

"Our father is Abraham."

Since they applauded themselves in self-exaltation and boasted in the name of Abraham, while doing satanic works, He said to them: “Do not take for yourselves the name of one and the works of another. Either do the work of Him in whose name you boast, or accept the name of him whose works rule in you.” “If you are Abraham’s children, then do the works of Abraham.”

“They answered and said to Him, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus said to them.” Not understanding of what father Jesus Christ was speaking, they again appeal to their kinship with Abraham. Therefore He reproves them more plainly. “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham,” that is, righteousness.

How can that be, the Jews objected to Him: our father is Abraham. If you truly were Abraham's children, the Lord answered them, that is, not only according to the flesh, then you would do the works of Abraham.

But you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which He heard from God. Abraham did not do this. From this it is clear that your works show in you the children of another father.

The Jews saw that the Lord was not speaking about bodily descent from Abraham. Very well. Yet our spiritual birth also is stained by nothing. By faith in God we come from God. We were not born of fornication.

The Jews, though unclearly, should have understood that if Jesus Christ acknowledges their bodily descent from Abraham, yet attributes their deeds and actions to the influence of another father, then He distinguishes bodily sonship from spiritual sonship.

But in order to object, they imagine only a bodily father. In response to Christ's words, "You do what you have seen with your father," they again remind Him of their descent from Abraham.

Considering now only the spiritual relation to Abraham, Jesus Christ refuses to recognize in His hearers the dignity of Abraham's children. As proof He points to their desire to kill Him, a Man Who has told them God's truth.

“Our father is Abraham,” the Pharisees said. “No,” Jesus answered them. “If you were children of Abraham, known for his righteousness and good works, you would do the works of Abraham. But what about you? You seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which He heard from God. No, Abraham did not do this.”

Then He declared to them that through their sins they had become incapable of understanding His exalted teaching. In vain they relied for salvation on their descent from Abraham, whom they nevertheless rejected by their opposition to Christ. If they had been true sons of Abraham, they would have acted according to his covenant. They would by no means have shown enmity toward Him who was the fulfillment of the great promise to the father of believers. Abraham, their father, would not have acted so. As the father of believers, he “rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”

"Our father is Abraham." The Lord had mentioned their father and had not named him. He named him later, in Jn 8:44.

But they understood that He was speaking of some other father of theirs, and not of Abraham. Christ had set their father in contrast to His own Father, that is, to God. They understood this obscurely, without clearly knowing of whom He was speaking.

Therefore they again emphatically repeat what they had said a little earlier (Jn 8:33), that their father is Abraham.

To this the Lord now more decisively denies their sonship to Abraham. Yet He gives them to understand clearly enough that He means sonship not in the bodily sense, but in a special sense, sonship according to spirit and faith.

The Lord Jesus again points to His unity with God the Father (cf. vv. 26-29), and to that eternal source of wisdom, righteousness, and love from which His deeds and words flow, although He is in the form of man. Cf. Gregory the Theologian, Oration 36.

He especially shows the Jews that their words and deeds proceed from an evil principle, from the father of lies. In response to the Jews' constantly repeated boast that they are sons of Abraham, the Lord insistently points out the immense moral difference between them and Abraham.

Abraham did the works of God. What, then, are they plotting, the Lord asks, the murder of the righteous One?