John 8:48Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And since He revealed their thoughts and desires, perhaps they considered Him demon-possessed also because they thought the secrets of their hearts were revealed to Him by demons.

But when had they called Him a Samaritan? The Evangelist has mentioned this nowhere. From this it is clear that the Evangelists did not record everything, but omitted much, as we have noted elsewhere concerning this very matter.

Thus here also they prove themselves liars, proud men, and revilers. Since they are accustomed to fight against God, they will receive fitting punishment from the Almighty Judge.

Here again we must seek the reason why they call the Lord a Samaritan and possessed by a demon. Their preceding words, "Do we not say well?" show that for certain reasons they both revile Him as a Samaritan and dare to give Him another name.

They call Him a Samaritan because He seemed indifferent to the commandments of the Law and counted the breaking of the Sabbath as nothing. For the Judaism of the Samaritans was incomplete. Their worship was a kind of mixture with foreign and Hellenic customs.

Or they call Him a Samaritan for another reason. The Samaritans were accustomed falsely to boast of their purity and to condemn others as defiled. On this pretext, I think, "the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans," as it is written (Jn 4:9).

They also refuse communion with certain others, turning away, as they suppose, from the defilement that would follow. This chatter appears to them to be just.

The Lord, condemning the evil character of the Jews, called them sons of the devil. He declared Himself free from sin, bearing witness to His complete purity in the words, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (Jn 8:46).

In these words He most plainly ascribes to Himself perfect purity, because He cannot fall under sin. By calling the Jews children of Satan, He condemns them as defiled and as having a mind filled with every uncleanness, which is true.

For this reason they call Him a Samaritan. They also revile Him as possessed, because demons are accustomed to claim for themselves the honor due to God. They shamelessly steal the glory of God.

In their opinion, this is precisely what Christ does when, being man, He places Himself in the position of God. He says, "He who is of God hears the words of God" (Jn 8:47). In this way He shows that these words of God are also His own words.

Such was the pretext by which the Jews blamed Him, or rather blasphemed Him. Moved by this, they spoke the words cited above to Him. By this they secured eternal fire for themselves.

Here again I must wonder at them. They are angry because they have often been called sons of the devil and liars. Yet by their deeds they show that this charge is present in them. On the contrary, they ought to have turned the accusation aside by striving for virtue.

Love of reviling, and calling something present in a man when it is not present, is certainly not proper to those numbered among God's children. It belongs to the sons of the devil.

But these wretched men not only revile, uttering falsehood against their own heads, not to say against Christ. They also insist that they do this "well," being in no way conscious of their wickedness. This is proof of extreme blindness.

But He answered: "I have no demon" (Jn 8:49). He refuted what He answered, and confirmed what He passed over in silence. He who knew that He cast out demons said that He had no demon, but He did not refuse to be the guardian of the weak.

On the basis of this passage of the Holy Gospel, read today, we learn patience from Power itself. For what are we? We are servants before the Lord, sinners before the Righteous One, creation before the Creator.

Yet just as, if we are evil, we are so from ourselves, so in whatever good we have, we are from Him and through Him. And man seeks nothing so much as strength.

Man has great strength in the Lord Christ, but first let him follow the example of His patience, so that he may attain strength. Who among us would listen patiently if someone said to him, "You have a demon"?

Yet this was said to Him who not only saved men, but also commanded demons.

The Samaritans were sworn enemies of the Jews. Yet in the Pharisees' opinion, even a Samaritan, unless he were demon-possessed, would not dare to say that the Jews were sons of the devil.

This is why they, not daring to answer Jesus on the substance of His whole discourse, confine themselves to repeating their former insult.

For when He denies their sonship to God and Abraham, He calls them sons of the devil. He thereby seems to deny that they are the people of God.

In their opinion, even an ordinary Samaritan could not speak of them as the Lord speaks, unless he were demon-possessed.

Thus the Lord's enemies reached such a degree of malice against Him that they considered Him the worst enemy of their whole nation, and, moreover, demon-possessed.

According to the words of the holy Apostle Peter, the Lord, when He was reviled, did not revile in return, but committed the matter to the righteous Judge (1 Pet. 2:23). With astonishing calm and meekness He answers this malicious reproach.

"When they said, 'We have God and Abraham as our father,' then He struck them powerfully. But when they called Him demon-possessed, He answered meekly, teaching us to avenge what offends God and to disregard insults inflicted on us" (Chrysostom).

The force of the reproach lies in the claim that He is demon-possessed. The Lord calmly rejects it by a simple denial: "I have no demon."

On the contrary, by these words, which seem to you the words of a demon-possessed man, I give honor to My heavenly Father. I am compelled to speak with you in this way because I honor My Father.

But you, instead of bowing your head obediently before Him who speaks the truth to you in the name of the Father, dishonor Him by reproaching Him as a Samaritan and demon-possessed.

Together with this, you dishonor the One in whose name He speaks and acts, that is, God, whom you nevertheless dare to call your Father.

This is why the Lord concludes that you will undergo the punishment of condemnation from Him whom you so dishonor.

There is no demon in Him, because He honors the Father, while the Jews dishonor Him by their deeds. To the accusation of heresy He says that He does not seek human glory, as every heretic does.

Nor does He need to seek it, because "there is One who seeks and judges." The heavenly Father seeks the glory of His envoy, because He glorifies Him by miracles.

He is the righteous Judge, whom men who do not love righteousness must fear.

"If anyone keeps My word, he shall never see death." To keep the word or commandment is the same as to receive it with reverence and fulfill it in deed; Jn 17:8; 1 Jn 3:22, 23.

To see death is the same as to die; Acts 2:25, 31; Eccles. 2:25. Whatever self-willed men may think, whoever assimilates the teaching of Christ thereby assimilates the principles of immortal life; Jn 6:47.

Moses promised earthly happiness for keeping his law. The new Lawgiver promises eternal blessedness for faithfulness to His law. Both are according to the dispensation of the heavenly Father.

The Son of God, unjustly insulted by the Jews, does not subject them to judgment. Full of love for all, He lets them know both that the punishment of the righteous Judge awaits them, and that blessed eternity is prepared for His sincere worshipers.