John 8:37

Joh 8:37-40. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed — That ye are descended from Abraham, as Ishmael and Esau, and their posterity also were, I know; but what can that avail you, while you are so unlike Abraham, in your spirit and conduct, as it is plain you are? For you seek to kill me — Who am not only an innocent person, but the Lord of life and glory, invested with an extraordinary commission from God to instruct and save you: a crime this, the heinousness of which no words can describe. Thus having answered their objection concerning freedom, (Joh 8:34-36,) he here answers the other branch of it, concerning their being Abraham’s offspring. Because my word hath no place in you — In your minds and hearts, and has not any weight with, or influence upon you, but is of a tenor directly contrary to your prejudices and lusts. I speak that which I have seen with my Father — And which I know to be agreeable to his mind and will; but with which it is impossible to reconcile your practice. For ye do that which you have seen with your father — To whom you manifest a visible conformity, in your dispositions and actions. By which he intimated, that their devices, designs, and works were as truly diabolical, as his doctrine was divine. They answered, Abraham is our father — As if they had said, Observe on whom thy reflection falls. Thou reproachest that holy patriarch, who was peculiarly dear to God. Jesus saith, If ye were Abraham’s children — His true and genuine progeny, his spiritual seed; ye would do the works of Abraham — Ye would resemble that great and good man in faith and holiness; and therefore, “instead of seeking to take the life of one who is come to you from God, with a revelation of his will, ye would believe on him; in imitation of Abraham, who, for his faith in all the divine revelations, and his obedience to all the divine commands, however hard they were to flesh and blood, was ennobled with the grand titles of the father of the faithful, and the friend of God.” But now ye seek to kill me — And that for no other reason but because I have told you the truth, clearly, fully, and faithfully, which I have heard of God — Received in commission from him. This did not Abraham — He did nothing like this; but was famous for his humanity, justice, and piety, giving the readiest credit, and the most joyful welcome, to all the messages which God sent him. Some render the clause, Abraham would not have done this; that is, he would not have acted thus, if he had lived now.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

SATANIC PATERNITY OF THE UNREGENERATE

Joh 8:37-47. “I know that ye are the seed of Abraham; but you seek to kill Me, because My Word has no place in you.” How sad the condition of those preachers and people when Jesus, looking through them, actually saw them full of repellency and diabolical antagonism to the truth! N.B. You will find it so in many Churches nowadays, I awfully fear and doubt not. “Whatsoever things I saw with the Father, I speak; therefore you indeed are doing the things which you heard with your father.” This arouses in those shrewd, cultured priests an awful suspicion that He is impeaching their claim to the Abrahamic paternity. “They responded, and said to Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus says to them, If you are the children of Abraham, you did the works of Abraham; but now you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I heard with God. Abraham did not this. You are doing the works of your father. They said to Him, We have not been born of fornication; we have one father, God. Then Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me with Divine love; for I came out from God, and I go back; for I have not come from Myself, but He sent Me. Wherefore do you not know My speech? Because you are not able to hear My word.” What a profound significance! His words were then ringing in their ears! Yet He said, “You are not able to hear My word.” The mystery is readily solved. The soul has the five senses — i. e., sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch — just like the body. When the soul is dead, as in the case of all the unregenerate, the senses are all dead with it. A dead man has eyes, but they are dead; ears, but they are dead; smelling organs, but they are dead; a tongue, but it is dead; nerves, but they are dead. Now these preachers, Church officers, and members, in whose physical ears His sweet, eloquent, melodious words were ringing, heard them plainly with their bodily ears, yet He certifies to them, “You are not able to hear My word.” This is the reason why they rejected it: His utterances were deep, rich, spiritual truth, and they were spiritually dead, so they never heard them; they rang in at one ear and out at the other, the dead soul within knowing nothing about the message of life which had resounded in their mortal ears. How signally does this penetrating truth apply to the fallen Churches of the present day, both ministers and members, as well as to this wicked world! What is the remedy in that case? An avalanche of importunate prayer, that the Holy Ghost may quicken them into life, in which case their spirit will hear and understand the glorious spiritual truth of the gospel. Deficiency of prayer explains multitudes of failures on the part of holiness preachers and workers. As a rule, it is painfully deficient. Shall we not wake up to the fact that we waste our ammunition on dead game, if we do not pray down the Holy Ghost to quicken them into life? “You are of your father the devil, and you wish to do the lusts of your father.” This tells an awful secret, which everybody ought to know, smashing the silly Universalist dogma now ringing from the Protestant pulpits; i. e., the Divine paternity of the wicked.

You see from the very words of the Savior that it is not so. Preachers, standing in their pulpits, address their audiences as the “children of God,” when in all probability nine-tenths of them are the children of the devil, having never been born from above. Divine life was lost in the fall, and is only regained in regeneration. Consequently all the unregenerate, — whether never converted or backslidden, as you see from the plain words of our Savior, here addressed, not simply to the uncouth rabble, but to the preachers and Church members, — all the unregenerate are the spiritual children of the devil till quickened into life by the Holy Ghost. “He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because the truth is not in him.” How is the devil a murderer? He murders all the souls that follow him, beginning with the destroying angels, and sweeping down the terrestrial ages, deluging hell with the fallen millions. “When he may speak the lie, he speaks of his own, because he is the liar, and the father of the same. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” Those people, like the fallen Churches of every age, were deluded by Satan’s lies, making them believe that they were saved when they were lost, in order to blind them and lead them down to hell. Humanity is uniform in all ages. So is Satan, sin, religion, salvation, and God the same now as in our Savior’s time. You must not shove aside these awful truths uttered by our Savior and leave them with the scribes and Pharisees, when they apply to the present generation as pertinently as to them. The world is girdled with Churches today — Pagan, Mohammedan, Papal, and Protestant — standing spiritually precisely where our Savior’s audience, backslidden members of the Jewish Church, stood, so deceived and led away by Satan’s lies, making them believe that they are Christians and on their way to heaven, while they are sinners and on their way to hell, that a preacher coming among them and telling them the truth, as Jesus did, shares the same fate — i. e., is rejected and persecuted; while a false prophet coming along, and helping Satan to keep them blindfolded till he can dump them into hell, is received like an angel, remunerated, honored, and applauded as a man of God, such as all Churches need. Lord give us all the light, help us to be true, like Jesus, and abide our destiny! “Which one of you convicts Me concerning sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?”

“Convict” here is the very word descriptive of the condemnatory sentence of a criminal judge, as Jesus defied men and devils to convict Him concerning sin. Good Lord, help us all so to speak the truth and walk in His footprints that we can challenge the powers of earth and hell! His own Church fell out with Him and killed Him because He told them the truth. If He had preached falsehood, they would have received Him with enthusiasm. Satan’s people love lies and fatten on them, preparatory for a barbecue in hell, when devils will devour their flesh and drink their blood. “The one being of God, heareth the words of God. Wherefore do you not hear? Because you are not of God.” Lord, help us to preach the same gospel that Jesus preached, fearless of men and devils! Here you see the reason why the truth has always been so unpopular. In this case, Satan had the Jewish Church with him, in addition to the wicked world. So few people in this world are of God, comparatively with the multitudes in Satan’s kingdom, deluded by his lies and led captive by his caprice, that the truth in every age has found but few adherents, Jesus falling a victim to the cruelty of the fallen Jewish Church, so duped by Satan that they loved lies and hated the truth, and two hundred millions of martyrs following in His track, sealing their faith with their blood. When the present holiness movement becomes popular, it is ruined.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:37-41 The leaders’ plot to kill Jesus (5:18) unmasked their true identity. They belonged to a different household, and their father was not Jesus’ Father. They were relying on the fact that their ancestral father was Abraham, but Jesus challenged their spiritual pedigree. The climax of his challenge comes in 8:44.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 8:37. Ἀλλά) but ye cherish sin, even the design of killing Me.—ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐμός, My word) the word of truth and of freedom.—οὐ χωρεῖ, doth not take.[228]) They who do not believe, have an antipathy towards Christ and His word. Comp. the foll. ver., “Ye do that which ye have seen with your father,” in opposition to, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father.” The correlatives are: a man ought to abide: [Christ’s] word ought to take possession [have place in; please].

[228] i.e. Your tastes; doth not take possession in your case. Better the Engl. Vers. “Hath no place in you.”—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_8:37. Now also He denies that they are children of Abraham, although hitherto they had boastfully relied on the fact as the premiss of their freedom, Joh_8:33.

ἀλλὰ ζητεῖτε] How opposed to a true, spiritual descent from Abraham! The reproach, however, had its justification, because these Jews had already turned round again, and the death of Jesus was the goal of the hierarchical opposition.

οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν] has no progress in you, in your heart. This view of the meaning, which is philologically correct (Plat. Legg. iii. p. 684 E; Eryx. p. 398 B; ᾗ ἔμελλεν ὁ λόγος χωρήσεσθαι αὐτῷ; Herod. iii. 42, v. 89; Xen. Oec. i. 11; Polyb. 28. 15, 12, 10. 15, 4; Aristoph. Pax, 472; Ran. 472; 2Ma_3:40), thoroughly applies to the persons concerned; because whilst the word of Christ had penetrated their heart and made them for the time believers (Joh_8:30-31), it had had no further development, it had made no advance; on the contrary, they had gone back again after believing for a moment. Hence, also, it is not allowable to take ἐν ὑμῖν as equivalent to inter vos (Lücke, Hengstenberg). Others interpret: It finds no place in you (Vulgate: non capit in vobis; so Origen? Chrysostom, Theophylact, Erasmus, Castalio, Beza, Aretius, Maldonatus, Corn. a Lapide, Jansen, and several others; also B. Crusius, Ewald, and Baeumlein). Without any warrant from usage.[23] Others again render: It finds no entrance into you; so that ἐν ὑμῖν would be used pregnantly, indicating the persistence that follows upon movement. So Nonnus, Grotius, Kuinoel, De Wette, Maier, Tholuck, Luthardt. The expression would have to be referred back to the meaningmove forward, stretch forward (Wis_7:23; 2Pe_3:9, and frequently in classical writers). But this explanation is neither indicated by the text (for the words are not εἰς ὑμᾶς), nor is it even appropriate to the sense, seeing that the word of Christ had actually stirred those men to momentary faith. At the same time, this explanation, however, is forced on those who refuse to regard the ΠΕΠΙΣΤΕΥΚΌΤΕς in Joh_8:31 as those who answer in Joh_8:33.

[23] Aristot. H. A. ix. 40, is not relevant; χωρεῖ there is impersonal, and the words mean: if there is no advance in their work.The sense: It has no place in you, ought to have been expressed τὸν λόγον οὐ χωρεῖτε ἐν ὑμῖν. Comp. Joh_21:25, and see on 2Co_7:2.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 8:37 . οἶδα … ὑμῖν . “I know that you are Abraham’s seed; it is your moral descent which is in question, and your conduct shows that my word, which gives true liberty (Joh 8:31-32 ), does not find place in you.” οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν . The Greek Fathers all understand these words in the sense of A.V [69] , “hath no place in you”. Cyril has διὰ τὴν ἐνοικήσασαν ἐν ὑμῖν ἁμαρτίαν δηλαδὴ , καὶ τόπον ὥσπερ οὐκ ἐῶσαν , etc. So Euthymius and Theophylact. Beza renders “non habet locum,” citing a passage from Aristotle, which Meyer disallows, because in it the verb is used impersonally. But Field has found another instance in Alciphron, Epist. , iii. 7, in which χωρεῖν is used in the sense of “locum habere” ( Otium Norvic. , p. 67). The common meaning of χωρεῖν , “to advance,” is also quite relevant and indeed not materially different. It is frequently used for prosperous, successful progress. See Aristoph., Pax , 694, and other passages in Kypke; and cf. 2Th 3:1 , ἵνα ὁ λόγος τρέχῃ . “My word meets with obstacles and is not allowed its full influence in you.”

[69] Authorised Version.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 37, 38. “I know indeed that you are Abraham’s seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word makes no progress in you. 38. As for me, I speak that which I have seen with the Father;and you do the things which you have heard from your father.”

Jesus does not deny the genuineness of the civil registers in virtue of which His hearers affirm their character as children of Abraham. But He alleges a moral fact which destroys the value of this physical filiation in the spiritual and divine domain; it is their conduct towards Him and His word. Jesus here employs a method like that of John the Baptist, Matthew 3, and that of Paul, Romans 9.

By reason of the resistance which they oppose to His teaching, He addresses them as persons who have already returned to the solidarity of that Israelitish community which is desiring to make way with Him. Hence the charge which has been regarded as so strange (comp. Joh 8:31-32): “You seek to kill me.” But what more proper than the announcement of such a crime to make them feel the necessity of breaking finally the bond which still united them to a people so disposed. What justifies this severe assertion of Jesus is that He has just discovered, at this very moment, the impression of irritation produced in them by His word (Joh 8:33). The word χωρεῖν has two principal meanings: one, transitive, to contain(Joh 2:6)—this meaning is inapplicable here,—the other, intransitive: to change place, to advance. This verb is applied in this sense to water flowing, to a dart piercing, to a plant growing, to one body penetrating another, to invested money paying interest. Starting from this second meaning, some have explained: “has no place in you for developing itself,” or: “has no entrance, access to you” (Ostervald, Rilliet). The former translation is not suitable for the wordχωρεῖν; comp. 2Co 6:12; οὐ χωρεῖτε τὸν λόγον would have been necessary. With the second, these words would apply only to persons who have already manifested a beginning of faith. We must therefore explain, with Meyer, Weiss, Keil: makes no progress in you.

The word of Christ struck in them, from the first uttered words, against national prejudices which they still shared with their fellow-countrymen, against the Jewish heart which they had not laid aside; like the seed which fell on the rocky ground, it had been blighted as soon as it had begun to germinate. This is the reason why Jesus had said at the beginning, “If you abide.” Yet once more, there is no inaccuracy in the narrative. For him who goes to the foundation of things and who judges of the facts by placing himself at the point of view of Jesus and of John himself, everything is perfectly connected and well-founded.

In Joh 8:38, Jesus explains the resistance which His word encounters in them by a moral dependence in which they are and which is of a nature contrary to that in which He Himself lives. In speaking as He does, He obeys the principle which governs Him; they, in acting as they do, are the instruments of a wholly opposite power. In order to decide between the numerous various readings which are presented by the text of this verse, it is natural to start from this principle: that the copyists have sought to conform the two parallel clauses to one another, rather than to introduce differences between them. If we apply this rule, we shall arrive at the text which seems to us also to present the best sense intrinsically. It is that of the MS. K (with the exception, perhaps, of the pronoun μου which is read by this MS. in the first clause, and which may be rejected according to the principle suggested). This text of K is that which we have rendered in the translation.

The expression: that which I have seen with my Father, does not refer, as Meyer, Weiss and others think, to the state of the Lord’s divine pre-existence; the parallel clause: that which you have heard from your father, excludes this explanation. For the two facts compared must be of a homogeneous nature. Weiss alleges the difference introduced intentionally by the change of the verbs (see, hear). But Joh 8:40 and Joh 5:30 prove that no intention of this sort occasions this difference of expression. The question here is of a fact of incalculable importance in all human life. Behind the particular acts which are at the surface in the life of each man, there is concealed a permanent basis and, if I may venture to speak thus, a mysterious anteriority. All personal and free life has communication in its depths with an infinity of good or of evil, of light or darkness, which penetrates into our inner being and which, when once received, displays itself in our works (words or acts). This is what Jesus here represents under the figure of the paternal house whence we come forth and whence, as a son with his father, we derive our principles, our conduct, our habits: “From my speaking and from your doing, one may clearly see from what house we come forth, you and I.” This is not all: at the foundation of each of these two infinites, good or evil, with which we are in ceaseless relation and of which we are the agents, Jesus discerns apersonal being, a directing will, the father of a family who reigns over the whole house (my Father, your father). It is from him that the initiative on each side starts, that the impulses emanate. And as the moving power is personal, the dependence in which we are placed as related to it is also free, not inevitable. Jesus by His fidelity cultivates His communion with the Father; so He finds in this relation the initiative of all good (“that which I have seen”)—the perfect: “that which I am having seen with the Father.” The Jews, through their spirit of pride and hypocrisy, maintain in themselves this relation to the opposite principle, to the other father; so they continually receive from him the impulsions to every species of perverse works (“that which you have heard”).

The therefore which unites the two parallel clauses has certainly a tinge of irony, as Meyer acknowledges: “You are consistent with the principle with which you are in communication, in doing evil, just as I am with mine in speaking what is good.” The rejection of the pronoun μου after πατρί characterizes God as the sole Father in the true sense of the word. The singular pronoun ὅ, that which, in the first clause, answers to the thorough unity and the consistent direction of the will towards good. There is in it no vacillation, no contradiction. The plural pronoun ἅ,the things which, characterizes, on the contrary, the capricious inconsistency of the diabolical volitions.

This contrast is connected with that of the perfect ἑώρακα and the aorist ἠκούσατε : the former designating a man who iswhat he is through the fact of having beheld; the latter, a variety of particular and momentary inspirations. The choice of the two terms see (Jesus) and hear (the Jews), to designate the two opposite kinds of moral dependence, is no less significant. Sight is the symbol of a clear intuition, such is only possible in the domain of the divine light and revelation. “In thy light we see light” (Psa 36:10). The term: to hear from applies, on the contrary, to the secret suggestions which the perfidious mouth of an impostor whispers in the ear of his agents. Evil is the night in which one hears, but does not see. There is nothing even to the contrast of the two prepositions παρά (with the dative)with, and παρά (with the genitive), from, which does not contribute to the general effect of this inexhaustible saying:with is related to the idea of sight, as from is to that of hearing. If Jesus mentions on His own part speaking (λαλεῖν) and on the part of the Jews doing, (ποιεῖν), it is because His activity consisted essentially, at this moment, in His testimonies and His judgments, while the Jews answered Him by hostile measures and projects of murder (Joh 8:37). If it were desired, with Hengstenberg, to give to ποιεῖτε, you do, the sense of the imperative do, it would not be necessary to see here a summons of the character of that in chap. Joh 13:27; it would rather be necessary to refer the word your father to God, and to see in the word a serious exhortation. But all this is opposed to the connection with what follows.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Our wicked manners declare, that we are plainly born of a devilish nature, But we are changed, and made of the household of God, according to the covenant which he made with Abraham by Christ only, apprehended and laid hold on by faith: which faith is known by a godly and honest life.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

ye seek to kill me--He had said this to their face before: He now repeats it, and they do not deny it; yet are they held back, as by some marvellous spell--it was the awe which His combined dignity, courage, and benignity struck into them.

because my word hath no place in you--When did ever human prophet so speak of His words? They tell us of "the word of the Lord" coming to them. But here is One who holds up "His word" as that which ought to find entrance and abiding room for itself in the souls of all who hear it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 37. My word hath no place in you.] Or, this doctrine of mine hath no place to you. Ye hear the truths of God, but ye do not heed them: the word of life has no influence over you; and how can it, when you seek to kill me because I proclaim this truth to you?

It is a dismal omen when a person is regardless of the truth of God: it is more so to be provoked against it: but to persecute and endeavour to destroy those who preach it is the last degree of perverseness and obduracy. The word of God requires a heart which is empty. A heart filled with earthly projects, carnal interests ambition, thoughts of raising a fortune, and with the love of the superfluities and pleasures of life, is not fit to receive the seed of the kingdom. When a man shuts his heart against it by his passions, he at the same time opens it to all sorts of crimes. QUESNEL.

From what is here said, it is manifest, says Dr. Lightfoot, that the whole tendency of our Saviour's discourse is to show the Jews, that they are the seed of that serpent which was to bruise the heel of the Messiah: else what could that mean, Joh 8:44: Ye are of your father the devil, i.e. ye are the seed of the serpent.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

37. I know that you are Abraham’s seed. I explain this as said by way of concession. Yet at the same time he ridicules their folly in glorying in so absurd a title, as if he had said: “Granting that on which you flatter yourselves so much, still what avails it that those men are called the children of Abraham, who are enraged against God and his ministers, and who are actuated by such wicked and detestable hatred of the truth, that they rush headlong to shed innocent blood?” Hence it follows that nothing is farther from their true character than what they wished to be called, because they have no resemblance to Abraham

You seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. He means that they are not merely murderers, but are driven to such rage by hatred of God and his truth, which is far more heinous; for such an enormity does not merely extend to men, but likewise dishonors God. He says, that they cannot receive his words, because through malice they keep their minds shut, so that they cannot admit anything wholesome.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(37) I know that ye are Abraham’s seed.—He uses the word which they had used in Joh_8:33, acknowledging their merely physical descent from Abraham. He has since used the word “Son,” but does not apply it to them. In Joh_8:39 He refuses to acknowledge that they are Abraham’s “children.”

But ye seek to kill me.—The difficulty of understanding these words to refer to those who believed on Him (Joh_8:30-31), have led to the opinion that others of the hierarchy answer in Joh_8:33. This seems unnatural, and is opposed to the words which immediately follow. As a party, they had been, and still were, seeking to kill Him. These believers, by their question in Joh_8:33, were showing the spirit which declined discipleship, were identifying themselves with His opponents.

Because my word hath no place in you.—Better, makes no progress in you, “does not advance, does not gain ground in you.” That meaning is established by undoubted examples, and is in exact agreement with the thought of the context. In Joh_8:31 the test was, “If ye abide in My word.” Their question proves that their faith was momentary. The word had but penetrated the surface of their thoughts, but they had not so received it as to allow it to advance into the mind and influence their conduct.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. Christ’s words seem gradually to take a wider range. They are no longer addressed merely to those who for a moment had believed on Him, but to His opponents generally, whose ranks these short-lived believers had joined.

Abraham’s seed] He admits their claim in their own narrow sense. They are the natural descendants of Abraham: his children in any higher sense they are not (Joh_8:39). Comp. ‘neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children’ (Rom_9:8).

hath no place in you] Rather, maketh no advance in you. His word had found place in them for a very short time; but it made no progress in their hearts: it did not abide in them and they did not abide in it (Joh_8:31). They had stifled it and cast it out.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But now ye seek to kill me,.... A temper and disposition very foreign from that of Abraham's:

a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; to seek to kill a man is a very great crime, and punishable with death; to kill an innocent one, that had done no sin, who was pure, holy, harmless, and inoffensive to God and man, was an aggravation of the iniquity; and to kill a prophet, and one more than a prophet, who brought a revelation from God himself, and declared the whole truth of the Gospel, and particularly that of his divine, eternal sonship, which incensed them against him, and put them upon seeking to take away his life, still increased the sin.

This did not Abraham: the sense is not, that Abraham did not tell the truth he had heard of God; for he did instruct, and command his children after him, to walk in the ways of the Lord, which he had learned from him; but that Abraham did not reject any truth that was revealed unto him, and much less seek to take away the life of any person that brought it to him; and indeed not the life of any man that deserved not to die: and our Lord suggests, that if he had been on the spot now, he would not have done as these his posterity did, since he saw his day by faith, and rejoiced in the foresight of it, Joh 8:56. The Jew (o) makes an objection from these words against the deity of Christ;

"you see (says he) that Jesus declares concerning himself that he is not God, but man; and so says Paul concerning him, Rom 5:15; and so Jesus, in many places, calls himself the son of man: for do we find in any place that he calls himself God, as the Nazarenes believe.''

To which may be replied, that Jesus does not declare in these words, nor in any other place, that he is not God; he says no such thing; he only observes, that he was a man, as he really was: nor is his being man any contradiction to his being God; for he is both God and man; and so those that believe in him affirm: and though Christ does not in express terms call himself God, yet he owned himself to be the Son of God, Mar 14:61, and said such things of himself, as manifestly declared him to be God; and upon account of which the Jews concluded, that he not only made himself equal with God, but that he made himself God, Joh 5:17. Besides, he suffered himself to be called God by a disciple of his, which he would never have done, had he not been really and truly God, Joh 20:28; yea, he seems to call himself so, when being tempted by Satan, he observed to him what is written, "thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God", Mat 4:7. The reason why he so often calls himself the son of man is, because it was more suitable to him in his state of humiliation; and indeed, there was no need for him to assert his deity in express words, since his works and miracles most clearly proved that he was God: and as for the Apostle Paul, though he sometimes speaks of him as a man, he also says of him, that he is God over all, blessed for ever; and calls him the great God, and our Saviour, and God manifest in the flesh, Rom 9:5.

(o) R. Isaac Chizzuk Emuna, par. 2. c. 48. p. 436. & par. 1. c. 10. p. 118.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

Ver. 37. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed] But that will not bear you out; nay, you will fare the worse for it, Rom 2:9; the Jew is first in punishment, because first in privilege. It was cold comfort to Dives, in flames, that Abraham called him son; to Judas, that Christ called him friend; or to the rebellious Jews, that God calleth them his people; since they were the people of his wrath, and the people of his curse, and should speed no better than the children of the Ethiopians, Amo 9:7.

Because my word hath no place] This was worse than the former, because the root of it; even an evil heart of unbelief, which holds a man in a universal pollution, and maketh him a kill Christ.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I know ... - I admit that you are the descendants of Abraham. Jesus did not wish to call that in question, but he endeavored to show them that they might be his descendants and still lack entirely his spirit. See the notes at Mat 3:9.

Ye seek to kill me - Joh 5:16; Joh 7:32.

Because my word - My doctrine; the principles of my religion. You have not the spirit of my doctrine; you hate it, and you therefore seek to kill me.

Hath no place - That is, you do not embrace my doctrine, or it exerts no influence over you. The original word conveys the notion that there was no room for his doctrine in their minds. It met with obstructions, and did not penetrate into their hearts. They were so filled with pride, and prejudice, and false notions, that they would not receive his truth; and as they had not his truth or spirit, and could not bear it, they sought to kill him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

You. That is, many of you, seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you; that is, is not rightly understood, nor received by you: you reject my doctrine, and are displeased with it. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

According to the flesh you are descended from Abraham, that I know; but of what advantage is or can this be to you, while in the mean time you are implacable enemies to me, and seek to murder me, who am not only an innocent person, but am the Lord of life, and came to save the world? And the root of this is your unbelief: did you receive and believe the word that I have spoken to you, you would do otherwise; but although the sound of my word pierceth your ears, and then you receive a little of it, yet it passeth not into your hearts, it hath no place within you; you do not believe it, you are not affected with it, it doth not dwell in you as it ought to do, so that you are not turned into the likeness and obedience of it. Men may be professors and members of the church of God, in whom yet the word of God hath no rooting, and findeth no true place; so as that their condition may be sad enough.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

37. Seed—Literal descendants.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I know (oida , I know absolutely, I do not come to know it from your retort) that ye are the seed of Abraham. They belonged to the noble race, "whose are the fathers;" they were the sperma of him who received the promises. Christ admitted the pedigree, but he proceeds to show that mere hereditary descent would be of no avail to them apart from moral considerations. These ideas, these revolutionary conceptions, so far as Judaism was concerned, were not the evolution of Christian ideas in the second century. It is most instructive to see how clearly St. Paul had already grasped them, and woven them into a powerful argument when dealing with the Judaizers in Galatia, many years before this Gospel was written (see the entire argument of Ga 3, which thus rests on the teaching of the Christ himself). But ye seek to kill me. This charge is certainly difficult to suppose applicable to those who "had come to believe in him" (ver. 31). One of three suppositions must be made either

(1) the believing Jews were surrounded by angry groups of his bitter enemies, to whom he here addressed himself; or

(2) the Lord spoke here to them as representing the large company of Jerusalem opponents, whom he knew at that moment to be planning his death, and as all orators and debaters are in the habit of dealing with opposing arguments by showing the character they assume in others, who make them their boast; or

(3) those who had come to believe him up to a certain point had as rapidly relapsed, at the first touch of spiritual proof, into disbelief and cruel hostility. This seems the more natural interpretation of the fact, which may, at the same time, have become patent from some angry manifestation of his implacable foes. There is much to be found in the background and scenery of this dramatic colloquy, reported with such extreme brevity, which would, if we exactly knew how to paint it, solve its difficulties. Ye seek to slay me, because my word the word which is minemakes no progress or, advance in you. Cwrew has both transitive and intransitive meanings; thus it means "leave," "depart," "turn," or "come to," with eiv ; (2Pe_3:9, "contain;" Joh_2:6 Joh_21:25 Mar_2:2) but it has the force frequently in Plato "to make progress or advance," and it has this force here. So Meyer, Westcott, R.T., etc. (Luthardt and Tholuck suggest "find entrance," which would require eiv rather than en). Not only did they not continue in Christ"s word (ver. 31), but the word itself made no way in their minds; it was barred out by prejudices, and thus choked at its very first working. Christ thus represents his word first as the very atmosphere and home in which his true disciples abide, and then as a powerful influence which grows evermore in power and command as it is pondered. It means more and more to those who abide in it; it implicitly contains a whole universe of truth and reality, of impulse and motive, for those who allow to it "free course who are of the truth, and hear his voice.

Vers. 37-47. The spiritual parentage of the faithless Jews.

Jesus does not deny their legitimate descent from Abraham. Truth must be conceded to an adversary.

I THEIR MORAL PARENTAGE CANNOT BE TRACED TO ABRAHAM. "But ye seek to kill me, because my Word makes no progress in you.

1. Our Lord concedes that his Word had somehow made an entrance, but national prejudices hindered its thorough acceptance in heart as well as mind.

2. The explanation of the resistance given to the full power of the truth. "As for me, I speak that which I have seen with the Father: and ye do the things which ye have heard from your father.

(1) Christ reveals the Father"s mind and will, as he is the Word, coming forth from the bosom of the uncreated Godhead. The Son"s knowledge is

(a) perfect and

(b) direct.

(2) The Jews derived their knowledge, as well as evil impulses, from the devil.

(a) The devil is actively engaged in misleading those who have accepted the truth even intellectually.

(b) The unstable nature is very open to evil guidance.

II THE PERSISTENCY OF THE JEWISH CLAIM TO A PURE ABRAHAMIC DESCENT. "Abraham is our father.

1. The Jews already claimed an interest in the Abrahamic inheritance. "We be Abraham"s seed." They now claimed the dignity and security of a personal relationship.

2. We are all too prone

a. to pride ourselves on our external privileges,

b. and it is a danger to souls to rely upon them.

III THE PRACTICAL TEST APPLIED TO THIS CLAIM. "If ye were Abraham"s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

1. The child is supposed to bear the ethical stamp of the fathers character. Moral descent is inconsistent with contrariety of action. Abraham was remarkable for his docile acceptance of Divine command, and for his reverence for those angelic messengers who conveyed it.

2. The Jews practically repudiated their Abrahamic relationship by their conduct. "But now ye seek to kill me, a Man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard from God?" There was an evil gradation in their conduct.

(1) They sought to kill Jesus, an innocent Man;

(2) a Man divinely commissioned to impart the truth to them; One who was more than a prophet.

(3) The truth being not of man, but of God, and therefore challenging universal and unquestioning assent.

IV OUR LORD ASSERTS A DIFFERENT PARENTAGE FOR THE JEWS. "Ye do the deeds of your father." The Jews begin to discern that a spiritual father is meant, and accordingly shift their ground to meet the new contention of our Lord.

1. The Jews claim a, Divine fatherhood. "We are not born of fornication; we have but one Father, God.

(1) They expressly repudiate any implied imputation of idolatry. They had stood apart for ages from the polytheism of the Gentiles.

(2) There is a touch of pride in the assertion of their relation to one Father, even God. Israel was called God"s son, his firstborn. To Israel belonged "the adoption". (Rom_4:2)

2. Our Lord manifests the groundlessness of their claim. "If God were your Father, ye would love me.

(1) Spiritual affinity would necessitate this love to the Father"s Son and the Father"s Prophet. Love to Christ is always implanted in regeneration. Love is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Gal_5:22)

(2) This love is grounded on a twofold consideration:

(a) of Christ"s Divine Sonship and his incarnation I proceeded forth and came from God;" and

(b) of his mission as Mediator came I of myself, but he sent me." Had the Jews loved Christ, they would have recognized the Divine character of his Person and his work.

3. Our Lord expiators their ignorance of his language. "Why do ye not recognize my language? Because ye cannot understand my Word.

(1) They lacked the organ of spiritual discernment.

(2) They were under an influence that made them deaf to the voice of truth.

V OUR LORD ASSERTS THE TRUE PARENTAGE OF THE JEWS WITHOUT DISGUISE. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye desire to do.

1. It was an act of courage as well as faithfulness to make such an assertion.

2. It was an assertion founded on truth, for it was justified by a right interpretation of their conduct. The Jews manifested the two traits of the devil"s character hatred of man and aversion. to the truth. Let men pretend what they will, their conduct must be taken as the test of their character.

3. The character here assigned to the Jews is not due to the parent, but to the children; for they "desired to do the lusts of their father.

VI THE PORTRAIT OF THE DEVIL. "He has been a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

1. The words imply that the devil is an evil spirit, and not a mere personification of evil.

2. The existence of the devil is no more inconsistent with the holiness or goodness of God then the existence of evil men on earth.

3. There are two characteristics of the devil.

(1) He is a murderer.

(a) He brought death into the world by his subtlety and falsehood. (2Co_11:3)

(b) He has had a long history as a murderer. His first act was in Paradise. He instigated Cain"s murder of his brother. He prompted the act of Judas Iscariot to secure the death of Christ. He still tempts sinners to their destruction.

(2) He is an enemy to the truth.

(a) Because he fell from the truth himself, and from that holiness that marks the realm of truth.

(b) The reason of his fall is his utter falseness. "There is no truth in him." He does not dwell in the sphere of truth, because he is subjectively out of all sympathy and relation to it.

(c) The effect of his falseness. "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh from his own resources: for he is a liar, and the father of the liar.

(i) The devil, in contrast with the Holy Spirit, who speaketh not of himself, but of the things given him of God. elaborates his lies out of the immense storehouse of his own creative ingenuity.

(ii) He was the first liar, as he was the first murderer; he was a liarfirst, because by his lies he deceived our first parents to their destruction. He was the first author of a lie. The first lie, "Thou shalt not surely die," was uttered by the devil.

(iii) He is the father of a large family he is "the father of the liar a character

a full of deceit,

b odious to God and man,

c doomed to feel the bitterness of distrust in this life,

d and to be "cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone". (Rev_20:10)

VII THE PROOF OF THE DEVIL"S INFLUENCE OVER THE JEWISH MIND. "And as for me, because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

1. As the opposition between Christ and the devil is the opposition between truth and falsehood, it manifests itself in the children of the two respectively.

2. If Jesus had spoken falsehood, the Jews would have believed him.

3. The unbelief of the Jews had a moral ground. It is true psychologically to speak of "the evil heart of unbelief.

4. Christs moral conduct afforded no suggestion unfavourable to the truth of his doctrine. "Which of you convinceth me of sin?

(1) This was a bold challenge to a nation of fault finders. He was in their eyes a glutton and a winebibber, a blasphemer and a deceiver of the people.

(2) Had. Jesus been merely a pre-eminently holy man, he would have been the first to discover and acknowledge his sin.

(3) As the Son of God he was essentially sinless, and incapable of sinning.

1. The unreasonableness of continued unbelief. "And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?" If I am no sinner, and nothing in my conduct injures the purity of my testimony to the truth, you are still more obstinately unreasonable in refusing to believe me.

2. The final explanation of Jewish unbelief. "He that is of God heareth God"s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

(1) The true genesis of spiritual docility. The child of God listens with delight to his Father"s voice; he has ears to hear and a heart to understand.

(2) The true genesis of obstinate unbelief. Those who refused to hear God were not "of God not his children, though they might be Abraham"s seed, but rather children of the devil.

(3) Our Lord"s words imply that the Jews were all along responsible for their unbelief.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I know that ye are Abraham's offspring - As to the other branch of your objection, I know that, ye are Abraham's offspring, after the flesh; but not in a spiritual sense. Ye are not followers of the faith of Abraham: my word hath no place in your hearts.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Abraham’s

Cf. Joh 8:39. The contrast, "I know that ye are Abraham’s seed"--"If ye were Abraham’s children," is that between the natural and the spiritual posterity of Abraham. The Israelitish people and Ishmaelites are the former; all who are "of like precious faith with Abraham," whether Jews or Gentiles, are the latter; Rom 9:6-8; Gal 3:6-14.

See "Abrahamic Covenant," (See Scofield "Gen 15:18").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Jews boasting again that they were Abraham’s seed, and bearing themselves much upon it: our Saviour tells them, He knew they were so, his natural children according to the flesh: but not his genuine children according to the Spirit: this he proves, because they did not tread in Abraham’s steps, and do his works; for if either the temper of their minds, or the actions of their lives were agreeable to Abraham, they would not seek as they did, to destroy and kill him, only for bringing the doctrine of salvation to them, which he had heard and learned of the father.

Thence learn, 1. How prone we are to glory in our outward privileges, and to rely upon them. Whereas these are arguments of God’s goodness towards us, but no evidence of our goodness towards him.

2. That it is very dangerous and unsafe to pride ourselves in, and depend upon, any external privileges and prerogatives whatsoever: as our being born within the pale of the visible church, our descending from pious parents and holy progenitors; for unless we be followers of their faith, admirers of their piety, and imitate their example, we are none of their children; but belong to another father, as our Saviour tells the Jews in the other verses.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. I know that ye are Abraham's seed. According to the flesh, but not according to the spirit. Abraham had no such spirit as they.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus continues speaking to the Jews.

my word has no place in you

Here "word" is a metonym for the "teachings" or "message" of Jesus, which the Jewish leaders do not accept. AT: "you do not accept my teachings" or "you do not allow my message to change your life" (See: Metonymy)

I say what I have seen with my Father

"I am telling you about the things I saw when I was with my Father"

you also do what you heard from your father

The Jewish leaders do not understand that by "your father" Jesus is referring to the devil. AT: "you also continue doing what your father has told you to do"

translationWords

descend

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

37. Having answered the conclusion οὐδενὶ δεδουλεύκαμεν πώποτε (Joh 8:33), Jesus proceeds to deal with the premise from which it was drawn. He admits their claim in their own narrow sense. They are the natural descendants of Abraham: his children in any higher sense they are not (Joh 8:39). Comp. ‘neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children’ (Rom 9:8).

οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν. Maketh no advance in you. His word had found place in them for a very short time; but it made no progress in their hearts: it did not abide in them and they did not abide in it (Joh 8:31). They had stifled it and cast it out. See on Joh 8:31.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37.] ‘Ye are Abraham’s seed, according to the flesh and the covenant: but’—and here the distinction appears—‘ye ποιεῖτε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν by seeking to kill Me, because My λόγος (see above on ver. 31) οὐ χωρεῖ—does not work (spread, go forward,—‘ne marche pas’) in you’ (not, among you). Herodian, v. 3. 31, says of a report, ὥστε εἰς πᾶν χωρῆσαι τὸ στρατιωτικόν, ‘it spread through the whole army.’ Such expressions as τὰ πράγματα χωρεῖ κατὰ λόγον, Polyb. xxiii. 15. 12,—ταῦτα καλῶς κατὰ νοῦν ἐχώρει αὐτῷ, ib. x. 15. 4,—πῶς οὖν οὐ χωρεῖ τοὖργον; Aristoph. Pax 464, seem also to illustrate this meaning.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. οἶδα ὅτι σπέρμα Ἀβραάμ ἐστε κτλ., “I know that you are of the stock of Abraham, but, despite that, you are the slaves of sin, for you seek to kill me, my word not being operative in you.” This seems to be the sequence of the argument. The metaphor that they are the slaves of sin and need emancipation is now dropped; and Jesus tells them in the verses which follow that, sinners as they are, it is the devil who is their spiritual father.

ἀλλὰ ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι. Cf. 7:1, 25.

ὅτι ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐμὸς οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν. Cf. v. 31 above; and see note on 5:38, where we have τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔχετε ἐν ὑμῖν μένοντα, which means almost the same. The real cause of the Jews’ enmity to Jesus was a moral cause; His revelation did not abide or work in their hearts.

χωρεῖν is used transitively 2:6, and this use, “to hold,” is common. But in the present passage it is used intransitively, and its precise meaning is hard to define. In 2 Macc. 3:40 it is used of the spreading of a report τὰ μὲν καθʼ Ἡλιόδωρον … οὕτως ἐχώρησεν; and the R.V. renders here “my word hath not free course in you,” or, as Moffatt puts it, “makes no headway among you.” This is, perhaps, to introduce the idea of movement a little more than is justifiable. Of the Latin versions, a has requiescit, c has est, and Jerome’s Vulgate has capit. Accordingly, the R.V. margin gives as a possible rendering “hath no place in you,”1 which would almost identify χωρεῖν here with μένειν at 5:38. We may compare Xenophon, Œconom. c. 20 § 21, τὸ γὰρ τὰς μὲν δαπάνας χωρεῖν ἐντελεῖς … of expenses continuing undiminished.2 This we take to be the true meaning of χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν, “continues in you,” with a suggestion of operative activity. Jerome’s literal rendering non capit in uobis, “does not hold in you,” means the same thing.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hath no place [ου χωρει] . Rev., hath not free course, or maketh no way. This rendering is in harmony with vv. 30, 31, concerning those who believed, but did not believe on Him, and who showed by their angry answer, in ver. 33, that the word of Jesus had made no advance in them. The rendering of the A. V. is not supported by usage, though Field (" Otium Norvicense ") cites an undoubted instance of that sense from the Epistles of Alciphron, a post - Christian writer, who relates the story of a parasite returning gorged from a banquet and applying to a physician, who administered an emetic. The parasite, describing the effect of the medicine, says that the doctor wondered where such a mess had place [εχωρησε] . For the rendering of the Rev., compare Aristophanes : pwv oun ouj cwrei tourgon; "How is it that the work makes no progress?" (" Peace, "472). Plutarch, ejcwrei dia thv polewv oJ logov," the word : (or report) spread (or advanced) through the city (" Caesar, " 712).

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.