John 8: The Mercy of God Examined
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. 7 SO WHEN THEY CONTINUED ASKING Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives (1) with no place to lay His head, while His accusers went to their homes. They slept. He prayed. And early in the morning Jesus returned to the temple and sat and taught the common people ( 2)- "and they, on their part, seem to have been powerfully attracted by His words... He sat with His hearers gathered round Him… The sitting of Jesus while teaching is not mentioned elsewhere in this Gospel.” (Schaff) It showed His humility and rest from judgment. Ought we not, as His ministers, follow His example outside the pulpit – only lifting up the Savior and His Word, teaching people to observe His Commandments?
Here in this passage was an object lesson for Jesus' students, as we too are afforded a look at God's mercy… It is a savor of life unto life to us. The accusers of the brethren came again with craft and vengeance. They “have been divinely thwarted in their efforts to kill Him, and again they resort to subterfuge. Bringing a woman whom they say has been caught in the act of adultery, they want Him to pronounce either His agreement or disagreement with the law of Moses (vs.3-5). In either case they were prepared to accuse Him… [But these, being blind, showed partiality.] The law had said that not only the woman, but the man also was to be put to death for such sin (Deuteronomy 22:22). Where was the man? In such cases men considered that the woman's guilt was greater than the man's and the Pharisees were willing to forget him!” (L. M. Grant)
“'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?' But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.” (4-6b), as if to signify that such persons [her accusers] were to be written in earth, not in heaven, where He told His disciples they should rejoice they were written.” (Augustine)
“His writing with His finger on the ground perhaps showed, that it was He who had written the law (Ten Commandments) on stone.”(Bede)
“They will not let our Saviour alone, but importune Him for an answer. He saith, ‘He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her.’ (7b) The law of God was, Deuteronomy 17:7, that in the execution of malefactors, ‘the hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death.’… The vengeance is God’s, not theirs; it is the law of God which they execute. He only by this minds them of that compassion which ought to be found in persons prosecuting others justly, that they may execute judgment with compassion and tenderness, and such moderation as the law will allow them, considering that they are not free from guilt, but as obnoxious to the justice of God for other sins, as those poor creatures whom God hath suffered to fall into sins punishable by human judges.” (Matthew Poole)
“Those who quote the Scriptures to condemn others are frequently the guiltiest of all. Those who are so solicitous to point to the mote in another's eye, generally have a beam in their own.” (A.W. Pink) In fact these rulers were the adulterous wife- betrothed to the Bridegroom of Israel. Thus Yahweh says: “And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare. They shall also bring up an assembly against you, and they shall stone you with stones and thrust you through with their swords.” (Ezekiel 16:38-40)
“And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.” (8) Perhaps this time, He wrote their individual sins. “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. (9) “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” (10) “She might have answered as Tertullian in another case not unlike, ... ‘they are fled before their own consciences, which convicted them, as it were, by argument...’” (John Trapp)
Let us hear now the voice of God’s mercy: “Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you… Go, and sin no more.’ So then our Lord condemned sin, but not the sinner. For did He favor sin, He would have said, ‘Go, and live as you will: depend on my deliverance: howsoever great your sins be, it matters not: I will deliver you from hell…’ But He did not say this. Let those attend, who love the Lord’s mercy, and fear His truth. Truly, gracious and righteous is the Lord.” (Augustine) Jesus will one day execute judgment on those who persist in their sins to the end. But here: “He does not execute the office of a magistrate in judging her to death; but of a minister, in calling her to repentance and reformation.” (Adam Clarke)
John 8: Jesus - The Light of the World
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. 17 It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” 19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” 20 These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
Jesus had gone "very early” in the morning to the temple to teach the people. He had settled on a public place to where all people could come to Him— whosoever will. "These words spake Jesus in the treasury (20a)- a division, so called, of the forecourt of the temple, part of the court of the women (Josephus, Ant. 19: 6. 2, etc.), which may confirm the genuinenss of John 8:2; John 8:11, as the place where the woman was brought…”(Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) who was caught in adultery. Those who were trying to accost Him were likewise sinners, and had all left one by one as their consciences were seared by God.
The Teacher is left before His students- but it was still a mixed multitude- believers and unbelievers.
"I am the Light of the world; which He might say, on occasion of the rising sun, which was now up, and might shine brightly in their faces; see John 8:2..." (Gill) To grow in grace, they needed only to remain in the Light.
“Having absolved the woman from her sin, lest some should doubt, seeing that He was really man, His power to forgive sins, He deigns to give further disclosure of His divine nature. Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world.'" (Alcuin)
Other religious leaders try to help lead you to the Light. “But,” Jesus says, “I am the Light” and “He saith, that 'he who followed Him', believing His doctrine, and obeying His precepts, living according to His direction and His example, should not be at a loss how to guide himself, nor remain in the darkness of sin, ignorance, and spiritual death; but should have that light which bringeth life along with it, and is sufficient to guide a man in all the works of a spiritual life, and at last bring him to life eternal.” (Poole)
Jesus was not a good man only; He is the Source of all goodness- the Man Christ Jesus. “What He said about Himself was very unlike the language becoming a wise and humble religious teacher. Both the prominence given to His own personality, and the tremendous claims He advances for Himself, are hard to reconcile with any conception of His nature and work except one,-that there we see God manifest in the flesh.” (A. MacLaren)
"You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true…” (13) "How does He meet this specious cavil? Not by disputing the wholesome human maxim that 'self-praise is no praise,' but by affirming that He was an exception to the rule, or rather, that it had no application to Him." (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) You judge after the flesh. I judge no man…” (15) “The Saviour suspended his judgment, according to the injunction, ‘judge nothing before the time.’ The time is not yet come to judge and destroy those who reject the gospel: but be not hardened by the delay, for that day will surely come.” (Sutcliffe) “And yet if I do judge”- seeing that I know your thoughts- “My judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.” (16)
Then the Master explains: “It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” (17-18)
There were earthly witnesses— the many voices of the Jewish prophets, including that of John the Baptist, recorded in the Bible.
Jesus is the Light of the World. ”This is what John the Baptist had said of Christ before, John 1:4,5, and what Christ saith of Himself afterward, John 9:5. It was prophesied of Him, that He should be a light to the Gentiles, and God’s salvation to the ends of the earth, Isaiah 46:6. And old Simeon saith of Him, Luke 2:32, that He was to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel.” (Matthew Poole)
They would not hear the earthly witnesses- “the Spirit, the water and the blood." (1 John 5:8) So now, Jesus- the Word made flesh- testifies of Himself and He declared that His testimony is backed up by the Father. There is even another witness- the Holy Spirit- who was impressing these truths upon their hearts. Thus the threefold witness— ”the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." (1 John 5:7) And Jesus then had a severe rebuke of those who would not hear these testimonies: "You know neither Me nor My Father." And though He spoke these Words in “the very center of Judaism, the treasury in the temple”
(L. M. Grant), "no man took Him, for his time had not yet come." (20b)
John 8: Jesus Explains The Significance of "Dying in your Sins"
21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” 27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
“I am going away…” (21); they did not understand Him. He had said this before (John 7:34) and they thought that He meant to Galilee. In that discourse He spoke to believers. Here He addresses those who refused to believe. “So Origen and S. Augustine, who says, ‘Ye shall seek Me, not from desire but from hatred.’ For after He had withdrawn from sight, they who hated and they who loved Him alike sought Him, the one to persecute, and the other from desire to hear Him. For He adds, ‘And ye shall die in your sins.’” (Cornelius a Lapide)
The Jews asked, “Will he kill himself?” (22a) “They see the deeper meaning of His words, and yet cannot see how that meaning is to be fulfilled. ‘He is going away, and He clearly refers to His death. But the issues of life are in the darkness of the future. Who can know the hour of His own departure? There is only one class of persons who can speak with certainty of thus going away, and these are persons who by their own act fix the limit of their own lives.’...” (Elliott) by trusting Jesus for salvation.
“You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins…” (23-24), as Ezekiel said, "Your birth was of the [earthly] land of Canaan, and your mother a Hittite."(Ezekiel 16:3) “Ye cleave to your sins and will go to the lowest depth, while I shall return to heaven, and therefore ye will seek Me and will not find Me. For I am like the soaring eagle, dwelling in the loftiest mountains of eternity, while ye are as worms and insects creeping on the earth. So Rupertus and S. Augustine, who says, ‘Ye are from beneath; ye savour of the earth; serpent-like, ye eat the earth. But what is meant by eating the earth? Ye feed on things of earth, ye delight in things of earth, are greedy for things of earth, ye lift not up your hearts above.’… Morally:—Ye are from beneath, as descended from Adam, and deriving from him your earthly desires, and inflamed by evil passions, thus hankering only after worldly things. But I am from above..”
There is a great gulf that separates us.
“When they ask Him again, ‘Who art thou?’ He answered, ‘Absolutely what I am also speaking to you.’ (25)… He is, in the principle of His being, what also He speaks. Essentially, precisely, what He is, He also speaks.” (Arno Gaebelein) But they would not hear swallow the Bread of Life.
“I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him. They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.” (26-27) To understand, these must turn to Jesus, accepting His claim to be the only begotten of the Father.
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.’” (28-29) When ye have lifted up the Son of Man… They must lift Him up physically and spiritually “1. Upon the cross, as the brazen serpent was upon a pole. And, 2. By the cross to the crown, though they intended no such thing. If there be any way to heaven on horseback (said Bradford) it is by the cross.” (John Trapp)Thus: “They would die in their sins and thereby be excluded from heaven, the place to which Jesus would return after His death and resurrection (21-26)… One day in the near future they would have clear proof. They would see Jesus die on the cross, but then, by the power of God, rise from the dead. This would be an unmistakable demonstration of the unity between the Father and the Son (27-29).” (Ridgeway Bible Commentary)
These Words are “as solemn and as true today as when they were uttered by the lips of the Son of God. ‘I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.’ Rejecting Christ, not believing on Him, means to die in sin.” (Gaebelein)
“Some who heard Jesus speak did not wait for the events He spoke of, but put their faith in Him immediately (30).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary) - just as we should not wait on the Judgment, for then it will be too late. They believed in Jesus: “as the Son of God, and true Messiah: faith came by hearing; Christ's hearers were of different sorts; some understood Him not, and disbelieved, and rejected him; others had their eyes, and their hearts opened, and received Him, and His words.” (John Gill)
John 8: The Truth Shall Make You Free
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
As Jesus spoke words about lifting up the Son of Man (28-39) "many believed in Him." (30) Some of these were Jews who had a stumbling block in their way, which the Shepherd tries to dislodge. “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him….” (31a) “They believed Him (cf. John 6:30) as to his claims to being the Messiah with their own interpretation (John 6:15)…” (Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament) Thus, these had a works-based theology. They still needed conversion.
You cannot believe in any purple Jesus of your own making and be saved. “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (31b-32) “The Watchman [of Israel] foresaw the gathering storm, and warned the tender minds to hold fast the truths which had gained their hearts…” (Sutcliffe’s Commentary)
“If you abide in my Word…” — “not a condition of discipleship, rather is it the manifestation of it. It is this, among other things, which distinguishes a true disciple from one who is merely a professor. These words of Christ supply us with a sure test. It is not how a man begins, but how he continues and ends. It is this which distinguishes the stony ground hearer from the good ground hearer. See Matthew 13:20, 23, and contrast Luke 8:15… — 'then are ye my disciples indeed.'(31b)— The word ‘indeed’ signifies truly, really, genuinely so. By using this word Christ here intimated that those referred to in the previous verse, who are said to have ‘believed on him,’ were not ‘genuine disciples.’ …” (A.W. Pink's Commentary)
”And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (32) The truth- "that revelation with regard to the salvation of men, through the mediation of the incarnate Son, which is so often in the New Testament called, by way of eminence, ‘the truth',—the truth of truths,—the most important of all truths,—the truth of which He is full,—the truth that came by Him, as the law came by Moses,—the truth, the reality in opposition to the shadows, the emblems, of the introductory economy,—what Paul termed, ‘the word of the truth of the Gospel', Col 1:5." (Dr. John Brown)
We have no better, nor more reliable, narrative of Jesus’ sojourn with us than the Bible. Here we witness His deeds and understand His doctrine. Modern thinkers who deviate from this Source are no scholars all. They are false shepherds- blind guides. In contrast: “They are His disciples indeed, who make His doctrine the rule of their lives. He therefore tells them, that not a mere saying to Him ‘Lord, Lord’, and yielding some light assent to some propositions of truth in the gospel, would make them His disciples in truth and reality, without an abiding and continuance in the words which He taught them.” (Matthew Poole's Annotations)
Now we see the root of the problem. These Jews responded: “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” (33) Sadly their forefathers had been slaves in Egypt, as well as in bondage in Babylon… and they themselves were under Roman suppression— all as a result of sin.
And yet these could not see the bondages as the very hand of God. They had no place for repentance. Not in bondage to any man! Really! “They must either understand it of their own persons, though they were tributaries they were no slaves; or else concerning their right, they had a right to liberty though they were under an extrinsic servitude to their conquerors.” (Poole) These physical bondages were shadow of a greater spiritual bondage, common to all mankind. “Satan lodged in their hearts, and excited their passions to every evil work…” (Sutcliffe)
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
“The allusion is… concerning Abraham, to Genesis 21:10, Sarah said to Abraham: 'Cast out this bondwoman and her son—Hagar and Ishmael—for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son—Isaac;’ Genesis 25:5, ‘Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac:’ comp. Galatians 4:22, etc., ‘He who was of the bondwoman, was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise, which things are an allegory,’ etc.” (Johann Albrecht Bengel) Thus: “The Lord shews them that there may be, of that seed, two kinds; the son, properly so called, and the slave. The latter does not abide in the house for ever: it is not his right nor his position—‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son.’ ‘But the son abideth ever.’ For the application, see on following verses.” (Alford)
John 8: Jesus Further Distinguishes Between Servants and Sons
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
Jesus had just made a distinction between servants and sons. And He now confirms that the Jews in front of Him are of the servant type of descendant of Abraham only, who remain enslaved to sin and thus will not abide in the house of Israel forever. They are neither true sons of Abraham (37-41a) nor of God the Father. (41b-46) “Where the Word of Jesus ought at once to be received, it is often rejected. These Jews were Abraham’s seed, but they had not Abraham’s faith. Jesus knows where His Word is received, and where it has no place. He declares that all else is unavailing: it was in vain that they were of the favoured race if they did not admit the Saviour’s Word into their hearts. The practical result appeared in their lives: they sought to kill Jesus...” (C. H. Spurgeon)- the Lord of Glory.
“All men are included in this censure who give themselves up to the evil influences of their hearts.” (Sutcliffe) “His word had no place in them—the Greek word translated ‘no place’ signifies no entrance. They received it not (contrast 1 Thess 2:13). They were merely wayside hearers. It is this which distinguishes, essentially, a saved man from a lost one. The former is one who receives with meekness the engrafted Word (James 1:21). He hides that Word in his heart (Psalm 119:11). The believer gives that Word the place of trust, of honor, of rule, of love. The man of the world gives the Word no place because it is too spiritual, too holy, too searching. He is filled with his own concerns, and is too busy and crowded to give the Word of God a real place of attention. Unspeakably solemn are those awful words of Christ to all such: ‘He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ (John 12:48).” (A. W. Pink)
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
“We find the Jews pluming themselves on their natural descent from Abraham, as if that must of necessity, cover all deficiencies—‘Abraham is our father.’ (39a) We find them going even further than this, and claiming to be God's special favorites and God's own family—‘We have one Father, even God.’ (41b)They forgot that fleshly relationship to Abraham was useless, unless they shared Abraham's grace. They forgot that God's choice of their father to be head of a favored nation was never meant to carry salvation to the children, unless they walked in their father's footsteps. All this in their blind self-conceit they refused to see. ‘We are Jews. We are God's children. We are the true Church. We are in the covenant. We must be all right.’ This was their whole argument!
"Strange as it may seem, there are multitudes of so-called Christians who are exactly like these Jews. Their whole religion consist of a few notions neither wiser nor better than those propounded by the enemies of our Lord. They will tell you ‘that they are regular Church people; they have been baptized; they go to the Lord's table’ —but they can tell you no more. Of all the essential doctrines of the Gospel they are totally ignorant. Of faith, and grace, and repentance, and holiness, and spiritual mindedness they know nothing at all. Unquestionably they are Churchmen, and so they hope to go to heaven! There are myriads in this condition. It sounds sad, but unhappily it is only too true.
"Let us settle firmly in our minds that connection with a good Church and good ancestors is no proof whatever that we ourselves are in a way to be saved. We need something more than this. We must be joined to Christ himself by a living faith. We must know something experimentally of the work of the Spirit in our hearts. ‘Church principles,’ and ‘sound Churchmanship,’ are fine words and excellent party cries. But they will not deliver our souls from the wrath to come, or give us boldness in the day of judgment.” (J. C. Ryle)
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (44) Satan’s “seduction of mankind was itself a murder, severing man from the life of God, and bringing in the evil that has been the cause of every crime. Thus he is the shedder ‘of all the righteous blood shed upon the earth.’ Not only was he a man-killer, but he ‘stood not in the truth.’… Throughout all past human history the devil shunned ‘the truth,’ took his stand without the borders of ‘the truth,’ because this action alone is suitable to his essential (though not original) nature.” (Schaff's Popular Commentary)
“Nothing can be more plain, nothing more evident, in proof of that everlasting and irreconcileable separation [contrast eternal life and everlasting destruction], between the [true universal] Church and the world; between the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent. Both the one, and the other; the Israel after the flesh and the Israel after the Spirit, possess for a time, as servants and children in the same family, apparently the same privileges. In respect of ordinances, and means of grace, they sit down under the same. And like those Pharisees, who never believed in Christ [according to the Scriptures], and those true disciples of Jesus who did; the same discourses were delivered before all. But by and by, when the Lord comes to take account, the Ishmaels, and the Isaacs, are found to be of very different stock; and an everlasting separation takes place. For what saith the scripture; ‘Cast out the bond woman and her son; for the son of the bond woman shall not be here with the son of the free woman.’ Reader! learn to estimate the vast distinction. See whether you can enter into a relish of the Apostle's conclusion, when he, saith: ‘So then brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free.’ Gal 4:22 to the end.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
John 8: Before Abraham Was, I AM
48 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
There is no reason to believe that these Jews who here accused Jesus were any other than those who had "believed in Him" (30) but whom He had just rebuked for their false ideas. To Him they now said, “You are a Samaritan and have a demon.” (48)- because He distinguished between servants and sons as the patriarchs and prophets also did. And why call Him "a Samaritan", "but that they thought the worst word in their bellies good enough for Him? Malice cares not what it saith, so it may kill or gall; and these dead dogs (as he calleth Shimei, 2 Samuel 16:9) will be barking.” (Trapp)
This is that seed which fell on rocks; “and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.” (Luke 8:6)
Jesus’ only desire is to glorify His Father. Then He makes the bold claim that anyone who keeps His Word will never see death.
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ 53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
They were now certain that He had a demon, but the conviction came from another spirit than that of God. Jesus had just said that if anyone believes in Him, they “shall never see death.” And they changed His Word— which did not dwell in them— saying that He had said that they would “never taste death.” These Jews said that Abraham and the prophets were dead, but: “commonly in the OT, when a person dies, he is said to go to sleep with his fathers (e.g., Dt 31:16; 2 Sm 7:12). Jesus spoke of death as sleep (Mt 9:24; Jn 11:11). So did the apostle Paul (1 Cor 11:30; 15:20, 51; 1 Thes 4:13-14). In some of these references, it would seem that it is the temporary nature of death that is the reason why it is spoken of as sleep.” (Tyndale) Those experiencing it don’t see it, being sound asleep; but they taste of it, being in the heart of the earth… And yet thanks be to God that Jesus also tasted death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)
54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
"'If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is my Father who honors Me…’ (54) according to that, ‘Them that honour me, I will honour,’ 1 Samuel 2:30; this is a bargain of God’s own making. Fame follows virtue, as the shadow the body; or if not, yet she is …. ‘content with her own applause.’ [virtue's] Yet you have not known Him…’ (55) There is a twofold knowledge of God. 1. Apprehensive; 2. Affective, or cognoscitiva, standing in speculation, and directiva vitae. [In great contrast to you:] ‘Your father Abraham' [- having that 'directive vitae' knowledge-] rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad… ‘ (56) He saw it afar off, and saluted it,... Hebrews 11:13. His good old heart danced levaltos within him, as children use to dance about a bonfire..., with an exuberance of joy, that joy of faith. The Fathers say that he saw Christ’s birth at the valley of Mamre, Genesis 18:1-16, and his passion in the mount Moriah, Genesis 22:3-14.” (Trapp)
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” 59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
“This interesting chapter ends with a startling self-revelation of His absolute Deity, that He is the Eternal Jehovah. Eleven times the name ‘Abraham’ is found in the eighth chapter of John. At the close the Lord speaks of Abraham having seen His day and rejoiced. He saw it in faith. Then when the Jews expressed their astonishment He answered, ‘Before Abraham was, I AM!’ It is the most positive, the clearest declaration of our Lord of His Eternity, that He is God. He is the ‘I AM’—Jehovah. Thus this great testimony has always been received. We let a few of the ancient teachers speak: CHRYSOSTOM observes: ‘He said not before Abraham was, I was, but, I AM. As the Father useth this expression I AM, so also doth Christ, for it signifieth continuous being, irrespective of all time. On which account the expression seemed to the Jews blasphemous.’ AUGUSTINE says: ‘In these words acknowledge the Creator and discern the creature. He that spake was made the Seed of Abraham; and that Abraham might be, He was before Abraham.’ GREGORY remarks: ‘Divinity has no past or future, but always the present; and therefore Jesus does not say before Abraham was I was, but I am.’
… The Jews [also] knew… what He meant. They took up stones to stone Him because they knew He claimed absolute Deity. A miracle followed. The Greek means literally ‘He was hid.’ Their eyes must have been holden as He went out of the Temple and passed by.” (Arno Gaebelein)