As Jesus continues a discussion in John 8:31-58, He doesn’t contradict the fact that His Jewish audience is descended from Abraham. Ancestrally, this is not in question. However, others in this particular discussion are demonstrating a mentality and behavior which indicate that they have another father – a different spiritual father – and he is neither Abraham nor God the Father.
I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
John 8:37-41 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.8.37-41.NIV
Jesus had spent time in the presence of God the Father (and eternity before time, I suppose, if we can even define what happened before Creation in temporal terms). As a result, He spoke the truth as a first-hand witness, not as a second-hand hearer. Rejection of that truth by His audience here shows that those who are objecting to this truth are listening to another source – someone who does not speak the truth.
To be clear, despite what some people today might say, there are not multiple truths: You can’t have your truth while I have my truth, if those truths don’t agree with what is true. Individuals can – and do – have different beliefs, different backgrounds, different feelings, and different experiences, but we can’t have different truths. If you and I disagree on what is true, I might be wrong, you might be wrong, or we both might be wrong, but we can’t both be right.
Now, we might be describing different parts of the same thing, or we might both be correct but be misinterpreting each other, but none of us gets to own the truth ourselves: the truth is the truth, independent of each of us. In fact, if someone says that there are multiple, individualized truths, that statement itself isn’t true.
Here, the people protest that they are children of Abraham, and this was a big deal for them. Being able to trace your family line back to Abraham was important in this culture, verifying that you were a “true-blooded” member of the Jewish nation.
However, Jesus points out how their behavior contradicts this (or what their behavior should look like – see NIV footnote and NASB), in terms of their not adopting Abraham’s practices, like listening to God and trusting in Him. Abraham wasn’t perfect, but He showed that he trusted God’s truth when he made some pretty bold life choices based on what God told Him (like relocating to a new land, and being willing to sacrifice his son).
Conversely, rather than accepting the truth of God from Jesus and making positive changes in their lives as a result, certain people (in the first century) are trying to kill Jesus for telling the truth. They might be able to trace their genealogy back to Abraham, but they have moved completely opposite to Abraham’s character and receptiveness to the truth of God.
Now, I’m not necessarily putting everyone who heard this conversation into the same bucket, but there are clearly some who are opposing Jesus here. You may have figured it out, but let’s take a look at who their actual father is, in the next article.
In the meantime, let’s make sure that we look like our Heavenly Father, and that our choices, words, and actions look like the truth that He has given – and continues to give – to us.
Conversely, let’s understand that others who have listened to a false idea of reality for a long time will struggle to understand the truth. This doesn’t mean that they can’t understand and be saved, but we may need to be as patient as Jesus was in teaching and explaining things to them, while allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for January 7, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, January 7, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – John, by Beauford H. Bryant and Mark S. Krause. © 1998 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 