John 8

Introduction

John 8 is perhaps the most confrontational chapter in the Gospel. It continues the Feast of Tabernacles setting of chapter 7 and is dominated by a sustained, escalating dispute between Jesus and "the Jews" — specifically the Pharisaic leadership — about identity, origin, fatherhood, and truth. The chapter begins with the disputed pericope of the woman caught in adultery (7:53–8:11), moves through two major "I AM" declarations (Light of the World; Before Abraham was, I am), and ends with an attempted stoning.

The controlling question throughout is: whose son are you? The leaders claim Abraham as father; Jesus reframes the question. They claim God as Father; Jesus denies it. Jesus points them toward a different father — the devil — based not on genealogy but on behavior: specifically, the desire to kill him, and the rejection of truth. The chapter's theological core is the absolute ἐγώ εἰμι of v. 58 — "before Abraham was, I am" — the most direct self-identification in the Gospel, which the leaders correctly understand as a claim to divine identity and respond to accordingly.

The Woman Caught in Adultery (7:53–8:11)

A Note on the Text

This passage — the woman caught in adultery — is absent from the earliest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of John (including Papyrus 66, Papyrus 75, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Vaticanus). It appears in different locations in different manuscripts: some place it here, some after John 7:36, some after John 21:25, and some in the Gospel of Luke. Its style and vocabulary differ noticeably from the surrounding chapters. The overwhelming consensus of textual scholars is that it was not part of John's original Gospel.

At the same time, the story has the feel of authentic early tradition about Jesus — consistent with his manner of dealing with opponents and with the vulnerable, consonant with Synoptic episodes. Most modern Bibles include it with a note. It is treated here as an ancient tradition about Jesus, very possibly historically accurate, but held somewhat separately from the main text of John.

¹ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

² Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them. ³ The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them ⁴ and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?" ⁶ They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.

⁷ When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her." ⁸ And again He bent down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ When they heard this, they began to go away one by one, beginning with the older ones, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there. ¹⁰ Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?"

¹¹ "No one, Lord," she answered.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Now go and sin no more."

¹ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

² 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 The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴ they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do you say?" ⁶ They said this testing him, that they might have something with which to accuse him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ When they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" ¹¹ She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."

Notes

The legal trap is carefully constructed: if Jesus says "stone her," he sides with a form of the law that was either technically illegal under Roman occupation (Jews had no right to carry out capital punishment — cf. John 18:31) or politically dangerous. If he says "release her," he can be accused of setting aside Mosaic law. The leaders think they have him.

Jesus' response is to write on the ground — κατέγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν. What he writes is never stated. Speculation ranges widely: the accusers' own sins, the words of Jeremiah 17:13 ("those who depart from me will be written in the earth"), or simply nothing meaningful — a gesture of deliberate delay that forces the accusers to wait. The content remains opaque; the effect is evident.

"Let him who is without sin" — ὁ ἀναμάρτητος — does not necessarily mean sinlessly perfect in all of life. It may refer more narrowly to the same sin (perhaps some manuscripts read "this sin"). The accusers depart beginning with the eldest — the ones most aware of their own histories.

The encounter ends with two parallel negatives and an imperative. Jesus says: "Neither do I condemn you" (κατακρίνω) — to judge against, pronounce guilty) — a declaration of non-condemnation that is also not an acquittal. He does not say "you did not sin." He says "go, and from now on sin no more" (μηκέτι ἁμάρτανε). Grace and moral expectation together.

I Am the Light of the World (vv. 12–20)

¹² Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."

¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not valid."

¹⁴ Jesus replied, "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶ But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷ Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. ¹⁸ I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me."

¹⁹ "Where is Your Father?" they asked Him.

"You do not know Me or My Father," Jesus answered. "If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well."

²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, "You are testifying about yourself; your testimony is not true."

¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I am the one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me."

¹⁹ So they said to him, "Where is your Father?"

Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

²⁰ These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. And no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Notes

The second "I AM" predicate declaration: ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου — "I am the light of the world." The Sukkot backdrop is again operative: the great torch-lighting ceremony in the Court of the Women during the feast illuminated all Jerusalem. Jesus now claims to be what those torches pointed to.

The word φῶς, "light," is foundational in John — appearing already in the prologue: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). Light in John is not merely illumination but the source of life and the revealer of what is real. To follow Jesus is to have τὸ φῶς τῆς ζωῆς — "the light of life" — light that is life, or the life that is light.

The legal dispute in vv. 13–18 turns on the two-witness rule from Deuteronomy 19:15. The Pharisees argue that self-testimony is invalid. Jesus' response has two levels: (1) his self-testimony is uniquely valid because he knows his own origin and destination as no one else does; (2) he is not alone — the Father also testifies. The two witnesses are Father and Son. When they ask "where is your Father?" they expose the depth of their blindness: they think he is speaking of a human father they could summon. He is speaking of the one who sent him.

The phrase "his hour had not yet come" (v. 20) appears again, as in John 7:30. John uses this repeatedly to show that Jesus' death, when it comes, is not an accident or a political miscalculation but an appointment.

I Am Going Away (vv. 21–30)

²¹ Again He said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."

²² So the Jews began to ask, "Will He kill Himself, since He says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"

²³ Then He told them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

²⁵ "Who are You?" they asked.

"Just what I have been telling you from the beginning," Jesus replied. ²⁶ "I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world."

²⁷ They did not understand that He was telling them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me. ²⁹ He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him."

³⁰ As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.

²¹ He said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come."

²² So the Jews were saying, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"

²³ He said to them, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you therefore that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins."

²⁵ So they said to him, "Who are you?"

Jesus said to them, "What I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have many things to say about you and to judge. But the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him."

²⁷ They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him."

³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

Notes

The contrast in v. 23 is absolute: ἐκ τῶν κάτω... ἐκ τῶν κάτω... ἐκ τῶν ἄνω — "from below... from above." ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου... ἐκ τούτου τοῦ κόσμου — "from this world... I am not from this world." The division is not merely geographic but ontological. Their origin and his are categorically different. To miss this is to fatally misread the conversation.

The crucial phrase in v. 24 is ἐγώ εἰμι — "unless you believe that I am." In English, this seems incomplete — "I am" what? But in Greek, the absolute ἐγώ εἰμι without a predicate is deliberate. It echoes the divine name: God's self-identification to Moses in Exodus 3:14 (LXX: ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, "I am the one who is"). This absolute use appears three times in chapter 8 (vv. 24, 28, 58), and the final instance triggers the attempted stoning — confirming that the leaders understood exactly what Jesus was claiming.

The lifting-up saying in v. 28 — "when you have lifted up (ὑψώσητε) the Son of Man, then you will know" — is the third of John's three "lifting up" sayings (John 3:14, John 12:32-34). ὑψόω means both to lift up physically (on a cross) and to exalt. The crucifixion and glorification are a single event in John's theology. The ones who lift him up will, in that very act, reveal who he is — even if they refuse to acknowledge it.

True Freedom (vv. 31–47)

³¹ So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

³³ "We are Abraham's descendants," they answered. "We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?"

³⁴ Jesus replied, "Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ A slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

³⁷ I know you are Abraham's descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you. ³⁸ I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

³⁹ "Abraham is our father," they replied.

"If you were children of Abraham," said Jesus, "you would do the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your father."

"We are not illegitimate children," they declared. "Our only Father is God Himself."

⁴² Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.

⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!

⁴⁶ Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

³³ They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?"

³⁴ Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father."

³⁹ They answered and said to him, "Abraham is our father."

Jesus said to them, "If you were children of Abraham, you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your father."

They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father — God himself."

⁴² Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.

⁴³ Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

⁴⁶ Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear is that you are not of God."

Notes

The opening of this section is addressed to "the Jews who had believed him" (v. 31) — those whose faith was apparently genuine but untested. Jesus' condition for true discipleship is μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ — "if you remain/abide in my word." μένω (menō, abide) is John's word for the deepest form of belonging. True discipleship is not a one-time decision but a sustained dwelling.

"The truth will set you free" (v. 32) — ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς — is perhaps the most famous sentence in this chapter. But in context it is not about intellectual liberation or political freedom. The freedom Jesus offers is from sin (v. 34), from the bondage of being a slave who has no permanent home. ἀλήθεια, "truth," in John refers not to an abstract proposition but to Jesus himself — "I am the truth" (John 14:6). The truth that sets free is personal, not merely informational.

The response in v. 33 — "we have never been slaves to anyone" — is historically remarkable given that Israel had been enslaved in Egypt, exiled to Babylon, and were currently under Roman occupation. What they mean is that they are free in terms of covenant standing: as Abraham's descendants, they are heirs, not slaves. Jesus accepts the biological ancestry ("I know you are Abraham's descendants," v. 37) but disputes the spiritual reality. True children do what their father does. Abraham received the stranger; he did not try to kill him.

The escalation in v. 44 is the most severe accusation Jesus makes in any Gospel: "You are of your father the devil." This is not a general theological statement about all humanity; it is a specific diagnosis of these leaders at this moment, based on two specific behaviors — murder and lies. ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς — "he was a murderer from the beginning." The reference is to the fall (Genesis 3) and to Cain (Genesis 4:8), both understood in Jewish tradition as the devil's work. The leaders' desire to kill Jesus (vv. 37, 40) puts them in the lineage of that original murder.

"When he lies, he speaks from his own nature" — ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων λαλεῖ, "he speaks from his own things." This contrasts with Jesus, who speaks only what he has heard from the Father. The devil is self-originated in his speech; his lies flow from his own will. Jesus' truth flows from the Father's reality. The two lineages — murderer/liar vs. God — define the two kinds of hearing: those who belong to God hear God's words; those who do not belong to God cannot.

Before Abraham Was, I Am (vv. 48–59)

⁴⁸ The Jews answered Him, "Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?"

⁴⁹ "I do not have a demon," Jesus replied, "but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge.

⁵¹ Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death."

⁵² "Now we know that You have a demon!" declared the Jews. "Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?"

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' ⁵⁵ You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad."

⁵⁷ Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?"

⁵⁸ "Truly, truly, I tell you," Jesus declared, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.

⁴⁸ The Jews answered and said to him, "Are we not right in saying 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 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.

⁵¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

⁵² The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets died, and yet you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.' ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?"

⁵⁴ Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' ⁵⁵ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. ⁵⁶ Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."

⁵⁷ So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"

⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

⁵⁹ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Notes

The accusation "You are a Samaritan" (v. 48) is an ethnic and theological slur — Samaritans were considered half-breeds who had corrupted Israel's religion. Pairing it with "you have a demon" is a double attack on legitimacy: suspect origin and demonic inspiration. Jesus denies the demon but does not bother denying the "Samaritan" label — suggesting perhaps that his mission beyond ethnic Israel renders the slur irrelevant, or simply that he will not dignify that part of the attack.

The promise in v. 51 — "if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death" — provokes the crowd's sharpest objection yet: Abraham died. The prophets died. Who do you think you are? They interpret Jesus as making an extraordinary empirical claim about physical immortality. Jesus is speaking about something deeper: the death that is separation from God, the second death. Keeping his word is abiding in him; those who abide in him have already crossed from death to life (John 5:24).

"Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day" (v. 56) — this saying is mysterious. What moment is Jesus referring to? Some interpretations point to Genesis 17:17, where Abraham falls down laughing at God's promise of a son — a laugh of joy as well as surprise. Others point to Genesis 22, the near-sacrifice of Isaac as a prophetic enactment of the cross. Jewish tradition (e.g., the Book of Jubilees) held that Abraham was shown visions of the future age. Whatever the precise referent, Jesus is claiming that Abraham's joy was eschatological — oriented toward Jesus' own coming.

The climax of the chapter and of this entire confrontation is v. 58: πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγώ εἰμι — "before Abraham was (came to be), I am." The grammar is deliberately asymmetrical: Abraham's existence is expressed with a verb of becoming (γενέσθαι, aorist), whereas Jesus' existence is expressed with the present tense of being (εἰμι). Abraham came into existence at a point in time. Jesus simply is — outside of time's arrival and departure. This is not merely a claim to pre-existence (which could be said of angels or heavenly beings); it is a claim to the eternal divine present — the name of God from Exodus 3:14.

The leaders understand exactly what has been said: they pick up stones to stone him. Under Jewish law, blasphemy — claiming to be God — was a capital offense (Leviticus 24:16). They are not overreacting; they are applying the law as they understand it to what they have just heard. The only question that matters for John's readers is whether they are right about what Jesus claimed — and wrong about whether the claim is true.

Jesus' escape — ἐκρύβη, "he was hidden" — echoes divine hiddenness in the OT, and anticipates the coming hour when he will not escape but will give himself freely. He is not afraid of death; his time has simply not yet come.