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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Joh_8:48-59
48The Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" 49Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death. 52The Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.' 53Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?" 54Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; 55and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am. 59Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Joh_8:48 "You are a Samaritan and have a demon" There is a possibility that the true contextual meaning is reflected in the Aramaic word translated by the Greek term "Samaritan," which meant "the chief of demons." Jesus spoke Aramaic. If this is true it fits in with the constant charge by the religious leaders that Jesus' power came from an evil supernatural source. It is also possible that to say someone had a demon meant they were lying (cf. Joh_8:52). To say Jesus was a Samaritan (cf. Joh_4:9) or had a demon (cf. Joh_7:20; Joh_8:48-49; Joh_8:52; Joh_10:20-21, see Special Topic at Joh_12:31) was a way of saying that one should not listen to Him or respond to His message. This then, like "Abraham is our father," was another excuse for not responding to Jesus or His message.
Joh_8:49 One cannot believe in the Father and not the Son (cf. 1Jn_5:9-12); one cannot know the Father and not honor the Son (cf. Joh_5:23). Although two separate external persons, they are one (cf. Joh_10:30; Joh_17:21-23).
Joh_8:50 "My glory" See note at Joh_1:14.
Joh_8:51-52 "if. . .If" These are both third class conditional sentences which mean potential action. Notice obedience is linked to faith (see list of texts in Joh_8:48).
▣ "he will never see death" This is a strong double negative. This obviously refers to spiritual death (cf. Joh_8:21; Joh_8:24), not physical death (cf. Joh_5:24; Joh_6:40; Joh_6:47; Joh_11:25-26). It could refer to the fear of death (cf. 1Co_15:54-57).
The concept of "death" (thanatos) is expressed in the Bible in three stages.
1. spiritual death, Gen_2:17; Gen_3:1-24; Isa_59:2; Rom_7:10-11; Jas_1:15 (the relationship with God is broken)
2. physical death, Gen_3:4-5; Genesis 5 (the relationship with the planet is broken)
3. eternal death, "the second death," Rev_2:11; Rev_20:6; Rev_20:14; Rev_21:8 (the broken relationship with God is made permanent)
Death is the opposite of the will of God for His highest creation (cf. Gen_1:26-27).
Joh_8:52 This shows that they misunderstood Jesus' statement (cf. Joh_8:51). They took it to relate to the physical life of Abraham and the prophets.
Joh_8:53 This question expects a "no" answer. What a startling statement! But this was exactly what Jesus was claiming.
1. He was greater than Abraham, Joh_8:53
2. He was greater than Jacob, Joh_4:12
3. He was greater than Jonah, Mat_12:41; Luk_11:32
4. He was greater than John the Baptist, Joh_5:36; Luk_7:28
5. He was greater than Solomon, Mat_12:42; Luk_11:31
The whole book of Hebrews shows the superiority of Jesus over Moses, new covenant over old covenant (see my commentary on Hebrews free online at hyperlink ).
▣ "whom do You make Yourself out to be" This was exactly the point! Jesus states the conclusion clearly in Joh_8:54; Joh_8:58 and they try to stone Him for blasphemy (cf. Joh_8:59).
Joh_8:54 "If" Another third class conditional sentence which meant potential action.
▣ "glorify" It is used here in the sense of honor (cf. Rom_1:21; 1Co_12:26).
Joh_8:55 "know. . .know" The English term translates two Greek terms in this verse, ginôskô and oida, which seem in this context to be synonyms (cf. Joh_7:28-29). Jesus knows the Father and reveals Him to His followers. The world (even the Jews) does not know the Father (cf. Joh_1:10; Joh_8:19; Joh_8:55; Joh_15:21; Joh_16:3; Joh_17:25).
Joh_8:56 "Your father Abraham" This is a startling statement. Jesus distances Himself from "the Jews," "the Law" (cf. Joh_8:17), "the Temple," and even the patriarch Abraham. There is a clear break from the Old Covenant!
▣ "rejoiced to see My day" This is an aorist middle indicative. How much did Abraham understand about the Messiah? Several translations translate this in a future sense. These options are taken from The Bible in Twenty-Six Translations.
1. "exulted that he should see" - The Emphasized New Testament: A New Translation by J. B. Rotherham
2. "rejoice that he was to see my day" - Revised Standard Version
3. "was extremely happy in the prospect of seeing - The Berkeley Version of the New Testament by Gerrit Verkuyl
4. "of seeing my coming" - The New Testament: An American Translation by Edgar J. Goodspeed
5. "was delighted to know of My day" - The New Testament in the Language of Today by William F. Beck
Also, The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised edited by Harold K. Moulton lists the verb as meaning "to desire ardently" from the Septuagint's usage (p. 2).
▣ "he saw it and was glad" This refers to one of two things.
1. that Abraham, in his lifetime, had a vision of the Messiah (cf. 2 Esdras 3:14)
2. that Abraham was alive (in heaven) and conscious of the Messiah's work on earth (cf. Heb_11:13)
The whole point of Jesus' statement is that the Father of the Jewish nation looked forward to the Messianic age with great joy, but the current "seed" (generation) refused to believe and rejoice! Abraham is the father of believers (cf. Rom_2:28-29), not unbelievers!
Joh_8:57 Again Jesus' hearers misunderstood His words because of their literalism! This confusion may have been purposeful! They did not see because they did not want to see or possibly could not see!
Joh_8:58 "before Abraham was born, I am" This was blasphemy to the Jews and they tried to stone Jesus (cf. Exo_3:12; Exo_3:14). They understood completely what He was saying, which was that He was pre-existent Deity (cf. Joh_4:26; Joh_6:20; Joh_8:24; Joh_8:28; Joh_8:54-59; Joh_13:19; Joh_18:5-6; Joh_18:8).
Joh_8:59 "they picked up stones to throw at Him" Jesus' words were very plain. He was the Messiah and He was one with the Father. These Jews, who in Joh_8:31 are said to have "believed Him," are now ready to stone Him for blasphemy (cf. Lev_24:16). It was so hard for these Jews to accept Jesus' radical new message.
1. He did not act the way they expected the Messiah to act
2. He challenged their sacred oral traditions
3. He confused their strict monotheism
4. He asserted that Satan, not YHWH, was their "father"
One must "stone" Him or "receive" Him! There is no middle ground!
▣ "Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple" This is one of those verses that have caused interpreters to speculate (and add phrases to the Greek text) on whether
1. this was a miracle (cf. Luk_4:30 and textual additions here)
2. Jesus melted into the crowd because He looked like all the other Jews in attendance
There was a divine timetable. Jesus knew that He came to die and He know how, when, and where. His "hour had not yet come"!
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