John 8

¹²Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world-system. Whoever follows me will certainly not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself; your testimony is not valid.” ¹⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “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 come from or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge according to human standards; I judge no one. ¹⁶And even if I do judge, my judgment is genuine and reliable, because I am not alone; it is I and the Father who sent me. ¹⁷And in your own law it is written that the testimony of two people is valid. ¹⁸I am the one testifying about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

¹⁹They were saying to him, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” ²⁰He spoke these words in the Treasury while teaching in the temple courts; yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹Then he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²²Then the Judeans said, “He isn’t going to kill himself, is he? Since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³And he said to them, “You are from the things below; I am from the things above. You are from this world-system; I am not from this world-system. ²⁴That is why I told you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”

²⁵They were saying to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Precisely what I have been telling you from the start. ²⁶I have many things to say and to judge concerning you. But the one who sent me is truthful, and the things I heard from him—these I speak to the world-system.” ²⁷They did not realize he was talking to them about the Father. ²⁸So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but I speak these things just as the Father taught me. ²⁹And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” ³⁰As he was speaking these things, many believed in him.

³¹Then Jesus said to the Judeans who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³They answered him, “We are the seed of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” ³⁴Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I tell you: everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵A slave does not remain in the house forever; a son remains forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know that you are Abraham’s seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. ³⁸I speak of the things I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do the things you heard from your father.”

³⁹They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham!” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ⁴⁰But now you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. ⁴¹You are doing the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born from sexual immorality; we have one Father—God!”

⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came forth from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own initiative, but he sent me. ⁴³Why do you not understand my way of speaking? It is because you are unable to truly hear my word. ⁴⁴You are from your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷The one who is from God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not from God.”

⁴⁸The Judeans answered and said to him, “Are we not right to say 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. ⁵⁰I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and who judges. ⁵¹Amen, amen, I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, they will certainly never see death.”

⁵²The Judeans said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, they will never taste death.’ ⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, the one of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵Yet you have not known him. But 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. ⁵⁶Abraham your father rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷Then the Judeans said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am.” ⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden and went out from the temple courts.