Joh 8 | TNotes

8:3 ^a The teachers of religious law were Jewish scholars who specialized in knowing the Old Testament law and the oral traditions that interpreted the law.
8:4 ^b The form of the Greek sentence emphasizes the legal claim against the woman. She had been caught while committing the sin of adultery. The law required two witnesses and carefully outlined what evidence was needed.
8:5 ^c The requirement of the law ... to stone her indicates that the woman was engaged or married (Lev 20:10 ^d; Deut 22:23-24 ^e). The law also stated that her lover should be killed with her, but these religious leaders apparently ignored their obligation to that part of the statute.

• These men could have dealt with the woman privately and kept her from public shame, but Jesus was their real target as they demanded, What do you say? Would he neglect the law since he had a reputation for mercy? Or would he ignore the woman’s tragedy?
8:6 ^f It is impossible to know what Jesus ... wrote in the dust. It has been suggested that he wrote the sins of the accusers.
8:7 ^g Jesus’ answer did not mean that an accuser had to be morally perfect to make legal accusations. His reference to the one who has never sinned points to the motives of the accusers.
8:9 ^h The jury crumbled as they slipped away. One accuser departed, followed by another, and then a succession of bystanders.
8:11 ⁱ Neither do I: Jesus’ words of assurance did not suggest that the woman was innocent. Jesus views sin and judgment seriously, yet he looks graciously and forgivingly on those caught in sin’s grip.
Summary for John 8:12-59: 8:12-59 ^j The debate about whether or not Jesus is the Messiah continues from 7:52 ^k. Jesus was still at the Festival of Shelters in Jerusalem. During the festival, the conflicts Jesus had endured in ch 7 ^l continued and intensified. 8:12 ^m During the Festival of Shelters, sixteen gold bowls in the inner courts of the Temple were filled with oil and lighted. Jesus stood beneath these lights in the Temple (8:20 ⁿ) and said that he was now the source of the light. Jesus’ light brings salvation not only to Israel but to the world, regardless of race or locale.
8:13 ^o The Pharisees charged that Jesus’ claims were not valid because Jewish law (Deut 19:15 ^p) requires more than one witness (cp. John 5:31-32 ^q; see 8:17 ^r).
Summary for John 8:14-15: 8:14-15 ^s Jesus answered the Pharisees’ charges, saying that he could make such claims about himself because he knew both his origin (heaven) and his destination (heaven). He then pointed to the most vital witness for his case, his Father who sent him (8:16 ^t).
8:19 ^u Throughout the festival, Jesus’ audience proved they were in the darkness as they misunderstood him. They wanted to meet Jesus’ father, who is God. Since they did not truly know God, they were unable to understand Jesus.
8:20 ^v The Treasury was located in the section of the Temple called the Court of the Women. Jesus often taught there so that both men and women could hear him (Mark 12:41 ^w).

• his time: See notes on John 2:4 ^x; 12:23 ^y.
8:21 ^z In the earlier debate at the festival, Jesus’ origins were at issue (7:27 ^aa). Here, Jesus mentioned going away to the place he came from, meaning heaven. However, once again, his words were misunderstood.
8:23 ^ab Jesus’ listeners were from below; they could not comprehend Jesus’ meaning because he was from above (3:31 ^ac; see study note on 3:3).
8:24 ^ad unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be: Jesus used God’s divine name (see 4:26 ^ae; Exod 3:14 ^af), but the listeners missed the nuance (John 8:25 ^ag).

• die in your sins: Jesus’ presence in the world, as the light penetrating the darkness, is the world’s only chance for salvation.
8:25 ^ah Who are you? Later they understood and tried to stone Jesus for blasphemy (8:59 ^ai).
8:28 ^aj The synoptic Gospels describe Jesus as predicting his death three times (e.g., Mark 8:31 ^ak; 9:31 ^al; 10:33-34 ^am). John parallels this (John 3:14 ^an; 8:28 ^ao; 12:33-34 ^ap), showing that the Father governs his Son’s fate.
8:30 ^aq Once again, the festival audience was divided. Earlier, the debate concluded with plans to arrest Jesus (8:20 ^ar). Now many ... believed in him, convinced that he was telling the truth. However, once Jesus’ full identity was disclosed their faith was sorely challenged (8:31-59 ^as).
Summary for John 8:31-32: 8:31-32 ^at Discipleship is more than knowing who Jesus is. It is also about obeying his teachings (3:36 ^au; 14:15 ^av, 21 ^aw, 23 ^ax; 15:10 ^ay).

• Because Jesus is the truth (14:6 ^az), knowing him brings discernment of what is true and what is false.

• set you free: The truth brings freedom from darkness, falsehood, and sin.
8:33 ^ba Jesus challenged a widely held assumption about Israel’s status as God’s chosen people. Their heritage as descendants of Abraham had inspired feelings of privilege and immunity rather than obligation and responsibility (cp. Amos 3:1-15 ^bb).

• The people misunderstood what it meant to be set free. Jesus was not referring to freedom from human slavery; he meant release from spiritual bondage to sin (John 8:34 ^bc). Truth, not their religious heritage, would free them (8:32 ^bd; Rom 6:17 ^be; 8:2 ^bf; 1 Jn 3:4 ^bg, 8 ^bh, 9 ^bi).
8:35 ^bj Jesus unfolded the logic of his argument: If Israel is a spiritual slave, it has the same insecurity as any slave in a household. Members of a family are secure, slaves are not. Only Jesus can change the status of those in spiritual slavery and make them free and secure.
Summary for John 8:37-41: 8:37-41 ^bk The leaders’ plot to kill Jesus (5:18 ^bl) unmasked their true identity. They belonged to a different household, and their father was not Jesus’ Father. They were relying on the fact that their ancestral father was Abraham, but Jesus challenged their spiritual pedigree. The climax of his challenge comes in 8:44 ^bm.
8:41 ^bn your real father: Jesus knew who controlled them.

• We aren’t illegitimate children! This was both a defense and an attack. In Greek, the pronoun we is emphatic: “We [in contrast to you] are not illegitimate,” implying that Jesus was illegitimate (see Matt 1:18-25 ^bo).
8:44 ^bp Since the unbelieving people did not love Jesus (8:42 ^bq; 1 Jn 5:1 ^br), they were not children of the Father in heaven who sent his beloved Son (John 8:47 ^bs). Their true spiritual ancestry was revealed in their desire to kill God’s Son. This was the work of the devil, who brought death to the world (see Gen 3:1-20 ^bt; Rom 5:12-14 ^bu).
Summary for John 8:48-49: 8:48-49 ^bv By calling Jesus a Samaritan devil, his opponents turned his charges back on him with a racial slur (see study note on 4:4-6). Their statement that Jesus was demon-possessed (also 7:20 ^bw; 8:52 ^bx; 10:20 ^by) countered his claim that they were linked to Satan (8:44 ^bz). Jesus rightly replied that these words were a profound dishonor. In fact, it was a serious and unforgivable offense (Mark 3:22-29 ^ca).
8:53 ^cb Who do you think you are? This question was antagonistic and aggressive. However, if Jesus is immortal, ruling over life and death, then he is greater than Abraham, the prophets, or any of the greatest people in Israel’s history (8:58 ^cc).
8:56 ^cd Like his opponents, Jesus appealed to Abraham. Rabbis taught that God had given Abraham prophetic insight, teaching him about the coming age of the Messiah.
8:57 ^ce You aren’t even fifty years old: The Jewish leaders misunderstood Jesus: He was talking about his divine pre-existence, not his physical age.
8:58 ^cf before Abraham was even born, I Am! Jesus’ life spans the past from before creation (1:1-2 ^cg) and sweeps beyond the present into eternity.

• I Am: This title is reminiscent of God’s name given on Mount Sinai (Exod 3:14 ^ch; cp. John 4:26 ^ci; Isa 43:11-13 ^cj; 48:12 ^ck).
8:59 ^cl Jesus’ audience finally understood his claim to divinity (8:58 ^cm), and they were furious. They believed they had heard blasphemy and picked up stones to throw at him, which was the proper legal response (Lev 24:16 ^cn).

• Jesus was hidden from them because God had appointed a different time for his death (see study note on John 12:23; see also 7:30 ^co, 44 ^cp; Luke 4:29-30 ^cq).