Questionable Parentage (John 8:37–47)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 8:37–47

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: September 10, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

My family was talking about reality shows recently, the daytime ones which are full of drama. A woman comes on with her child and a man who has doubts about the circumstances surrounding the child’s conception. There are plenty of assurances and pleading, but in the end, a paternity test reveals whether the man there is really the father.

It’s sad commentary on our society that such events would form our entertainment. Such cases are common enough to provide a steady stream of participants, and people enjoy watching it. It does provide a chance for a lesson, though: life is far less complicated if we simply live God’s way, if we simply save ourselves for marriage with a likeminded individual. Thankfully, there is grace and forgiveness in Christ for those who have fallen in the area of sexual sin.

In this passage, we see the Jews who supposedly had come to believe Jesus list two lines of evidence for why they believed they were okay: Abraham was their father, and so was God. However, our Lord issues a paternity test of sorts in both cases and shows that this is not the case. Similarly, we cannot make assumptions about our salvation based on our physical or spiritual parentage.

Let’s consider what that means:

Don’t assume salvation through physical parentage (vv. 37–41a)

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. You are doing the deeds of your father.”

The Jews here are claiming they’re Abraham’s descendants (vv. 33, 37). Jesus affirms it physically, but He’s also saying there’s a spiritual disconnect. He says they “seek to kill Me,” something Abraham wouldn’t have done! As one commentator notes, they were “even now glowering with murderous vengeance.” In v. 39, He says, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.” They are not living like the honored offspring of Father Abraham.

If they were acting like Abraham’s children, then they would be treating Jesus very differently. Back in v. 37, He says that they reason they desire to murder Him because “My word does not have room in y’all, as in they have no place for it. Yet, His comment can carry the sense of progress, which is why the NASB footnote says His word “makes no progress.” (Christ’s Word should not only find a place in our hearts, but also change us!) Either way, the Holeman Christian Standard Bible’s translation is helpful, “My word is not welcome among you.” They were not willing to receive what Christ had to say.

Yet, Jesus is only communicating what the Father had communicated to Him. In v. 38, He says, “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father.” This child of Abraham hints at His preexistence, and true children of Abraham receive the Messiah and His word.

In fact, Jesus challenges them by saying His Father isn’t their father. He says that “therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” He also uses the emphatic pronoun for them, further creating the contrast; “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” They are listening to someone else.

They do pick up on the fact suspect that He’s questioning their parentage. So, they repeat in v. 39, “Abraham is our father.” Note that they’re still trusting in their physical lineage!

Why are they so concerned with being Abraham’s descendants in the first place? God made specific promises to the children of Abraham which they’re misinterpreting. In Genesis 17:7, God says to Abraham His is an everlasting covenant, “to be God to you and to your descendants after you.” Yet, God also calls each person to an individual faith, noting in chapters like Ezekiel 18 that each person bears its own guilt.

These Jews don’t believe in Christ (as we noted last time), so they place their confidence in their fleshly heritage. The unfortunate reality is, as Romans 9:6 says, “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel.” In fact, there will be many sons of Abraham which did not physically descend from him, for Galatians 3:7 says, “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.” Just because they are physical children of Abraham, it doesn’t mean that they know God.

You may know that there are some today who think that, because Abraham circumcised his newborn sons, New Covenant Christians are supposed to baptize our infants. In good cases, like in many Presbyterian churches, this is only applied similarly to how we might perform a baby dedication (only with water). We don’t do that because we don’t believe that is how this should be applied, and moreover, some go a step further and teach baptism regenerates the infants. In other words, infants not only come into the fellowship, but also into Christ through the faith of their parents. As a sad result, many people have a false assurance of salvation, an ironic error not dissimilar from what these Jews are displaying here. They claim they’re children of Abraham via baptism, believing some of Scripture’s promises, but they have not placed their personal faith in Christ for salvation.

We are saved by faith alone in Christ, apart from any works, including baptism. Even so, saving faith changes us, producing a consequence of good works. Jesus replies, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham;” if they are the spiritual offspring of Abraham, then they would act like their father. As James said, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18), going on to note that Abraham demonstrated his faith by obeying God (vv. 21–24). Saving faith would prompt them to treat Jesus differently.

The evidence of their paternity isn’t in their favor. As Jesus goes on to say, “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth.” They have a different spiritual father than Abraham.

Jesus highlights this by clarifying to them who His father is: “which I heard from God.” Remember, He’d been saying His truth came from His Father, but as we read back in v. 27, “They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.” Now, they understand He’s making a greater claim of parentage than even theirs!

On this basis, He solidifies their paternity test. Perhaps best rendered by the English Standard Version, He says, “This is not what Abraham did.” As one study notes, “Abraham did not try to kill God’s messenger if he didn’t like the message.” When Abraham met messengers of God, he received them, but that’s not how the Jews are treating Jesus.

Jesus drives the point home: “You are doing the deeds of your father” — they have a different father altogether! This is an insult to them, of course, though they’re finally understanding. They see that He’s not really saying they aren’t Abraham’s children, but that they are acting spiritually amiss. Yet, they won’t stand for His greater claim: They think they can likewise place their confidence in their ability to name God as the father of their country. Let’s consider that point next:

Don’t assume salvation through spiritual parentage (vv. 41b–47)

They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

I don’t want you to be confused here. Again, the problem isn’t that they didn’t have faith, but that they were not believing God’s Word right now. If they did, they would believe in Jesus. So, they don’t ultimately have faith in God, though they assume they do.

Consider what they say. They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” There are a lot of theories as to what they may be suggesting here, and it may be that all they intend to say is that God alone is their Father. Yet, it seems that there’s some subtext, and the clearest connection is probably to the questionable circumstances surrounding Jesus’s birth. Of course, the Scripture says that Messiah would come from a virgin, but they believed that Mary was unfaithful to Joseph (which the Talmud also suggests). So, they’re saying that they’re not illegitimate, though Jesus probably is!

That aside, why call God their Father? The children of Abraham (specifically the Israelites) are God’s people. Both the Law and the Prophets attest that God is the Father of the Jewish nation (Exod. 4:22; Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8). So, they have some basis for this, and they assume their spiritual position based solely on this physical heritage.

Years ago, I ran into this once during evangelism. We were sharing the gospel with some folks by a lake, and I started speaking with a couple visiting some family who had (what sounded like) thick Eastern European accents. I don’t recall off hand what country they said they were from, but they believed they were Christians already because they were born there. When we talked about the importance of faith, that was a new concept to them. They assumed a spiritual heritage, even taking the name Christian, but they didn’t have faith in Christ.

Jesus counters in v. 42, “If God were your Father, you would love Me.” He’s flatly denying their claim! As 1 John 5:1 says, “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” You can’t have one without the other. As the Reformation Study Bible notes here, “The unity between Father and Son is so profound that no one can belong to the Father and reject the Son.” Unfortunately, this proves that they are not sons of God.

Incidentally, it’s sloppy when Christians refer to all people as the children of God. It’s more than sloppy; it’s false! All people bear God’s image, but they do not become His spiritual children until spiritual adoption. The Jews aren’t born as God’s children, and neither are the Gentiles. We’re all born separated from God and need to be adopted into His family through Christ.

That’s why accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is vital. He’s the only mediator. He says as much when He says that “I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” He demonstrates there is no one else that we can trust in for salvation; to reject the Son is to reject the Father!

So, no, God is not their Father. Jesus asks in the next verse, “Why do you not understand what I am saying?” He doesn’t even wait; He provides the answer. “It is because you cannot hear My word.” They don’t hear because they don’t want to hear, just like children don’t always hear that it’s time to clean up their rooms! This is the doctrine of total depravity, where sin corrupts us totally, including our hearing and our understanding. People love their sin and don’t want to be confronted. They’re unregenerate, still dead in their sin and without God.

If God isn’t their spiritual father, then who is? Jesus says something that makes everyone wince: “You are of your father the devil.” He even says it with emphasis on the “you.”

Remember that Jesus has been hinting about their true father (vv. 38, 41); now, He says it. As an aside, this isn’t that heretical doctrine called “serpent seed.” This is a teaching held mostly by white supremacists today, one that teaches some people (like these Jews) are Satan’s physical offspring through his adulterous relationship with Eve. I don’t want to get too deep into that false teaching for those unfamiliar with it, but recall that Jesus doesn’t deny their authentic Jewish lineage (v. 37). It’s not that they’re literal descendants of the devil; they are simply demonstrating more in common with Satan than with God.

This isn’t a comparison restricted to these Jews, either. Remember that Jesus did the same with a resistant Peter in Matthew 16:23, where He says, “Get behind Me, Satan!” In 1 John 3:8, we read that “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” It’s the practice of sin that creates the association. John also says in 1 John 5:19, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” so every man, woman, and child who is not of God is affected by the serpent’s hiss.

Note how these individuals evidence a devilish sway. Jesus says, “you want to do the desires of your father.” Satan was a creature who fell in his jealousy; they internally manifest envy, and externally, they will murder just as he did. They’re just like the one who “was a murderer from the beginning” — the serpent talked Eve into eating the fruit which would kill her (and later Adam) spiritually (Gen. 2:17; 3:4, 17–24; Rom. 5:12; Heb. 2:14), and now, these Jews follow their father and desire to murder Christ.

They don’t want Christ because of His truth. That’s another devilish characteristic, which is why Jesus also notes that Satan doesn’t “stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” They’re rejecting the truth in front of them, having not truth within them, as it is with all liars (cf. 1 John 2:4). As Jesus says in the next verse, “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” As Matthew Henry notes, the devil “is a friend and patron of lying,” and they’re just like him.

Of course, this should be enough to encourage all believers to practice truth-telling! In 1 Samuel 15:29, we read, “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” Ours is a God of truth and constancy, and we deviate from His standard when we fail to operate with integrity. Not only is it a violation of the ninth commandment (Exod. 20:16), it reflects the father of lies (John 8:44). As such, professed Christians who continue to lie in an unrepentant fashion evidence that they never came to Christ, just as these Jews are evidencing that God is not their Father.

Still, He asks them for some truth in v. 46: “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” They were full of accusations throughout the Gospels, of course. As one commentary notes, “They accused him of some of the worst of crimes—gluttony, drunkenness, blasphemy, sabbath-breaking, confederacy with Satan, and what not. But their accusations were malicious groundless calumnies, and such as every one that knew him knew to be utterly false.” It’s true our Lord Jesus experienced temptation, but He was without sin or even the desire to sin. The old way of saying that is that He is impeccable. Another commentary notes,

Second Corinthians 5:21 says that He “knew no sin”; Hebrews 4:15 that He “has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin”; Hebrews 7:26 describes Him as “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners”; and 1 Peter 2:22 affirms that He “committed no sin.” Only the perfectly holy One, in intimate communion with the Father, could dare to issue such a challenge. Though His enemies wrongly believed Him to be guilty of sin, they could not prove Him guilty of anything. At His trial before Annas Jesus issued a similar challenge: “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” (18:23). There, as here, the challenge went unanswered.

Indeed, and they still reject Him.

Jesus says, “If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” He inspects the fruit of their tree and finds it rotten. As 1 John 4:6 says, “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Conclusion

Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone. God’s quickening rays shine into our dark hearts and bring forth light, helping us to see the truth of the Word. We can’t produce salvation on our own, but a lack of willingness to come to Christ or to keep His Word is evidence that you don’t know Him yet.

Don’t trust in you heritage or just assume that you’re a Christian. Ask yourself — “Do I trust in Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior?” Consider whether His Words are important to you; perhaps challenging at times, but words you want to live by. Consider whether you think His death and resurrection from the dead are sufficient to deal with your sins before God. Examine yourselves, for you want to know whether you are children of God and not children of the devil.

If you are a Christian, I hope you see just how much the Lord has saved you. You used to be under the power of the evil one! We still must beware his tricks and wiles, but we know that our Lord who delivers us is greater than him. When he tempts you, remember that your strength doesn’t come from where you came from, what church you attend, or through unapplied spiritual truth; rather, it comes through the Lord of Hosts who saved your soul from the devil’s grasp!