John 8:40

38 ^aI speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have¹ seen with your father.”

39 They answered and said to Him, ^a“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ^b“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.

40 ^aBut now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth ^bwhich I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.

41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; ^awe have one Father—God.”

42 Jesus said to them, ^a“If God were your Father, you would love Me, for ^bI proceeded forth and came from God; ^cnor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.

43 ^aWhy do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.

44 ^aYou are of your father the devil, and the ^bdesires of your father you want to ^cdo. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^ddoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does John 8:40 Mean?

John 8:39-40

Spiritually, Satan has been our father. We already have had his mark placed on us, and in our lifetime we have shown his characteristics. That is exactly what Jesus is talking about here: He knew that Satan was the spiritual father of these people because they carried his mark in the way they reacted to Him and each other.

Abraham had God as his spiritual Father, and Abraham did not attempt to kill the One who became Christ—in fact, He was hospitable to Him and honored Him. He was not hostile to Him in any way, but instead did everything in his power to submit to Him. But here were the people of Jesus' time trying to put Him to death. They were openly hostile to Him.

Our problem is not worrying about taking on Satan's mark—we already have it. Our concern is to control and overcome it because God is now our Father, and He has already enabled us to resist that mark in our lives. It is our worshipful duty to work with God, to strive to break free of that foul spirit's enslaving hold on us.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Spiritual Mark of the Beast

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing John 8:40:

Malachi 3:1
Matthew 12:22-50
Romans 8:14-17
Romans 9:7
Galatians 3:7
Galatians 4:5

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John 8:41 >>

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What Does John 8:40 Mean?

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