John 8:39

John 8:39. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. This answer shows how their minds are closing against the word of Jesus. Had they been willing to recognise the true meaning of ‘the Father' in the first clause (of John 8:38), they might have seen what the same Name implied for them in the later words. But whilst He spoke of God and sought to lead them upwards, they, proud of their ancestry and content with Jewish privilege, will think of no other father than Abraham. Yet plainer words therefore must be used to make them understand the truth.

Jesus saith unto them, If ye are Abraham's children, do the works of Abraham. There is no true sonship (in the sense in which Jesus is dwelling on the idea) where there is not likeness. Descent from Abraham cannot be a source of present honour and blessing to those who do not Abraham's works. They are Abraham's ‘seed' (John 8:37), not his ‘children' (comp. John 1:12).