John 8:33

They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? THEY ANSWERED HIM, WE BE ABRAHAM'S SEED, AND WERE NEVER IN BONDAGE TO ANY MAN: HOW SAYEST THOU, YE SHALL BE MADE FREE? Who said this? Not surely the very class just spoken of as won over by His divine words, and exhorted to continue in them. Most interpreters seem to think so; but it is hard to ascribe such a petulant speech to newly gained disciples, even in the lowest sense, much less persons so gained as they were. It came, probably, from persons mixed up with them in the same part of the crowd but of a very different spirit. The pride of the Jewish nation, even now, after centuries of humiliation, is the most striking feature of their character. 'Talk of freedom to us? Pray when or to whom were we ever in bondage?' This bluster sounds almost ludicrous from such a...

33._We are Abraham’s seed. _It is uncertain if the Evangelist here introduces the same persons who formerly spoke, (235) or others. My opinion is, that they replied to Christ in a confused manner, as usually happens in a promiscuous crowd; and that this reply was made rather by despisers than by those who believed. It is a mode of expression very customary in Scripture, whenever the body of a people is mentioned, to ascribe generally to all what belongs only to a part. Those who object that they are _Abraham _’_s seed_, _and have always been free_, easily inferred from the words of Christ that _freedom _was promised to them as to people who were _slaves _But they cannot endure to have it said that they, who are a holy and elect people, are reduced to _slavery _For of what avail was _the adoption and the covenant_, (Ro

30-36 Such power attended our Lord's words, that many were convinced, and professed to believe in him. He encouraged them to attend his teaching, rely on his promises, and obey his commands, notwithstanding all temptations to evil. Thus doing, they would be his disciples truly; and by the teaching of his word and Spirit, they would learn where their hope and strength lay. Christ spoke of spiritual liberty; but carnal hearts feel no other grievances than those that molest the body, and distress their worldly affairs. Talk to them of their liberty and property, tell them of waste committed upon their lands, or damage done to their houses, and they understand you very well; but speak of the bondage of sin, captivity to Satan, and liberty by Christ; tell of wrong done to their precious souls, and the hazard of their eternal welfare, then you bring strange things to their ears. Jesus plainly...

Verse 33. _THEY ANSWERED_] That is, the other Jews who had not believed-the carping, cavilling Pharisees already mentioned; for the words cannot be spoken of the simple people who had already believed. See John 8:30. _WERE NEVER IN BONDAGE TO ANY MAN_] This assertion was not only false, but it was ridiculous in the extreme; seeing their whole history, sacred and profane, is full of recitals of their servitude in _Egypt_, in _Chaldea_, under the _Persians_, under the _Macedonians_, and under the _Romans_. But those who are not under the influence of the truth of God will speak and act according to the influence of the spirit of falsehood and error. If the words are to be restrained to themselves alone, they may be understood thus: We are Abraham's seed: and _we_ were never in bondage. Both these propositions had a faint shadow of tr

THEY ANSWERED HIM - Not those who believed on him, but some who stood by and heard him. WE BE ABRAHAM’S SEED - We are the children or descendants of Abraham. Abraham was not a slave, and they pretended that they were his real descendants, inheriting his freedom as well as his spirit. They meant that they were the direct descendants of Abraham by Isaac, his heir. Ishmael, also Abraham’s son, was the son of a bondwoman Galatians 4:21, but they were descended in a direct line from the acknowledged heir of Abraham. WERE NEVER IN BONDAGE TO ANY, MAN - This is a most remarkable declaration, and one evidently false. Their fathers had been slaves in Egypt; their nation had been enslaved in Babylon; it had repeatedly been subject to the Assyrians; it was enslaved by Herod the Gr

EXPOSITION Verses 7:53-8:11 (8) _The pericope adulterae. _(A)_ Excursus on the genuineness of _John 7:53-43__John 7:53-43. It is our duty to examine the various grounds on which this passage has been almost universally concluded to have formed no portion of the original Fourth Gospel; and then the internal grounds on which it has been rejected, and some of the speculations as to its origin and value. Doubts have beset the authenticity of the passage from the fourth and fifth centuries in the Eastern Church, both on external and internal grounds. The authority and practice of Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome gave it a secure resting place till the criticism of Erasmus re-awakened doubt. Calvin expressed a more favourable opinion con

THEY ANSWERED HIM,.... Not the believing Jews, whom he peculiarly addressed, but the unbelieving Jews, who were present, and heard these things: WE BE ABRAHAM'S SEED; this the Jews always valued themselves upon, and reckoned themselves, on this account, upon a level with the nobles and the princes of the earth. "Says R. Akiba c, even the poor of Israel are to be considered as if they were בני חורין, "noblemen", that are fallen from their substance, because they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;'' AND WERE NEVER IN BONDAGE TO ANY MAN; which is a very great falsehood, for it was declared to Abraham himself, that his seed should serve in a land not theirs, and be afflicted four hundred years, as they were; and as the preface to the law which the Jews gloried in shows, which says, that the Lord their God brought them out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; and they were fr...

John 8:12. _Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees_ These wasps were always stinging him; when he drove them away once, they quickly returned to attack him again: «The Pharisees» John 8:13. _Therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them; Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither go. Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man._ He did not come for that purpose the first time; he will come, a second time, to judge all mankind....

CHAPTER 8 _ 1. The Woman Taken in Adultery. (John 8:1 .)_ 2. The Light of the World. (John 8:12 .) 3. His Testimony Concerning Himself and the Father. (John 8:13 .) 4. His Solemn Declarations. (John 8:21 .) 5. Before Abraham Was, I Am. (John 8:48 .) The first verse belongs to the preceding chapter. The officers returned without Him, bearing their testimony that “never man spake like this man.” Nicodemus ventured his timid defense. Then every man went to his own house while the Lord went to the Mount of Olives. The story of the woman

CONTROVERSY WITH THE JEWS WHO BELIEVED. Many are convinced by this appeal. The following section summarises the teaching by which Jesus tried to bring the more favourably disposed of the Jewish party to a fuller faith. If they will make Christ's teaching a real part of their lives, they will gain the truth which sets men free. They take offence. If they have had to submit to foreign power, they have never been reduced to slavery. Sin is slavery, Jesus replies, and the slave has no secure place in the house as the son has. The author adds that true freedom is the gift of the Son. Jesus admits their physical descent from Abraham (John 8:37). But their conduct does not correspond to their parentage. They do not dissociate themselves from their party's policy of trying to get rid of one whose teaching is unacceptable. He follows His Father's example. Let them follow the example of theirs. Th...