John 8:28–59

²⁸So Jesus said to them, “When you have ^ulifted up the Son of Man, ^vthen you will know that ^wI am he, and that ^xI do nothing on my own authority, but ^yspeak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹And ^zhe who sent me is with me. ^zHe has not left me alone, for ^aI always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰As he was saying these things, ^bmany believed in him.

The Truth Will Set You Free

³¹So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^c“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³²and you will ^dknow the truth, and the truth ^ewill set you free.” ³³They answered him, ^f“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^geveryone who practices sin is a slave³ to sin. ^35hThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ⁱthe son remains forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet ^jyou seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ^38kI speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard ^lfrom your father.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

³⁹They answered him, ^m“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, ⁿ“If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, ⁴⁰but now ^oyou seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth ^pthat I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, ^q“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have ^rone Father—even God.” ⁴²Jesus said to them, ^s“If God were your Father, you would love me, for ^tI came from God and ^uI am here. ^vI came not of my own accord, but ^whe sent me. ^43xWhy do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot ^ybear to hear my word. ^44zYou are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. ^aHe was a murderer from the beginning, and ^bdoes not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^cWhen he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. ⁴⁶Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ^47dWhoever is of God hears the words of God. ^eThe reason why you do not hear them is that ^fyou are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

⁴⁸The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and ^ghave a demon?” ⁴⁹Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but ^hI honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰Yet ⁱI do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹Truly, truly, ^jI say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never ^ksee death.” ⁵²The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! ^lAbraham died, as did the prophets, yet ^myou say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never ⁿtaste death.’ ^53oAre you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴Jesus answered, ^p“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. ^qIt is my Father who glorifies me, ^rof whom you say, ‘He is our God.’^{4 55}But ^syou have not known him. ^tI know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be ^ua liar ^vlike you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ^56wYour father Abraham ^xrejoiced ^ythat he would see my day. ^zHe saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”^{5 58}Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ^aI am.” ⁵⁹So ^bthey picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.