Chapter 8

¹²Then Jesus spoke to them again and said,

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not have to walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

¹³The Pharisees said to him,

“You are testifying to yourself. Your testimony is not true.”

¹⁴Jesus answered,

“Even if I am testifying to myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I have come from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge by material standards, but I am judging nobody. ¹⁶But even if I do judge, my decision is just, because I am not by myself, but the Father who sent me is with me. ¹⁷Why, in your own Law it is stated that the testimony of two persons is valid. ¹⁸Here I am testifying to myself, and the Father who has sent me testifies to me.”

¹⁹Then they said to him,

“Where is your Father?”

Jesus answered,

“You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father too.”

²⁰He said these things in the treasury, as he was teaching in the Temple, and no one arrested him, because he was not yet ready.

²¹Then he said to them again,

“I am going away, and you will look for me, but you will die in the midst of your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”

²²So the Jews said,

“Is he going to kill himself, and is that why he says, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”

²³He said to them,

“You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not belong to this world. ²⁴That is why I said to you that you would die in the midst of your sins, for unless you believe that I am what I say, you will die in the midst of your sins.”

²⁵They said to him,

“Who are you?”

Jesus said to them,

²⁶“Why do I even talk to you at all? I have a great deal to say about you and to condemn in you, yet he who sent me is truthful, and the things that I say to the world are things that I have learned from him.”

²⁷They did not understand that he was speaking to them of the Father. ²⁸So Jesus said,

“When you lift the Son of Man up in the air, then you will know that I am what I say, and that I do nothing of my own accord, but speak as the Father has instructed me. ²⁹And he who has sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

³⁰As he said this, many believed in him.

³¹So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,

“If you abide by what I teach, you are really disciples of mine, ³²and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

³³They answered,

“We are descended from Abraham, and have never been anyone’s slaves. How can you say to us, ‘You will be set free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered,

“I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵Now a slave does not belong to a household permanently; but a son does. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free you will be really free. ³⁷I know that you are descended from Abraham, yet you want to kill me, because there is no room in your hearts for my teaching. ³⁸It is what I have seen in the presence of my Father that I tell, and it is what you have heard from your father that you do.”

³⁹They answered,

“Our father is Abraham.”

Jesus said to them,

“If you are Abraham’s children, then do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰But instead you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth he has heard from God. Abraham would not have done that. ⁴¹You are doing as your father does.”

They said to him,

“We are not illegitimate children. We have one father, God himself.”

⁴²Jesus said to them,

“If God were your father, you would love me, for I have come from God. I have not come of my own accord, but he has sent me. ⁴³Why is it that you do not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my message. ⁴⁴The devil is the father you are sprung from, and you want to carry out your father’s wishes. He was a murderer from the first, and he has nothing to do with the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in his true character, for he is a liar and the father of them. ⁴⁵But because I tell the truth you will not believe me. ⁴⁶Who among you can prove me guilty of sin? But if I tell you the truth, why do you refuse to believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever is sprung from God listens to God’s words. The reason you refuse to listen is that you are not sprung from God.”

⁴⁸The Jews answered,

“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and are possessed?”

⁴⁹Jesus answered,

“I am not possessed, but I have respect for my Father, and you have no respect for me. ⁵⁰But I do not seek honor for myself; there is someone who seeks it for me, and is the judge of it. ⁵¹I tell you, if anyone observes my teaching, he will never experience death.”

⁵²The Jews said to him,

“Now we are sure that you are possessed! Abraham is dead and so are the prophets, and yet you say, ‘If anyone observes my teaching, he will never know what death is!’ ⁵³Are you a greater man than our forefather Abraham? Yet he is dead and the prophets are dead. What do you claim to be?”

⁵⁴Jesus answered,

“If I show special honor to myself, such honor counts for nothing. It is my Father who shows me honor. You say he is your God, ⁵⁵yet you have never come to know him. But I know him. If I say I do not know him, I will be a liar like yourselves. No! I do know him, and I am faithful to his message. ⁵⁶Your forefather Abraham exulted at the thought of seeing my coming. He has seen it, and it has made him glad.”

⁵⁷The Jews said to him,

“You are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

⁵⁸Jesus said to them,

“I tell you, I existed before Abraham was born!”

⁵⁹At that, the Jews picked up stones to throw at him, but he disappeared and made his way out of the Temple.