John
Chapter 8
John 8: This account of the woman at the well is not in any of the ancient manuscripts. It should not be included in any doctrinal concepts or teaching. While many Christian teachers try to teach on this false account, they are wasting their time if they want to truly teach the Scriptures. Whoever inserted this section into John’s writing did not know the Torah at all. The famous teaching of “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” is totally bogus. It is those who witnessed the event who are to cast the first stone, not just someone who is “perfect” as this strangely imagined account indicates.
(John 8:1 NASB) But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
(John 8:2 NASB) And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.
(John 8:3 NASB) And the scribes and the Pharisees brought^ a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the midst,
(John 8:4 NASB) they said^ to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
(John 8:5 NASB) “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
(John 8:6 NASB) And they were saying this, testing Him, in order that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground.
(John 8:7 NASB) But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
(John 8:8 NASB) And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
(John 8:9 NASB) And when they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst.
(John 8:10 NASB) And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”
(John 8:11 NASB) And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more.”>
(John 8:12 NASB) Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
John 8:12: This is the second great “I am” proclamation in the Gospel of John. This time He says He is “The Light of the world.” One of the definitions we have for Elohim is that He is light (1 John 1:5). He is totally light and in Him is no darkness at all. Yeshua has just exposed the sin of the Pharisees and Scribes like headlights shining in the face of a deer. Light uncovers darkness.
What is light anyway? We don’t really know much about it. It acts like of waves in some instances and like particles in others. Men have made some very important discoveries by using both of these definitions. Both may be true, but some say that both can’t be true. We know the speed of light, at least we know the speed of light at the present time and under conditions here on earth.
We don’t know much about light, but we know we can’t walk around very much without it. All we’ll do is go around tripping and stubbing our toes. Just as physical light lets us know how to get around without injuring ourselves, Elohim shows us the way around in life also through His Torah.
Yeshua is comparing Himself to the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness. Remember that this discourse was given during the Feast of the Tabernacles which points to the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness. Yeshua is using this occasion to give us another object lesson that we could relate to. So far He has used some very common things (water, bread, light) to describe Himself to us that we can understand.
(John 8:13 NASB) The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You are bearing witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”
John 8:13: The Pharisees are trying to discredit Yeshua by saying that He is testifying for Himself and that is not credible. Torah says that a matter is confirmed by two or more witnesses, but not by one witness (Deut. 17:6, 19:15).
This does not say that one witness is false, but that a matter can only be “confirmed” by two or more witnesses.
(John 8:14 NASB) Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true; for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from, or where I am going.
(John 8:15 NASB) “You people judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
(John 8:16 NASB) “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and He who sent Me.
John 8:16: Yeshua does not judge according to the flesh. He judges according to the way His Father sees it. The Pharisees don’t see it the way Elohim sees it. They judge things according to the traditions of their sages. They have totally different perspectives.
(John 8:17 NASB) “Even in your law it has been written, that the testimony of two men is true.
(John 8:18 NASB) “I am He who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”
John 8:18: Yeshua is agreeing that the witness of two or more men is true. He is saying that He gave witness of Himself and His Father did also (Mark 1:9-11). John already testified to the truth of the identity of Yeshua (John 1:32-34).
(John 8:19 NASB) And so they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me, nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
John 8:19: The Pharisees are making remarks about the virgin birth of Yeshua and about who His father really is. They are throwing some low blows in the hopes of discrediting Yeshua.
Yeshua responds by saying that they don’t know His Father. Yeshua tells them that the only way can know the Father is through Him. They could know the Father through Him because Yeshua is His Father’s Word made flesh.
To “know” Him is to obey Him and keep His Word (John 8:55).
(John 8:20 NASB) These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 8:20: Once again, they could not touch Him until the appointed time set up by Elohim.
(John 8:21 NASB) He said therefore again to them, “I go away, and you shall seek Me, and shall die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”
(John 8:22 NASB) Therefore the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
John 8:22: The Pharisees are still trying some low blows. They are accusing Yeshua of wanting to commit suicide. They are trying to put words in His mouth and mock His actual words.
(John 8:23 NASB) And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
(John 8:24 NASB) “I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.”
John 8:24: The quote from Yeshua actually doesn’t have the “He,” in it. It should read, “For unless you believe I am, you will die in your sins.” It Appears that Yeshua is saying that He is the “I am” of Scripture (Exodus 3:14).
(John 8:25 NASB) And so they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
(John 8:26 NASB) “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
John 8:26: The Words and judgments of Yeshua are according to the words of He who sent Him.
(John 8:27 NASB) They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
(John 8:28 NASB) Jesus therefore said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
John 8:28: Once again, Jesus is saying that He is the “I am.” The “He” is not in the original Greek writing. He also refers to Himself as the “Son of Man.” This is in reference to Daniel 7:13-14.
(John 8:29 NASB) “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
John 8:29: Yeshua says that the Father has not left Him alone because He always does the things that please Him (Isa. 42:1,21)
(John 8:30 NASB) As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
(John 8:31 NASB) Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
John 8:31: Yeshua says that if we abide in His Word, then we are truly disciples, or pupils, of His (1 Sam. 12:14-15).
(John 8:32 NASB) and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 8:32: Yeshua said that if you abide in His Word then you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free. We must remember what “Truth” really is (Psalm 119:43, 45, 142, 155, 160). This is why James calls Torah, the “Torah of Liberty” (James 1:25).
(John 8:33 NASB) They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?”
John 8:33: The Pharisees will resort to blatant lies in their attempts to discredit Yeshua. The sons of Abraham were held in bondage by Egypt, Persia, Greece, and now were under the oppression of Rome.
But Yeshua was speaking of being enslaved to their sin.
(John 8:34 NASB) Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
(John 8:35 NASB) “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
John 8:35: The fact that sin will enslave us is not a new concept. It is spoken of in the Tanakh (Prov. 5:22, Psalm 7:15-16).
Yeshua says that the slave of sin does not remain in the house forever. Yeshua is saying that the Pharisees are slaves of sin and will not be a part of the House of Israel for long. They will be will be expelled from the Land in 70 AD by the Roman Empire.
(John 8:36 NASB) “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
John 8:36: We are free through Yeshua Messiah by the Spirit of Elohim. Yeshua made this clear when He read in the Temple (Luke 4:15-18).
(John 8:37 NASB) “I know that you are Abraham’s offspring; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
(John 8:38 NASB) “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
John 8:38: They claim to be Abraham’s descendants, but they want to kill Yeshua. Yeshua only speaks those things He has seen from His Father. Likewise, they only do the things which they heard from their father. The Pharisees cannot comprehend the things of Elohim because He is not their Father.
Yeshua said that His Words are not His, but His Father’s Words (John 8:28, 12:49-50). This is another way that Yeshua is a prophet like Moses. Elohim put His Words into the mouth of Moses (Exodus 4:12-15).
(John 8:39 NASB) They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said^ to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.
John 8:39: They claim Abraham, but they do not do the deeds of Abraham. The deeds of Abraham were to obey the Torah of Elohim (Gen. 26:3-5).
(John 8:40 NASB) “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.
John 8:40: Yeshua tells them, “Don’t you remember the old adage, “like father, like son?” That doesn’t apply to you. Because you are not true sons of Abraham. If you were, you wouldn’t want to kill me.”
(John 8:41 NASB) “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.”
John 8:41: They want to claim Abraham as their father, but Yeshua tells them that he is not their father. Now they want to claim Elohim as their father.
(John 8:42 NASB) Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
(John 8:43 NASB) “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
John 8:43: The Pharisees could not understand His Words because they do not know Him and do not fear Him and are not Sons of the Father (Prov. 25:14, Psalm 92:5-6, Jer. 4:22).
(John 8:44 NASB) “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
John 8:44: These men were murderers and their father was Satan. Satan was a murderer from the beginning (1 John 3:8-12).
Notice that it is not possible, as most churches teach, that Satan was once a perfect angel that feel from grace or whatever, Yeshua says that Satan was a murderer from the beginning and there is not truth in him. John says that Satan sinned from the beginning.
The Pharisees want to do the desires of their father, Satan.
(John 8:45 NASB) “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
(John 8:46 NASB) “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
John 8:46: Yeshua challenged them to convict Him of any sin. If He has no sin in Him, why do they not believe Him? Especially considering the signs that He has performed in front of them.
(John 8:47 NASB) “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
John 8:47: They do not understand because they are not of Him. His people hear His Word and abide by it (Psalm 1:1-3).
(John 8:48 NASB) The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
John 8:48: The Pharisees cannot argue what Yeshua is saying, they can only point fingers back at Him and say that He is the one who is demon-possessed. Why did they call Him a Samaritan? Probably because He dealt with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:9).
(John 8:49 NASB) Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
(John 8:50 NASB) “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
(John 8:51 NASB) “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
John 8:51: The one who keeps His Word will not see eternal death.
(John 8:52 NASB) The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death.’
(John 8:53 NASB) “Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
(John 8:54 NASB) Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;
(John 8:55 NASB) and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word.
John 8:55: Yeshua truly knows Elohim because He is the Father’s Word made flesh.
(John 8:56 NASB) “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:56: Evidently Abraham saw the Day of Messiah and rejoiced when he did so. This was probably when he went to sacrifice his only son Isaac (Gen. 22:1-18).
(John 8:57 NASB) The Jews therefore said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
(John 8:58 NASB) Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
John 8:58: This is one of the most unmistakable claims of deity made by Yeshua. Yeshua is saying that He eternally existed and is Elohim in the flesh when He makes the claim of “I AM” (Ex. 3:14).
(John 8:59 NASB) Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.
John 8:59: The Pharisees immediately wanted to kill Yeshua because they considered His Words blasphemy (Lev. 24:16). But His time was not yet and they were not able to touch Him. Actually, His escape was possibly supernatural. This public pronouncement of being Elohim was what the Pharisees were waiting for. They thought they had their excuse to kill Him. It says that Yeshua hid from them. We are not told how He did this. But the Pharisees were definitely out for blood.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2015
Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly
All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.
Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly
Fort Smith, Arkansas