But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me.
- KJV And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
- BSB But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!
- NASB But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me.
- NLT So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Precisely because Jesus tells the truth, they refuse to believe him. Their rejection is driven by their resistance to truth itself.
Overview
Jesus exposes the irony that his truthfulness, which should compel belief, instead provokes unbelief. Aligned with the father of lies, they recoil from the truth. The verse shows that unbelief is not for lack of evidence but flows from a heart at odds with God, highlighting humanity's need for spiritual rebirth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Tim 4:3–4For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts;
- John 18:37Pilate therefore said to him, “Are you a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
- John 3:19–20This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
- 2 Th 2:10and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
- John 7:7The world can’t hate you, but it hates me, because I testify about it, that its works are evil.
- Gal 4:16So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 8:45 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.