Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?”
- KJV Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
- NKJV Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
- NASB You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
- NLT Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
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
They demand to know if Jesus claims to be greater than Abraham and the prophets. The question, meant as a rebuke, presses Jesus toward his greatest claim.
Overview
Incredulous, they ask who Jesus thinks he is to surpass Abraham and the prophets. Ironically, the answer is yes: he is far greater. Their hostile question becomes the occasion for Jesus to reveal his eternal existence and deity in the verses that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 4:12Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?”
- Rom 9:5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.
- Isa 9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Heb 7:1–7This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
- Heb 3:2–3He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.
- John 12:34The crowd replied, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”
- Matt 12:41–42The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.
- John 10:33“We are not stoning You for any good work,” said the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because You, who are a man, declare Yourself to be God.”
- John 10:29–30My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
- John 19:7“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
- John 5:18Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
- John 8:58“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
- Matt 12:6But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
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 8:53 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.