John 8

Part of Light of the World and the Good Shepherd📖 John introduction

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¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ✦ ²Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them. ✦ ³The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them ⁴and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?” ✦ ⁶They said this to test Him, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger. ✦ ⁷When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” ✦ ⁸And again He bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹When they heard this, they began to go away one by one, beginning with the older ones, until only Jesus was left, with the woman standing there. ✦ ¹⁰Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” ✦ ¹¹“No one, Lord,” she answered. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Now go and sin no more.” ✦ ¹²Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” ✦ ¹³So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not valid.” ✦ ¹⁴Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going. ✦ ¹⁵You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ✦ ¹⁶But even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone; I am with the Father who sent Me. ✦ ¹⁷Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. ✦ ¹⁸I am One who testifies about Myself, and the Father, who sent Me, also testifies about Me.” ✦ ¹⁹“Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.” ✦ ²⁰He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come. ✦ ²¹Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ✦ ²²So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ✦ ²³Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ✦ ²⁴That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” ✦ ²⁵“Who are You?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ✦ ²⁶“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.” ✦ ²⁷They did not understand that He was telling them about the Father. ✦ ²⁸So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me. ✦ ²⁹He who sent Me is with Me. He has not left Me alone, because I always do what pleases Him.” ✦ ³⁰As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him. ✦ ³¹So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. ✦ ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ✦ ³³“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?” ✦ ³⁴Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ✦ ³⁵A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ✦ ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ✦ ³⁷I know you are Abraham’s descendants, but you are trying to kill Me because My word has no place within you. ✦ ³⁸I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” ✦ ³⁹“Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham. ✦ ⁴⁰But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. ✦ ⁴¹You are doing the works of your father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.” ✦ ⁴²Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me. ✦ ⁴³Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. ✦ ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. ✦ ⁴⁵But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me! ✦ ⁴⁶Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? ✦ ⁴⁷Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” ✦ ⁴⁸The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?” ✦ ⁴⁹“I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ✦ ⁵⁰I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge. ✦ ⁵¹Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” ✦ ⁵²“Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death. ✦ ⁵³Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?” ✦ ⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’ ✦ ⁵⁵You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word. ✦ ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.” ✦ ⁵⁷Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!” ✦ ⁵⁹At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

In this chapter

Concept I AM Concept The Light of the World

Where this chapter connects

John 8 ·73 John 7 ·26 John 5 ·25 John 10 ·20 John 17 ·18 John 12 ·16 John 3 ·15 John 14 ·13

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical
A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical
Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.
ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical
A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed
Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)
SermonGospel in Life — Tim KellerTim Keller · Free · reformed
Tim Keller's gospel-centered preaching — sermons stream free (the complete downloadable archive is paid).
ArticleRecommended NT commentaries (9Marks / Schreiner)Thomas R. Schreiner · Free · reformed
A trusted pastor-oriented guide to the best commentary on each New Testament book.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.
VideoVerse By Verse Ministry InternationalVerse By Verse Ministry Int'l · Free · evangelical
In-depth, verse-by-verse expository teaching book-by-book — strong for working straight through a whole New Testament book.
VideoLook at the Book — John PiperJohn Piper · Free · reformed
Watch Piper trace the logic of a passage phrase by phrase on screen — a model of close reading.

Seminary

★ Start hereApologeticsGary Habermas — the resurrectionGary Habermas · Free · evangelical
130+ free videos and lectures from the scholar behind the "minimal facts" method — the start-here on the historical evidence for the resurrection. (Only his books are paid.)
★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on John 8YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — John 8David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — John 8Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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