Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                  Chapter Eight

                                                                                                                                              Verses 19-24

The enemies of Jesus asked Him where His Father was because they thought that Jesus had to have an earthly father. Jesus answered that they could not know His Father because they had paid no attention to the compassion that He had shown to others. Jesus told them that if they had only opened their spiritual natures to see His compassion and miracles, then they also would know His Father. Apparently, these enemies of Jesus had paid no attention to the Old Testament teaching that God is merciful and compassionate. They seemed to think of God as being merely the protector of their self-righteous authority.

By the way these people spoke to Jesus, they demonstrated that they were enraged at Him as much as is possible to hate. Yet, they still could not arrest Jesus, and they did not ask themselves why they were blocked from being able to arrest Him.

Jesus told them that He would go His own way by which He meant that He would be able to continue His ministry until His Father allowed His enemies to arrest Him. Jesus informed them that they would still search for their Messiah because they believed that he would only liberate them from the Romans. But Jesus came to liberate them from sin and evil and the power of the Devil which they could not understand would be their most important liberation possible. Jesus further informed them that because they would not believe in Him as their spiritual Savior, then God would never allow them to live in Heaven with Him. Jesus told them that because of their unbelief, they would die in their sins, but He did not tell them that they would remain in a state of death forever. Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 5:11-4.

These Jews, still thinking solely in material ways, believed that Jesus contemplated suicide. They thought of Jesus as being evil and themselves as being righteous. They probably thought of suicide because they hoped Jesus would commit suicide.