Who is Your Father
John 8:37-47

INTRODUCTION: Good morning church. In our study of John’s Gospel, it has been revealed and explained what a true disciple of Christ is like. That has been a critical component of this Gospel showing that it is possible to “believe” in Christ but not have saving faith.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with ancestry. In recent years, we have witnessed an explosion in the popularity of at-home DNA testing kits. People spit into a tube, mail it off to a lab, and wait on the edge of their seats for the results because we have an innate, deep-seated desire to know who we are. We trace our lineage to find our roots and understand our identity. We want to know our roots because we inherently believe that our lineage defines who we are today.

In the ancient Near East, lineage wasn't just a fun hobby—it was everything. It determined your social status, your economic inheritance, your religious standing, and your ultimate identity. In John 8 we find Jesus engaged in a sharp, tense, and deeply confrontational dialogue with the religious elite of His day—the scribes and the Pharisees. These men did not need a DNA kit. To them their family tree was flawless. They were the physical descendants of Abraham. They were the chosen people of God. In their minds, their DNA was a spiritual golden ticket. They wore their heritage like a badge of absolute, spiritual security, proudly declaring, 'Abraham is our father!'

As Jesus stands in the temple treasury during the Feast of Tabernacles, He does something shocking. He shatters their reliance on physical heritage. He looks at this deeply religious, outwardly holy crowd and tells them, in essence: 'Your physical DNA does not matter if your spiritual DNA is corrupted.'

He shifts the conversation entirely from genetic ancestry to spiritual lineage. The text before us today forces us to look past our family trees, past our church attendance, and past our outward religious credentials to answer one foundational, life-altering question: Who is your Father?

I. Heritage Is Not Holiness – Let’s begin by reading John 8:37–38. “I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” [ESV]

A. Notice what Jesus does right away. He concedes a biological fact: 'I know that you are Abraham’s offspring.' He doesn’t deny their history. He doesn’t deny their bloodline.

1. Then Jesus makes a devastating distinction between being a descendant of Abraham and being a child of Abraham. In the Hebrew mindset, to be a 'child' of someone meant inheriting their character, walking in their footsteps, and copying their behavior. Jesus immediately exposes a staggering, terrifying contradiction. He says, '...yet you seek to kill me.'
2. Think about the irony of this moment. They claim to be the offspring of Abraham—the man known as the 'friend of God,' the man who welcomed God’s messengers with great hospitality in Genesis 18:1-8. Yet, here they are, standing before the ultimate Messenger, the Son of God Himself, and their hearts are filled with murder.

B. Why? Jesus gives the exact diagnosis: 'Because my word finds no place in you.' In the Greek the phrase 'finds no place' indicates a lack of room, a failure to progress or make headway. It's the picture of a room so cluttered and packed tightly with its own junk that nothing else can fit inside. Their hearts were so full of self-righteousness, legalism, and pride that the life-giving, liberating Word of Christ couldn't even squeeze past the front door.
C. Then Jesus sets up the contrast in verse 38. He says: “I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” Jesus is defining what a true son does. A true son mirrors his father. A true son mimics his father's character, speaks his father's words, and carries out his father's business.

1. I read about a master carpenter, renowned for his incredible skill and meticulous honesty. He had a son who, when he had grown, took over the family business. He hung a portrait of his father in the front office, and proudly told every customer, 'I am the son of the master carpenter.'
2. Out on the job site, this son cuts every corner imaginable. He used cheap material, skipped safety inspections, and overcharged clients. When a safety inspector confronted him, the son got angry and screamed, 'How dare you question me! My father is the master carpenter!' Legally and biologically, yes, he is the son, but practically and ethically, he is a fraud. He has the heritage, but he completely lacks the character.

D. This is exactly what the Pharisees were doing. Abraham was a man who welcomed the word of God, trusted His promises, and submitted to the truth. Yet, the ultimate Messenger from God—the Word made flesh—is standing right in front of them, and they are actively plotting His execution. Jesus tells them bluntly: 'Abraham did not do this.'

1. Religious heritage is not the same thing as personal holiness. If the living Word of Christ has no place in your daily life, your spiritual DNA test is already flashing a red warning.
2. Jesus says, 'My life is a perfect reflection of My Father, because I speak what I have seen with Him. Your actions reveal a completely different source. You are doing what you have heard from your father.' Even before He names who their spiritual father is, Jesus establishes the rule: Your parentage is proven by your practice.

II. Defining Spiritual Family – Continue with me in John 8:39–41. “39. They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40. but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.””

A. The crowd doesn’t like where Jesus is going with this. When their backs are against the wall, they default right back to their spiritual safety net: 'Abraham is our father!' They doubled down on their heritage. Jesus then makes a profound distinction here that echoes throughout the entire New Testament. He distinguishes between being Abraham's 'offspring' (sperma - biological seed) and Abraham's 'children' (teknon - those who share his character).

1. Jesus says, 'If you were truly Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.' What did Abraham do? When God spoke to Abraham, he believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23). When God commanded Abraham, he obeyed, even when it was painful. Abraham was a man of faith, humility, and truth.
2. In sharp contrast to Abraham, what are they doing? They are wanting to execute a man simply for telling them the truth that came directly from God. Jesus plainly tells them: 'This is not what Abraham did.'

B. Jesus is entirely dismantling the idea of inherited faith. We talked about this in the last lesson. You cannot slide into the kingdom of God on the coattails of your parents' faith. You cannot rely on the fact that your grandfather was an elder, or your mother was a faithful Christian, or that your family has been sitting in these church of Christ pews for four generations. As we said before, God has no grandchildren. He only has children.
C. Sensing that Jesus is disqualifying Abraham as their spiritual father, the crowd gets defensive and nasty. Look at the end of verse 41: They said to him, 'We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.' We are not told but when they say, 'We were not born of sexual immorality,' many scholars believe this was a veiled, malicious insult directed at Jesus' own birth. Rumors constantly swirled around the miraculous conception of Jesus, and they are likely throwing dirt at His mother Mary, implying that He is the one with a questionable lineage.
D. They push past Abraham and make the highest claim possible: 'We have one Father—even God.' They claim the covenant relationship of Exodus 4:22, where God calls Israel His firstborn son. They claim the promises of Deuteronomy. They wrap themselves in the flag of the ultimate religious identity.

III. Tests of True Discipleship – John 8:42-47. “42. Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47. Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.""

A. Jesus doesn't let their claim stand. Instead, He gives them—and us—a spiritual diagnostic exam. He lays down five definitive, unbending tests. He says, 'You claim God is your Father? Let’s test that claim.'
B. If God were your Father, you would love Jesus (v. 42). Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.'

1. The first and most basic test of knowing God is how you treat His Son. You cannot love the Father while hating the Son. Jesus says, 'I proceeded forth and came from God.' The Greek phrasing implies that He eternally came out of the very essence of the Father, and now He stands historically in front of them.
2. If a person truly loves a you, they will naturally welcome and love your child. A cold, indifferent, or hostile attitude toward Jesus is the ultimate proof that a person does not have a relationship with God.

C. If God is your Father, you will understand the will of God (v. 43). 'Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.'

1. Why was there such a massive communication barrier between Jesus and the religious elite? It wasn't an intellectual problem; it was a spiritual problem.
2. The phrase 'you cannot bear to hear my word' means they lacked the spiritual capacity to tolerate His message. It grated on their ears. It offended their pride. To a heart that is aligned with God, His will and His voice make perfect sense, but to a heart that is spiritually alienated from God, the truth of God sounds like a foreign language.

D. If God were your Father, your will would be to do as the Father desires (v. 44). At this point Jesus drops the hammer. He explicitly reveals their true spiritual identity: 'You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.'

1. This is one of the most counter-cultural, offensive statements Jesus ever uttered. He looks at the most respected religious leaders of the day and says, 'Your father is the devil.' Why? Because their desires match Satan's desires perfectly.
2. Jesus highlights two specific characteristics of the devil: he is a murderer and he is a liar. Satan brought death into the world through sin in Genesis 3. These leaders want to murder Jesus. Satan twisted God's words in the Garden. These leaders are twisting Jesus' words in the temple. When we harbor malice, compromise the truth, or participate in gossip and deceit, Jesus tells us exactly whose family business we are operating.

E. If God is your Father, you will believe the truth (v. 45–46). 'But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?'

1. Look at the bizarre nature of their unbelief in verse 45: 'But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.' They didn't reject Jesus because He was a liar; they rejected Him precisely because He told the absolute, unvarnished truth about their sin and their need for a Savior.
2. Spiritually speaking, there is no such thing as an orphan in the spiritual world. Nobody is spiritually neutral. Romans 6:16 tells us that we are all servants to whoever we obey. You belong to the family of the one whose characteristics you display.
3. Jesus issues an incredible challenge in verse 46: 'Which one of you convicts me of sin?' He stands before His bitterest enemies, invites them to examine His entire life, and challenges them to find a single moral flaw. Silence. They couldn't find a thing. His life was spotless.
4. The final test is the ultimate dividing line: responsiveness. The one who belongs to God has an open ear and a submissive heart to God’s voice. When God speaks through His Word, His children sit up, they listen, and they submit.
5. The fact that the religious leaders tuned Jesus out, mocked Him, and sought to destroy Him was the final piece of evidence. Their refusal to listen proved their utter disconnect from God.

F. If God were your Father, you would hear His words (v. 47). Then He gives us the final diagnostic marker in verse 47: 'He who is of God hears God's words.' In the biblical context, to 'hear' God's word means to listen with an open mind, receive it with an honest heart, and actively submit to it in obedience. James 1:22 commands us to be doers of the word, and not hearers only.

CONCLUSION:
Church, as we close our thoughts on this powerful text today, let’s bring this message home. It is incredibly easy for us to look at the Pharisees and the scribes in John 8 and judge them. We wonder how they could be so blind, so arrogant, and so hard-hearted. This text wasn't preserved just to give us a history lesson on ancient religious leaders. It was written as a mirror for our own souls.

The hard truth of John 8 is that there is no middle ground. We are either children of God, reflecting our Heavenly Father, or we are following the desires of the world and the enemy. External religious credentials, a name on a church roster, or a long family history in the church cannot save us.

Here is the beauty of the Gospel: though we were all by nature born into a broken spiritual lineage—separated from God by our sin—Jesus came to give us a new identity. John tells us in the very opening chapter of this Gospel: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Through faith, repentance, and being united with Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. We receive a new Father, a new lineage, and a new heart that loves the truth, hears His voice, and desires to do His will.

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References: Brent Kercheville, James Burton Coffman