What is the significance of Jesus saying, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44)?

from the old testament

• In the New Testament, the Jews reference Abraham as their father. Abraham was indeed the father of the nation of Israel, and thus the Jews. From him was born Isaac (Genesis 21:1–3), who birthed Jacob (Genesis 25:26), who was renamed Israel (Genesis 32:28) and birthed the twelve heads of the twelve tribes (Genesis 35:22–26).
• God promised Abraham that his offspring would be like the stars (Genesis 15:1–5). Despite his age, “he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). It was this belief of Abraham that Jesus refers to when saying that Abraham may have been the Jews' genetic father but not their spiritual one—they did not believe like Abraham.

from the new testament

• The context of John 8:44 is a longer conversation between the Jews and Jesus about discipleship. In John 8:31–32, Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” He was saying that being His disciple meant doing what He said (abiding in His word). If they did that, they would be set free.
• The Jews were surprised, even a bit incredulous about the idea of being set free. They replied, “ are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33). Jesus clarified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34–36). They were thinking of physical slavery, but Jesus was talking about the spiritual bonds of sin and that their only path to freedom was through Him (cf. John 14:6).
• Jesus then bridged the gap between their assertion that they were children of Abraham and their explanation of spiritual realities. While they were truly Abraham’s physical descendants, they were characteristically unlike him. He said, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 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” (John 8:39–40). Abraham heard from God and the Angel of God (an Old Testament appearance of the Son of God), and accepted what they said as truth. However, the Jews wanted to kill God’s messenger. By their rejection of God’s truth, they were not spiritually like Abraham.
• To this the Jews replied that their spiritual Father was God. They said, “We have one Father—even God” (John 8:41). Jesus again challenged that assertion based on their actions. He said, “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” (John 8:42). They claimed to be God’s spiritual children yet hated God’s Son!
• Jesus told them that their hatred was evidence of their true spiritual parentage: “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” (John 8:44). Just as they wanted to murder Jesus for bringing the truth, so also the devil has always murdered and had no truth in him.

implications for today

There is no more humbling insult than Jesus calling religious people (or people who consider themselves to be religious) Satan’s children. He did that to show that their external behavior indicates their internal allegiance.

This begs the question: how much sin makes us children of the devil? The answer begins with recognizing that all sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). All sin is behaving like Satan (1 John 3:8), but because we are corrupted, even believers—God’s children—sin (1 John 1:8, 10). So, Jesus wasn’t referring to all sinners but the Pharisees’ persistent sin against the knowledge of God and Jesus.

Some fifty years later, John warned that antichrists were coming from within the church (1 John 2:18). “Anti” means “against.” They were “against Christ.” They had originally been a part of the religious, Christian community, but went out from it denying Jesus (1 John 2:22–23), demonstrating they had never really belonged to the community (1 John 2:19). John called them the children of the devil (1 John 3:10). Like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, those individuals knew the truth and were actively against it.



Everyone is born sinful

(Psalm 51:5) and an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). As such, every unrepentant person is under God’s wrath (John 3:36). However, some actively war against God’s truth. Like Satan, they attack the foundations of Christ, God, and Christianity.

You may be reading this and realizing that you are the devil’s son or daughter. Take heart. God forgives his enemies when they lay down their arms, repent of their sin, and confess Jesus as their Lord (Romans 10:9–10). While we encourage all unbelievers to repent, we know that those who know the truth and attack it face greater condemnation (2 Peter 2:20–21), so please turn today!