John 8:41

You are doing the works of your father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they declared. “Our only Father is God Himself.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus confronts a group of Jewish opponents who are attempting to kill him after he told them the truth from God. They respond defensively to his accusation that they are acting like their father.

The words — ποιεῖτε (poieite) means "are doing," and ἔργα (erga) means "works." Together they frame the opponents' actions as deliberate patterns of conduct.

The thread — The dialogue echoes John 8:38, where Jesus contrasts his words from the Father with their deeds from their father. The claim that God is their Father parallels Isaiah 63:16 and Isaiah 64:8, where God is identified as the Father of Israel.

Why it lands — The text demands a reader examine whose authority and character shape their actions. It forces a choice between claiming divine parentage and demonstrating it through conduct.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Cross-references

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 63:16 Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
John 8:38 I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
John 8:44 You 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.
Malachi 2:11 Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.
Exodus 4:22 Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,
Deuteronomy 14:1 You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
Deuteronomy 32:6 Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you?
Isaiah 57:3 “But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
Jeremiah 3:19 Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me.