Bible Strands
John 8:45
But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to Jewish opponents in the temple courts during a confrontation over spiritual authority, immediately after identifying their father as the devil who opposes truth.
The words — ἀλήθειαν (alētheian) translates literally as "truth," and πιστεύετε (pisteuete) means "you believe." The Greek construction directly links Jesus's truthful speech to the audience's refusal to trust him.
The thread — The pattern of rejecting truth and preferring darkness runs through John 3:19 and John 7:7, while the warning against abandoning sound teaching appears in 2 Timothy 4:3.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to examine whether they prioritize self-justification over factual reality, forcing a decision to accept or reject Jesus's testimony on its own terms.
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
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Cross-references
- 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- John 3:19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- John 18:37 “Then You are a king!” Pilate said. “You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”
- Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.