John 8:44

“You are of {your} father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own {nature,} for he is a liar and the father of lies.

     When Jesus tells the Jews here that they are of their father the Devil, we expect Him to be talking about the vilest of people. When applying the father and son relationship in New Testament times, they often meant that someone imitated another. We acknowledge the similarity between son and father when we say that someone is a “chip off the old block”. They would use it as a metaphor. So when Jesus calls these people the sons of the Devil, He is saying that their character and actions are those that the Devil would do as well.

     That is why we would expect Jesus to be talking about a group of villianous opponents. Maybe someone like the Pharisees. It could be people who were reveling in the lusts of the flesh. What we do not expect, however, is that He is talking to people who believe on Him. Yet if we look back at John 8:31, the group that He is addressing are the Jews who believed in Him and the works that He had been performing. What caused Him to treat them this way?

     As we read through the text, we find that their faith was limited. Yes they believed in what He had done, but their faith did not go so far as to accept some of His harder teachings. It was this lack of faith that He condemned. It should serve as a reminder to everyone that not all faith is created equal. Just because we “believe” does not mean that God finds us acceptable. Our faith needs to show up in our words and in our actions. If we reject His more difficult teachings for our lives like those believing Jews did, should we expect to be treated any differently by God than they were?

“You are of {your} father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own {nature,} for he is a liar and the father of lies.