John 8:52

52 The Judeans said to him, "Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Avraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, `Whoever obeys my teaching will never taste death.'

John 8:52 Meaning and Commentary

John 8:52

Then said the Jews unto him
Upon these last words that he spake, giving assurance, that whoever kept his saying, should not die:

now we know that thou hast a devil;
they thought and said so before, but now they were assured, that he must be under diabolical influence, must be possessed with the devil, and mad, and out of his senses; for they thought no man in his senses would ever talk at this rate:

Abraham is dead, and the prophets;
that is, they are dead also, as the Ethiopic version adds; see ( Zechariah 1:5 ) ;

and thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of
death:
Abraham and the prophets were so far from pretending by their doctrine to communicate life and secure men from death, that they could not keep themselves from dying; and therefore it must be diabolical madness and frenzy to assert anything of this kind.

John 8:52 In-Context

50 I am not seeking praise for myself. There is One who is seeking it, and he is the judge.
51 Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever obeys my teaching will never see death."
52 The Judeans said to him, "Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Avraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, `Whoever obeys my teaching will never taste death.'
53 Avraham avinu died; you aren't greater than he, are you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?"
54 Yeshua answered, "If I praise myself, my praise counts for nothing. The One who is praising me is my Father, the very one about whom you keep saying, `He is our God.'
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.