Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 8:53
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
53. Art thou greater ] Exactly parallel to Joh 4:12. ‘Thou’ is emphatic: ‘Surely Thou art not greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died.’ An anacoluthon, like their exaggeration, very natural. Strictly the sentence should run, ‘and than the prophets, who died?’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whom makest thou thyself? – Or, who dost thou pretend to be? Although the greatest of the prophets have died, yet thou a Nazarene, a Samaritan, and a devil pretendest that thou canst keep thy followers from dying! It would have been scarcely possible to ask a question implying more contempt and scorn.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
If thou canst so effect it, that those who keep thy sayings shall not die, thou canst also make thyself immortal: neither Abraham nor the prophets could save themselves from death, they are all dead: what art thou? What dost thou make thyself? And by the way, this was another charge upon our Saviour, the Jews having no patience with any that should prefer himself before their father Abraham or Moses.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Art thou greater than our father Abraham?…. So the woman of Samaria said, concerning Jacob, Joh 4:12. The Jews had a mighty opinion of their ancestors, especially of Abraham; and yet they allow the Messiah to be greater than he, as Jesus truly was: so one of their ancient commentators w on those words of Isa 52:13 thus paraphrases them,
“”Behold my servant shall deal prudently”, this is the King Messiah; “he shall be exalted” above Abraham, as it is written, Ge 14:22, “and extolled” above Moses, as it is written, Nu 11:12, and he shall be higher than the ministering angels, as it is written, Eze 1:26, for he shall be , “greater than the fathers”.”
They add here, of Abraham,
which is dead; he was a great and good man, and yet dead:
and the prophets are dead; though they truly kept, and faithfully delivered the word of God:
whom makest thou thyself? who art a poor carpenter’s son, a Galilean, a Nazarene, and yet makest thyself greater than Abraham, or any of the prophets; yea, makest thyself to be God, to promise security from death, and an everlasting continuance of life upon keeping thy word.
w Tachuma apud Huls. p. 321.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Art thou greater than our father Abraham? ( ;). Negative answer expected by with ablative case of comparison in after . The question was designed to put Jesus in a difficult position, for Abraham and the prophets all “died.” They do not see that Jesus uses death in a different sense.
Whom makest thou thyself? ( ;). is predicate accusative with . They suspect that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy as they charged in 5:18 in making himself equal with God. Later they will make it specifically (John 10:33; John 19:7). They set a trap for Jesus for this purpose.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Art thou [ ] . Thou, emphatic, and the negative interrogative particle implying a negative answer, thou art not surely greater.
Which is dead [] . The compound pronoun ostiv, which, is used explicatively, according to a familiar New Testament usage, instead of the simple relative. The sense is, seeing that he is dead. The compound relative properly indicates the class or kind to which an object belongs. Art thou greater than Abraham, who is himself one of the dead? So Col 3:5. “Mortify covetousness, seeing it is [ ] idolatry.” See on Mt 13:52; Mt 21:41; Mr 12:18; Luk 12:1; Act 7:53; Act 10:41; 1Pe 2:11.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Art thou greater than our father Abraham,” (me su meizon ei tou patros hemon Abraam) “You are not greater than Abraham our father;”- They adamantly sought to attribute to the term death, physical death only, and to indict Him as a “devil possessed” deranged lunatic, restricting the meaning of what He had said to their own definition, though they were themselves ignorant and spiritually blind, 1Co 2:14; 2Co 4:3-4; Eph 4:18.
2) “Which is dead:”- (hostis apethanen kai hoi prophetai apethanon) “Who died and the prophets who died, are you?” The answer was yes, He surely was, and greater than Jacob, Solomon, or the Queen of Sheba, Joh 4:12; Heb 3:3; Mat 12:6; Mat 12:41-42; Luk 11:31-32.
3) “Whom makest thou thyself?” (tina seauton poieis) “Whom do you make yourself to be?” Their insinuation was that He was a fake, a fraud, an imposture, posing to be accepted as God, or the Savior, whom and which they denied. He had only claimed to be the Son of God, that God was His Father, that His Father had sent Him, and that He sought always to speak the words, and do the will and works of the Father who sent Him from heaven, Gal 4:4-5; Joh 3:16-17; Luk 19:10; Joh 5:30; Joh 6:38.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
53. Art thou greater than our father Abraham? This is another offense, that they endeavor to obscure the glory of Christ by the splendor of Abraham and of the saints. But as all the stars are thrown into the shade by the brightness of the sun, so all the glory that is to be found in all the saints must fade away before the incomparable brightness of Christ. They act unjustly and absurdly, therefore, in contrasting the servants with the Lord; and they even act improperly towards Abraham and the Prophets, by abusing their name in opposition to Christ. But this wickedness has prevailed in almost every age, and prevails even in the present day, that wicked men, by mangling the works of God, make him appear to be contrary to himself. God glorified himself by the Apostles and Martyrs; the Papists frame idols for themselves out of the Apostles and Martyrs, that they may occupy the place of God; and do they not, in this manner, manufacture engines out of the very favors of God, to destroy his power? For how little remains for God or for Christ, if the saints have all that the Papists so lavishly bestow upon them! Wherefore, we ought to know that the whole order of the Kingdom of God is destroyed, unless Prophets, Apostles, and all that can be called Saints, be placed far below Christ, that he alone may hold the highest rank. And, indeed, we cannot speak of the Saints more respectfully than when we place them below Christ. But the Papists, though they may deceive the ignorant by boasting that they are faithful admirers of the Saints, offer an insult both to God and to them, because, by assigning to them a lofty station, they reduce Christ to a level with them. And, indeed, they are doubly in the wrong, because they prefer the Saints to Christ in doctrine; and because, by clothing themselves with the spoils of Christ, they deprive him of almost all his power.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(53) Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?The question is exactly the same, with the substitution of Abraham for Jacob, as that asked by the Samaritan woman in Joh. 4:12 (see Note). Surely thou art not greater than our father Abraham, who indeed died?
Whom makest thou thyself?If Abraham, who received Gods covenant, himself died, and if the prophets, who uttered the oracles of God, themselves died, what kind of person dost Thou assert Thyself to be that Thy word shall deliver men from death? The same phrase occurs again in Joh. 5:18; Joh. 10:33; Joh. 19:7.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
53. Makest thou thyself? A most audacious form of saying that his supremacy was all of his own fabrication. Jesus responds in terms of calm, humble firmness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
Ver. 53. Art thou greater than our father Abraham which is dead? ] They rise no higher than to a natural life. “Our life is hid with Christ in God,” Col 3:3 , as the pearl is hid in the shell, as Christ was hidden under the carpenter’s son, so as that the buzzards of this world could see no beauty in him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joh 8:53 . What did He expect them to take Him for? ; For the cf. Joh 4:12 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Joh 8:53. , whether [art] thou greater) Thou, say they, who dost promise to him, that keepeth Thy word, immortality, a privilege which was not enjoyed by so great men as Abraham and the prophets.-, and) Explain thus; and greater than the prophets, who are dead? The Christ was indeed greater than Abraham and the prophets.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 8:53
Joh 8:53
Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died: whom makest thou thyself?-In their minds it was blasphemous to claim higher honor than those ancient worthies received. [Their contention is that Abraham and the prophets heard the word of God and are dead, and shall they, who hear thee, not die?]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
thou greater: Joh 8:58, Joh 4:12, Joh 10:29, Joh 10:30, Joh 12:34, Isa 9:6, Mat 12:6, Mat 12:41, Mat 12:42, Rom 9:5, Heb 3:2, Heb 3:3, Heb 7:1-7
whom: Joh 5:18, Joh 10:33, Joh 19:7
Reciprocal: Jer 29:26 – and maketh Mal 2:10 – all Mat 3:9 – We Luk 16:24 – Father Joh 10:24 – If Joh 11:26 – whosoever Rom 4:1 – Abraham Jam 2:21 – Abraham
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
If Jesus’ words had the power to prevent death, then Jesus must have been claiming to be greater than anyone who had died. The Jews’ question in the Greek text expects a negative answer. Certainly Jesus could not mean that He was greater than these men, could He? Ironically He was. They asked who Jesus was proudly claiming to be (cf. Joh 5:18; Joh 10:33; Joh 19:7). [Note: Morris, p. 416-17.] They missed the point that He had been stressing throughout this discourse and throughout His ministry, namely, that He did not exalt Himself at all. He simply did the deeds and said the words that His Father had given Him (Joh 8:28; Joh 8:38; Joh 8:42; Joh 8:50).
"Observe that this is more than asking, ’Who does he think he is?’ It is a case of what he is exalting himself to be." [Note: Beasley-Murray, p. 137.]
Jesus rarely asserted His deity. He did not promote Himself. Instead He chose to live a godly life before people and let them draw their own conclusions as God gave them understanding (cf. Mat 16:13-17). Yet He wanted people to believe in Him.