John 8:19 — Community Reflections

JOHN 8:19 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.”

Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: for if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also — the Pharisees ask mockingly, 'Where is thy Father?' as if to demand visible evidence. Jesus responds by pointing to a deeper problem: they do not know him (even though they have heard his teaching and seen his works), and therefore they cannot know the Father. Knowledge of Jesus and knowledge of the Father are inseparable (14:7). The lack of faith prevents both recognitions. Their refusal is not due to insufficient evidence but to willful blindness.

Church Fathers on John 8:19

Those who had heard out Lord say, You judge after the flesh, showed that they did so; for they understood what He said of His Father in a carnal sense: Then said they to Him; Where is Your Father? meaning, We have heard you say, I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. We see you alone; prove to us then that Your Father is with You.
Augustine · 4th century

Some remark that this is said in contumely and contempt; to insinuate either that He is born of fornication, and knows not who His Father is; or as a slur on the low situation of His father, i.e. Joseph; as if to say, Your father is an obscure, ignoble person; why do you so often mention him? So because they asked the question, to tempt Him, not to get at the truth, Jesus answered, You neither know Me, nor My Father.
Theophylact · 11th century

He tells them, it is of no avail for them to say they know the Father, if they do not know the Son.
Chrysostom · 4th century

Read all 14 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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