John 8:22 — Community Reflections

JOHN 8:22 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.”

Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, thou canst not come — the Jewish authorities misunderstand Jesus's statement about going away, interpreting it as a suicide threat. 'Will he kill himself?' misses the point entirely: Jesus is not threatening self-destruction but speaking of his return to the Father through death. The misunderstanding reflects their continued inability to grasp his spiritual language. Yet the comment reveals a dark irony: Jesus will indeed 'go away' through death, though not by suicide but by execution that the authorities themselves will bring about.

Church Fathers on John 8:22

In accordance with what was just, He said that no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come; He now speaks to the Jews of His passion, as a free, and not a compulsory sacrifice on His part: Then said Jesus again to them, I go My way. Death to our Lord was a return to the place whence He had come.
Augustine · 4th century

The connection of these words is such, that they might have been spoken at one place and one time, or at another place and another time: as either nothing at all, or some things, or many may have intervened.
Bede · 8th century

If this was spoken to men who persisted in unbelief, how is it He says, You shall seek Me? For to seek Jesus is to seek truth and wisdom. You will answer that it was said of His persecutors, that they sought to take Him. There are different ways of seeking Jesus. All do not seek Him for their health and profit: and only they who seek Him aright, find peace. And they are said to seek Him aright, who seek the Word which was in the beginning with God, in order that He may lead…
Origen · 3rd century · But some one will object

Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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