John 8:33-47

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for
I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but
he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because
you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and
you choose to do your father’s desires…” (8:42-44)

Many writers have stumbled on the rock of making Jesus more
palatable, by the subjective criteria of a modern, prosperous and
largely self-obsessed culture. That the New Testament does not
bother with such pandering is one of the most powerful arguments
for its authenticity as God’s self-revelation.

Here, Jesus makes claims for himself that would be scandalous if he
were not God incarnate. He confronts his accusers directly, calling
them children of the devil, liars, not from God. As C.S. Lewis has
argued, if Jesus is not Lord, the clearest alternatives are
liar or lunatic.

Jesus demands much from us: our devotion, our priorities and
perhaps even our lives. This is his prerogative for one reason above
all: He is who he claimed to be.

—Douglas LeBlanc