John 8:55

My Notes

What Does John 8:55 Mean?

Jesus confronts the Jewish leaders with the ultimate honesty claim: you haven't known Him (the Father). But I know Him. And if I said I didn't know Him, I'd be a liar like you. The accusation is triple: you don't know God. I do. And your version of 'knowing God' is a lie.

The phrase "I know him" (oida auton — I know Him with full, complete, experiential knowledge) claims the most intimate possible knowledge of the Father. Not learning. Not studying. Knowing. The way someone knows a person they've lived with since before time. The knowledge Jesus claims is eternal, personal, and comprehensive.

"I shall be a liar like unto you" is the most offensive statement Jesus makes to the religious leaders: if I denied what I know, I'd be what you are. Liars. The religious leaders who claim to know God are liars. And Jesus — who actually knows God — would have to become like them to deny it. The lie they live (claiming to know God while not knowing Him) is the lie Jesus refuses to join.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Does 'ye have not known him' apply to religious activity that's knowledgeable about God but doesn't actually know God?
• 2.How does Jesus' claim ('I know him') differ from 'I've studied him' — and which describes your relationship?
• 3.Does 'a liar like unto you' (religious people who claim to know God but don't) feel like it describes anyone you know?
• 4.Is your knowledge of God experiential (knowing) or academic (knowing about) — and can you tell the difference?

Devotional

You don't know Him. I do. And if I said I didn't, I'd be a liar. Like you.

Jesus delivers the sharpest words in John's Gospel to the religious leaders: your knowledge of God is a lie. My knowledge of God is reality. And the gap between your lie and my reality is the gap between who you are and who I am.

"Ye have not known him" — the leaders who dedicated their lives to studying God, teaching about God, and representing God don't actually know Him. The scholarship is real. The knowledge isn't. The theology is impressive. The relationship is absent. You can spend a lifetime studying a person and never know them. The religious leaders proved it.

"But I know him" — oida — full, complete, experiential knowledge. Jesus doesn't say "I've studied Him" or "I've learned about Him." I know Him. The way the Son knows the Father — from eternity, from inside the relationship, from the shared life that precedes creation. The knowledge isn't acquired. It's inherent. It's who Jesus IS.

"I shall be a liar like unto you" — the comparison that should have destroyed the conversation. If I denied my knowledge of the Father, I'd enter your category: liar. The people who claim to represent God are liars. The establishment that teaches about God doesn't know God. And the only person in the room who actually knows God — the one they're trying to kill — would have to become what they are (liars) in order to deny what He is (the Son).

"But I know him, and keep his saying" — the knowledge isn't theoretical. It produces obedience. Jesus knows the Father AND does what the Father says. The knowing and the keeping are connected. You can't truly know God and disobey Him. The leaders' disobedience proves their ignorance. Jesus' obedience proves His knowledge.

You don't know Him. I do. The most dangerous sentence Jesus ever spoke to religious people. Because it means: your entire religious system is based on a relationship that doesn't exist.

Do you know Him? Or do you know about Him?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture