# Your father the devil The sayings in John 8:39–47 and 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 depict sharp conflict between early Christians and some Jewish opponents. How they are addressed and how later readers have used them to condemn Jews as a whole is the central dispute. Source: https://manybibles.app/articles/your-father-the-devil — ManyBibles. Scripture is quoted from the New Consensus Bible, an AI rendering. The article is AI-generated from ManyBibles' records of how each tradition reads these passages; it describes their positions and does not rule between them. ## The passage (Scripture) ### John 8:39-47 > [39] They answered and said to him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus says to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. [40] But now you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you, which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. [41] You do the works of your father.” Therefore they said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality; we have one Father, God.” [42] Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God; for neither have I come from myself, but he sent me. [43] Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to hear my word. [44] You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks out of his own character, because he is a liar and the father of it. [45] But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. [46] Which of you convicts me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe me? [47] The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” Study the chapter: https://manybibles.app/study/john/8 ### 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 > [14] For you became imitators, brothers, of the assemblies of God, the ones being in Judea in Christ Jesus; because you also suffered the same things by your own countrymen, just as they also did by the Jews, [15] the ones killing both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and driving us out, and not pleasing God, and being hostile to all humans, [16] hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they might be saved, to fill up their sins always. But the wrath of God has come upon them to the end. Study the chapter: https://manybibles.app/study/1-thessalonians/2 ## The question Whom are these sayings addressed to, and how have they been misused? ## Background (historical background) John 8:39–47 is part of a longer dispute in the Fourth Gospel between Jesus and "the Jews" (Greek Ioudaioi), a term that in John often designates Judean religious authorities rather than the Jewish people generally. The setting is Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. The language of "father" and "children" draws on biblical ideas of Abraham as father of Israel, and on early Jewish debates about true descent. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul writes to a largely Gentile congregation in Thessalonica around 50 CE. The letter is one of the earliest New Testament writings. In 2:14–16 Paul compares the Thessalonians' suffering to that of believers in Judea and refers to "the Jews" who killed Jesus and the prophets. Scholars debate whether this passage is an authentic part of Paul's letter or a later interpolation, and whether it reflects first-century intra-Jewish sectarian polemic or later anti-Jewish rhetoric. Key terms in John 8 include "father" (pater), "children" (tekna), "devil" (diabolos), "murderer" (anthropoktonos), and "liar" (pseudos). In 1 Thessalonians 2, the Greek phrase "the Jews" (tōn Ioudaiōn) is used, along with language of "wrath" (orgē) and "to the end" (eis telos). In both passages, the rhetoric is severe, but historical context matters. New Testament scholars generally agree that these texts emerged from intra-Jewish disputes at a time when the Jesus movement was defining itself over against synagogue communities, and that later Christian readers often universalized the polemic into a condemnation of all Jews. ## How the traditions read it (each tradition's interpretation) ### Catholic: Spiritual paternity, not ethnic descent; Jews not rejected by God. Catholic exegesis reads the "father" language in John 8 as a matter of moral paternity: one is a child of the devil by imitating the devil's murderous and lying works, not by physical ancestry. Augustine taught that the devil is the father of the wicked by imitation, not by nature. For 1 Thessalonians 2, the Second Vatican Council's Nostra Aetate explicitly rejects the charge that the Jewish people as a whole are responsible for the death of Jesus, and calls for mutual understanding. Thus the passage is read as a first-century dispute with specific opponents, not a global condemnation of Jews. ### Eastern Orthodox: The devil's children are the unfaithful, not a people; polemic is internal dispute. Orthodox interpreters see John 8 as a confrontation between faith and unbelief. The "father" of those who reject Jesus is the devil because they share his hostility to truth, not because they are Jews by birth. Chrysostom's homilies stress that Christ's words are aimed at the heart's disposition. In 1 Thessalonians, Orthodox tradition focuses on Paul's pastoral love and the active word of God, and modern Orthodox statements have repudiated anti-Semitism. The polemic is treated as part of the apostolic record of suffering, not as a license to condemn. ### Anglican: Polemic reflects first-century conflict; must repudiate anti-Jewish application. Anglican tradition, with its emphasis on reason and historical context, often reads John 8 as a universal challenge: those who refuse the truth Jesus brings are children of the father of lies. In 1 Thessalonians 2, many Anglican scholars, especially in the Broad Church tradition, explicitly note that verses 14–16 reflect a first-century intra-Jewish conflict. They stress that "the Jews" in Paul's context means Judean opponents of the gospel, not all Jews. This reading is used to repudiate anti-Judaism and to place the text in its historical setting. ### Lutheran: The devil's children are those who reject the gospel, regardless of ancestry. Lutheran theology distinguishes law and gospel. In John 8, the law exposes the sin of rejecting Christ, and the devil is the father of all who persist in unbelief. Luther himself could use harsh anti-Jewish language, but modern Lutheran bodies have officially rejected such misuse and stress that the passage is about unbelief, not Jewish ethnicity. For 1 Thessalonians, Lutheran exegesis centers on the power of God's word and the cross; the polemic is not read as a timeless ethnic condemnation. The focus remains on justification by faith alone. ### Reformed: The reprobate reject Christ; no ethnic condemnation; judgment was temporal and specific. Reformed theology reads John 8:44 within the doctrine of total depravity and election: the children of the devil are the reprobate who reject the truth, regardless of lineage. In 1 Thessalonians, Calvin and later Reformed interpreters see the "wrath" as God's temporal judgment upon the specific generation that opposed the gospel, not a permanent curse on Jews. The Westminster Confession does not use these verses to condemn ethnic groups. The emphasis falls on God's sovereign grace in calling individuals out of spiritual bondage. ### Baptist: Spiritual parentage depends on personal faith, not ancestry; polemic is historical. Baptist interpretation emphasizes personal conversion and regenerate church membership. John 8 is read as teaching that physical descent from Abraham means nothing; only faith in Christ makes one a child of God. Those who reject Christ are children of the devil, but this is a spiritual state, not an ethnic identity. For 1 Thessalonians, Baptist scholars often treat verses 14–16 as a historical description of persecution by certain Judean opponents, not a blanket condemnation of Jews. The focus remains on preaching the gospel to all people. ### Methodist: Children of the devil are moral, not ethnic; holiness, not condemnation. Wesleyan-Holiness reading of John 8 centers on freedom from sin and the possibility of entire sanctification. Jesus' opponents are called children of the devil because of their murderous intent, not because of their Jewishness; the call is to holiness. In 1 Thessalonians, Methodists emphasize Paul's holy, just, and blameless behavior as a model for believers, rather than using the polemic against Jews. Wesley's notes do not extend the condemnation beyond the immediate opponents. The tradition stresses transformation and love. ### Anabaptist: The devil's children are persecutors, not Jews; true church is nonviolent. Anabaptist theology historically applied John 8:44 to persecuting authorities: those who use violence against the faithful show themselves to be children of the murderer from the beginning. This is a critique of state power, not of Jews. The true church is marked by suffering, not by condemning others. In 1 Thessalonians, the Thessalonians' suffering at the hands of their own countrymen becomes a paradigm for the persecuted church. Thus the passage is read as comfort for martyrs, not as anti-Jewish polemic. ### Pentecostal: Spiritual warfare against Satan, not ethnic polemic; devil is real adversary. Classical Trinitarian Pentecostals read John 8:44 primarily as teaching about the reality and character of Satan, the father of lies and murderer. The "children of the devil" are those who imitate his works, especially by rejecting Jesus. This is a spiritual category, not an ethnic one. In 1 Thessalonians, Pentecostals focus on the reality of Satan's hindrance of Paul's mission, seeing spiritual warfare rather than ethnic condemnation. The text is used to encourage prayer and boldness, not to attack Jews. ### Restorationist: Truth and obedience determine spiritual parentage, not Jewish lineage. Churches of Christ emphasize obedience to the truth. John 8:31-32, which precedes the "father the devil" saying, is central: only those who continue in Jesus' word are truly his disciples. The "children of the devil" are those who reject Jesus and seek to kill him, not any ethnic group. For 1 Thessalonians, the tradition's focus is on apostolic example and the word of God, not on the anti-Jewish verses. The Restoration plea is to return to the New Testament pattern, not to condemn Jews. ### Latter-day Saint: Following Satan makes one his child; not about lineage; the devil is real. Latter-day Saints read John 8:44 as teaching that Satan is a real spirit who rebelled against God and became a murderer and liar. Those who follow him become his spiritual children. This is about individual choice, not lineage. In 1 Thessalonians, LDS attention falls on Paul's apostolic authority and self-support, not on the polemic against "the Jews." The tradition teaches that all people are children of God by birth but can become children of the devil by rebellion. Thus the passage is not about ethnicity. ### Jehovah's Witnesses: Satan is the first rebel; his children imitate him, not an ethnicity. Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Satan is a real, created spirit who chose to rebel and became the first murderer by inducing Adam and Eve to sin. The "children of the devil" are those who imitate his rebellious course, not any ethnic group. In 1 Thessalonians, Witnesses focus on Paul's self-support and the "presence" of Christ, not on anti-Jewish rhetoric. The New World Translation renders key terms to distinguish God from Jesus, and the tradition stresses that salvation is open to all. Thus the polemic is not about Jews. ### Jewish: Texts are Christian polemic, not fact; used to fuel anti-Jewish violence. For Jewish readers, these passages are not neutral; they have been used to justify persecution, expulsions, and murder. John 8:44's "children of the devil" and 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16's charge of deicide and misanthropy echo pagan slanders and became proof texts for anti-Judaism. Jewish scholars like Geza Vermes and Adele Reinhartz place the texts in the late first century, as the Jesus movement defined itself against the synagogue. They emphasize that the polemic is intra-Jewish sectarian rhetoric, not a factual description of Jewish belief or practice. The ethical task is to read historically and repudiate the harmful legacy. ### Historical-critical scholarship: Polemic reflects early Christian self-definition, not timeless condemnation. Historical-critical scholarship treats both passages as polemic generated within early Christian communities during their separation from the synagogue. John 8:39–47 likely reflects the Johannine community's trauma after expulsion (aposynagogos) rather than a verbatim historical debate. In 1 Thessalonians, many scholars debate whether 2:14–16 is a post-70 interpolation; if authentic, it reflects a specific conflict between Paul and Judean opponents, using deuteronomistic prophetic polemic. The language is not about ethnicity but about allegiance, yet its rhetorical violence has had real historical consequences. The consensus is that these verses must be read in their first-century sectarian context and not as timeless condemnations of Judaism. ## The text and its translation (historical background) No major manuscript variants affect these specific verses. The famous textual issue in John 8 concerns the pericope adultarae (7:53–8:11), not 8:39–47; the well-known variant in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 ("gentle" vs "infants") does not bear on 2:14–16. ## Common ground (AI explanation) Christian traditions that receive these passages as Scripture generally agree that the "children of the devil" language is about moral or spiritual allegiance, not biological descent, and that the first-century polemic should not be used to condemn Jews as a people. They also agree that the texts have been misused to justify anti-Judaism and must be read in historical context. ## Why it matters (AI explanation) Misreading these verses has fueled persecution, forced conversions, and the teaching of contempt. Reading them carefully matters for Jewish-Christian relations, for how churches preach about judgment and grace, and for resisting supersessionism. The distinction between a first-century rhetorical opponent and a timeless condemnation of an entire people is not academic; it has shaped violence and exclusion. ## Questions people ask ### Whom is Jesus addressing in John 8:39-47? The setting is a dispute in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, and in John the Greek word Ioudaioi often refers to Judean religious authorities rather than the Jewish people as a whole. The language of 'father' and 'children' draws on biblical ideas of Abraham as Israel's father and on early Jewish debates about true descent. Christian traditions generally read the 'children of the devil' saying as a statement about moral and spiritual allegiance, not ancestry. ### Do these verses teach that Jews are responsible for Jesus' death? The article reports broad agreement among the traditions it surveys that they do not. In 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 Paul refers to specific Judean opponents of the gospel, and the Catholic teaching of Nostra Aetate explicitly rejects the charge that the Jewish people as a whole bear guilt for Jesus' death. Jewish readers stress that this sectarian polemic has been used to justify persecution, and that it must be read in its first-century setting. ### Is 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 an authentic part of Paul's letter? Scholars debate whether the passage is Paul's own or a later interpolation added after 70 CE. If it is authentic, it reflects a specific first-century conflict between Paul's mission and Judean opponents, written in the style of prophetic polemic. The article notes that no major manuscript variants affect these verses, and the well-known textual issue at 1 Thessalonians 2:7 does not bear on them. ### How do the different traditions read these passages? Catholic and Orthodox readings emphasise moral rather than ethnic paternity and deny that Jews as a people are rejected by God, while Lutheran and Reformed readings place the sayings within unbelief and election. Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Anabaptist, Pentecostal, Restorationist and Latter-day Saint interpreters likewise treat the polemic as a first-century, spiritual dispute rather than an ethnic judgment. Several modern churches have formally repudiated anti-Jewish misuse of these texts.