Church Fathers Commentary John 8:25-27

"They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them, Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you: howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these speak I unto the world. They perceived not that he spake to them of the Father." — John 8:25-27 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Our Lord had said, If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. In response, they asked Him who they were to believe in, so that they might not die in their sin. Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” For when you said, “If you do not believe that I am,” you did not add who you are.

But our Lord knew that there were some who would believe. Therefore, after being asked, “Who are You?” so that they might know what they should believe Him to be, Jesus said to them, “The beginning, who also speak to you.” This was not as if to say, “I am the beginning,” but rather, “Believe Me to be the beginning,” as is evident from the Greek, where “beginning” is a feminine noun.

Believe Me, then, to be the beginning. The beginning cannot be changed; it remains fixed in itself and is the source of change for all things. But it is absurd to call the Son the beginning and not the Father also. And yet, there are not two beginnings, just as there are not two Gods. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father and the Son, not being either the Father or the Son. Yet Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, one Light, one beginning.

He adds, “Who also speak to you,” meaning, “Who humbled Myself for your sakes and condescended to these words.” Therefore, believe Me to be the beginning. For so that you may believe this, not only am I the beginning, but I also speak with you, so that you may believe that I am. For if the Beginning had remained with the Father in its original nature and had not taken upon itself the form of a servant, how could people have believed in it? Would their weak minds have grasped the spiritual Word without the medium of perceptible sound?

The Venerable Bede: In some copies we find, “Who also speak to you,” but it is more consistent to read “for” (Latin: quia), not “who” (Latin: qui). In that case, the meaning is: Believe Me to be the beginning, for I have condescended to these words for your own sakes.

St. John Chrysostom: See the madness of the Jews here, asking after so much time and after all His miracles and teaching, “Who are You?” What is Christ’s answer? “From the beginning I speak with you,” as if to say, “You do not deserve to hear anything from Me, much less this matter of who I am. For you always speak to tempt Me. But I could, if I wished, confound and punish you. I have many things to say and to judge of you.”

St. Augustine of Hippo: Above, He said, “I judge no man.” But “I do not judge” is one thing, and “I have to judge” is another. “I do not judge,” He says, with reference to the present time. But the other phrase, “I have many things to say and to judge of you,” refers to a future judgment. And I will be true in My judgment, because I am truth, the Son of the true One. “He that sent Me is true.” My Father is true, not by partaking of truth, but by begetting it. Should we say that truth is greater than one who is true? If we say this, we will begin to call the Son greater than the Father.

St. John Chrysostom: He says this so that they may not think He allows them to speak against Him with impunity, either from an inability to punish them or because He is unaware of their contemptuous designs.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, having said, “I have many things to say and to judge of you,” thus reserving His judgment for a future time, He adds, “But He that sent Me is true.” It is as if to say, “Though you are unbelievers, My Father is true, and He has appointed a day of retribution for you.”

St. John Chrysostom: Or, to put it another way: “Since My Father has sent Me not to judge the world, but to save the world, and My Father is true, I accordingly judge no one now. Instead, I speak these things for your salvation, not your condemnation.” And, “I speak to the world those things that I have heard of Him.”

Alcuin of York: And to hear from the Father is the same as to be from the Father. He has His hearing from the same source that He has His being.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The coequal Son gives glory to the Father, as if to say, “I give glory to Him whose Son I am. How proudly you detract from Him, whose servants you are.”

Alcuin of York: They did not understand, however, what He meant by saying, “He is true that sent Me.” They did not understand that He was speaking to them about the Father. For the eyes of their minds were not yet opened to understand the equality of the Father with the Son.