In John 8:44, Jesus declares, “You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires.” (NASB) This sharp rebuke, accusing those he is talking to of being sons of the devil, raises the question: who is he addressing, and why such a harsh statement?

To understand the context, we need to back up a bit to John 8:31, where we find out that Jesus is speaking to Jews who had believed in him.

At first, this seems puzzling— If they believed in him, wouldn’t they be sons of God and not sons of the devil? Not so fast. “Fickle Faith” is a recurring theme in John’s gospel. We’ve seen those who believed in Jesus because of his miracles and signs, only to have their faith falter. We have also seen many of his “disciples” turn away from him after his “I Am the Bread of Life” discourse, which they were not fans of. 

Let’s look at the next part of John 8:31, where Jesus clarifies what separates fickle faith from true faith.

John 8:31 …“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)

The word continue or hold is the Greek word meno, meaning to abide or remain.

I love this word. It so encapsulates the essence of being a true disciple, an apprentice of Jesus. This is the same word the very first disciples of Jesus use when they ask Jesus in John chapter 1, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Where are you abiding? Because we want to abide with you. We want to be with you. We want to remain with you. Meno is the dominant theme of John chapter 15: Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and we are to abide, continue, and remain in Him.

Meno. It’s such a good word! And by using it in this context, Jesus identifies the mark of a true believer is perseverance.

Jesus stresses that those who persevere in his word will know the truth, and the truth will set them free. But this raises the question: free from what? To be set free implies that one is currently enslaved, and Jesus’ audience doesn't like this suggestion. They protest, claiming they are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.

While their denial may seem odd given the history of Israel’s political subjugation, most commentators agree that they were not referring to political enslavement. Instead, Jesus is addressing spiritual slavery—slavery to sin. As Paul elaborates in Romans 5:12-21 and Romans 6:12, sin enslaves. For Jesus, the deepest form of bondage is not political but moral—enslavement to sin, rebellion against God, and devotion to created things over the Creator.


When Jesus lovingly says to the Jews who had believed in him that they are slaves to sin, they don’t want to hear it because slaves do not have a permanent place in the family; only a son belongs to the house forever, and they believe because they are Abraham’s descendants they deserve a permanent place in the family. Which is precisely what Jesus is offering them. True sonship. True freedom from the tyranny of sin. If they will only meno (hold to, continue in, abide) in his Word.

Jesus sheds even more light when he calls those who deny their need for freedom sons of the devil based on their behavior and values. A true son of Abraham would love the one whom God sent. If these were Abraham’s spiritual children, they would do the things Abraham did. Namely, trust and obey. Remain. Meno.

A son of the devil would lie and murder. Like Father like son. 

With hatred and contempt, they claim that their only spiritual Father is God. Jesus answered that if God were their Father, they would love Jesus because he came from God. Their “father” is the devil, and by weaving a murderous plot against Jesus, they are carrying out the devil’s desires. As the fall narrative reveals, the devil was a murderer and liar from the beginning, luring humanity into death and deception.

In this passage, Jesus reveals that true sonship is not about physical descent but about spiritual alignment. Paternity, in the spiritual realm, is not established by bloodlines but by right living, right belief, and right relationships. In other words, spiritual sonship is attested by likeness and conduct, not DNA testing or family trees.

As 1 John 3:10 says, People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-born to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test. (MSG)

Spiritual sonship is shown through actions, not bloodlines. Those who belong to God will practice righteousness and love others, while those aligned with the devil will follow his ways of deception and destruction.

Jesus’ strong words in John 8:44 were meant to expose the true spiritual condition of those rejecting him. Their outward claims to faith were contradicted by their actions, revealing their deeper alignment with the devil. True sonship is marked by abiding in Jesus’ word, practicing righteousness, and living in truth. Those who reject these marks of discipleship, regardless of their claims, are aligned with the father of lies.

Sources: The Pillar New Testament Commentary - The Gospel According to John by D.A. Carson