John 8:33

“They answered him, etc.] Not the believing Jews, whom he peculiarly addressed, but the unbelieving Jews, who were present, and heard these things: we be Abraham’s seed; this the Jews always valued themselves upon, and reckoned themselves, on this account, upon a level with the nobles and the princes of the earth. “Says R. Akiba f385, even the poor of Israel are to be considered as if they were ˆyrwj ynb, “noblemen”, that are fallen from their substance, because they are the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;” and were never in bondage to any man; which is a very great falsehood, for it was declared to Abraham himself, that his seed should serve in a land not theirs, and be afflicted four…”

“They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man, &c.--Who said this? Not surely the very class just spoken of as won over by His divine words, and exhorted to continue in them. Most interpreters seem to think so; but it is hard to ascribe such a petulant speech to the newly gained disciples, even in the lowest sense, much less persons so gained as they were. It came, probably, from persons mixed up with them in the same part of the crowd, but of a very different spirit. The pride of the Jewish nation, even now after centuries of humiliation, is the most striking feature of their character. "Talk of freedom to us? Pray when or to whom were we ever in bondage?"…”

“They answered him - Not those who believed on him, but some who stood by and heard him. We be Abraham’s seed - We are the children or descendants of Abraham. Abraham was not a slave, and they pretended that they were his real descendants, inheriting his freedom as well as his spirit. They meant that they were the direct descendants of Abraham by Isaac, his heir. Ishmael, also Abraham’s son, was the son of a bondwoman Galatians 4:21-23, but they were descended in a direct line from the acknowledged heir of Abraham. Were never in bondage to any, man - This is a most remarkable declaration, and one evidently false. Their fathers had been slaves in Egypt; their nation had been enslaved in…”

“They - The other Jews that were by, (not those that believed,) as appears by the whole tenor of the conversation. We were never enslaved to any man - A bold, notorious untruth. At that very time they were enslaved to the Romans. John 8:34”

“8:33 Jesus challenged a widely held assumption about Israel’s status as God’s chosen people. Their heritage as descendants of Abraham had inspired feelings of privilege and immunity rather than obligation and responsibility (cp. Amos 3:1-15). • The people misunderstood what it meant to be set free. Jesus was not referring to freedom from human slavery; he meant release from spiritual bondage to sin (John 8:34). Truth, not their religious heritage, would free them (8:32; Rom 6:17; 8:2; 1 Jn 3:4, 8, 9).”

“We be: Joh 8:39; Lev 25:42; Mat 3:9; Luk 16:24-26 and were: Joh 19:25; Gen 15:13; Exo 1:13, Exo 1:14; Jdg 2:18, Jdg 3:8, Jdg 4:3; Ezr 9:9; Neh 5:4-8; Neh 9:27, Neh 9:28, Neh 9:36, Neh 9:37 John 8:34”