John 8 22

John 8:22 kjv

Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.

John 8:22 nkjv

So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"

John 8:22 niv

This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?"

John 8:22 esv

So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself, since he says, 'Where I am going, you cannot come'?"

John 8:22 nlt

The people asked, "Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean, 'You cannot come where I am going'?"

John 8 verses

John 8 22 Meaning

John 8:22 captures the moment the Jewish leaders, in their spiritual blindness and animosity towards Jesus, cynically misinterpret His words about going to a place where they cannot follow. They scoffingly ask if He intends to commit suicide, reasoning that this would be the only way He could go to a place inaccessible to them (a place of the damned). This exchange highlights their profound misunderstanding of Jesus' divine origin and impending return to His Father, as well as their unrepentant spiritual state.

John 8 22 Context

John 8:22 is part of a series of intense exchanges between Jesus and the Jewish leaders (often representing the Pharisees and religious authorities) that began in John chapter 7 during the Feast of Tabernacles. This chapter follows the account of the woman caught in adultery (though some manuscripts place it differently) and Jesus' declaration as the Light of the World. Jesus has repeatedly asserted His divine origin and union with the Father, proclaiming eternal truths that repeatedly baffle and offend His listeners. In John 8:21, Jesus directly states, "I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come." Their question in verse 22 is a direct, mocking response to this earlier statement, revealing their hardened hearts and their utter inability to grasp spiritual reality, instead fixating on a literal and dark interpretation. Historically, suicide was a profound anathema in Jewish culture, seen as a rejection of God's gift of life and an act incurring the deepest defilement. Accusing Jesus of planning suicide was an attempt to disgrace and condemn Him to a place they considered accursed, reinforcing their view that He was not of God.

John 8 22 Word analysis

• Then (Οὖν - Oun): This connective particle indicates a consequential or inferential link to Jesus' immediately preceding statement in verse 21. It shows that the following question is a direct reaction.
• said (ἔλεγον - elegon): Imperfect tense, suggesting a continuous action or a general sentiment voiced among "the Jews." It wasn't a one-time question but a recurring thought or perhaps multiple people voicing it.
• the Jews (οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι - hoi Ioudaioi): In John's Gospel, this phrase often refers specifically to the hostile religious authorities and their followers who actively opposed Jesus, rather than the entire Jewish populace. They represent unbelief and antagonism.
• Will he kill himself? (Μήτι ἀποκτενεῖ ἑαυτόν; - Mēti apoktenei heauton?): A sarcastic and incredulous question expecting a negative answer.
  • ἀποκτενεῖ (apoktenei): "will kill," indicating a deliberate act.
  • ἑαυτόν (heauton): "himself," making it clear they are referring to suicide.
  This question expresses extreme spiritual ignorance or deliberate distortion. Suicide was considered a grave sin in Judaism, defiling the person and implying despair and rejection of God. Their thought is: if He is going to a place where they cannot come, and if it's not heaven (which they wouldn't attribute to Him), it must be Gehenna or the realm of the damned—which is where suicides were believed to go.
• because he saith (ὅτι εἶπεν - hoti eipen): This phrase clarifies that their mocking question is prompted directly by Jesus' earlier statement.
• Whither I go (Ὅπου ἐγὼ ὑπάγω - Hopou egō hypagō): Jesus' words referring to His imminent return to His Father.
  • ὑπάγω (hypagō): Carries the nuance of going away definitively, implying His ultimate ascension to His heavenly Father. This destination is of divine glory, not a place of damnation.
• ye cannot come (ὑμεῖς οὐ δύνασθε ἐλθεῖν - hymeis ou dynasthe elthein): This signifies their spiritual inability to reach Jesus' destination. This inability stems from their unbelief, unrepentant sin, and their earthly, not heavenly, nature, as Jesus explains further in John 8:23-24.

• Then said the Jews: Highlights the continuous and collective opposition from the religious authorities, indicating a fixed hostility rather than a genuine inquiry.
• Will he kill himself?: This phrase epitomizes the complete misunderstanding and mockery directed at Jesus. They reduce His spiritual, eternal journey to a suicidal act of despair, projecting their own sin-bound understanding onto Him. This reveals a spiritual chasm: Jesus speaks of returning to divine glory; they hear talk of self-inflicted death and damnation.
• because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come: This entire clause is their twisted justification. They link their inability to follow Jesus to a destination accessible only through a horrific act of self-murder, a sign of their limited, earthbound interpretation of Jesus' profound, heavenly declarations.

John 8 22 Bonus section

The depth of the Jews' accusation goes beyond simple misunderstanding. It's a polemical tactic, attempting to condemn Jesus using His own words. Their logic, flawed as it is, suggests: if Jesus goes to a place we (the righteous, in their own estimation) cannot come, then it must be a place of defilement. Since suicide was an act that resulted in significant defilement and a place outside community burial, it served their purpose of delegitimizing Jesus as a prophet or Messiah. They reveal a complete inability to rise above a literal, physical interpretation of spiritual truths, reflecting the necessity of a spiritual birth (Jn 3:3) to comprehend the Kingdom of God. The incident underscores that divine truth requires spiritual discernment, which they lacked due to their rejection of Christ.

John 8 22 Commentary

John 8:22 powerfully encapsulates the deep spiritual chasm between Jesus and the unbelieving Jewish leaders. Their cynical question, "Will he kill himself?", is not a sincere query but a calculated, derisive misinterpretation of Jesus' declaration that He would go to a place inaccessible to them. For the Jewish mind, steeped in the Law, suicide was abhorrent, placing one in the deepest possible state of defilement and condemnation. By suggesting Jesus intended such an act, they attempted to disgrace Him publicly and associate Him with sin and the ultimate fate of the damned. This response starkly illustrates their spiritual blindness and their utter inability to comprehend Jesus' divine identity and mission. He spoke of returning to the glorious presence of His Father, a destiny only available through belief in Him; they, rooted in earthly reasoning and hardened by sin, could only conceive of such an exclusive destination in terms of ultimate damnation for a suicide. The irony is profound: Jesus would lay down His life, but as a voluntary, redemptive sacrifice, not a self-inflicted end, precisely to open the way to the Father for those who believe, a path they chose to reject.