John 8:57 kjv
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
John 8:57 nkjv
Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
John 8:57 niv
"You are not yet fifty years old," they said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
John 8:57 esv
So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?"
John 8:57 nlt
The people said, "You aren't even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham? "
John 8 57 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| John 8:58 | Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." | Fulfillment/Echoes of divine nature |
| John 1:1 | "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." | Pre-existence of Christ |
| John 1:14 | "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." | Incarnation of the eternal Word |
| Isaiah 9:6 | "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." | Titles pointing to divine nature |
| Micah 5:2 | "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth to me one who is to rule Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient of days." | Jesus' origin from ancient times |
| Revelation 1:8 | "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." | Eternal nature of Christ |
| Revelation 1:17 | "Fear not, I am the first and the last..." | Christ's eternal existence |
| Hebrews 1:3 | "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his powerful word." | Christ's divine essence |
| Philippians 2:6 | "...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped," | Christ's pre-existent divine nature |
| Colossians 1:17 | "And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." | Christ's pre-existence and sustaining role |
| Exodus 3:14 | God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." | Connection to Jesus' declaration "I AM" |
| Genesis 17:1 | When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless." | God's eternal nature |
| John 8:24 | "I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins." | "I AM" as a claim to deity |
| John 10:30 | "I and the Father are one." | Unity with the Father |
| John 14:9 | "...has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?" | Revelation of the Father |
| John 17:5 | "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world was made." | Christ's pre-existent glory |
| Genesis 1:26 | "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.'" | God's eternal plans |
| Isaiah 7:14 | "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." | Prophecy of Christ's coming |
| Galatians 4:4 | "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under law," | The timing of Jesus' arrival |
| 1 Corinthians 2:7 | "...but we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory." | God's eternal plan for salvation |
| John 1:3 | "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." | Christ as Creator |
John 8 verses
John 8 57 Meaning
The Jewish people, during Jesus' discourse, questioned His age. They couldn't comprehend His claims because He had not yet reached fifty years old. Jesus' statement implies His existence predates their understanding and their nation's establishment.
John 8 57 Context
In John chapter 8, Jesus engages in a profound theological debate with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, likely around the Feast of Tabernacles. This section follows Jesus' declaration about being the "light of the world" and His healing of a man blind from birth. The opposition from the religious elite intensifies as Jesus speaks of His divine origin and authority. They repeatedly challenge His claims, highlighting their own lineage and authority. This particular verse, John 8:57, arises from their disbelief and their attempt to discredit Jesus by focusing on His physical age, which they perceived as too young to have experienced Abraham, a pivotal figure in their national and spiritual history.
John 8 57 Word Analysis
"Before" (πρὸ — pro): Literally "before" or "in front of." It signifies a temporal or spatial precedence. In this context, it emphasizes a time preceding that of Abraham.
"Abraham" (Ἀβραὰμ — Abraham): The patriarch of the Israelite nation, foundational figure in their covenant with God, and a symbol of faith. He is a reference point for Jewish history and God's promises.
"was" (γέγονας — gegonas): This is the perfect tense of the verb γίνομαι (ginomai), meaning "to become," "to come into being," or "to be." The perfect tense here implies a past action with present results, but the nuance in this specific context suggests "have you become?" or "have you existed?" Jesus' statement will use the present tense of "to be."
"fifty" (πεντήκοντα — pentēkonta): The numerical value fifty. The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) in Leviticus 25:8 uses this number for counting sabbatical years. However, here it is used colloquially to denote a significant age, perhaps representing mature adulthood or a fully developed life, well beyond Jesus' actual physical age at the time.
"years" (ἐτῶν — etōn): Genitive plural of ἔτος (etos), meaning "year."
Grouped analysis: "Before Abraham was, have you become fifty years old?" The question is rhetorical and incredulous. The Jews are using Abraham as their benchmark for existence and authority. They are questioning if Jesus has even reached the age of maturity or significant life experience (symbolized by fifty years) that would qualify Him to have a prior existence to Abraham, who lived centuries before. Their argument is based entirely on a carnal, earthly understanding of age and time, failing to grasp Jesus' divine and eternal nature.
John 8 57 Bonus Section
The phrase "fifty years old" might also carry a symbolic weight related to priestly duties or legal majority in some interpretations, though its primary function here is to represent a significant age. The contrast between the physical, limited perspective of the Jews and Jesus’ eternal perspective is a recurring theme in the Gospel of John, emphasizing Jesus’ divinity and the nature of spiritual understanding versus carnal comprehension. Jesus’ response in the following verse (John 8:58) directly confronts their temporal thinking by declaring His eternal existence using the divine name "I AM."
John 8 57 Commentary
The question, "Before Abraham was, have you become fifty years old?" reveals the profound spiritual blindness of Jesus' interlocutors. They are limited by a purely chronological and physical understanding of existence. Jesus, by implication and later explicit statement ("before Abraham was, I am"), asserts a timeless reality. His "being" is not contingent on earthly age or the passing of time. The reference to "fifty years" suggests a threshold of maturity and wisdom in their eyes, a milestone Jesus clearly had not reached physically. Their incredulity highlights their inability to perceive His divine identity and His existence before His earthly birth. They are rooted in history and tradition, while Jesus represents eternity breaking into time.