John 8:22

John 8:22, in plain English

The leaders wonder if Jesus is going to kill Himself, since He says they cannot follow where He is going. They are so far from understanding what He really means.

Why it's here

Their guess is ironic because Jesus will give His life, but not the way they imagine. He will lay it down as a sacrifice, not take it in despair.

Who's speaking

The Jewish leaders speculate about Jesus' mysterious words.

Where it sits in the story

They cannot imagine where Jesus is going because they do not know where He came from. Their guesses reveal how completely they have missed the point.

The scholarly reading

The Jews speculate whether Jesus intends suicide (mēti apokteinei heauton), since He says they cannot follow Him, a darkly ironic misunderstanding that inverts the truth of His voluntary self-sacrifice.

Language and setting

Suicide was viewed with horror in Judaism, making this suggestion either a genuine misunderstanding or a hostile insinuation. The irony is that Jesus will indeed lay down His life voluntarily, but as a sacrifice, not suicide.

Voice

The Jewish leaders speculate among themselves about Jesus' cryptic words, arriving at a darkly ironic interpretation.

Significance

Their guess is tragically close to the truth yet completely wrong. Jesus will indeed give His life willingly, but not as a desperate act. He will lay it down as the supreme sacrifice of love.

20He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

21Again He said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”

22So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”

23Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

24That is why I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Read all of John 8 — A woman caught in adultery, a claim to be the light of the world, and a statement so audacious the crowd picks up stones: before Abraham was, I am.