John 8:42 (GNV)

Passage

Therefore Iesus sayde vnto them, If God were your Father, then woulde ye loue mee: for I proceeded foorth, and came from God, neither came I of my selfe, but he sent me.

Nearby Context

John 8:40 But nowe ye goe about to kill mee, a man that haue told you the trueth, which I haue heard of God: this did not Abraham.

John 8:41 Ye do the workes of your father. Then said they to him, We are not borne of fornication: we haue one Father, which is God.

John 8:42 Therefore Iesus sayde vnto them, If God were your Father, then woulde ye loue mee: for I proceeded foorth, and came from God, neither came I of my selfe, but he sent me.

John 8:43 Why doe ye not vnderstande my talke? because ye cannot heare my worde.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the deuill, and the lustes of your father ye will doe: hee hath bene a murtherer from the beginning, and abode not in the trueth, because there is no trueth in him. When hee speaketh a lie, then speaketh hee of his owne: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "iesus", "sayde", "vnto", "father", "woulde", "loue", and "proceeded". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "iesus", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 41's "Ye do the workes of your father..." into verse 43's "Why doe ye not vnderstande my talke...", so "therefore" and "iesus" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "therefore" and "iesus" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.