Passage
They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham.
John 8:39 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 8:37 I know that you are Abraham’s seed; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
John 8:38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham.
John 8:40 But now you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do.
John 8:41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "answered", "said", "abraham", "father", "jesus", and "children". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "answered" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 38's "I speak the things which I have..." into verse 40's "But now you are seeking to kill...", so "answered" and "said" 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 "answered" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.