John 8:41 (LSB)

Passage

You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.”

Nearby Context

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.”

John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come of Myself, but He sent Me.

John 8:43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "doing", "deeds", "father", "said", "born", "sexual", and "immorality". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "doing" and "deeds", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 40's "But now you are seeking to kill..." into verse 42's "Jesus said to them If God were...", so "doing" and "deeds" 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 "doing" and "deeds" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.