Passage
So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
John 8:57 (LSB)
Nearby Context
John 8:55 and you have not known Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "jews", "said", "fifty", "years", "seen", and "abraham". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jews" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 56's "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My..." into verse 58's "Jesus said to them Truly truly I...", so "jews" 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 "jews" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.