Passage
They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
John 8:19 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 8:17 It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15
John 8:18 I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
John 8:19 They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
John 8:20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
John 8:21 Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "said", "therefore", "where", "father", "jesus", "answered", and "neither". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 18's "I am one who testifies about myself..." into verse 20's "Jesus spoke these words in the treasury...", so "said" and "therefore" 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 "said" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.