John 8:27 (YLT)

Passage

They knew not that of the Father he spake to them;

Nearby Context

John 8:25 They said, therefore, to him, `Thou--who art thou?' and Jesus said to them, `Even what I did speak of to you at the beginning;

John 8:26 many things I have to speak concerning you and to judge, but He who sent me is true, and I--what things I heard from Him--these I say to the world.'

John 8:27 They knew not that of the Father he spake to them;

John 8:28 Jesus, therefore, said to them, `When ye may lift up the Son of Man then ye will know that I am <FI>he<Fi> ; and of myself I do nothing, but according as my Father did teach me, these things I speak;

John 8:29 and He who sent me is with me; the Father did not leave me alone, because I, the things pleasing to Him, do always.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "knew", "father", and "spake". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "knew" and "father", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "many things I have to speak concerning..." into verse 28's "Jesus therefore said to them When ye...", so "knew" and "father" 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 "knew" and "father" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.