John 8:41 (YLT)

Passage

ye do the works of your father.' They said, therefore, to him, `We of whoredom have not been born; one Father we have--God;'

Nearby Context

John 8:39 They answered and said to him, `Our father is Abraham;' Jesus saith to them, `If children of Abraham ye were, the works of Abraham ye were doing;

John 8:40 and now, ye seek to kill me--a man who hath spoken to you the truth I heard from God; this Abraham did not;

John 8:41 ye do the works of your father.' They said, therefore, to him, `We of whoredom have not been born; one Father we have--God;'

John 8:42 Jesus then said to them, `If God were your father, ye were loving me, for I came forth from God, and am come; for neither have I come of myself, but He sent me;

John 8:43 wherefore do ye not know my speech? because ye are not able to hear my word.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "works", "father", "said", "therefore", "whoredom", "been", and "born". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "works" and "father", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 40's "and now ye seek to kill me--a..." into verse 42's "Jesus then said to them If God...", so "works" 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 "works" and "father" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.