Your Father the Devil?: A New Approach to John and the Jews

by Stephen Motyer

Is John's Gospel antisemitic? In John 8:44 Jesus tells the Jews, 'You are of your father the Devil', a charge used throughout the centuries by antisemites to fuel hatred of the Jews. And it is no one-off statement: throughout the Gospel, 'the Jews' appear as Jesus' sharpest opponents, ultimately seeking his execution. Who then are 'the Jews' in John's Gospel? Defending John against the charge of antisemitism, Motyer argues that, far from demonising the Jews, the Gospel seeks to present Jesus as 'Good News for Jews' in a late first century setting.

276 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

About the author

Steve Motyer was in Anglican pastoral ministry for some years before going to teach New Testament at London School of Theology (then London Bible College). After some years he took over the running of the Theology and Counselling course there. He trained as a psychotherapist and then taught in both areas (Bible and Counselling) until he retired in 2016. Now his time is taken up with looking after house and family, helping to run his local church, and bits of retirement teaching back at LST. He feels very thankful for the life God has given him – which he continues to enjoy.

Reviews

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is John's Gospel antisemitic? As Christians, we would jump to the answer, "No!" And yet, it's undeniable that John's words have been abused in order to promote hate-filled agendas. And among all of John's words, none have had the same impact as 8:44: "You are of your father the devil." With these historic abuses in mind, Stephen Motyer grapples with the anti-Judaism rhetoric of John's Gospel, especially in chapter 8, and the result is a valuably detailed and carefully argued study.

Motyer's approach is to combine narrative and historical textual perspectives to reconstruct a first-century Jewish reading experience of John's Gospel. His focus is on how these words would have been heard, especially against the backdrop of the destruction of the Temple, and the ensuing identity crisis in the later first century. John writes as a "Jew speaking to Jew", providing a "Jewish Christian response to the very issues over which all Jews, including Christian Jews, agonised in the period after 70 AD." (212)

Motyer's journey to 8:44 begins with a reflection on John's usage of "the Jews" – a reflection which Bible teachers would do well to read and reflect on. Motyer argues these words would have been heard as referring to "a party within Judaism" (54), namely "adherents of the particularly strict, Torah- and Temple-centred religion found especially (but not exclusively) in Judea and Jerusalem" (56).

Addressing 8:44 itself, Motyer describes how a first-century Jew would have heard these words as a forceful appeal to believe in Jesus, over against the alternative responses to the destruction of the Temple. The reader is confronted with two conflicting accusations of demonic influence (8:44, 48), and must make a decision. The reference to Satan is not "a designation of Jewish ontology", but a "warning about the real nature of a certain course of action" with respect to Jesus (209). Ultimately, only "Jesus is the Christ who can meet the particular needs of Israel, facing that total loss." (73)

In a final conclusion, Motyer describes how John's approach to sharing good news should shape our own evangelism: "The Holocaust must shape Christian relationships with Jewish people as fundamentally as the Jewish War shaped the way in which the fourth evangelist expressed the Good News to his own people. He stood alongside them, sharing their pain. And with great creativity he carved a Gospel which not only recorded the story as he understood it, but told it in a way which brought out its deep relevance for Israel in her need, and as passionately and attractively as possible. He offers a model for Christians today" (219–220).

This is an important book for anyone studying or teaching John's Gospel. Motyer's argument is sometimes very heavily loaded, and most readers will want to skim sections. And there is plenty of scope for disagreeing with some of those sections too. But his discussions on the use of "the Jews" and the hearing of John 8:44 in a post-AD 70 context are very valuable. And Motyer also sets a commendable model of engaging well, and not dismissively, with accusations of antisemitism against Christian texts and truths.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better than average scholarly book in that it actually helps illumine the text. Don't agree with every detail but found it a very worthwhile and helpful effort.