Then said the Jews to him, Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and you say, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
Now.
John 8:48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
John 9:24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
Abraham.
Zechariah 1:5,6 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? …
Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
taste.
Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
declared the Jews.
The term "the Jews" in the Gospel of John often refers to the Jewish religious authorities rather than the Jewish people as a whole. This reflects the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of His time. Historically, these leaders were concerned about maintaining their power and influence, which they felt was threatened by Jesus' growing popularity and His radical teachings.
Abraham died, and so did the prophets,
Abraham and the prophets are revered figures in Jewish history, representing the foundation of Jewish faith and tradition. By mentioning their deaths, the Jewish leaders are emphasizing the inevitability of physical death, even for the most righteous individuals. This statement underscores their misunderstanding of Jesus' promise of eternal life, which is spiritual rather than physical. The reference to Abraham also connects to earlier discussions in John 8, where Jesus speaks of His pre-existence and relationship with Abraham.
yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.
Jesus' promise of eternal life to those who keep His word is a central theme in His teachings. This statement highlights the contrast between physical death and spiritual life. In John 11:25-26, Jesus declares Himself the resurrection and the life, reinforcing the idea that belief in Him transcends physical death. The phrase "never taste death" is a metaphor for eternal separation from God, which Jesus promises to overcome for His followers. This promise is rooted in the new covenant, prophesied in the Old Testament, where God promises to write His law on the hearts of His people (Jeremiah 31:33).
The crowd claims certainty about Jesus, but their “knowledge” is rooted in unbelief.
• John 9:24 shows the same presumption: “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
• Proverbs 14:12 warns that there is “a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Their confidence stands in contrast to the true knowledge that comes from receiving Christ’s word (John 8:31-32).
Hostility peaks with a direct accusation.
• Earlier they sneered, “You are demon-possessed” (John 7:20; 10:20), echoing the slander in Matthew 12:24 that Jesus worked by “Beelzebul.”
• Scripture consistently portrays demonic influence as deception and destruction (John 8:44). To label the Son of God as demonic flips truth on its head (Isaiah 5:20).
Their charge exposes the darkness of unbelief, not any flaw in Jesus.
The crowd points to the obvious: Abraham’s physical death (Genesis 25:8).
• Hebrews 11:13 reminds us Abraham “died in faith.”
• Physical death is universal (Hebrews 9:27); even the greatest patriarch could not escape it.
They assume this proves Jesus’ promise impossible.
The revered spokesmen of God also died—Elijah excepted, yet Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others all faced death (2 Kings 13:20; Hebrews 11:37-38).
• Their graves testify that righteousness alone cannot avert physical death (Romans 3:23).
• Yet those prophets pointed to a future victory over death (Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14).
They contrast Jesus’ words with their experience.
• Jesus had just declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death” (John 8:51).
• His authority is absolute (Matthew 7:28-29); His word is truth (John 17:17).
The clash is between fallen human observation and divine revelation.
“Keep” means to guard, cherish, and obey.
• John 5:24: “Whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.”
• 1 John 2:5: “Whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected.”
Faithful obedience is the evidence of genuine belief, not a work that earns life but the response of those who possess it.
Jesus speaks of ultimate, spiritual victory over death.
• John 11:25-26: “Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
• Revelation 20:6 describes the believer as untouched by “the second death.”
Physical death remains, but for the believer it is a doorway, not a defeat (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-23). The soul of the one who keeps Christ’s word passes immediately into His presence, and resurrection will one day swallow up mortality (1 Corinthians 15:52-54).
John 8:52 captures the collision between unbelief and the life-giving word of Jesus. The crowd, anchored in visible history—Abraham and the prophets who physically died—dismisses Christ’s promise as madness. Yet Scripture affirms that every accusation against Jesus is false and that His word is infallibly true. Those who receive and keep His word possess eternal life now and will never experience the second death. Physical death may come, but it has lost its sting. Christ’s promise stands: whoever trusts and obeys Him will live forever.
(52) Abraham is dead, and the prophets.--They still "do not understand His speech," and take His words in a merely physical sense. In that sense they were impossible, for they are contradicted by the fact that death came to the great Patriarch and the prophets, and if to them, then surely, much more to ordinary men. They regard it as conclusive that their assertion in John 8:48 is correct. No one, except a man under the influence of a demon, would make an assertion so opposed to the almost unbroken experience of mankind.If a man keep my saying.--Better, If a man keep My word, as in last verse.
He shall never taste of death.--The expression is stronger than that which He had used, "shall never see death." They use it to put in the strongest way their wonder at the impossible promise which He had uttered. It has occurred before in Matthew 16:28. (See Note there.) It occurs again in the New Testament only in Hebrews 2:9.
Verse 52. - The Jews - the adverse dominant party, ready always to misunderstand his words - (then) said to him, Now - in reference to their own charge (ver. 48), which he had solemnly disclaimed - we know (we have come to know, ἐγνώκαμεν) that thou hast a daemon. They imply that he must be under some most bewildering hallucination. These words have scattered their momentary hesitation. They must have reasoned thus: "He who claims such power for his own words must have personal immunity from death. This is a daemoniacal folly and delusion. There have been greater than he who heard and kept the words of God, and who, nevertheless, did not escape death." Abraham died, and the prophets (died); and thou sayest, If a man keep my word, he shall never taste of death. Here observe the wilful alteration of the Saviour's words. In place of τὸν λόγον τὸν ἐμόν, "the word that is mine," they quote him as saying, τὸν λόγον μου, "my word," "the word of me" which conveys a more personal claim; and again, in lieu of the remarkable phrase, οὐ θεωρήσῃ, they say, οὐ μὴ γεύσηται equivalent to "shall not in any way experience death" - a form of expression incompatible with the fact of the physical death of his followers and a fortiori of himself. The believer, even like the Lord, does taste of death (Hebrews 2:9), but he does not see it. The phrase, γεύσεται θανάτου, is a rabbinical one for "drinking the cup of death" (cf. John 18:11; Revelation 18:6).