CHAPTER 63 - Your Father’s The Devil
In addressing the Jewish Pharisees, Yeshua was tested as to His authority to absolve the woman accused of adultery as is also seen in verse 11 of this chapter.
Yeshua begins then to build the understanding of what it means to be “of your father the devil.” In his diatribe directed at these Jews, Yeshua is anything but vague about His opinion of these heretical, self-righteous, prideful men. In verse 15 Jesus points out that they judge after the flesh, while he himself doesn’t. In verse 19 Yeshua points out they don’t even know the Father let alone Yeshua. Had they known Yeshua they would have known the Father. And to cap off his verbal tirade, Jesus points out these men are going to die in their sins. This statement is a very strong invective, which would have surely incensed the Pharisees who believed they were virtually free of sin. They were vigilant to perfect their religious observance and believed they kept the commandments of the Torah better than anyone else. Of course Yeshua was judging the motivation and intentions behind their rigid adherence to their law and their interpretation of Biblical law. How would you like to be told you are going to die in your sins? I sure wouldn’t be too endeared to the person who told me such a seemingly outlandish and insulting thing. The pious Jews Yeshua was speaking with didn’t appreciate the remarks very much. They reacted sharply by claiming Yeshua was crazy. “How can this guy say such an off-the-wall statement, we are Pharisees, as close to perfect as anyone can get, of course we aren’t going to die in our sins.” Yeshua goes on in His preliminary thoughts to reveal what is meant by “you are of your father the devil.” In verse 23 we see Yeshua say;
Yeshua had delivered a serious cutting remark aimed at the wicked and deceived heart of the Pharisees. His statement was intense enough and cutting enough that it is surprising the Pharisees didn’t rip Yeshua apart on the spot. Yeshua however spoke with such confidence that questions from those who heard His statements followed. His answer to those who claimed to be of Abrahams seed was the teaching on the meaning of, “you are of your father the devil." Some thought they could rely on being of the line of Abraham as their ticket to salvation. To most pious Jews, being the seed of Abraham meant you kept commandments well and had some kind of inside-track guarantee, to receive an eternal reward. To Jesus, it was they who desired to obey God and honor the Messiah who would be considered as recipients of the promise. There is much that can be said regarding the concept of there being neither Jew nor Gentile when it comes to inheriting the promise as was spoken to Abraham. Yeshua was the fulfillment of the promised seed to come through Abraham and any who accepted His Messianic role would agree to the commandments that were given to bring life, thus showing their faith by their works and showing they love Yeshua. In John 14:15 Yeshua says “If you love me keep my commands.” To those who claim, just because they are Abraham’s physical descendants they get a special VIP pass to Graceland, He said being from the line of Abraham did not guarantee the free pass. Rather, the Messiah taught, if one does the commands Yahweh asks with a right motivation, out of love for God, they are seen as having God as their Father. In this exchange it is pointed out the Pharisees are intent on wanting to kill Him. It would be clear then that God was not their Father because they don’t love this representative of God. They did not recognize the man who was the Messiah. Such inbred piety is a difficult thing to overcome in a group of men who are so full of pride. Yeshua’s summation of His statement culminates with the charge that these men are not of His Father Yahweh but that they are of their father the devil. They are inspired by false ideas, selfishness, and hypocrisy…these are the devil. To be of their father the devil meant they were religious offspring of heretical theology that they pushed on the vulnerable.
With certainty it is stated Yahweh is not their Father and to say one has “the devil as their father” was a way of stating the complete spiritual disconnect a person has with God. Articulating the charge of having the devil as their father in another way might sound like this;
Telling these Jews straight out they are not submitting to Yahweh the Father but are in league with their evil desires was hardly well received. And it was replied to by the Pharisees saying Yeshua had a devil. The prideful audience was so certain that they were in line with what God wanted that they said Yeshua was basically talking crazy. Yeshua rejected that notion and when He continued to speak words that identified Him as greater than Abraham, the Jews were even more convinced that Yeshua was lost and had a false doctrine and an erroneous concept, hence they stated once more that He had a “devil.” Had these men been more inclined to let a desire for rich food guide their thoughts and actions, Yeshua might have said their stomach is their father. However, it wasn’t their stomach that was their father, it was their wicked ideas, opinions, and judgments that led them. His view that these men were led by their own wicked thoughts and intentions was articulated in saying, “Your father is the devil.”
Now for a sneak peek at . . . CHAPTER 64 - Who Is The Destroying Killing Thief?
Before we get specific on what the “devil” is in the next passage, we will take a moment and talk about the destroying, killing thief. Many will turn to this passage and claim the thief in the story is Satan. Of course, they say, it is Satan who steals, kills, and destroys. Once again, they who claim this is the case are only correct when satan is recognized as the adversarial religious system or men who oppose the followers of Yeshua. The context of this statement is clearly referring to men as the thief. Notice the reference to men in the starting verses of this topic; John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. The thief is not a satanic being in this passage if we take the context to be our guide. So looking a little further, clarity is enhanced. The context is referring to men who are trying to get over the fence, men who have come before Yeshua arrived on scene and claimed to be the Messiah, as well as men who thought they were qualified to shepherd the people. (To read more of this chapter, request your copy of Who's the Devil Jesus Knew?)
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James R. Brayshaw