Your Father the Devil

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.