Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts

John 8:40

There are 14 footnotes for this reference.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3, page 534, footnote 9 (Image)

Tertullian (I, II, III)

Anti-Marcion. (HTML)

On the Flesh of Christ. (HTML)

The Valentinian Figment of Christ's Flesh Being of a Spiritual Nature, Examined and Refuted Out of Scripture. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 7149 (In-Text, Margin)

... friends.[John 8:40] and “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath-day.” For it is of Him that Isaiah writes: “A man of suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of weakness;” and Jeremiah: “He is a man, and who hath known Him?” and Daniel: “Upon the clouds (He came) as ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 426, footnote 3 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

I (HTML)
Chapter LXVI (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3202 (In-Text, Margin)

We now, believing Jesus Himself, when He says respecting His divinity, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” and employs other terms of similar import; and when He says respecting His being clothed with a human body, “And now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth,”[John 8:40] conclude that He was a kind of compound being. And so it became Him who was making provision for His sojourning in the world as a human being, not to expose Himself unseasonably to the danger of death. And in like manner it was necessary that He should be taken away by His parents, acting under the instructions of an angel from heaven, who communicated ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 442, footnote 5 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book II (HTML)
Chapter XXV (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3285 (In-Text, Margin)

We have mentioned in the preceding pages that there are some of the declarations of Jesus which refer to that Being in Him which was the “first-born of every creature,” such as, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” and such like; and others, again, which belong to that in Him which is understood to be man, such as, “But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of the Father.”[John 8:40] And here, accordingly, he describes the element of weakness belonging to human flesh, and that of readiness of spirit which existed in His humanity: the element of weakness in the expression, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me;” the readiness of the spirit in this, ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 618, footnote 2 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book VII (HTML)
Chapter XVI (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4703 (In-Text, Margin)

... when they say of Him who should suffer, “We beheld Him, and He had no form or comeliness; but His form was dishonoured and marred more than the sons of men; He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Observe, then, how distinctly they say that it was a man who should endure these human sufferings. And Jesus Himself, who knew perfectly that one who was to die must be a man, said to His accusers: “But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath spoken unto you the truth which I heard of God.”[John 8:40] And if in that man as He appeared among men there was something divine, namely the only-begotten Son of God, the first-born of all creation, one who said of Himself, “I am the truth,” “I am the life,” “I am the door,” “I am the way,” “I am the ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 51, footnote 14 (Image)

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

Gregory Thaumaturgus. (HTML)

Dubious or Spurious Writings. (HTML)

Twelve Topics on the Faith. (HTML)
Topic VIII. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 410 (In-Text, Margin)

How could one say that Christ is perfect man and also God the Word in the way of separation, when the Lord Himself says, “Why seek ye to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God?”[John 8:40] For God the Word did not give a man for us, but He gave Himself for us, having been made man for our sake. Wherefore He says: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But He spake of the temple of His body.”

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 98, footnote 14 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

The Diatessaron of Tatian. (HTML)

The Diatessaron. (HTML)

Section XXXV. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2438 (In-Text, Margin)

... sin. And the slave doth not remain for ever in the house; but the son remaineth [47, 48] for ever. And if the Son set you free, truly ye shall be free children. I know that ye are the seed of Abraham; but ye seek to slay me, because ye are unable for my [49] word. And what I saw with my Father, I say: and what ye saw with your father, [50] ye do. They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus said unto them, If ye were the children of Abraham, ye would do the deeds of Abraham. [51][John 8:40] Now, behold, ye seek to kill me, a man that speak with you the truth, that I [52] heard from God: this did Abraham not do. And ye do the deeds of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, who is ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 1, page 152, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Prolegomena: St. Augustine's Life and Work, Confessions, Letters

The Confessions (HTML)

Having manifested what he was and what he is, he shows the great fruit of his confession; and being about to examine by what method God and the happy life may be found, he enlarges on the nature and power of memory. Then he examines his own acts, thoughts and affections, viewed under the threefold division of temptation; and commemorates the Lord, the one mediator of God and men. (HTML)

All Wish to Rejoice in the Truth. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 869 (In-Text, Margin)

34. Why, then, doth truth beget hatred and that man of thine,[John 8:40] preaching the truth become an enemy unto them, whereas a happy life is loved, which is naught else but joy in the truth; unless that truth is loved in such a sort as that those who love aught else wish that to be the truth which they love, and, as they are willing to be deceived, are unwilling to be convinced that they are so? Therefore do they hate the truth for the sake of that thing which they love instead of the truth. They love truth when she shines on them, ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 469, footnote 11 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament. (HTML)

On the words of the Gospel, John i. 10, ‘The world was made through him,’ etc. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3631 (In-Text, Margin)

... the children of Abraham; and he addressed them, “O generation of vipers.” Did he do Abraham wrong? God forbid! He gave them a name from their character. For that if they were the children of Abraham, they would imitate Abraham; as He too telleth them who say to Him, “We be free, and were never in bondage to any man; we have Abraham for our father.” And He said, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the deeds of Abraham. Ye wish to kill Me, because I tell you the truth. This did not Abraham.”[John 8:39-40] Ye were of his stock, but ye are a degenerate stock. So then what said John? “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Because they came to be baptized with the baptism of John unto repentance. “Who hath warned ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 3, page 186, footnote 2 (Image)

Theodoret, Jerome and Gennadius, Rufinus and Jerome

The Ecclesiastical History, Dialogues, and Letters of Theodoret. (HTML)

Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus. (HTML)

The Unconfounded. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1197 (In-Text, Margin)

Orth. —Do you then deem yourself wiser than Peter and Paul; aye, and than the Saviour Himself? For the Lord said to the Jews “Why do ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard of my Father?”[John 8:40] And He frequently called Himself Son of Man.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 5, page 127, footnote 3 (Image)

Gregory of Nyssa: Dogmatic Treatises; Select Writings and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises. (HTML)

Against Eunomius. (HTML)

Book II (HTML)
He expounds the passage of the Gospel, “The Father judgeth no man,” and further speaks of the assumption of man with body and soul wrought by the Lord, of the transgression of Adam, and of death and the resurrection of the dead. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 438 (In-Text, Margin)

... not take upon Himself. Now the soul is not sin though it is capable of admitting sin into it as the result of being ill-advised: and this He sanctifies by union with Himself for this end, that so the lump may be holy along with the first-fruits. Wherefore also the Angel, when informing Joseph of the destruction of the enemies of the Lord, said, “They are dead which sought the young Child’s life,” (or “soul”): and the Lord says to the Jews, “Ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth[John 8:40].” Now by “Man” is not meant the body of a man only, but that which is composed of both, soul and body. And again, He says to them, “Are ye angry at Me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day?” And what He meant by “every whit ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 81, footnote 3 (Image)

Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen

The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril. (HTML)

On the words Incarnate, and Made Man. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1478 (In-Text, Margin)

33. Since God then beareth witness, and the Holy Ghost joins in the witness, and Christ says, Why do ye seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth[John 8:40]? let the heretics be silenced who speak against His humanity, for they speak against Him, who saith, Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Adored be the Lord the Virgin-born, and let Virgins acknowledge the crown of their own state: let the order also of Solitaries acknowledge the glory of chastity for we men are not deprived of the dignity of chastity. In the Virgin’s ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 9, page 66b, footnote 13 (Image)

Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus

John of Damascus: Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. (HTML)

An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. (HTML)

Book III (HTML)
Further concerning volitions and free-wills: minds, too, and knowledges and wisdoms. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2191 (In-Text, Margin)

But if the Evangelist said that the Word was made flesh, note that in the Holy Scripture sometimes a man is spoken of as a soul, as, for example, with seventy-five souls came Jacob into Egypt: and sometimes a man is spoken of as flesh, as, for example, All flesh shall see the salvation of God. And accordingly the Lord did not become flesh without soul or mind, but man. He says, indeed, Himself, Why seek ye to kill Me, a Man that hath told you the truth[John 8:40]? He, therefore, assumed flesh animated with the spirit of reason and mind, a spirit that holds sway over the flesh but is itself under the dominion of the divinity of the Word.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 307, footnote 8 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

Exposition of the Christian Faith. (HTML)

Book V. (HTML)
Chapter XV. He briefly takes up again the same points of dispute, and shrewdly concludes from the unity of the divine power in the Father and the Son, that whatever is said of the subjection of the Son is to be referred to His humanity alone. He further confirms this on proof of the love, which exists alike in either. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2761 (In-Text, Margin)

185. Many nobly interpret that which is written: “Truly my soul will be in subjection to God;” He said soul not Godhead, soul not glory. And that we might know that the Lord has spoken through the prophet of the adoption of our human nature, He added: “How long will ye cast yourselves upon a man?” As also He says in the Gospel: “Why do ye seek to kill Me, a man?”[John 8:40] And He added again: “Nevertheless they desired to refuse My price, they ran in thirst, they blessed with their mouth, and cursed with their heart.” For the Jews, when Judas brought back the price, would not receive it, running on in the thirst of madness, for they refused the grace of a spiritual draught.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 586, footnote 1 (Image)

Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian

The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)

The Seven Books of John Cassian on the Incarnation of the Lord, Against Nestorius. (HTML)

Book V. (HTML)
Chapter VIII. He confirms the judgment of the Apostle by the authority of the Lord. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2517 (In-Text, Margin)

And though this is the saying of an Apostle, yet it is the very doctrine of the Lord. For the same Person says this to Christians by His Apostle, who had Himself said something very like it to Jews in the gospel, when He said: “But now ye seek to kill me, a man, who have spoken the truth to you, which I heard of God: for I am not come of Myself, but He sent me.”[John 8:40] He clearly shows that He is both God and man: man, in that He says that He is a man: God, in that He affirms that He was sent. For He must have been with Him from whom He came: and He came from Him, from whom He said that He was sent. Whence it comes that when the Jews said to Him, “Thou art not yet ...

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