The Meaning of John 8:30 Explained

John 8:30

KJV: As he spake these words, many believed on him.

YLT: As he is speaking these things, many believed in him;

Darby: As he spoke these things many believed on him.

ASV: As he spake these things, many believed on him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

As he  spake  these words,  many  believed  on  him. 

What does John 8:30 Mean?

Verse Meaning

John noted that, in spite of the confusion of many that resulted from Jesus" teaching, others believed on Him because of these words (cf. John 7:31). God opened their understanding with His illuminating and life-giving words. However in view of the following verses, the faith of some of them seems to have been quite shallow.

Context Summary

John 8:21-30 - The Father Made Known In His Son
Our Lord was absorbed in acquiring glory for His Father. He was sent by the Father, lived by the Father, could do nothing of Himself, and spoke only as the Father taught Him, John 8:28. He could dispense with all human help and stand alone, because the Father never left Him, John 8:29. To honor Him, please Him, work His works, live in His love, was the passion of His life, John 8:29; John 8:49.
There was a mystery in all this that baffled the men of His age. They were from beneath; they lived for worldly aims, were governed by earthly motives, and sought for the praise of men. His life was spent in fellowship with heaven. But to us there should be no mystery. We, too, should aim to do the will of God as the supreme goal of life. Our aims and ends are too low. The conversion of the unsaved, the upbuilding of the Church, are excellent, but they should be included in the sweep of a wider circle. Aim at the planet and you miss the sun; aim at the sun, and you include the planet. Our one intention should be that God be magnified in our bodies, both in life and death. But for this we must be willing to take up the cross and follow Jesus in His lifting up. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 8

1  Jesus delivers the woman taken in adultery
12  He declares himself the light of the world, and justifies his doctrine;
31  promises freedom to those who believe;
33  answers the Jews who boasted of Abraham;
48  answers their reviling, by showing his authority and dignity;
59  and slips away from those who would stone him

Greek Commentary for John 8:30

Many believed on him [πολλοι επιστευσαν εις αυτον]
Ingressive aorist active indicative, came to believe, nominally at any rate, as in John 2:23. But the tension was keen and Jesus proceeded to test the faith of these new believers from among the Pharisees. [source]
Believed on [ἐπιστευκότας αὐτῷ]
See on John 1:12, and compare believed Him, John 8:31. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 8:30

John 8:37 Hath no place [οὐ χωρεῖ]
Rev., hath not free course, or maketh no way. This rendering is in harmony with John 8:30, John 8:31, concerning those who believed, but did not believe on Him, and who showed by their angry answer, in John 8:33, that the word of Jesus had made no advance in them. The rendering of the A.V. is not supported by usage, though Field (“Otium Norvicense”) cites an undoubted instance of that sense from the Epistles of Alciphron, a post-Christian writer, who relates the story of a parasite returning gorged from a banquet and applying to a physician, who administered an emetic. The parasite, describing the effect of the medicine, says that the doctor wondered where such a mess had place ( ἐχώρησε ). For the rendering of the Rev., compare Aristophanes: πῶς οὖν οὐ χωρεῖ τοὔργον ; “How is it that the work makes no progress? ” (“Peace,” 472). Plutarch, ἐχώρει διὰ τῆς πόλεως ὁ λόγος , “the word: (or report) spread (or advanced) through the city (“Caesar,” 712). [source]
John 8:31 Believed on Him [πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ]
Note the different phrase, distinguishing the Jews from the mixed company in John 8:30. Rev., rightly, believed Him. [source]
John 2:23 His name []
See on John 1:12. With the phrase believe on His name, compare believe on Him (John 8:30), which is the stronger expression, indicating a casting of one's self upon Him; while to believe on the name is rather to believe in Him as being that which he claims to be, in this case the Messiah. It is believing recognition rather than appropriation. “Their faith in His name (as that of the Messiah) did not yet amount to any decision of their inner life for Jesus, but was only an opinion produced by the sight of His miracles, that He was the Messiah” (Meyer). [source]
John 1:12 Believe on [πιστευούσιν εἰς]
The present participle, believing, indicates the present and continuous activity of faith. The word is used by John, sometimes with the dative case simply meaning to believe a person or thing; i.e., to believe that they are true or speak the truth. Thus, to believe the Scripture (John 2:22); believe me (John 4:21); believe Moses, his writings, my words (John 4:46). At other times with a preposition, εἰς , into, which is rendered believe in, or believe on. So here, John 6:29; John 8:30; 1 John 5:10. See the two contrasted in John 6:29, John 6:30; John 8:30, John 8:31; 1 John 5:10. To believe in, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically; to draw upon and avail one's self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, Teacher, Sympathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, and to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life. [source]
John 8:31 Which had believed him [τους πεπιστευκοτας αυτωι]
Articular perfect active participle of πιστευω — pisteuō with dative αυτωι — autōi (trusted him) rather than εις αυτον — eis auton (on him) in John 8:30. They believed him (cf. John 6:30) as to his claims to being the Messiah with their own interpretation (John 6:15), but they did not commit themselves to him and may represent only one element of those in John 8:30, but see John 2:23 for πιστευω εις — pisteuō eis there. If ye abide in my word Third-class condition with εαν — ean and first aorist (constative) active subjunctive. Are ye truly my disciples Your future loyalty to my teaching will prove the reality of your present profession. So the conclusion of this future condition is put in the present tense. As then, so now. We accept church members on profession of trust in Christ. Continuance in the word (teaching) proves the sincerity or insincerity of the profession. It is the acid test of life. [source]

What do the individual words in John 8:30 mean?

These things of His speaking many believed in Him
Ταῦτα αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτόν

Ταῦτα  These  things 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
αὐτοῦ  of  His 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
λαλοῦντος  speaking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
πολλοὶ  many 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: πολύς  
Sense: many, much, large.
ἐπίστευσαν  believed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.

What are the major concepts related to John 8:30?

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