John 8:15
in John 8You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
KJV
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
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This verse in John 8
Commentary
18 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
After the flesh - According to appearance; according to your carnal and corrupt mode; not according to the spiritual nature of the doctrines. By your preconceived opinions and prejudices you are determined not to believe that I am the Messiah. I judge no man - Jesus came not to condemn the world, Joh 3:17. They were in the habit of judging rashly and harshly of all; but this was not the purpose or disposition of the Saviour.
This site's exposition
You judge according to the flesh
on John 8:15-16
You judge according to the flesh means judging by what shows, a hometown and a trade. I judge no one stands beside a judgment He does give, and when He judges the Father who sent Him is in it with Him. The two never judge apart.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"Ye judge after the flesh." Therefore it is, saith He, that you say to me, "Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true," because you judge after the flesh, because you perceive not God; the man you see, and by persecuting the man, you offend God hidden in Him. "Ye," then, "judge after the flesh." Because I bear witness of myself, I therefore appear to you arrogant. For every man, when he wishes to bear commendatory witness of himself, seems arrogant and proud. Hence it is written, "Let not thy own mouth praise thee, but let thy neighbor's mouth praise thee." But this was said to man. For we are weak, and we speak to the weak. We can speak the truth, but we can also lie; although we are bound to speak the truth, still we have it in our power to lie when we will. But far be it from us to think that the darkness of falsehood could be found in the splendor of the divine light. He spoke as the light, spoke as the truth; but the light was shining in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not: therefore they judged after the flesh.
(Tract. xxxvi. s. 4) Which may be understood in two ways; I judge no man, i. e. not now: as He says elsewhere, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved: not that He abandons, but only defers, His justice. Or having said, Ye judge according to the flesh, He says immediately, I judge no man, to let you know that Christ does not judge according to the flesh, as men judged Him. For that Christ is a judge appears from the next words, And yet if I judge, My judgment is true.
A commentator
Cyril of AlexandriaCommentary on the Gospel of John, Book 5 · Written before 444.
proposed
We shall again find the Lord of all using gentleness most worthy of love; for not with equal wrath does He repay those who blaspheme Him, albeit knowing that they ought to participate in bitter punishment: but imitating the more gentle of physicians, He will (I deem) in this too be rightly marvelled at.
"Ye judge after the flesh." As to live after the flesh is to live badly, so to judge after the flesh is to judge unjustly. "But I judge no man. And yet if I judge, My judgment is true." What He saith, is of this kind; "Ye judge unjustly." "And if," saith some one, "we judge unjustly, why dost Thou not rebuke us? why dost Thou not punish us? why dost Thou not condemn us?" "Because," He saith, "I came not for this." This is the meaning of, "I judge no man; yet if I judge, My judgment is true." "For had I been willing to judge, ye would have been among the condemned. And this I say, not judging you. Yet neither do I tell you that I say it, not judging you, as though I were not confident that had I judged you, I should have convicted you; since if I had judged you, I must justly have condemned you. But now the time of judgment is not yet."
He alluded also to the judgment to come, saying, "I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me." Here He hinted, that not He alone condemneth them, but the Father also. Then He concealed this, by leading them to His own testimony. "It is written in your Law, that the testimony of two men is true."
11 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
As if to say: Ye judge untruly, according to the flesh, thinking, because I am in the flesh, that I am flesh only, and not God.
"I," He says, "as God and the One who has come from above, bear witness concerning Myself the truth; but you look only at what is visible, and, since I am in the flesh, you take Me for mere flesh, and not for God and …
"You judge according to the flesh"; First Corinthians three: "Since there is among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal and walking according to man?" — that is, you judge, because they believed him to be a mere man and to seek his glory …
Then (v 15b), he shows that his testimony is true, and that it is false to say that he alone is bearing witness to himself. Because mention was now made about judging, he shows, first, that he is not alone in judging; and secondly, that …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Or, " I judge no man, " that is, "not now in my first coming, that is deferred till I come again," ch. iii. Prima dispensatio Christi medicinalis est, non judicialis--The first coming of Christ was for the purpose of administering, not justice, but medicine.
The reason why men are ignorant of God is because they are unacquainted with Jesus Christ. Did we know Christ, [ a. ] In knowing him we should know the Father, of whose person he is the express image, ch. xiv. Chrysostom proves hence the Godhead of Christ, and his equality with his Father.
Ye judge after the flesh,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true--How does He meet this specious cavil? Not by disputing the wholesome human maxim that "self-praise is no praise," but by affirming that He was an exception to the rule, or rather, that it had no application to Him.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
The conversation between our Lord and the Jews, which begins with these verses, is full of difficulties. The connection between one part and another, and the precise meaning of some of the expressions which fell from our Lord's lips, are "things hard to be understood." In passages like this it is true wisdom to acknowledge the great imperfection of our spiritual vision, and to be thankful if we can glean a few handfuls of truth. Let us notice, for one thing, in these verses, what the Lord Jesus says of Himself. He proclaims, "I am the light of the world."
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
The conversation between our Lord and the Jews, which begins with these verses, is full of difficulties. The connection between one part and another, and the precise meaning of some of the expressions which fell from our Lord's lips, are "things hard to be understood." In passages like this it is true wisdom to acknowledge the great imperfection of our spiritual vision, and to be thankful if we can glean a few handfuls of truth. Let us notice, for one thing, in these verses, what the Lord Jesus says of Himself. He proclaims, "I am the light of the world." These words imply that the world needs light, and is naturally in a dark condition. It is so in a moral and spiritual point of view—and it has been so for nearly 6,000 years. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, in modern England, France, and Germany, the same report is true. The vast majority of men neither see nor understand the value of their souls, the true nature of God, nor the reality of a world to come! Notwithstanding all the discoveries of art and science, "darkness still covers the earth, and gross darkness the people." (Isaiah. 60:2.) For this state of things, the Lord Jesus Christ declares Himself to be the only remedy. He has risen, like the sun, to diffuse light, and life, and peace, and salvation, in the midst of a dark world. He invites all who want spiritual help and guidance to turn to Him, and take Him for their leader. What the sun is to the whole solar system—the center of light, and heat, and life, and fertility—that He has come into the world to be to sinners. Let this saying sink down into our hearts. It is weighty and full of meaning. False lights on every side invite man's attention in the present day. Reason, philosophy, earnestness, liberalism, conscience, and the voice of the Church, are all, in their various ways, crying loudly that they have got "the light" to show us.
Ye judge after the flesh - Because I appear in the form of man, judging from this appearance, ye think I am but a mere man - pay attention to my teaching and miracles, and ye shall then see that nothing less than infinite wisdom and unlimited power could teach and do what I have taught and performed. Our Lord speaks here exactly in the character of an ambassador. Such a person does not bring a second with him to vouch his truth; his credentials from his king ascertain his character: he represents the king’s person. So our Lord represents the Father as bearing witness with him. The miracles which he wrought were the proof from heaven that he was the promised Messiah: these were the great seal of all his pretensions.
How the passage was read
On John 8:12-20On John 8:12-20
The lamps behind His claim
Jesus says “I am the light of the world” in the Temple treasury (8:20), which stood in the Court of the Women: the very court where, at the feast of Tabernacles just concluded (John 7:2, 37), four great golden lampstands were lit each night, with wicks made from the priests' worn-out garments. The Mishnah says there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that did not glow with that light (Sukkah 5:2–3). The claim lands where the lamps had just gone out: the light of the feast fades; the light of the world is standing in its court.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sukkah 5:2–3 (the golden lampstands) · The Light (this site's symbol study)
The words behind it
9 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὑμεῖς | humeis | You yourselves | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| κατὰ | kata | according to | G2596 → | 468 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σάρκα | sarka | flesh | G4561 → | 146 times |
| κρίνετε, | krinete | judge, | G2919 → | 114 times |
| ἐγὼ | ego | I myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| κρίνω | krino | am judging | G2919 → | 114 times |
| οὐδένα. | oudena | no [one]. | G3762 → | 232 times |
ὑμεῖςYou yourselves
humeisG4771 →2973 times
κατὰaccording to
kataG2596 →468 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
σάρκαflesh
sarkaG4561 →146 times
κρίνετε,judge,
krineteG2919 →114 times
ἐγὼI myself
egoG1473 →839 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
κρίνωam judging
krinoG2919 →114 times
οὐδένα.no [one].
oudenaG3762 →232 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 16:7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the…
it leads to
- John 7:24
Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Luke 16:15
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- 1 Peter 3:4
but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
- Isaiah 55:8–9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
- John 7:24
Through
John 3:17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:14
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
- Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- John 12:47–48
As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
- 1 John 4:14
Where this verse is studied
About John
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 36; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 8; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 5; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 52; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.