They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. — They feel the meaning which has not yet been expressed (comp. John 8:44), and claim the descent from Abraham which He has already allowed (John 8:37).
If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. — Almost all the better MSS. read, “If ye are,” for “If ye were.” This must mean, “If ye are Abraham’s children — but the supposition is excluded, for ye would do the works of Abraham, and this is opposed to fact.” They are the physical seed of the patriarch, but they are not the ethical children, for the true child would bear the moral impress of the father which would be seen in his works. The thought of the previous verse is again present here.
The distinction between “seed” and “children” is another instance of an idea which meets us in this section, and was developed in the writings of St. Paul. (Comp. Romans 9:7 et seq.)