We be not born of fornication, &c.— The Jews, it seems, perceived at length that Jesus talked not so much of natural, as of spiritual bondage; and replied, "In that respect undoubtedly we are the children of God, as we are not born of fornication;" alluding to the marriage covenant, which in scripture is represented to have subsisted between God and the Jewish nation; and by which their obligation to reverence, love, and obey him, was held forth to them in a lively manner, "We are neither idolaters ourselves, nor are we sprung of idolatrous ancestors; and therefore, in respect of spiritual descent, we are, without dispute, the children of God." Accordingly, God himself calls all the Jewish males his sons, because he was the husband of their parents. See Ezekiel 23:37. Jeremiah 3:4.Hosea 2:4.
Related Commentaries of John 8:41
John 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.