John 8:44
“You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.”
What does John 8:44 mean?
Jesus spoke these words to religious leaders who were trying to trap and kill him, so he's describing what happens when people choose deception and harm over truth. He's saying that when we consistently reject truth and use lies to hurt others, we're actually following the pattern the devil set from the very beginning, not following God. The core message is that evil isn't just about breaking rules, it's about turning away from what's real and true. A lie separates us from reality itself, and when we use lies to destroy others or protect ourselves at any cost, we're aligning ourselves with that same destructive force. But this doesn't mean Jesus thinks people are trapped there forever, just that he's calling out what's actually happening when truth is abandoned.