Jesus answered accusations of deception by speaking truth directly, denying demon possession, honoring His Father, and at times using pointed confrontation with His accusers.
The religious leaders charged Him with being an imposter and having a demon, but Jesus met those charges with a clear denial and by declaring that He honored the Father while His accusers dishonored Him. Les Feldick shows that Jesus did not cower under these accusations; He even answered some religious leaders with sarcasm to expose their hypocrisy and pointed John the Baptist to His healing works as proof.
John 8:48 — This is the moment the religious leaders openly accuse Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a devil—the core accusation of deception.
John 8:52-53 — The Jews repeat the demon accusation and ask who Jesus is making Himself to be, capturing the doubt and challenge behind the accusations.
In John 8, the religious leaders openly accused Jesus of being a deceiver. They said, “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” (John 8:48). Jesus answered plainly: “I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me” (John 8:49). A few verses later they pressed the charge further, saying, “Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?” (John 8:52-53). The Bible also shows Jesus answering John the Baptist’s genuine doubt by pointing to the works He was doing: the blind received sight, the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, the deaf heard, the dead were raised, and the poor heard the gospel preached (Matthew 11:4-5).
Les explains that during His earthly ministry Jesus was constantly confronted by the religious leaders of Israel, who accused Him of being an imposter and demonic. Instead of giving Him credit for who He was, they tried to trick Him and drive Him into a corner. For example, when they accused Him of having a demon, Jesus answered directly: “I have not a demon, but I honor my Father, and you do dishonor me. And I seek not my own glory, there is one that seeketh and judgeth.” Les also points out that Jesus sometimes answered His accusers with sarcasm. When the religious leaders claimed to know the Father, Jesus told them that if He said He did not know the Father, He would be a liar just like they were for claiming to know Him—a sharp response that put them in their place. Les notes that the leaders were literally testing Jesus, hoping He would claim to be God so they could charge Him with blasphemy and have cause to put Him to death. Yet Jesus did not avoid the accusation; He answered it with truth and made clear that He was not seeking His own glory. Les also shows that this pattern of false accusation continued with the Apostle Paul, who had to constantly defend his apostleship against those who falsely accused him.
The religious leaders called Jesus a Samaritan and said He had a demon (John 8:48). They later repeated the charge and asked, “Whom makest thou thyself?” (John 8:53). Les describes this as a constant campaign to brand Jesus as an imposter and a blasphemer rather than acknowledging who He was.
Jesus did not act like a guilty man. He denied the charge, said He did not have a demon, honored His Father, and said He was not seeking His own glory (John 8:49). Les emphasizes that this was a direct, truthful response to a false accusation.
Yes. Les says that in John 12, when the Jews were accusing Him of knowing Abraham, Jesus answered with sarcasm: He said He knew the Father, and that the religious leaders only claimed to know Him. Jesus added that if He said He did not know the Father, He would be a liar like they were for claiming to know Him. Les sees this as Jesus putting His accusers in their place.
Les explains that the Pharisees were testing Jesus and trying to force Him to claim plainly that He was the God of Abraham. In their eyes that was pure blasphemy, and it would give them the justification they wanted to put Him to death.
John the Baptist, while imprisoned, sent two friends to ask Jesus if He was the Christ or if they should look for another. Jesus did not rebuke John; He told them to go and report what they had seen and heard—the blind receiving sight, the lame walking, lepers cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead raised, and the gospel preached to the poor. This answered the doubt with evidence, not just words.
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audience, and nothing thrills us more when so many people write and say, I feel like I'm right there in the studio. And I told one fellow on the phone, I said, well, I hope you feel like you're sitting on the back row. And he says, are you kidding? He says, I'm on the front row. So we like that, that we at least have that kind of a response.
Jesus' Direct Denial
Jesus answered the charge of having a demon by clearly denying it, honoring His Father, and stating that He was not seeking His own glory.
Jesus' Sarcastic Reply
Les points out that Jesus sometimes answered accusers with sarcasm, telling the Jewish leaders that if He denied knowing the Father He would be a liar just like them.
False Accusations Against Paul
Les compares the pattern of false accusation to Paul, who had to constantly defend his apostleship against those who falsely accused him.
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Indeed he had, he�d been with them the whole 3 years. He was even one of the officers. What was his office? He was the treasurer! He held the bag. And so indeed he had a part in the ministry, although we know that he never had a spiritual part of it, because Jesus said Himself, I think back in John, that he was a devil or a demon, not just those last few weeks, but from the beginning.
Proof From Miracles
When John the Baptist doubted, Jesus directed his disciples to report the miracles they saw, such as the blind receiving sight and the dead being raised.
The Leaders' Test
Les explains that the religious leaders were deliberately testing Jesus, waiting for Him to claim to be God so they could charge Him with blasphemy.
The Jews' Accusation
The Jews accused Jesus of having a demon and challenged Him by asking, “Whom makest thou thyself?” showing that they treated His claims as dangerous deception.
John 8:48: Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
The religious leaders openly accuse Jesus of being demon-possessed and an outcast—the deception accusation Jesus had to answer.
John 8:49: Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
Jesus' direct reply to the charge, denying demon possession and honoring His Father instead of seeking His own glory.
John 8:52: Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
The accusation escalates as the religious leaders combine demonization with a charge that Jesus was making Himself greater than Abraham and the prophets.
John 8:53: Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
The leaders challenge Jesus' self-claim, asking who He is making Himself out to be—the heart of the deception accusation.
Matthew 11:4: Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
Jesus responds to John the Baptist's doubt by telling his disciples to report what they were seeing and hearing.
Matthew 11:5: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
These miracles served as the evidence Jesus gave to answer John's question about whether He was the Christ.
Yes. Jesus answered the accusation directly, saying He did not have a devil and that He honored His Father (John 8:49). Les Feldick points out that Jesus also used sharp, even sarcastic, answers to expose the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.
Les explains that whenever Jesus claimed to be God, the religious leaders considered it pure blasphemy. They were testing Him and looking for a reason to put Him to death, so they branded His claims as deception and demon possession.
Yes. When John the Baptist questioned whether Jesus was the Christ, Jesus pointed to the miracles He was performing—the blind receiving sight, the dead raised, and the gospel preached to the poor (Matthew 11:4-5).
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