21. Again, Jesus said to the people, “I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going.”
22. So the Jewish leaders asked themselves, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he said, ‘You cannot come where I am going’?”
23. But Jesus said to them, “You people are from here below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world.
24. I told you that you would die in your sins. Yes, if you don’t believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.”
25. They asked, “Then who are you?” Jesus answered, “I am what I have told you from the beginning.
26. I have much more I could say to judge you. But I tell people only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he speaks the truth.”
27. They did not understand who he was talking about. He was telling them about the Father.
28. So he said to them, “You will lift up the Son of Man. Then you will know that I AM. You will know that whatever I do is not by my own authority. You will know that I say only what the Father has taught me.
29. The one who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone.”
30. While he was saying these things, many people believed in him.
31. So Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “If you continue to accept and obey my teaching, you are really my followers.
32. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
33. They answered, “We are Abraham’s descendants. And we have never been slaves. So why do you say that we will be free?”
34. Jesus said, “The truth is, everyone who sins is a slave—a slave to sin.
35. A slave does not stay with a family forever. But a son belongs to the family forever.
36. So if the Son makes you free, you are really free.
37. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. But you want to kill me, because you don’t want to accept my teaching.
38. I am telling you what my Father has shown me. But you do what your father has told you.”
39. They said, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said, “If you were really Abraham’s descendants, you would do what Abraham did.