What does John 8:47 mean?
Jesus has been consistent in His message, even in the face of criticism (John 8:25). He has also provided reasons to accept His message. These have included miracles (John 5:36), prophecies from the Jewish Scriptures (John 5:39–40), and the testimonies of others (John 5:32–33). Further, Jesus has displayed a life of moral perfection—even His enemies can't point to an example of Him doing something wrong (John 8:46). Despite all of that, these men have not only rejected His message (John 8:43), they have attempted to kill Him (John 5:18).Earlier in this discussion, Jesus used the analogy of fatherhood to explain why the religious leaders could not claim to be "true sons" of Abraham. Spiritually speaking, children inherit their nature from their fathers and do what their fathers do. Abraham obeyed and honored God (John 8:39), but these men deal in lies and violence (John 8:44). This, according to Jesus, proves that they're the spiritual children of the Devil! This also explains their attitude, which refuses to accept anything they do not want to hear (John 7:17). This is why Jesus says that they "do not hear" His message: as spiritual children of the Devil, they don't want to hear it.