8:44 You are of your father the devil. The relation of truth and righteousness has been prominent in this Gospel. People love darkness (error) rather than light (truth), because their deeds are evil (3:10). A frightful contrast is apparent here; there are just two options: God or Satan. By God’s grace, Abraham (vv. 39–41) had walked in the way of faith and obedience. Those who rejected Jesus were doing the opposite.

your will. Sinners desire to do what is evil. Only a supernatural act of grace can redirect a person’s will to desire the good.

He was a murderer . . . a liar. Among all the sins that could be mentioned as characteristic of Satan, murder and lying are singled out: lying because it is the direct opposite of “truth,” the central emphasis of this section (vv. 32–47); and murder because they desired to kill Jesus (v. 40). Satan contrasts sharply with Jesus who is “the truth, and the life” (14:6) and the giver of life (10:10, 28).