<p>8:30 <i>As he spoke these things, many believed in him</i>- Many of the Jews believed on Jesus as Christ- but He rebukes them for not being His &quot; disciples indeed&quot;, not really having the freedom which a true acceptance of this Truth will bring, not really being children of Abraham, still living in sin, not really hearing His word, and passively wanting to kill Him (Jn. 8:33-44). Yet He spoke all these criticisms to those whom the record itself describes as believing in Him (Jn. 8:31). It's as if the Spirit wants to show us that belief in Christ can exist on a completely surface level. Earlier on this chapter I have noted that one can know Him but not really know Him; and here, one can believe but not really believe. He says they were Abraham&rsquo;s seed (Jn. 8:37,56); but almost in the same breath, He says they weren&rsquo;t anything of the sort in spiritual reality (Jn. 8:39).</p>