Do You Want to Be Free? John 8:31-41

John 8:31-41 - Jesus and Abraham

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. 37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. 38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.” 39 “Our father is Abraham!” they declared. “No,” Jesus replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. 40 Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. 41 No, you are imitating your real father.”

Now Jesus is talking to the people who believed in him, or at least seemed to. Jesus defined for them what it would mean to be his follower. If they wanted to follow Jesus, they would need to obey his teachings. As they remained faithful to his teachings, they would be set free. The people believed in Jesus' teaching, but to be his disciple they would now need to live by it.  This is the difference between someone who knows about Jesus, and someone who follows what he teaches. Some call it the difference between "head knowledge" and "heart knowledge".   

The freedom Jesus describes is often not experienced by many Christians. 

"There is nothing like the freedom we can have in Jesus. No money can buy it, no status can obtain it, no works can earn it, and nothing can match it. It is tragic that not every Christian experiences this freedom, which can never be found except by abiding in God’s word and being Jesus’ disciple." (Guzik)

Since these Jews were steeped in the Jewish religion, their identity was as "children of Abraham". They also remarked that they had never been slaves to anyone which wasn't true. A big part of Israel's history was being in bondage to the Egyptians. The central act in Jewish history was when God freed them from slavery, by delivering them through the Red Sea. Their questions belie a resistance to Jesus and truly trusting in him with their lives. 

Jesus is talking about another kind of bondage. The bondage to sin. The idea is one of a continual struggle. If you keep on sinning, it proves you are a slave to it. Jesus uses the idea of a household. If you are a slave in a household, you will always be a slave. But if you were a son of the household, you would no longer be a slave. Jesus had made them sons in his Father's household so they were permanently set free. 

This becomes a sticking point for these Jews. They are stuck on being a son of Abraham and not realizing that someone greater than Abraham was before them. Jesus acknowledges that they are descendants of Abraham, but they are not following the example of Abraham, as Abraham walked by faith. When Jesus refers to his Father, he is referring to God the Father. But they are speaking of an earthly father. 

You can see these Jewish people and leaders digging in their heals. When Jesus confronted the nature of their sin, they started getting defensive and prideful. Their kneejerk reaction was to rationalize that since they were children of Abraham, they didn't need to be set free from sin. As Jesus sees their resistance, he begins to realize that there is a spiritual battle going on. If they were really living as Abraham did, they would have heard God's voice through Jesus and obeyed. Instead they were using Abraham as a crutch, and the devil was leading them to do so as we will see tomorrow. 

How can being brought up as "religious" become a barrier to trusting in Jesus and being set free? Do you think you are living in the freedom Jesus promised you as his disciple? Having been delivered from sin, how are you tempted to go back to the bondage of your sinful nature? Why do you think so many don't discover the freedom Jesus promised to his followers?  What part do they play? How might the evil one be involved?


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