Whom the Son sets free is free indeed

Pastor Carol Grace ♦ April 21, 2010 ♦ 2 Comments

The Children of Abraham

John 8:31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants[b] and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.[c]”

39″Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would[d] do the things Abraham did. 40As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41You are doing the things your own father does.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Have you ever been imprisoned? I have not, and therefore cannot imagine what living behind bars would be like. The Jews to whom Jesus spoke were not imprisoned behind physical bars, yet they were jailed nonetheless. How can this be? Because their hearts and their minds were captive to what they thought they knew, rather than being freed by the truth.

Truth is a funny thing. In some ways, truth is quite subjective. We all think we know the truth, but many times the truth we speak is only partial truth. Does that mean we are trading in lies? Not necessarily so. Sometimes we simply are not aware of the whole truth, so the words we speak are true only as far as we know.

Jesus knew the whole truth. He was speaking and doing the will of His Father, and yet His words only set those free who were ready to be set free. Are you ready to be set free from sin, from the consequences of sin, from things that weigh you down? Jesus, the speaker of truth, has come to set you free. May the words in these Scriptures give you light and life and truth.