31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. (John 8:31-37 KJV)
The Truth Will Set You Free
In these verses, Jesus lays down a comforting doctrine about spiritual liberty for his disciples, meant to encourage those Jews who had just started to believe. Christ, seeing that his message was beginning to take hold of some listeners, turned from the proud Pharisees and addressed these new, weak believers. After denouncing wrath against those who were hardened in unbelief, he spoke words of comfort to the few who had faith in him.
He tells them that the mark of a true disciple is perseverance: “If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed” (John 8:31). When they believed in him as a great prophet, they gave themselves up to be his disciples. He now lays down a rule: he would only accept those as his true disciples who continued in his word. This implies that many who claim to be his followers are only so in name. It’s crucial for those who are not strong in faith to be sound in it, so that even if they are not the most advanced disciples, they are still true disciples. Those who want to be Christ’s disciples must be willing to commit to him for life. Only those who adhere to his word in every aspect and abide by it until the end are his true disciples.
He makes two promises to those who prove themselves to be his disciples (John 8:32): “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” First, they will know all the truth that is necessary and beneficial for them to know. It is a great privilege to know the particular truths we are meant to believe, their connections, and the reasons for our beliefs. Christ promises that his followers will know the truth as far as it is needed for them. Christ’s students are sure to be well-taught. Second, the truth will make you free. The truth that Christ teaches frees us from the guilt of sin, which held us bound to God’s judgment. It frees us from the bondage of corruption, which kept us from serving God. The gospel frees us from the yoke of the ceremonial law and the burdensome traditions of the elders. It frees us from spiritual enemies and gives us the privileges of being God’s children. Knowing and believing this truth actually makes us free from prejudices, mistakes, and false ideas, which are the greatest enslavers of the soul. It restores the soul to self-governance by bringing it into obedience to its Creator. The mind, by accepting Christ’s truth, is greatly expanded and elevated above the things of the senses.
The worldly Jews took offense at this doctrine and objected to it (John 8:33). The Pharisees begrudged these words of comfort to the believers, feeling that this gracious offer of freedom was an insult to them. They answered him with a great deal of pride: “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?” Their claim was full of falsehood. The descendants of Abraham had been in bondage to the Egyptians and had been captives in Babylon for seventy years. At that very moment, they were under Roman rule. They said they were never in bondage to confront Christ, as if they had never been in physical servitude. They also foolishly applied a spiritual concept to a physical situation. Christ had spoken of a liberty that the truth would bring, which meant spiritual liberty, but they argued against the offer of spiritual freedom by claiming they had never been in physical bondage. Carnal hearts are only concerned about things that bother the body and their worldly affairs.
Jesus then vindicated his doctrine (John 8:34-37). He showed that despite their civil liberties and their church membership, they could still be in a state of bondage (John 8:34): “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” A state of sin is a state of bondage. He refers to anyone who makes sin a choice and a custom. Such a person is a slave of sin, imprisoned under its guilt and subject to its power. His desires give him orders, and he is not his own master. Jesus shows that being in God’s house would not entitle them to the inheritance of sons, for “the servant does not abide in the house forever, but the son abides forever” (John 8:35). This points to the rejection of the Jewish church and all who are slaves of sin and do not receive the adoption of sons of God. Those servants may be in God’s house for a while, but a day is coming when the children of the slave woman and the free woman will be separated. Only true believers will abide in the house forever.
Jesus also shows them the way of deliverance from this bondage to the glorious liberty of the children of God (John 8:36): “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus offers us our freedom in the gospel. He has the authority to free prisoners by making amends for our guilt. He also has the power to rescue slaves through his powerful gospel and the Holy Spirit’s work, which breaks the power of sin in the soul. Furthermore, he has the power to adopt strangers and foreigners. The freedom Christ gives is a real thing, with real effects. The freedom the Jews boasted of was an imaginary freedom, but the freedom Christ gives is an excellent one. It’s a glorious liberty.
Jesus then applies this to the unbelieving, fault-finding Jews, in response to their boasting about their relationship to Abraham (John 8:37): “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you.” He grants them their pride in their ancestry, but he points out the inconsistency of their actions. They were Abraham’s descendants, yet they sought to kill Abraham’s promised descendant. Christ knew not only the evil they did but also what they sought to do. The reason for their hate was that his word had no place in them. It did not penetrate their hearts, and they didn’t believe in its truth. They sought to kill him and silence him, not because he had harmed them, but because they couldn’t stand the convincing power of his word. The words of Christ should have a place in us, the most important and prominent place. But many who claim to be religious have no room for his word. Where God’s word has no place, nothing good can be expected. If the heart is empty of Christ’s word, the unclean spirit will enter and live there.