Jesus and the Truth (John 8:31-59)

Let us read today’s verses John 8:31-36.
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered them, "We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, `You will be made free’?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

These verses were addressed to the Jews who had initially believed Jesus as He taught at the temple grounds. He said that those who trust and follow His teachings will experience a kind of freedom which only the TRUTH can bring. He told them that the truth will set them free. Upon hearing this, the Jews tried to clarify that they had never been slaves because they were descendants of Abraham. There was no need to free them from anything. Historically, the Jews considered Abraham as the father of the Jewish race. And in that context, no Jew could be considered as a slave in the land of Abraham. But Jesus was speaking of a different kind of slavery: a spiritual kind.

First, Jesus stated that anyone who has committed sin is under the dominion of sin. Once man commits sin, he forfeits his authority over his own life to the power of sin. This was what Jesus meant concerning "a slave to sin". Any slave has no permanent place because he can be bought or traded like a piece of merchandise. But the son in a household that had bought a slave has the power to liberate the slave. Jesus likened Himself to such a son when He said, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed".

Let’s go on to the next verses John 8:37-40.
"I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them,"If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this."

Abraham, in God’s eyes, was not merely the father of the Jewish race. God looked upon Abraham as the father of all who put their faith in God. Jesus asserted that Abraham would not react towards Him the way the Jews were reacting to Jesus. They were determined to kill Him for telling them the truth that He had heard from God. He was righteously doing His Father’s work and yet the descendants of righteous Abraham wanted to kill Him.

Let’s proceed to the next verses John 8:41-47.
"You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one father — God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

Claiming that Abraham was their ancestral father, the Jews also claimed that God was their spiritual father. Jesus quickly refuted their claim. Jesus even went as far as saying that their spiritual father was the devil, the father of lies. They could not accept what God was saying through Jesus because they did not belong to God. They were completely devoid of the willingness to embrace the words of Jesus. They could not accept the truth.

Let’s move on to the next verses John 8:48-50.
Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.

The Jews got stung because Jesus outrightly said that they were children of the devil. So they answered back by maligning Jesus. First they labeled him as a Samaritan which was a way of saying that Jesus was not a real Jew, but a fake one. Then they said that He was possessed by a demon, pointing out that Jesus was the one who was under the control of demonic forces. To deny their insinuations, Jesus pointed out the right relationship He had with the Father. He stated that He never sought glory for Himself, but instead He was always seeking to honor His Father. This is the essence of RIGHTEOUSNESS. The life of Jesus was totally dedicated to giving honor and glory to the Father.

Let’s read the next verses John 8:51-53.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death." Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, `If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’ Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make yourself out to be

All persons will experience death. This is the physical death wherein the human body loses its life. The kind of death that Jesus talked about in today’s verses was a different kind of death. Our Lord was referring to a spiritual death. It is an everlasting death for the spirit that is forever barred from entering the kingdom of God. Those who trust and follow the words of our Lord Jesus will never have to go through spiritual death. Their bodies will die, but their spirits will enter into everlasting life. This was what Jesus was speaking about when He said that those who keep His words will never taste death. Again, the Jews could not understand what Jesus was saying.

Let’s read the rest of today’s verses John 8:54-59.
Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. and if I say, `I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

When Jesus said," Before Abraham was born, I Am !", He used a phrase that referred to God when He commanded Moses. In using this phrase, Jesus was clearly claiming to be the God who talked to Moses in the burning bush — the same God who brought Moses and the children of Israel out of Egypt with many mighty miracles. Jesus is the absolute TRUTH; the God that existed long before Abraham or any other man. He had no beginning and no end. But the Jews could not accept the absolute truth which was right before their eyes. They had gotten so used to the lies in their lives that they could no longer recognize truth. In spite of all the miraculous signs that He did before them, they still could not believe in Him. It was the fulfilment of what Isaiah had prophecied: that these people would neither see with their blinded eyes nor understand with their calloused hearts. Without accepting the truth about Jesus, the Jews could not be liberated from their slavery to sin’s power. Thus their spiritual destruction was inevitable.

How about us? How are we dealing with TRUTH ? Are we living out the things that Jesus taught ? Are His truths manifested in our lives ? If not, then the truth will not set us free from the dominion of sinfulness. Sadly, the sins that we hide will continue to bind us in slavery.

Foremost in this lesson is TRUTH. This word is mentioned in today’s verses no less than ten times. If we abide in the teachings of our Lord, then the truth will indeed flourish in our lives to free us from every power of sin. Truth will guide us to everlasting life all throughout our struggle against the power of sin. By God’s grace, we will stand firm. God bless us all.