John 8:31-36 KJV
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.
At the time Jesus walked on this earth, servitude had long been a common practice. It was currently being practiced in the Roman Empire, which ruled the tiny Jewish nation.
However, Jesus isn’t referring to physical servitude in these scriptures.
He is referring to our spiritual lives. Our souls.
The underlying lesson that Jesus is teaching in these scriptures is, if we live in sin, without Christ in our lives, we are servants to sin. We live in bondage to Satan.
Jesus tells the Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees and Scribes, that they can be set free or made free, if only they would recognize Jesus as the truth.
Later, he would tell Thomas in chapter 14 of John, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no man comes unto the Father but by me.”
John 14:6 KJV
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Naturally, when Jesus spoke the words “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”, He was referring to their souls; to their spiritual life.
The religious leaders immediately thought he meant “physical bondage”, took offense and responded “We be Abraham’s seed and were never in bondage to any man: How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?”
THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH
In the same chapter, Jesus was telling the religious leaders that they were misguided, blind and servants to sin. He was warning them that in their current spiritual state, they would die in their sins and not be able to go where Jesus will abide. In other words, eternal separation from God and Jesus, whom they were rejecting.
John 8:20-24 KJV
20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.
21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
JESUS TELLS THEM THAT SATAN IS THEIR FATHER
In addition to being servants to sin, Jesus admonished them that God was certainly not their father because they didn’t love Him or “hear” His words. If God was their father, they would understand what Jesus was saying.
Then, Jesus leveled a harsher accusation. He said that their father was Satan. In other words, they were servants of sin and of Satan, their father.
John 8:42-44 NIV
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
THE LESSON
Let us look back to the opening verses and the freedom that Jesus is offering the religious leaders of Israel.
He is offering freedom that will reconcile them with God the Father, because as He will later tell Thomas, He is the way, the TRUTH and the life and no man comes to the Father, except through Him.
In order to become a child of God, we must accept and believe in the Son of God. When this is done, we no longer are servants of sin and the devil, but we are freed from this bondage.
Through Jesus, we are free indeed.
Notice after verse 32 where Jesus tells them that the truth will set them free, they have a very curious response.
They reply “We are Abraham’s seed and were never in bondage to any man. How can you say ye shall be made free?”
Their reply was a lie. They knew it was a lie.
The Jews had been enslaved by several nations, as you will find in the book of Judges. In fact, at the very moment they made this statement to Jesus, they were being ruled by Rome.
However, Jesus was explaining the difference between spiritual bondage and servitude versus spiritual freedom.
Jesus is telling these religious leaders that they are currently servants of sin and servants of the devil. Further, if they continue in their sins, they will die in their sins.
The good news is, they can be freed from the bondage of sin through the Son of God.
Through the truth they would be free indeed.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS REJECT CHRIST
Why did the Jewish religious leaders not understand what Jesus was saying?
Why did they lie to him about never being in bondage to any man?
The reason, in my view, is a combination of ego, self-righteousness, pride and perceived power.
They didn’t want to understand what this “peasant” of a fellow, who spent time with sinners and tax collectors had to say.
They also didn’t want to admit to Him that their people ever had been or were now in bondage to another nation.
They especially didn’t want this person to talk to them about the condition of their souls. In their mind, they could never be in bondage to sin or Satan.
If this sounds familiar, these are still some of the typical reactions from those who are living under the bondage of sin, without Christ, and who don’t want to hear about how to be saved. They don’t want to admit to sin in their life or even discuss the condition of their soul and certainly, they don’t want someone telling them how to live.
It is not personal position or power, religious or political, that sets us free. As Christ taught us in these scriptures, it is only through Him, the way, truth and life, that we have access to the Father and are free from the bondage of sin.
There is no other way.
What he was telling these religious leaders and us today, can be summed up in one verse, as follows;
John 3:16 KJV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed.
RVH