31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
We find in today’s passage some Jews who have believed Jesus. Jesus tells them “the truth will set you free.” This must have caused them offence, for these Jews take pride in being offspring of Abraham, never enslaved. Now they have seen and heard, they have connected the dots, discovered and believed the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. There is much reason for them to feel pretty good about themselves.
We find in today’s passage some Jews who have believed Jesus. Jesus tells them “the truth will set you free.” This must have caused them offence, for these Jews take pride in being offspring of Abraham, never enslaved. Now they have seen and heard, they have connected the dots, discovered and believed the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. There is much reason for them to feel pretty good about themselves.
And yet, Jesus tells them they are in fact not yet free.
Truth and freedom are two things that we often take for granted in modern society. We take for granted the press to always give us the truth regarding current events, the scientific community to pursue truth of the natural world, and the education system to safeguard and pass on truth for our children. We take for granted the political system to ensure our freedom of religion, of expression, of assembly, of association — freedom in all its forms. We take for granted that as citizens of the Western world, our rights and freedoms to live lives of our choice are to be safeguarded.
Amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic, we are all the more eager to seek truth and freedom. We closely follow the latest data of local and worldwide new cases, whether the curve is flattened, and the latest developments of a possible treatment and vaccine. These are truths that “set us free” — When is it safe for friends to come out from bunkers of social distancing and enjoy the company of one another? When can Vancouverites begin to enjoy the lovely Summer outdoors? When can parents of young children be “freed” from their 24/7 parenting? Most of all, when can we Christians come together again to worship our God and have real communion?
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” says our Lord. Try as hard as we may, we cannot escape the universal human predicament of enslavement to sin on our own accord. Jesus tells us that the only path to truth and freedom comes from abiding in his word. Freedom comes only from the Son, who is Truth himself. It is only the Son who sets us free indeed from the bondage of sin, when His word finds a place in us. The Jews believed alright. But their belonging to Abraham’s offspring and their intellectual believing of Jesus cannot save them from sin.
Only by abiding in His word can we truly be His disciple. Only by truly becoming His disciple can we know Truth. And only then, can we be set free. In chaotic times such as now, may we not put our trust in the truths and freedoms of the world, may we abide in His word and live in truth and freedom from the Son.