vs 31-38 – The Truth will set you Free

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

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’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Discussion

• If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples
  What does this tell us about the true meaning of being a disciple?
• If you abide in my word … you will know the truth
  Why do we have to abide in Jesus’ word (teaching) to know the truth?
• If you abide in my word … the truth will set you free
  How does Jesus’ word (truth) set us free? From what does it set us free?
• We have never been slaves to anyone
  They were blind to their own true condition. Is this form of blindness common or rare?
• everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin
  The Greek verb translated practices sin is a present participle. This denotes ongoing action. Jesus is not saying that one sinful act, one slip-up, makes you a slave. He is saying that the ongoing practice of sin – the unchecked habit or lifestyle of sin – makes one a slave.
  How does this slavery come about? Try to explain it in your own words.

• The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
  What is Jesus saying here? What house is he talking about?

• If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
  How does Jesus set people free from not only the guilt of sin but the power of sin? 

vs 39-47 – The father of lies

They answered him, “Abraham is our father.”  Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.”

They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.
I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

• Abraham is our father
  They were claiming a heritage but had lost sight of what that inheritance really meant.

• You are doing the works your father did
  What is Jesus saying here? Who is their father, according to Jesus?

• The reason why you do not hear them [the words of God] is that you are not of God
  Why is Jesus being so forthright with these people?

Personal Reflection

Are you a lover of the truth, even when it exposes your sin?