John 8:31-38

John 8:31-38

Therefore Jesus was saying to the Jews who have believed by Him, “Should you all remain in my word, you all truly are my disciples and you all will know the truth.  And the truth will all set you all free.  They answered Him, “We are a seed of Abraham and we have been a slave to nobody at any time.  How do you say that ‘You all will become free?’”  Jesus answered to them, “Amen, amen I say to you that everyone who does sin is a slave of sin.  And the slave does not remain in the house into the ages.  The Son remains into the ages.  Therefore, if the Son should set you all free, then you all will truly be free.  I have known that you all are a seed of Abraham, but you all desire to kill me because my words do not advance in you.  I say what I have seen with my Father.  Therefore you all do what you heard from the Father.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I don’t often speak about the grammar in a passage, but this is a great passage in which to do so.  Jesus opens up with a conditional statement.  The verb “remain” is in the subjunctive mood.  The subjunctive mood expresses possibility but not necessarily reality.  Jesus says, “If you should remain in my word you are truly my disciples.”  Anyone can say that they believe in God.  Jesus is telling us that there is more to faith than words.  Our actions prove the truth of our words.  We need to remain in Christ’s word.

What is God’s Word for you in your life?  Are you remaining in His Word?  How?

Second Thought:

Through the concept of freedom, Jesus gets into a debate with the Jews around Him.  He tells them that the truth can set them free, but they think that they are already free.  They think that because they are the chosen ones in God that they can have their cake and eat it too.  But they are not willing to consider that they are a slave to sin.  The truth is that we are all slaves to sin.  Every single one of us needs God to free us from our sinful nature – even those through whom God has chosen to work.

Where are you in bondage to sin?  Where do you need to let Jesus Christ free you from your sin?

Third Thought:

In the concluding words of this section Jesus uses an obscure but neat expression.  Jesus literally says that His words do not advance upon them.  Another way of saying that is that Jesus’ words cannot take root within them.  Others have said that Jesus’ words can find no room within them.  In any case, Jesus’ point here is quite clear.  God can change us.  He can transform us.  But we need to make room, submit to Him, and give Him a place for His word to take root.

Where do you make room for the Word of God?  Where has the Word of God transformed you already?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 8:39-47