Pubic Ministry: The Truth Will Set You Free (8:31-47)

Introduction:

As we continue through this glorious gospel, I want to remind you of where we are in the flow of John’s gospel. We are in the section of the gospel highlighting Jesus public ministry to the multitudes, with much of his time spent in Galilee in the north, with several trips to Jerusalem for the various feasts. It is during one of these feasts, the Feasts of Booths, that Jesus is presently residing and interacting with both the religious leaders who are seeking to undermine Jesus in the eyes of the people, and the common people who have come to hear him and experience his authoritative teaching. It is during one these confrontational sessions that we presently find ourselves, as Jesus, in declaring himself as Israel’s Messiah, the fulfillment of the Feast they have just celebrated, continues to make clear his relationship to the heavenly father, a relationship that these blinded religious leaders say they worship and serve, yet reject Jesus, his Son.

This morning we shall continue in this interaction between Jesus and his opponents as he drills down into the source of the very truth that they think they have, as we look at Jesus’ declaration that he is The Truth that Will Set them Free from John 8:31-47.

Text: John 8:31-47

John 8:31–47 ESV

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.” 39 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, 40 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. 41 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.” 42 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. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 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. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Main Idea: Since Jesus is the source of eternal truth, in order to know truth you must know Jesus.

Up till now, the Jews have been vacillating between what their religious leaders were saying and what Jesus was saying. Jesus having the last words, in verse 29, created a swing back toward a superficial belief in him mentioned in verse 30. However, Jesus quickly responds with how he defines…

I. True Discipleship (31-33)

(31) So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

the Jews who had believed him - Their “belief” is shown to be false in the course of the story, showing next what true belief is…

To abide in (meno [aor, act, sub] remain intentionally as a normal state) my word - means to continue believing what Jesus has said and walking in obedience to him. This verse shows that continuing to trust Jesus and obey him is one test of who are truly my disciples as Jesus puts it.

Jesus declares that abiding in his word provides the following natural outcome which is connected by the conjunction, “and”…

(32) and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - there are two outcomes of abiding in Jesus’ word…

you will know (ginosko [fut, mid, ind] - to know experientially) the truth. Holding to the teaching of Christ, who is the truth (14:6), leads one to the truth that sets a person free from slavery to sin. Salvation is not obtained by mere intellectual knowledge as the Gnostics imagined, but by a vital relationship with Jesus Christ and a commitment to the truth He has revealed (18:37).

Therefore, once again, there is only one way to know the truth, and that is by continuing to believe and obey his word.

set you free. From the guilt and enslaving power of sinful patterns of conduct.

Their response to Jesus tells of their superficial belief…

(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’?”

We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. The Jews had been enslaved in Egypt and later were ruled by the Philistines, the Assyrians, and others. Since they can hardly deny this, they are probably saying that they have been a nation under God since the exodus, no matter what else had happened to them. It is also possible that they are speaking about the time of the Romans, when they have certain liberties, including official recognition as a religion.

Jesus responds however, with a definition of what is…

II. True Slavery (34-38)

(34) Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

Truly, truly (amen amen [emphatic particle] - this is intensely true, doubled up by repetition to increase its intensity), I say to you - Jesus is speaking with such authority and emphasis that what he is about to say is undeniable truth that must be heard!

everyone who practices (poieo [pre, act, par] - continuing to practice as a normal way of life) sin is a slave. Jesus describes the gravity of sin and the predicament of humanity under sin. His hearers did not understand the freedom He offered them as they did not understand the bondage they were in.

A slave to sin - means unable to escape from sinful patterns of conduct without the help of Jesus to set a person free. BTW, a slave was not able to set himself free…Paul describes this slavery in Rom 6:16

Romans 6:16 ESV

16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

What Jesus describes next is profound with relationship to the covenant community of God’s people…

(35) The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. - as slaves to sin, they are seen figuratively as household slaves in the covenant community.

Jesus in picturing his enemies as slaves in chains, he sees them as slaves that enjoy the privileges of his master’s house (covenant community, the children of faith, under Abraham) for a while, but not forever. At any moment they may be dismissed or sold. The Jews, who pride themselves upon their descent from Abraham, must bear this in mind. The old privileges for Israel are ending.

Abraham’s true children will remain in his household and enjoy its privileges permanently, but Abraham’s slaves (think of Hagar, and cf. Gal. 4:21–31) will be driven out. Only a son enjoys freedom.

I am reminded of Jesus parable of the wheat and tares:

Matthew 13:24–30 ESV

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

What Jesus says next is absolutely essential in becoming a true son of the household of Abraham.

(36) So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

if the Son sets you free. Regeneration (the new birth) is the work of the Holy Spirit (3:3–8), accomplished on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf (3:14–16). The only way to transformed from slave to son, is through faith in Christ.

free indeed. Jesus is not speaking of political freedom, nor merely a freedom by which we are relieved from physical bondage. True freedom is serving God, fulfilling the purposes of those specially created in God’s image. Sin deprives us of this fulfillment because sin clouds our minds, degrades our feelings, and enslaves our wills. This bondage to sin is what the Reformers called “total depravity”; its only remedy is the grace of God in spiritual rebirth (3:3).

Jesus next, discusses their favorite subject, biology.

(37) I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

offspring of Abraham. God is interested in spiritual descent rather than physical ancestry. It does not matter how good a person’s ancestors have been if he or she is walking in the path of disobedience. Likewise, it does not matter how bad a person’s ancestors have been if that person is renewed by God’s Spirit and walks in the way of faith as Paul tells us in Gal 3:29.

Galatians 3:29 ESV

29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

yet you seek to kill me because - being a biological offspring of Abraham has nothing to do with the darkness and depravity of one’s heart, but because, Jesus says,

my word finds no place in you. It was not the persuasiveness or power of Jesus’ words that determined how people responded to him, but the spiritual condition of their own hearts.

(38) I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” - Jesus now sets the stage on who truly is the real father of these religious leaders as they continue to undermine his words and deeds.

I speak of what I have seen with my Father - Jesus both has seen and heard from his Father and has declared it faithfully to the people.

you do what you have heard from your father - the pharisees are doing the same whether they realize it or not, as Jesus unveils their…

III. True Father (39-47)

(39) 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, (40) 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.

Jesus had just agreed that they were physically descended from Abraham (v. 37), but now he denies that they are truly Abraham’s children, for their behavior contradicts their claim.

This implies that Abraham’s true children are only those who believe in Jesus, again Paul describes this in Rom. 2:28–29,

Romans 2:28–29 ESV

28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

What Abraham did most prominently was believe God (Genesis 15:6, “6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” ). Similarly, the Jews who are speaking here should believe in Jesus, for he comes from God and is speaking the very words of God.

This is not what Abraham did. Abraham was obedient to God’s direction even when it was painful for him, or didn’t make much sense. Jesus’ audience claimed to be Abraham’s descendants, but Jesus shows they are not like their ancestor in the essential matter of obedience. True sonship is not defined by biology but by obedience.

(41) 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.”

You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. This may well be a sarcastic suggestion that Jesus was illegitimate, and so he speaks as one speaks whose father was sexually immoral.

We have one Father—even God. First-century Jews seldom addressed God as “Father,” although the OT characterized God’s relationship to Israel in this way. The fatherhood of God is a leading feature of Christ’s teaching. God is the Father of those who are saved and received into God’s household by adoption.

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

(42) 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.

If God were your Father, you would love me. The unity between Father and Son is so profound that no one can belong to the Father and reject the Son. Again Jesus’ origin is a point of contention (7:41–43 ).

for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me - if the Jews had actually been a part of the family of God, they would have recognized Jesus as being the Son of God (I am here), who was on a mission sent by the Father.

(43) Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. Their response to Jesus shows they are not truly God’s children, and the clear implication is that not all religious people are children of God—not even Jewish people who reject Jesus—but only those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah.

Why do you not understand what I say? Throughout this Gospel many people misunderstand Jesus and his teaching. But why?

it is because you cannot bear (or, “you are not able,” Gk. dynamai) to hear my word, where “hear” should be taken in the sense of “hear and receive,” or “hear and accept.” This is because…

(44) 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.

You are of your father the devil. The final unveiling of these Jewish unbeliever’s true father. The relation between truth and righteousness has been prominent in this gospel. People love darkness (error) rather than light (truth) because their deeds are evil (3:19). A frightful contrast is apparent here; there are just two options: God or Satan. By God’s grace, Abraham (vv. 39–41) walked in the way of faith and obedience. Those who reject Jesus are doing the opposite.

your will is to do your father’s desires. Sinners desire to do what is evil. Only a supernatural act of grace can redirect a person’s will to desire the good.

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.

Among all the sins that could be mentioned as characteristic of Satan, murder and lying are singled out: lying because it is the direct opposite of “truth,” the central emphasis of this section (vv. 32–47); and murder because Jesus’ opponents desire to kill Jesus (v. 40). At the original temptation, Satan’s contradiction of God’s prohibition and its threat violated truth and brought death (Gen. 3:4, 5). Satan contrasts sharply with Jesus who is “the truth, and the life” (14:6) and the giver of life (10:10, 28).

the father of lies - all who hate the truth are doing so in imitation of their father Satan.

(45) But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. - Because Satan is their Father, they are unable to believe the truth.

(46) Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

Which one of you convicts me of sin. No one can convict Jesus of sin or prove any charge against Him. Jesus is free of all sin (2 Cor. 5:21), “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners” (Heb. 7:26), doing always what pleases the Father (v. 29).

Jesus closes with this final summary of his profound truth…a truth that we must take to heart…

(47) Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Whoever is of God hears the words of God - this clear statement shows clearly the difference between true and false discipleship. True hearing is always connected to obedience.

The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. Sin paralyzes our spiritual senses, in the sense of hearing, believing, and following. Only an act of God’s grace enables a sinner to hear His voice.

1 John 3:10 ESV

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

So What?

Do we understand that absolute truth can only be found in God’s Word?

Do we further understand that if we say we know God as our Father and follow his truth, but reject Jesus Christ, we are of our father the Devil?

Are you truly a believer or have you enjoyed God’s covenant community as a slave to sin?

You may be here and fooling your self and others as a part of this covenant body, however, unless you become a true Son of God through Jesus Christ, at some point you will be separated from this body for all eternity.