The Truth Will Set You Free: John 8:31-32

It’s difficult for those who have been Christians for a while to try to hear the words of Jesus as if hearing them for the first time. More than that, it’s hard for all of us to realize the impact his words had on the people he spoke to originally. Having said that, we need to try and put ourselves into the sandals of these first century believing Jews in John 8.

Jesus begins by saying, “If you abide in my word.” We have to stop right there. When we hear Jesus say “my word” we immediately think of the Bible. We ought to think in those terms, because we believe the Bible is the Word of God. But, that’s not what these first century Jews would have pictured. Instead, for them, an ordinary looking man is standing in front of them telling them that they need to abide in the words that he says. Can you imagine a pastor standing in the pulpit this Sunday and saying, “If you abide in my words, then . . .” It doesn’t really matter what comes after that phrase because he’s already obtained cult leader status. If I stand in the pulpit and say that phrase about myself, please run for the door as fast as you can and don’t worry about social distancing! That phrase coming from a seemingly ordinary man is shocking, to say the least.

Of course, Jesus doesn’t stop with “if you abide in my word.” He goes on to add 3 implications of doing so: you will be his disciples, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Those are staggering claims! There have been teachers, scribes, and philosophers searching for truth for millennia up to this point and this man is saying, “abide in my words and you will know the truth.”

Not only will you know the truth, but that very same truth will set you free. Free from what? Verse 34 goes on to tell us that Jesus is speaking of freedom from slavery to sin. His words have the power to free us from our bondage to sin if we are willing to abide in them; to rest in them. For centuries the Jews had been offering sacrifice after sacrifice on the altar in their battle against sin. And, now, this man arrives telling them that they simply need to abide in his words, that his words are absolute truth, and his words can finally set them free from sin.

These are not the words of an ordinary good teacher or even a wise human teacher. These words can’t be spoken by any sane normal human being. Instead, these are the words of a divine Savior offering us truth and freedom if we are willing to humbly let ourselves rest in his words.