The truth will set you free.

John 8:31-59 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then 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 Abraham’s descendants 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 commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. ⁴⁰ But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. ⁴¹ You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells ^[f]a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of ^[g]lies. ⁴⁵ But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? ⁴⁷ The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

⁴⁸ The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?” ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. ⁵⁰ But I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. ⁵¹ Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows My word, he will never see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone follows My word, he will never taste of death.’ ⁵³ You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; ⁵⁵ and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you; but I do know Him, and I follow His word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” ⁵⁷ So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” ⁵⁹ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.

In today’s text it says: So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,  “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants 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 commits sin is a slave of sin. Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”  Everyone is a servant of someone or to something. Our choice is not whether we will serve, but rather who or what we will serve. When we choose sin, we become a slave to sin because sin cannot satisfy. While sin may feel good for a moment, it always leaves us wanting more. If we choose Christ and continue in His word, we will be fully satisfied, because Jesus and His word are eternal and infinite. We can never get to the end of their revelation and provision. By choosing Christ, we learn truth and we are truly free. We too become eternal, with all the benefits of the kingdom of God, both now and forever.

In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: I know the plans that I have for you, plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  We are free to choose God’s good plan for us, or to choose our own path. The consequences of our choice can be seen in two portions of scripture. Acts 26:13-16 it says: I (Paul) saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you as a servant and a witness not only to the things in which you have seen Me, but also to the things in which I will appear to you.’  In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” It is hard when we choose a path that opposes God’s will for our lives. It was revealed to Saul what he should do. Rather than opposing Christ, he was to take His yoke upon him.  Along with becoming perhaps the most influential disciple of Christ, in Philippians 4:11-13 Paul says: I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  It is said that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus says: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.”  In John 14:6 He says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is not only the shortest way, He is the only way to the Father and to peace and rest and satisfaction. He is the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Joshua 24:14-15: “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”   Amen.