“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.'”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
In this statement, Jesus makes it clear, yet many miss it: The truth can set you free, but you must believe AND abide.
Six Summer Weeks in John
Week 3, Day 17:
John 8:1-59 (Part III)
In the two previous posts,
I’ve encouraged you to take a little more time with this passage of Scripture, leading up to this post in which we deal with a verse that is frequently taken out of context:
“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.'”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
Too many times I’ve heard people quote the highlighted part of the verse above, taking it out of any sort of context, completely ignoring, not only the beginning of the statement (which may have something to do with the way the verses are numbered???), but also the entire passage, which only takes 5 minutes to read but I’ve now spent three posts on (honestly, you could write a book on this passage alone!). Here’s where we left off…
*Click here to read the entire passage: John 8:12-59.
The Jews Who Had Believed Him
“31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
Here in v.31-32, the verses that contain “and the truth will set you free,” notice to whom Jesus is speaking: “the Jews who had believed Him.”
This is of extreme importance to the context of these verses!
1. Believing is the beginning, but it is not enough.
Jesus’ statement starts with the word “if.”
He is saying “if” to people who had just believed in Him.
- Believing alone does not equal freedom.
- Believing alone does not make one a disciple.
“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
James 2:19 (ESV)
Even the demons believe! It is not enough to believe.
Read it with me again:
“31So Jesus said
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
to the Jews who had believed Him,
‘If you abide in My word,
you are truly My disciples,
32and you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.'”
A true disciple of Christ:
- abides in His word.
- abiding in His word, will know the truth.
- abiding in His word, will know the truth, & the truth will set him or her free.
Free from what?
Here is the response to Jesus’ words in v.31-32:
“33They answered Him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, “You will become free”?'”
John 8:33 (ESV)
OK, here’s that pronoun they again! It is safe to assume they are “the Jews who had believed Him” since Jesus addressed them in v.31.
They seem to be asking a question for the purpose of clarification: What does Jesus mean by “free”? What kind of freedom is this? They are also being insulting/acting insulted: What kind of freedom could Jesus possibly be offering them? What freedom do they need? Who does He think He is, anyway?
“34Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you. 38I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.'”
John 8:34-38 (ESV)
Jesus is talking about freedom from sin. He is not talking about freedom to be whoever you want to be, or to do whatever you want to do. He says, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (v.34).
Who is a slave to sin?
“Everyone who practices sin” (John 8:34)
Who practices sin?
“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
Slaves to sin or righteousness?
Romans 6:14-23 says the following about slavery to sin:
“14For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:14-23 (NIV)
Before Christ, we were all under the law, enslaved to sin, and doomed to death — both physical & spiritual. Now we have a choice! We can choose to believe in Christ & abide in His word (obeying from our hearts the pattern of teaching passed down from Jesus through the apostles `a la Rom. 6:17), gaining knowledge of the truth & freedom from sin through the truth.
The Last W of the 5 W’s
In the last post (Yes, the Truth Can Set You Free… After You Comprehend), we started answering the 5 W’s & an H of John 8:12-59, but we never specifically addressed the How? or the Why? Here’s a quick review of what we did cover:
Who? Jesus, "Them," the Pharisees, the Jews, & the Jews who had believed Him
When? At the end or just after the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) in Sept./Oct.
Where? In Jerusalem, in the Temple, in the treasury area
What? Jesus is speaking words that are spirit & life.
Why?
Why is Jesus speaking to the Jews who had believed Him about abiding in His word & being His true disciples?
He wants them to be free! He wants us to be free! Jesus wants to set us all free from the sin that enslaves us… and He is the only One who can.
Why? Jesus wants to free people from slavery to sin.
Jesus didn’t sugarcoat it.
“34Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
37I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill Me because My word finds no place in you. 38I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
John 8:34-38 (ESV)
Verses 35-36 sound really great! Jesus starts off with that harsh sin stuff, but the being set free from sin part is welcome & wonderful. Then He gets really harsh again:
- “you seek to kill Me” (Oh, You didn’t forget about that, Jesus? ) *See John 5:18.
- “because My word finds no place in you” (Your word finds no place? But You said we can’t be freed unless we abide in Your word. Are You saying we won’t be freed???)
I don’t know about you, but in my experience, there are many well-meaning Christians who want to witness & evangelize, which is good & right, but all too often focus just on getting people to believe in Jesus, avoiding the rough & tough stuff of discipleship (and of all the suffering that is characteristic of the Christian life). Jesus didn’t sugarcoat ANYTHING! He was not afraid of losing converts or offending people with the truth; no, not afraid in the least!
Jesus didn’t sugarcoat ANYTHING! He was not afraid of losing converts or offending people with the truth; no, not afraid in the least!
The H after the 5 W’s
How?
How is Jesus speaking in the Temple treasury area in the fall of the year to the Pharisees & the Jews & the rest of “them”?
Jesus speaks
the hard-hitting truth,
in love,
with grace.
Our 21st-century sensibilities may make us wonder if that’s even possible, but Jesus does it, and quite frequently, too!
How? Jesus speaks the truth, even when it offends.
Brace yourself: More harsh words of Jesus ahead.
“38I speak of what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.
39They answered Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’
Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40but 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. 41You are doing the works your father did.’
They said to Him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.’
42Jesus 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. 43Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word. 44You 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. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.‘”
John 8:38-47 (ESV)
So Jesus just said, to the Jews who had believed Him, you:
- do not understand what I say.
- cannot bear to hear My word.
- are children of the devil.
- do the devil’s desires, which include murdering & lying.
- do not hear (accept) the words of God.
- are not of God.
Yikes!
You Must Believe AND Abide.
Recall our focus verses:
“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.'”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
The Jews who had believed Him cannot abide in His word if they can’t hear His words. “Hear,” in this sense, includes believing and following, not just the physical act of hearing (The ESV Study Bible, p.2041, 2008, 2016 text edition).
Read John 8:31 in 10 different (but similar!) translations.
| ESV | “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples” |
| NIV | “If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples” |
| CSB | “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples” |
| NASB | “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples” |
| NKJV | “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” |
| KJV | “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed” |
| NLT | “You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings” |
| MSG | “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are My disciples for sure” |
| AMP | “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples” |
| EXB | “If you continue to obey My teaching [remain/abide in My word], you are truly My followers [disciples]” |
*To read more versions of John 8:31, click here.
2. Begin with believing; continue with abiding.
Let’s sum up the chart above.
To abide in Jesus’ Word, one must:
- hold on to His teaching,
- continue in His word,
- remain faithful to His teachings,
- stick with what He’s said & live it out,
- continually obey His teachings,
- live in accordance with His teachings,
- remain in His word.
3. It is continuing with Jesus in His word that leads to knowing the truth & being set free.
Go back to John 6:66-71 with me (I referenced these verses in the last post).
“60When many of His disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?‘
66After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ 68Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.’ 70Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.’ 71He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.”
John 6:66-71 (ESV)
Many of His disciples did not continue with Jesus after that day because of “a hard saying” — they didn’t like His words. Judas did continue with Jesus that day, but at some point after, he stopped and decided to betray Him, staying with Jesus & the disciples until what we know as The Last Supper. Continuing with Jesus, abiding in His word, is a daily choice. As Jesus said,
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”
Luke 9:23-24 (ESV)
To truly be Christ’s disciples, to know the truth that will set you free from slavery to sin:
- Begin with believing.
- Continue with abiding.
- Choose daily to continue with Jesus.
