John 8:34-38, If the Son Sets You Free

34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits 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."

Sometimes it seems that Jesus is just looking for trouble. A gentleman would have stayed out of this conversation, but Jesus is no gentleman. He does not stay on safe topics. Instead, he speaks of the elephant in the room, not ignoring the basic human problem his audience wants to ignore. They are in bondage to sin and need to be freed by someone on the outside. Their freedom can only come from Jesus because of who he is: the one who remains forever. Their sin has blinded them to Jesus’ identity, deafened them to his words, and excluded them from sonship in the Father’s house. Their biology—being descendants of Abraham—does not align with his soteriology—their need to be saved exclusively by the Messiah. Jesus Messiah is not going to be a political Messiah to free the children of Abraham from Rome. Instead, he is going to be a sacrificial Messiah. He will free individuals who believe in him from their sins. He will free them from their fallen human condition, the condition of every human being, Jew and Gentile alike.

Lord Jesus, help me to listen to your word so closely, so intimately, so subserviently that it has a place in me—a place of truth, of guidance, of honor, and of freedom—so that I can be set free from all sin that entangles me today. Amen.