With Dale Ratzlaff
John 8:31-47
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet 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 the slave of sin. “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” 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. 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. You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 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 speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God” (Jn. 8:31-47).
We immediately face a problem. In John 8:30 John says,
As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
Then, if we read the whole section above, it soon appears that these very same people who “believe in Him” are the same ones who are slaves of sin, have the devil as their father, and are contemplating murdering Christ. Throughout the Gospel of John, “believing in Jesus” is usually a term for true, saving faith. However, here it seems we must understand “believing in Him” refers to a temporary, intellectual belief, not a true saving faith. Jesus seems to indicate this in the next few verses.
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Perhaps these Jews who “came to believe in Him” are like those in John five who saw the sign of Jesus feeding the five thousand and said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” yet in the context it is clear that their belief was not yet saving faith. Both groups resemble the people represented in the parable of the sower.
Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away (Lk. 8:13).
The real test of saving faith is that we “continue” in Christ’s word. We do not become true believers by continuing in Christ’s word. Instead, as the text above states,
If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.
True believers will continue to abide in Christ. The next part of the text flows naturally,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
What exactly does Jesus mean by “truth” that makes us “free”?
“Truth” in the Gospel of John is more than factual truth; it is greater than the philosophical principles of logic. It is the saving truth of Jesus Christ—knowing and trusting who He is and what He did.
By saying the “truth will make you free,” Jesus implies that the Jews listening to Him are still in bondage. The answer of the Jewish leaders defies logic. Yet, at the same time, it reveals the characteristics of the cults that are still present with us today. Those in servitude often do not know the extent of their bondage.
They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
They seem not to face the facts that they were at that very time in bondage to the Romans. Those of us who grew up in organizations where “truth” was prescribed rather than “discovered” can relate to this concept. It was not until after we were out of the confines of thought and legalism that we breathed the freedom of the gospel. Then, and only then, did we realize the true bondage in which we had been enslaved. The Jews maintained their “freedom” came because they were descendants of Abraham. Some of us may remember that at one time we supported our understanding of life and theology by being part of the “True Remnant Church of Bible Prophecy” that was destined to be “the ship that would go through to victory.”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
This sentence also raises questions that must be considered. We know that this side of the second coming we will all continue to fall short of God’s ideal.
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).
In Greek, both “commits” and “fall short” are in the continuous tense. We know that we have all sinned and we know that we all continue to fall short. But here is the good news. Jesus accepts sinners, and there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).
The good news in the John text above is that if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
The Jews were claiming their freedom based upon the lineage of Abraham, even though they knew they were not free, but in bondage to Rome. Today, there may be those who claim freedom from sin because the “grew up in the church,” or they are members of a “true church.” However, Jesus is teaching in this verse that God does not have grandchildren. There must be a personal acceptance of who Christ is. The good news is that if we have responded to God’s offer of grace, then we will be sons and daughters of God and we will remain in God’s house forever.
In these words, Jesus is applying to His followers what He promised to David’s seed.
I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him…But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever… (1 Chr. 17:13-14).
I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.
Here Jesus shows two things. First, deeds are more important than ancestry. If they were truly ancestors of Abraham, they would listen to and obey Him as Abraham did. Second, by showing their hatred for Jesus, they prove their true “spiritual ancestor” to be none other than the devil.
Paul teaches a similar truth in chapter four of Romans. Believing faith is what makes the promises made to Abraham available to the believing Jew, and also to the Gentile who has faith. Paul uses faith as the connecting link to the blessings promised to Abraham. In John, Jesus uses the deeds of the Jews to show their true ancestry. Just as the devil working though Herod tried to kill Jesus, so the Jews confirm their link to the devil by wanting to kill Jesus.
They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”
“We” is emphatic in Greek, “We, ourselves,” were not born in fornication. By making a contrast, they are implying that Jesus was born out of wedlock. Perhaps they knew something of the unusual birth of Jesus. Nevertheless, they did what is so prevalent today. They attack the character of others and cover their own sin.
Before they claimed Abraham for their physical ancestry, now they claim God for their spiritual lineage.
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
In Greek, the first two phrases are conditional and deny the propositions. “If God were your Father (as He is not), you would love Me (as you do not) (Leon Morris, The Gospel of John, p. 462).
Jesus does not credit His ministry to Himself because His father sent Him.
Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
There is no problem with what Jesus is saying—the expression of His words is clear. The problem is that Jewish leaders cannot “hear” Jesus’ words. It is not that they are deaf. Instead, they are so wrapped up in their own presupposition of “truth” that they cannot comprehend the actual truth that does not fit their paradigm.
That is, ye cannot bear my doctrine: it comes too close to you; it searches your hearts, detects your hypocrisy, and exposes your iniquitous intentions and designs; and as ye are determined not to leave your sins, so ye are purposed not to hear my doctrine (https://www.studylight.org/commentary/john/8-43.html).
Jesus exposes the secrets and intents of the Jew’s hearts. He reads their motives. He confronts people in a way we cannot do. Thus, He can tell them,
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.
They had boasted that they were in the family of Abraham and God, but they do not understand that family language. Instead, they know the family language of their father, the devil.
He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
These words of Jesus need little interpretation. This description of the Jews at the time of Jesus corresponds in a striking way with what is taking place in our society today. People shut their ears to those who teach the truth; they castigate in the most vulgar and hateful way possible the Christians and others who teach biblical morality. Why? Because when we stand for biblical morality we, by contrast, point out the sin which they love and defend. Paul warned us of these immoral times.
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these (2 Tim. 3:1-5).
Application
- True Christians will continue listening to and obeying God’s word.
- Theological truth must always be evaluated through gospel teaching. Teachers, both past and present, who disagree with the simple gospel of faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection or put this truth in a subordinate position are not teaching the truth that saves.
- People living in spiritual bondage often do not realize the presence or extent of that servitude until they are out from under it. Gospel truth will set them free.
- Our preconceived ideas and theological paradigm may be the biggest hindrances to our understanding of truth.
- Truth needs no other foundation than an honest investigation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to follow truth when it is discovered.
Prayer
Father, keep me from self-deception by thinking I know more than others. Give me a willingness to study your Word carefully. Reveal your truth to me and give me the power to obey it.
In Jesus name.
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