April 3, 2020

Jesus Wants to Set You Free!

John 8:31–59

Deric Eubanks
Friday's Devo

April 3, 2020

Friday's Devo

April 3, 2020

Central Truth

True freedom comes from following Christ and abiding in His Word.

Key Verse | John 8:32

"[A]nd you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8:31–59

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, 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 offspring of Abraham 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 practices sin is a slave 1 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35 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.”

You Are of Your Father the Devil

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but 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. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus 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. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You 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. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Before Abraham Was, I Am

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who 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.’ 2 8:54 Some manuscripts your God 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 3 8:57 Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you? 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Footnotes

[1] 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35
[2] 8:54 Some manuscripts your God
[3] 8:57 Some manuscripts has Abraham seen you?

Dive Deeper | John 8:31–59

In this passage, Jesus is in the temple talking to Jews who have believed in Him. He is telling them that if they abide in His Word, they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free. Their response is probably similar to what many people of our day would say: "We're already free. We don't need to be set free."

Jesus goes on to point out that they are indeed slaves—slaves to sin. Satan, the father of lies, has blinded them to the truth. Satan is still doing that to us today. We create idols in our lives that we worship and put in front of God (Romans 1:25), and Satan uses his lies to blind us to them. Many times we don’t identify these idols until they have let us down or until we can clearly see the destruction they have caused in our lives.

These idols reflect selfish desires and areas in our lives where we are not trusting Christ completely. That's why Jesus tells us we have to die to ourselves daily (Luke 9:23). We think we know what will make us happy, but we really don't. Our selfish desires cannot be trusted (Proverbs 14:12). Selfishness never truly satisfies us. In order to be set free from the slavery of sin, we have to know the truth—Jesus—and abide in His Word (John 14:6; 1 John 2:14).

The only way we can identify Satan's lies in our lives is to know and abide in God's Word. By abiding in His Word and following Him, Jesus will set us free from the slavery of sin. True freedom can be found by trusting and abiding in God. His plans for us are better than our wildest dreams (Psalm 16:11). His Word is true and timeless (Psalm 119:160), and He does what He says He will do (Joshua 21:45). "Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act." (Psalm 37:5)

Discussion Questions

1. How are you doing in abiding in God's Word?

2. What sin and idols in your life are trapping or enslaving you?

3. What's holding you back from trusting Christ completely with all areas of your life?

4. How are you doing at dying to yourself daily?