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 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. 

Believe

Jesus is sharing some powerful truth, like yesterday – God is his Father and he only does the Father’s will.  Many listening to him are convinced enough to believe. But what kind of belief? What was the extent of their belief? For certain, their budding faith is about to be challenged later in the dialogue. “Clearly they were inclined to think that what Jesus said was true. But they were not prepared to yield Him the far-reaching allegiance that real trust in Him implies. This is a most dangerous spiritual state.” (Morris quoted in enduringword.com)”

Abide in the Word

Earlier in John 6:56 Jesus calls followers to abide in Him in the context of the Lord’s Supper. What does it mean to  abide in His word? Remain in it, on a regular basis. Don’t stray from or be distracted from your knowledge and application of it in your life. Let it permeate your soul through memorization and meditation. Delight in it more than any other desire or possession. He calls these budding disciples to not be content with initial faith, but actively develop it. 

Set free

As they abide, they will come to be set free by the truth. Free from what? Sin. Anyone who practices sin (you might say “who delights in or abides in sin”) is sin’s slave. Change your abode (the place where you abide) and be free. By abiding in the Word, we gain a knowledge of the truth. Truth is like a key to the shackles of sin. It informs us about what sin really is; it exposes the lie so we can confess and repent.

Free Indeed

The Son sets you free. The Son is the truth who sets us free (John 14:6). But they were thinking physically again and replied they are not slaves (when in fact they were subjects of Roman occupation and were slaves in Egypt).  In Biblical times, slavery was different and was not for life, it was a fixed period of time. After the time expires, you leave the home.

But a slave to sin is permanent, they need a savior to set them free. Jesus is the Son so is a permanent member of God’s house and has authority to set us free. It was accomplished by his death. I’m sure there’s deeper truth than I can plumb! Share a comment if you know.

<- Reflection ->

• The choice is ours. Will we abide in the Word or abide in sin? Will we remain a slave or be set free?