31 Jesus therefore said to those Jewish leaders who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin. 35 A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever. 36 If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s offspring, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. 38 I say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.”

39 They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this. 41 You do the works of your father.”

They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.”

42 Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me."

John 8:31-42 - World English Bible

In John 8:31-32, Jesus said, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The last clause held the key to a dialogue with the religious leaders who believed in him. 8:32b referred to Psalm 119:45 ("I will walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts."); the faithful Jew obeyed the duties of the Law, so he was (mostly) free from sin and its effects. Jesus exchanged the precepts of the Torah with his word (and ultimately himself). Hence, the Pharisees and the scribes faced a dilemma: follow the Law or follow Jesus. So, they objected; they were faithful Jews ("sons of Abraham") and enjoyed the favor of YHWH. How could they be slaves to sin?

Jesus answered with a distinction between a servant and a son. Since everyone sinned (no one has ever kept the Law perfectly, not even for a day), Jesus insisted, everyone was a servant of sin. Only the son had a place in the family; the servant did not (they don't "live in the house forever"). He implied that, as the Son, he could give the status of son-ship to others with the gift of freedom (8:36). But, because they clung to their status of faithful Jews and their devotion to the Law, they would oppose him in the end, even to the point of killing him (8:37). Here, he reinforce the distinction between the son and the servant by stressing the father figure as the source of action; as the Son, he spoke the words of his Father, while, as slaves to sin, the leaders did the deeds of their "father" (Satan).

The leaders reasserted their faithfulness ("Our father is Abraham"), but Jesus questioned even that assertion; since Abraham listened to YHWH, his true children would do the same. He insinuated the leaders were not sons of the patriarch, but of Satan. They objected again (they were not "born of sexual immorality," that is, of Satan), but claimed God as their Father. Jesus answered them with a conditional statement in 8:42: "If God were your father, you would love me...I haven't come of myself, but he sent me."

How many times do we claim God as our Father, yet cling to our sin? That's why we need Jesus in our lives, to free us with his word.

When have you heard the word of Christ this week?