John 8:33-41 Removing stones in the garden
They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
John 8:33-41 NKJV
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.”
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
Removing stumbling blocks for enduring faith
The one overriding sentiment I have while reading this section of John is that Jesus’ conflict was with believers. Verse 30 says, “many believed in him.” John wrote again in verse 31 that Jesus was speaking with “those Jews who believed.” There are so many conflicts that we have in this life, the last place I’d expect to confront opposition is with those that—believe. With those have a connection to God like I do.
Jesus did not speak in animosity or angry confrontation, but in love and authenticity. What he spoke, not only revealed the Jews’ frame of mind, but also exposed his own. His replies were intentional, even in the heat of the moment. When he later claimed in verse 44, “you are of your father the devil,” it was not an insult, but a contrast to their claim of their proud lineage with Abraham (unlike their mocking reply in verse 48, “you are a Samaritan and have a demon!”)
On earth, as it is in Heaven
In this back-and-forth conflict, these new believers took offense at the promise of the “truth shall set you free.” In their current mental map, they were not in bondage — because bondage would mean failure on some level. If the nation was enslaved, they would be obligated to take responsibility for the failure — they were Israels leaders. How could they differentiate themselves with the ungodly? The tax collector? The sinner? And what would this mean for the precarious but facade-filled life and position they had gained for themselves among the people? Somehow, despite their leadership, they were still under Rome.
The freedom they needed could only be found in recognition and confession—like an alcoholic must accept he has a drinking problem before he may begin tackling alcoholism. In another word, humility. Israel had a history of bondage since the Babylonian captivity—including their present subservience to Rome. It seems like I’m stating the obvious when I write, being subject to foreign rulers meant that Israel was not free to do as they wished. Without coming to terms with the truth that they were still in physical and spiritual bondage, they could not be released and experience true freedom. The legalistic mindset they maintained, rather than swimming in the love and grace of God, was the very thing that disqualified them from freedom and gave permission to dominating, unseen forces on earth to act out what they were already experiencing in heaven: bondage.
The musings of madmen, a lesson in self-deception
What follows is the Jews’ reasoning they used to support their “freedom” position. They said, “We are the seed of Abraham.” In other words, because we can carefully trace our lineage back to Abraham, we may rightfully make the claim of what God gave to him and his offspring—namely, Palestine, and supremacy. Then they said, “We have never been in bondage at any time.” This is truly incredible. With all the evidence confronting them, how could they say this? Something true followed by an outright lie. Just like the serpent in the garden mixed the true with the false: “God knows the day you eat of it your eyes will be open” (true), then, “You will not die!” (lie). Or the modern version: I am a Christian (true) and Christians do not do bad things (not true!) Being from Abraham’s seed has very real implications and benefits. The promises and blessing and glory of God come with that relationship. Bondage and servitude “ideally” have no part of that benefit. Yet, wasn’t it Abraham’s seed that was in bondage in Egypt for 400 years? Didn’t Babylon take Israel captive for 70 years? Are not the Romans currently subjugating them? So how could they possibly say they have NEVER been in bondage? If I would be wise, I should recognize that this is the nature of the lies from which we must be set free — there is always some truth, but it is shackled with something terribly untrue. It is this mixing, this field of tares and wheat, leaven and dough, birds filling the trees, that we must recognize. The truth acts as a refiner’s fire. The gold is purified in the process. In becoming a child of the kingdom, I must understand that there will be a day I must part with the untrue things to which I am clinging now. And as much as I dislike admitting Jesus is right, he is right.
Truth is inconvenient
Facts can seem very inconvenient at times. Imagine Paul for a moment. As a Pharisee he was very close to the kingdom. From Israel comes salvation (John 4). Paul had the best training, upbringing and lineage. By all accounts, Paul should be the model believer. He wrote the following about himself:
Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Philippians 3:4-6 NKJV
Everything Paul stood for was at odds with what he believed Christ represented. So, he tenaciously and viciously persecuted believers. Until one day, Jesus met him in blinding white light asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:3) In one moment, the life he was living, the purpose he was pursuing, everything he knew, had to bow to a truth he reverenced even more than his Phariseeism: God is God and I will serve him, even if my mind does not know what that means or is at odds with my present beliefs. Jesus is the truth and the Savior. It took some time for Paul to wrap his head around it, but at his core, he was willing. He left the culture and relationships and lifestyle of Israel’s super religious (and privileged) and embarked on an unknown journey. Yes, this was very inconvenient.
And today as Jesus approaches me too, his presence also acts as a refiner’s fire and promises to change the course of my life. Some would also say this is inconvenient. But I would say, liberating.
Slaves to sin
Stepping back for a moment to look at the bigger picture, these Jews are at first persuaded by Jesus and believe in him. But because their faith is precarious — it has no root yet — it will wither and die quickly unless the huge rocks are removed. In love Jesus speaks words, like a double-edged sword from his mouth, that offer both hope and confront a lie they hold tenaciously. They immediately reply — speaking the lie. Jesus is not trying to rub their face in their failure, but rather explain what is really going on. There is an invisible kingdom that we belong to, and this is how it works…
“Whoever commits sin, is slave to sin.” Without saying it directly, Jesus was showing them that the false response they had given was not a kingdom reply. Their natural, instinctive, trained reply was not made with the light and understanding of the Father. It came from somewhere else. It was obvious to Jesus (and to believers today), but they could not see it. Slaves do what they are told. They are shackled and bound to be led where they do not want to go. They are trained to look after someone else’s interest. They serve and are subjugated. The fact that Israel’s history reveals this only serves to emphasize that they are not in control, something or someone else is.
The committing of sin is the key to distinguishing between slaves and sons. Those who sin are slaves. And these Jews just spoke something outlandishly false! Speaking a lie, bearing false witness, deception — is sin. It’s wrong.
Lying is not the only sin that demonstrates they are slaves, so is murder. “Thou shalt not commit murder” is one of the ten commandments. If a lie was not enough to show their servitude to sin, then surely murder would be, right? Yet, the Jews were plotting Jesus’ death (John 5, 6, 7). Whether these believers were complicit in that effort is not the point. They were aware of it. Why murder Jesus? What had he done? No one could convict him of a crime, let alone one worthy of death. Yet, they were plotting it.
Jesus then took the sword of truth even further and challenged their whole premise, the confidence in which they stood — were they really sons of Abraham? They were in the natural, but their heart and faith were different than Abraham’s. When God chose Abraham, His selection was not arbitrary. It was because Abraham believed. He had faith. Abraham did not murder someone who told the truth. But at this point, these exposed Jews were recalcitrant and found darkness more appealing than light. Jesus was truly an inconvenience. Murder was not such a bad idea after all.