You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free
John 8:30–41 (NKJV)
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 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’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
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 did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
Messages
I. You shall know the truth (30-32)
See v30-31.
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
‘abide in My word’ (31) is translated as ‘remain faithful to my teachings’ in NLT (New Living Translation).
See v32.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
According to John 17:3, ‘knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ’ is ‘eternal life’. Here, ‘knowing’ or ‘knowledge’ is not just necessary information, but ‘the experiential relationship’. The truth (32) is Jesus Himself based on John 14:6. So, ‘know the truth’ means ‘having the experiential relationship with Jesus’.
Let’s study the definitions of ‘truth’ (=Jesus Christ).
- Truth is the reality as opposed to the Law being mere a shadow of the reality (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1).
- Truth reveals and assures ‘what grace does’ such as forgiveness and gift.
- Truth is divine thought while grace is divine love. * Jesus Christ is the Word of God (Revelation 19:13, John 1:14).
- Truth is the revelation of God (John 1:18 NIV). Jesus Christ reveals God the Father. He who has seen Jesus has seen the Father (John 14:9b, also see John 8:19b). Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible Father (Colossians 1:14a KNJV) and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).
- Truth is as opposed to gnostic and all other heresy.
II. The truth shall make you free (33-41)
‘the truth shall make you free’ can be understood by studying v33-36. See v33.
33 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’?”
Their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt and they were colonized by the Roman Empire at that time. So ‘we have never been in bondage to anyone’ is not true. But, what is the freedom Jesus promises? See v34.
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
The freedom Jesus promises is the freedom from the slavery of sin. See v35-36.
35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Here, we can know that the truth in ‘the truth shall make you free.’ (32b) is ’the Son’. It is Jesus (=the Son, the truth) who set us free. If we abide in His word (31a), we are His disciples indeed (31b). And we shall know Jesus (=the Son, the truth) (32a), and Jesus (=the Son, the truth) shall make us free (32b) indeed (36). See v37.
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
‘My word has no place in you’ (37b) contrasts ‘If you abide in My word’ (31a) and is related to why ‘you seek to kill Me’ (37a).
See v38-41.
38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”
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 did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
The Jews started claiming God as their Father. It seems they learned from Jesus in claiming God as their own Father. But, later the Jews tried to stone Jesus for blasphemy when He said, “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30-33). His defence is written in John 10:34-38.
Jesus said to the Jews, “You are of your father the devil.” (John 8:44a) Let’s study John 8:42~ next time.
