March 16 Devotion

John 8:33-47

In this passage from the Book of John, Jesus is in the Temple teaching the people after He has freed the young woman caught in adultery by the Scribes and Pharisees. The Jewish people respond to Jesus’ pronouncement found in verse 32 that when they know “the truth, the truth will make them free.”

However, they take offense at the suggestion that they are not free now and proclaim that as descendants of Abraham they were never in bondage. (Not only do they misunderstand the meaning of Jesus’ words, but the statement itself is untrue since the Jews had been in servitude to many different nations and were currently subservient to the Romans). What Jesus meant was that if they were not free from sin, they would become its servant.

In verse thirty-six (36), Jesus makes a promise to the people that if the Son (Jesus) makes them free from sin, they will no longer be a servant of sin. This is one of 1,522 “ifs” in the Bible that express a condition and a conclusion if the condition is satisfied.

Interesting, the bondage analogy follows Greek and Roman custom which permitted a son and heir to free all slaves that were born in the house during the father’s lifetime. Therefore, the Son could free all of the servants of sin and make them free forever if they would accept the Son and become His disciples. The passage speaks to us today as well, in that we can become free from the slavery of sin and become disciples of Him if we will only accept His truth.

The first verse of the Hymn “O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee” perhaps best describes this invitation of Jesus to walk with Him and be freed from sin.

“O Master, let me walk with thee,
In lowly paths of service free
Tell me thy secret, help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care”

Lee Oxley