The Freedom of True Discipleship
John 8:31-36
Union Grove Baptist Church 04/24/2024
Marty Williams
To set the stage for this week, last week's text was John 8:12-30. Church historians record this activity as starting in the evening, and it started the traditional lighting ceremony. During Tabernacles, four large lamps in the temple's Court of Women were lit, and an exuberant nightly celebration took place under their light, with people dancing through the night and holding burning torches in their hands while singing songs and praises. The Levitical orchestras also played. Jesus took this opportunity of the lighting celebration to portray another spiritual analogy for the people: "I am the Light of the world."
I encourage you to open your Bibles to the eighth chapter of John. You should follow along because we will closely examine a significant passage of Scripture. Every verse in the Gospel of John is loaded with divine truth. Its range is vast and eternal because we are dealing with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. All passages in the Gospel of John seem to be highlighted, but in a sense, this one rises, maybe above even the other significant peaks. And what I am speaking of is chapter 8, verses 31 to 36, right in the middle of the Light of the World Discourse. These verses are pivotal passages in understanding genuine salvation and authentic discipleship.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never yet 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 commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (LSB)
1. A TEST OF THE REALITY OF ONE'S BELIEF
John 8:31
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My Word, then you are truly My disciples;
What jumps out here is, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples.” This verse is referring to being a true disciple. Discipleship is an urgent and essential subject. Many people profess Christ. Many people declare themselves to be believers in Christ. Many people give witness to the fact that they are Christians. That is common even in our culture, but who is a genuine Christian? Who is a real disciple? This is an urgent and essential question. You have to be able to answer it for yourself, and you have to be able to answer it for those around you. It is not superficially answered.
So (3767 oun) in this context means, consequently, based on the fact that many Jews believed in Jesus. Whenever people put their faith in Christ, He often tests their faith. Here, the test is simple—true believers will hold to/remain in His teaching, reading, studying, and obeying it.
Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, - JC Ryle states that he thinks from the tone of the conversation that runs from this verse uninterruptedly to the end of the chapter, that this "believing" was not the faith of the heart. Look at verse 30, "believing in Him," compared to verse 31, "believing Him." These Jews only "believed" that our Lord was One sent from heaven and deserved attention. But they were the same Jews to whom Jesus says by and by, "You are of your father the devil."(v.44)....Our Lord teaches the great principle that steady continuance is the only real and safe proof of discipleship. No perseverance, no grace! No continuance in the Word, no genuine faith and conversion.
“If you abide1 in My Word, then you [present tense - continually]are truly My disciples; - “Welcoming it, being at home with it, and living with it so continuously that it becomes part of the believer’s life, a permanent influence and stimulus in every fresh advance in goodness and holiness.”2
What Jesus is, in a sense, warning about is that the only way an individual who professes to believe in Him can know that they are a genuine, born-again, heaven-bound believer is by the fact that they continue or abide in His Word. He speaks to those who believe (John 8:30), and He says if they "make His Word their home," (so to speak) they are indeed His disciples. They are not just professors of belief but possessors of genuine faith.
Here, the conditional statement is introduced, which can be paraphrased as “If you continue…” To continue or abide describes the general direction of one's life (not perfection because no one except Jesus abided perfectly).
2. THE FRUIT OF ABIDING IN THE TRUTH
Abiding or remaining in His Word - Jesus is saying that if these “believers” remain or continue in His teaching, then (this is the fulfillment in this conditional sentence) it proves they are genuine disciples. The authentication of a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ means that they will not depart from the Word of God but instead continue in His Word. To continue to abide in His Word, in turn, means they keep on believing the Word, following the Word, and ordering their life according to His Word.
John 8:32
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” - Universities (like the University of Texas) proudly display this verse but sadly have completely removed it from its context. So, it loses Jesus' original meaning. So much for honesty and integrity in much of what is called our higher education system. This verse shows that continuing to trust and obey Jesus is one test of who my disciples are. This verse is frequently quoted out of context, but the connection with v. 31 shows that Jesus is only talking about one way to know the truth: by continuing to believe and obey his Word.
And you will know (1097 ginṓskō) the truth (225 alḗtheia), and the truth (225 alḗtheia) will make you free (1659 eleutheróō) – notice this verse does not begin with "you." It begins with “and,” which is of critical significance if one seeks the truth about this verse about truth. John couples his widely quoted statement to the seldom quoted statement in John 8:31, specifically His explicit declaration that “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” In the light of this context, we now understand that His statement about truth and truth making one free is only valid if the preceding condition is fulfilled.
And what is that condition that must be met? Continuance in His Word. Taking it to heart, focusing on the Word of God (and the God of the Word). God is truth. Jesus is truth. Their Word is truth. It follows logically that sinful, fallen beings come even to know the truth by knowing what God said in the Bible. And not just knowing it intellectually but allowing it to order one's steps, walking by the power of the Spirit in obedience to the truth one learns.
Learning the truth and claiming to know it yet not obeying it is the essence of a modern-day Pharisee. It is the essence of arrogant self-deception. This person will not honestly know the truth. Consequently, like the Pharisees in Jesus' day, this person will not be set free by the truth of God's Word.
You will know (1097 ginṓskō) speaks of experiential knowledge. Jesus says you will have a personal relationship with the truth, so it is not just the knowledge that makes your head big but the knowledge that makes your heart more significant and more in love with Jesus.
3. TRUE SPIRITUAL FREEDOM
And the truth (225 alḗtheia) will make you free (1659 eleutheróō) – What we see now is a prophetic promise; will is future tense. The realization of this promise hinges on the individual meeting the condition of abiding in Jesus' Word. The verb will make eleutheróō means to cause someone to be freed from domination.3 What domination would we need to be set free from? This speaks of our three mortal foes, the world, the flesh, and the devil, all of which exerted dominion (power) over us when we were still in Adam. Our continuance in the Word indicates we are no longer in Adam but in Christ and that these foes no longer have the right to rule over our hearts and minds. The act of truth sets us free, which results in freedom and liberty, but liberty is not a license to sin. The world says freedom is the right to do as they please. The disciple says absolute freedom is the power to do as we should, to please the One Who set us free and gave us a new way of life in Christ, empowered by His Spirit.
4. THE BELIEVING JEWS IMMEDIATELY BECOME DEFENSIVE
John 8:33
They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
They – Who are they? This is important to establish, and if we observe for the nearest antecedent, we find it is “those Jews who had believed Him” in John 8:31. Jesus speaks the words in John 8:31-32 and “they (the Jews) answered Him” in verse 33. Despite what some writers suggest, it is clear that the ones who answer Jesus are the same as those who have just been addressed in John 8:31-32.
The reaction of the Jewish leaders was not, "That is wonderful! Tell us more about what it means to be free by trusting in Your Word." Instead, they reacted; we do not need this. We are good.
Answered Him, “We (present tense - continually) are Abraham's descendants (sperma) - They assert their spiritual superiority as children of Abraham. They are likely thinking of Old Testament blessings of being Abraham's descendants, like Psalms 105:6: "O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!" Or Isaiah 41:8: "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham, My friend." Their descent from Abraham was the source of their pride and confidence regarding their salvation. John the Baptist warned them not to place their trust in their physical heritage (Luke 3:8). The implication is that they do not need a Savior since they consider themselves children of Abraham. They had no sense of their bondage to sin, so they did not need a Savior.
And have never yet been enslaved to anyone - And have (3762 oudeís - absolutely) never yet been enslaved (1392 douleúō) to anyone - Of course, they had been enslaved or subjected to several nations, and even Rome was currently oppressing them. The Jews had been enslaved in Egypt and later were ruled by the Philistines, the Assyrians, and others. Since they could hardly deny this, they were probably saying that they had been a nation under God since the Exodus, no matter what else had happened to them. It is also possible that they were speaking about the time of the Romans, when they had certain liberties, including official recognition as a religion.
How is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” - As Abraham's physical lineage, they thought they were spiritually free and had no need to become free.
5. SIN PERSONIFIED AS A CRUEL MASTER
John 8:34
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
Jesus ignores their argument from their physical lineage. They have just asked, “How is it that You say, 'You will become free'?” They do not understand the slavery from which truth can set them free. So now He speaks to the most severe slavery in the world, man's slavery to the indomitable power of SIN.
Note repetition of truly, truly - Three times in this chapter, Jesus drives home truth with a “truly, truly” statement (John 8:34, 51, 58). These statements stress absolute certainty. (25 times in John)
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly (281 amḗn, amḗn), I say to you, everyone who (present tense - continually) commits (4160 poiéō) sin (266 hamartía – another note) is the slave (1401 doûlos) of sin (266 hamartía) - "Everyone who perpetrates sin is a slave [servant] to sin" (Kostenberger). Jesus uses this particle (amen) to emphasize what is being said as a solemn declaration of what is true. In short, He is saying that if we habitually sin, we can be assured that the sin will become our master. Beware! The rotten fruit of sinning is that we become slaves to that sin. Committing sin does not refer to an act of sin (or an occasional lapse, which is sadly something all saints do) but to the fact that this individual is habitually living in sin (cf 1 John 3:8-9, Matt. 7:23 present tense "practice lawlessness," where 1 John 3:4 says, "Everyone who [present tense - as their lifestyle or habit] practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”) The Jews could not understand the freedom Jesus offered them (John 8:31-32) because they did not believe or understand the spiritual bondage they were in.
John 8:35
And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
The slave (1401 doûlos) does not remain (3306 ménō) in the house forever (165 aiṓn); the son does remain (3306 ménō) forever (165 aiṓn) - A slave has no permanent place in the household for he may be sold, exchanged, or cast out (Gen. 21:10; Gal. 4:30). When we are saved, God's Spirit transfers us from the family of the devil into the family of God. We are adopted into the family of God and kept safely in God's hands.
John 8:36
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
REAL FREEDOM
So if the Son makes (1659 eleutheróō) you free, - “If” is a third-class conditional sentence that speaks of potential action; in other words, the condition may or may not be fulfilled. He will not make captives into puppets -- it's not just “Let go & let God”...we must still make a choice to yield, surrender, present ourselves to Truth (Romans 6:13b; 12:1-2) and walk in that Truth (Galatians 5:16; Colossians 1:10; Ephesians 4:1, etc) and then we will discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Makes you free is in the subjunctive mood (mood of possibility) because we still have a choice, but now we have the power (Romans 6:1-7), whereas before Christ came into our lives, we had no power over sin. Now we are in Christ, and Paul calls us to “consider (present imperative - see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11)
You will be free (1658 eleútheros) indeed (really, in reality, essentially): What a prophetic (“will”) promise. Have you partaken of this incredible promise? You will be capable of free movement without being obligated to obey our old taskmaster SIN. (free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by an obligation)4 Those whom Jesus Christ liberates from the tyranny of sin and legalism's bondage are free (Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1).
Henry Blackaby from Free Indeed states:
From the outside, looking in and living for Christ might seem restricting. Unbelievers often think of the Christian life as a set of rules—all the things we can't do. This distorted perspective is nothing new. The rich young ruler concluded that following Jesus was not for him because it meant he couldn't hold on to his wealth (Luke 18:22-23). He missed what Jesus had to offer him because he focused on what Jesus asked him to give up. The world still sees Christianity as a set of strict rules that keep people from having fun.
Christians know nothing could be further from the truth. We know that Jesus came to set us free from bondage, not to trap us into it. We know from experience that sin is the real slavemaster, and we know that Christ paid the penalty to set us free from sin's entrapment. We see all that Christ has given us. The only things he has taken from us are things we are glad to be rid of: despair, guilt, shame, and death. We have tasted Jesus's abundant life and would not trade this joy for anything. Some of us were on the brink of suicide, with death looking better than life, but Jesus gave us hope. Some of us were fighting losing battles with addictions, but Christ gave us victory. Some of us were estranged from our own families. Jesus brought us together again. All of us were headed for eternity without God. Jesus turned us around, and now we look forward to joining him in heaven.
Christianity is all about freedom, not bondage. If you are still living in bondage, then there is a truth about Jesus you have not yet experienced. Remember, Christ came to set you free. No matter what has got a hold on you (drugs, anger, fear, guilt), Jesus has the power to release you so you will be free to enjoy life as God intends. Will you let him?
1 To endure without yielding: withstand
2 Tasker, R. V. G. (1960). The Gospel according to St. John: An Introduction and Commentary. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
3 G1659 - eleutheroō - Strong's Greek Lexicon (lsb). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1659/lsb/mgnt/0-1/
4 G1658 - eleutheros - Strong's Greek Lexicon (lsb). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1658/lsb/mgnt/0-1/