Only Jesus Can Set You Free

Today’s passage is John 8:33-47.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

John 8:33-36 (NIV)
³³  They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
³⁴  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
³⁵  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
³⁶  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

On verses 33-36: When you don’t know that you’re a slave, you’ll have no reason to want to be set free. That was the predicament of Jesus’ opponents. They were slaves to sin but they didn’t know it (v34). Jesus came to turn us who were slaves to sin into children of God and members of God’s family (v35). So if you know that you have sinned and like a slave are bound to sin again, look to Jesus. He is the only One who can set you free.

A hard truth Jesus teaches is that we cannot set ourselves free from sin (see for example John 8:24).  Sin is too strong a master for us to overcome ourselves.  We need a Saviour to rescue us from sin.  That’s where Jesus comes in.  The freedom that Jesus promises is true freedom because it’s not based on our own imperfect human effort, but on what Jesus has done for us by shedding His perfect blood on the cross and rising again to life. That is why Jesus says, “if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (v36). With Jesus there is true freedom from the power and effects of sin.

John 8:37 (NIV)
³⁷  I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.

On verse 37:  Jesus’ opponents came from a religious background (“I know you are Abraham’s descendants”), but they had no room for Jesus’ words and wanted to kill him.  Similarly, regardless of what background you may come from, make room for Jesus and His Word.  That’s the only way you can experience true life.  When we have no room for Jesus’ word in our lives, we will look to eliminate Jesus from our lives and miss life in the process.  

John 8:38-43 (NIV)
³⁸  I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
³⁹  “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did.
⁴⁰  As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.
⁴¹  You are doing the things your own father does.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
⁴²  Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
⁴³  Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.

On verses 38-43:  Continuing his thought from verse 37, Jesus points out that there is a difference between on one hand being physical descendants of Abraham and on the other hand being spiritual descendants of Abraham and children of God.   According to Jesus, we show whether we truly belong to God or belong to the devil by what we do (v39-41a), by how we love Jesus (v42), and by how much we actually hear what Jesus says (v43, 47).  In other words, our actions, our love and our relationship with Jesus show whether we truly belong to God or not.

John 8:44 (NIV)
⁴⁴  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

On verse 44:  Here Jesus gives us some important teaching about the devil.   First, the devil is a murderer who wants to kill and destroy the lives of people (v44, see also John 10:10).  Second, the devil is a liar and the father (the source) of lies (v44).  Jesus says that the fact that Jesus’ opponents were trying to kill Jesus shows who their real father is – not God, but the devil.

John 8:45-47 (NIV)
⁴⁵  Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
⁴⁶  Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?
⁴⁷  He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

On verses 45-47:  Jesus is essentially saying that when we are controlled by sin, we will not believe the truth when we hear it.  Only those who belong to God will hear what God says.

So how can sinners like us hear and believe in Jesus, the One without sin?  We need the help of the Holy Spirit.  Humbly ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear and trust in Jesus.  If you’re even thinking about asking the Holy Spirit for help, then the good news is: the Holy Spirit is already working in you!

Lord Jesus, thank You that when I was a slave to sin and could not set myself free, You came to set me free.  Because of what You did on the cross, thank You that I am no longer a slave to sin but I am a child of God who belongs in Your house, a spiritual descendant of Abraham.  As a child of God, may I show that I belong to You through my actions, my love for You and my relationship with You.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!