Calvary Road Baptist Church

“DISCIPLES, JEWS, SLAVES AND FREE”

John 8.31-37 

My text for this message is John 8.31-37: 

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 

I can imagine the Lord Jesus Christ standing amid dozens, if not hundreds, of Jewish men in the Court of Gentiles of the Temple, two days after the Feast of Tabernacles. On that occasion, with multiplied thousands attending the final day of the feast, the Lord Jesus Christ cried out, 

“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”[1] 

Don’t think that didn’t stun the troops.

The next day, as He was teaching in the same general location, a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to Him. After He dealt with those who brought her and then dealt with her, He said to those who had gathered,

 “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” 

Once more, He stunned those who stood by.

We are now two days removed from the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and one day from our Lord’s declaration that He is the light of the world. Just before the events described in our text, the Lord Jesus Christ pointedly warned the Pharisees challenging Him by saying to them, “ye shall die in your sins.” He stated that warning three times while inserting between the second and third of the warnings their only hope for deliverance. They were doomed “if ye believe not that I am.”[2] Their only avenue of escape from the eternal and fiery consequences of their sins is faith in the great I am, the One who spoke to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3.14, who happened to also be the One who stood in their presence, the eternal Son of the living God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Though my Lord issued that warning to the Pharisees who publicly challenged Him and disputed His claims, He issued that challenge for the onlookers who were also present. By God’s grace, a number of those onlookers believed on Him. As our Lord had spoken to the Pharisees but for the onlookers in John 8.21-30, we find that in our text that we have just read, John 8.31-37, our Lord begins by speaking directly to the onlookers who believed on Him, but His remarks were redirected to the stubborn Pharisees in response to their objections.

Notice the three parts that comprise our text in which the Lord Jesus Christ states, 

First, A COMFORTABLE DOCTRINE 

The passage we have just read begins with a declaration of truth concerning the spiritual liberty of Christ’s disciples, and it was intended for the encouragement of those Jews that had recently come to faith. Knowing that His comments had begun to work upon some of His hearers, and perceiving that virtue had gone out of Him, our Lord turned His direct comments away from the proud Pharisees to those weak because they had only just become believers. When He had denounced wrath against those that were hardened in unbelief, then He spoke comfort to those few feeble onlookers that had just believed in Him.

See here, two components of His instruction to the new believers:

First, how graciously the Lord Jesus looks to those that tremble at His Word and are ready to receive the truth. He has something to say to those who have hearing ears and will not pass by those who set themselves in His way, without first speaking to them. Our Savior always has time for those who take time for Him: 

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him.” 

Next, notice how carefully He cherished the beginnings of God’s grace in them and dealt directly with those that came to Him: 

31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

Though they had come to faith in Christ, they were very weak spiritually. For that reason, Christ did not dismiss them, but in effect gathered them like lambs in His arms. When faith is in its infancy, you who are somewhat seasoned saints by now will recollect from your own experience that our Lord takes special care for His own. Notice what He told them by way of encouragement:

First, He stated for them the character of a true disciple of Christ: 

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” 

By means of their faith in Him, they had entered a relationship with Him to be His disciples. He spoke these words so that they would understand this settled rule, that He would take no one to be His disciple but the individual that continues in His Word. It is implied here and clearly stated elsewhere that there are many who profess themselves to be Christ’s disciples who are not truly His but only in show and name. Therefore, it is important for those that are not strong in faith to see to it that they become sound in the faith, that, though they may not be the best of disciples, they are nevertheless genuine disciples.

Those who seem willing to be Christ’s disciples ought to be told that they might as well not ever seem to come to Him unless they come with a resolution by His grace to abide in Him. Those who have thoughts of coming to Christ should entertain no thoughts of falling away. Children may go to school for only a few years, but those who are Christ’s are bound to Him for life. Those only that continue in Christ’s Word shall be accepted as His disciples indeed, that adhere to His Word and abide by it to the end without apostasy. To continue in His Word is to abide in Christ, the same Greek word used for both. If we continue as disciples to the end, then, and not like those who quit before the end, we show ourselves to be disciples indeed.

Then, He stated to them the privilege of a true disciple of Christ. The Savior states two precious promises to those who are genuine disciples, in John 8.32: 

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

First, even those who are true believers, and genuine disciples, yet may be, and are, very ignorant of important truths early on. God’s children are, after all, children, and understand and speak as children. Did we not need to be taught we would not need to be disciples. Second, it is a very great privilege to know the truth, to know the particular truths which we are to believe, in their mutual dependencies and connections, and the basis and reasons for our beliefs; to know what is truth and what proves it to be so. Third, it is a gracious promise of Christ, to all who continue in His Word, that we shall know the truth as far as is needful and profitable for us. Christ’s learners are sure to be well taught over time. The truth shall make you free, meaning, the truth which Christ teaches tends to make men free. I read Isaiah 61.1: 

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” 

Justification makes us free from the guilt of sin. Sanctification makes us free from the bondage of sin. Gospel truth frees us from the yoke of sin. It makes us free from our spiritual enemies, free in the service of God, and free to the privileges of being sons.

Secondly, the knowing, entertaining, and believing of this truth does make us free; free from prejudices, mistakes, and false notions, free from the dominion of lust and passion. The mind, by admitting the truth of Christ, is vastly enlarged, is greatly elevated and raised above things of the senses, and never displays such liberty as when acting under God’s direction, Second Corinthians 3.17: 

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 

The enemies of Christianity pretend to be free thinkers, but the reality is that those are the freest that are guided by faith, and whose thoughts are captivated and brought into obedience to Christ. 

Next, THE OFFENSE TAKEN BY THE UNSAVED JEWS AT THIS DOCTRINE 

Though Christ’s truthful instruction brought the great anticipation of liberty to those who were previously captives of sin, notice how they who were still enslaved reacted against it, in John 8.33: 

“They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” 

Though our Lord was obviously not speaking any longer to them, but to the believing onlookers, the Pharisees took offense at His comments, were offended by His truthful remarks, and demonstrated both pride and envy in answering Him. Notice two things:

First, notice what it was that they were grieved about. They objected to our Lord’s declaration that “the truth shall make you free.” Who was He to insinuate that they were a people in any sort of bondage, which reflected on the Jewish people in general and the Pharisees in particular? However, it is a well-established pattern of the unsaved to account themselves to be free and at liberty even while they are in their spiritual slavery. The blessings bestowed on the believing are the envy and provocation of unbelievers, Psalm 112.10: 

“The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.” 

Second, notice what the antagonists spoke against: 

“We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” 

Had they no knowledge of their people’s history? Did they pay no attention to their annual feasts? Passover celebrates the deliverance of their people from Egyptian slavery. As well, they were two days from celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, remembering God’s provision during the wilderness wanderings that followed their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. Then there is Purim, a feast related to their Babylonian captivity. Thus, they had a long history of bondage. And they were presently suffering Roman occupation. So, what is this nonsense about never being in bondage to any man? As well, the Savior was speaking about the spiritual bondage to sin that every human being suffers with. Therefore, for anyone to protest that he is not in bondage and therefore needs no freedom from that bondage is patently absurd. 

Finally, OUR SAVIOR’S VINDICATION 

The Lord Jesus Christ responded to the objections of the unsaved who were present in John 8.34-37, in four very pointed and profound statements: 

“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” 

Despite anyone’s public profession, it is possible that individuals live as slaves to sin, as is evidenced by one’s conduct and not one’s testimony or confession. Whosoever commits sin, though he be of Abraham’s seed (and was never in bondage to any man), is the servant of sin. You might notice that our Lord does not, here, directly address the error of their objection or point out their present bondage to sin.

Instead, He further explained what He had already said. This is an example that we should follow more frequently than we sometimes do, with meekness instructing those that oppose us rather than being hung up on every point or objection raised.

Notice how the Lord proceeded here: His comment opens with great solemnity by saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” This was a communication device that was designed to arrest the attention of His audience and secure their understanding that He was uttering words of gravity and importance for them to carefully consider. He follows that up with a statement that no one of His era would deny, though it might slip by many of our day: 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” 

This statement of our Lord is not nearly as weighty in our day as it was in His day, because those living in our era comprise so completely irrational a culture in comparison to mankind of that day.

An example from our day. I remember my mother, who died from lung cancer, telling me that she was not a slave to cigarettes but could quit smoking any time she wanted. When I asked her why she did not quit smoking, she said she didn’t want to, without any realization that her slavery to the habit of smoking was so profound as to have completely controlled the processes of her mind in connection with smoking. Such a mental malady is very common these days, though not so much with smoking anymore.

I am not suggesting that such slavery to sin did not exist in the past. Quite the contrary. Jeremiah 44.16-17 rehearses the behavior of the Jewish people during Jeremiah’s day when their slavery to the sin of idolatry was such that they burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to worship that false god while surmising that they were well and saw no evil. In retrospect, the Pharisees and all the rest of the Jewish people of our Lord’s day looked back and saw the slavery to sin of past generations during their Babylonian captivity. As well, people generally believed in the connection between behavior and belief more than is the case in our day. That said, people could still be blind to their slavery to sin. So, the Lord Jesus Christ brought it home to them. What the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to those Pharisees who defiantly stood against Him the Apostle Paul also wrote about in Romans 6.16 to clarify the truth of the principle to his Christian audience in Rome: 

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” 

Thus, it is one’s conduct that most indicate whether one is a slave to sin or not, not the profession or confession that is spoken and not backed up by conduct. 

“And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.” 

Here our Lord showed the Pharisees and other unbelievers that, being in a state of bondage, their presently having a place in the house of God did not entitle them to the inheritance of sons. The servant might live in the master’s house for a while, but servants do not abide in the master’s house forever. Servants are temporary, but the son of the family abides forever. This points primarily to the rejection of Christ by the Jewish people. Israel had been God’s son, His first-born, but their unbelief degenerated them to a place of servitude. They were enslaved to the world and the flesh. Therefore, though by virtue of their birthright they thought they were secure, Christ tells them that having made themselves servants they could not abide in the master’s house forever. They chose the Law of Moses over the liberty of Christ and thereby placed themselves in a very bad position.

Additionally, His comments anticipate the inevitable rejection of all that are the servants of sin. Though unprofitable servants may be in God’s house for a while, there comes a day when those who are not believers in Christ are distinguished from those who are believers. Remember what the Lord Jesus Christ would soon say to His eleven remaining apostles in John 14.2: 

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” 

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” 

With this declaration the Lord Jesus Christ showed His adversaries the way of deliverance out of their slavery into the liberty enjoyed by the children of God, Romans 8.21: 

“Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” 

The predicament of those that are the servants of sin is a very bad one, but thanks be to God it is not helpless, it is not hopeless. As it is the privilege of all the sons of the family, that they abide in their father’s house forever; so, He who is the Son of God, the first-born among many brethren, and the heir of all things, has power both to set slaves free and to adopt them into God’s family.

Note that Jesus Christ in the Gospel offers us our freedom; He has authority and power to make us free. First, He is able to discharge prisoners; this He does to those who are justified, by making satisfaction for our guilt, and for our debts, for which we were condemned and awaited execution. Next, He has power to rescue slaves, and this He does in sanctification; by the powerful arguments of His Gospel and the powerful operations of His Spirit. He breaks the power of corruption in the soul, rallies the scattered forces of reason and virtue, and strengthens God’s interest against sin and Satan, and so the soul is made free. Third, He has power to make citizens of strangers and foreigners, and this He does in adoption. This is a further act of grace. We are not only forgiven and healed but preferred. There is a charter of privileges as well as pardon, and thus the Son makes us free citizens of the kingdom of priests, the holy nation, the new Jerusalem.

Note, also, that those Christ makes free are free indeed. What does this mean? It means free in a sense that is more than the imaginations of the mind. It means free in a sense that is more than merely feeling free. It refers to the genuine liberty of the soul that enables the believer to both love and also to live for Christ. 

“I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.” 

Observe here,

The Lord acknowledges the dignity of their heritage: 

“I know that ye are Abraham’s seed.” 

Our Lord was more than willing to grant them what was true. That is always a good thing to be willing to do. As well, in what they said that was false (that they were never in bondage to any) He does not bother to distract from the flow of thought to contradict them. He wanted to profit them, not provoke them. To accomplish that He said that which would please them: “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed.” They boasted of their heritage in Abraham and were unclear about some rather obvious details. Okay. Rather than hanging up on some details, He zeroed in on a matter of greater urgency.

With the dignity of their heritage came the responsibility to act accordingly. Yet they sought to kill Him. He pointed out that jarring inconsistency. They made several attempts on His life and were even then conspiring to do it. Their mindset is revealed in John 8.59 when they took up stones to cast at Him. Christ knew all the wickedness, not only which men did, but which they sought, and designed, and endeavored to do. To seek to kill any innocent man is crime enough, but to work to slay the King of kings is a crime of unimaginable heinousness.

What explains this inconsistency? Why were they that were Abraham’s seed so very opposed to Abraham’s promised seed, in whom they and all the families of the earth should be blessed? Our Savior here tells them: 

“because my word hath no place in you.” 

Matthew Henry writes that some explain it in this way: “My word does not penetrate into you; it descended as the rain, but it came upon them as the rain upon the rock, which it runs off, and did not soak into their hearts, as the rain upon the plowed ground.” 

What was the difference between the Pharisees who resisted the words of the Savior and the onlookers, many of whom believed? Perhaps James 1.16-21 will provide us with insight: 

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 

The Pharisees were not swift to hear. Neither were they slow to wrath. Finally, they did not receive with meekness the engrafted word. The onlookers who believed in Him were swift to hear, were slow to wrath, and did receive with meekness the engrafted word.

Dearly beloved, look in the mirror of God’s Word for long enough to gain sight of your attitude toward the Savior, your attitude toward the truth of God’s Word, and your meek willingness to receive the truth. When that is done, consider the claims of Christ and trust Him to the saving of your eternal and undying soul.

__________

[1] John 7.37-38

[2] John 8.24

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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church