31 "Jesus therefore said to those Jews which had believed him, If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; 32 and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you 33 free. They answered unto him, We be Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man; how say 34 thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth 35 sin is the bond-servant of sin. And the bond-servant abid- 36 eth not in the house forever; the son abideth forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free in- 37 deed. I know that ye are Abraham's seed; yet ye seek to 38 kill me, because my word hath not free course in you. I speak the things which I have seen with my Father, and ye also do the things which ye heard from your father. 39 They answered and said unto him, Our father is Abraham. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye 40 would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill 41 me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I heard from God. This did not Abraham. Ye do the works of your father. They said unto him, We were not born of for- 42 nication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me; for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I 43 come of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand 44 my speech? Even because ye can not hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; 45 for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But because I say 46 the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convicteth me 47 of sin? If I say truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth the words of God; for this cause ye hear 48 them not, because ye are not of God. The Jews answered and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samar- 49 itan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil, 50 but honor my Father, and ye dishonor me. But I seek not 51 mine own glory; there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my word, he shall never see death."
QUESTIONS.
1. What experience did Jesus declare to be the basis of true discipleship?132. What would his disciples understand? What would it do for them? 3. From whom did they say that they were descended? Had they ever been in slavery? What question did they ask? 4. How did Jesus show that he was speaking of the bondage of sin? 5. What contrast did he draw between the experience of a slave and that of a son? 6. Who did he say had the power to give complete freedom? 7. Did he know from whom they were descended? How did he now show that he understood the thoughts of their hearts? 8. What did he say that he spoke? What did he therefore urge them to do? 9. In what statement did they reveal their ignorance of his real meaning? 10. How did Jesus make their own statement testify against them? 11. What intent on their part showed that they were not truly Abraham's children? 12. Whose works were they doing? 13. Whose children did they now claim to be? 14. What did Jesus say would follow as a consequence? 15. With what question and answer did he further instruct them? 16. Who did he say was their father? What course did they choose to follow? 17. What was the character of their father? What was natural to him? 18. What did Jesus declare to be the reason for their not believing him? 19. With what argument did he set forth the ground of faith in him? 20. What did their rejection of his teaching show? 21. What charge which the Jews had previously made did they now reiterate? 22. Did Jesus admit their charge? What counter-charge did he bring against them? 23. What aim in life had he repudiated? 24. How did Jesus teach that one could be saved from death?
NOTES.
1. "The 'word' of which Jesus here speaks is his whole revelation, all he taught by word and action, by his own habitual conduct, and by his miracles. This is which gives knowledge of the truth. That is to say, all the truth which men require for living they have in Christ." To continue ("abide," R. V.) in his word is to abide in Christ (chapter 15:5), in the faith (Col. 1:23), in hope (Rom. 12:12), in love (Eph. 3:17). To those who do this the promise is, "Ye shall know the truth."
2. "When the Lord Jesus reveals the truth of all that he has done for us—that in him we are accepted and triumphant; that through him we sit in heavenly places, with Satan beneath our feet; that from him we are equipped with power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy—then the whole aspect of our life alters; we see our position, and we take it; we learn our power, and we use it; we realize that we are free, and as such we begin to act. . . . Acting by faith in the truth revealed to us, we discover that it is so."
3. JOHN THE BAPTIST, in his preaching, had taught them to the contrary (Matt. 3:9), yet the Jews were resting in their literal descent from Abraham. Christ emphasizes the fact that "not descent, but character, is the important thing." Rom. 9:8; Gal. 3:29.
4. "HERE [verse 34] is one of the profoundest sentences ever spoken by our Lord. Men had not been wont to count themselves slaves. They were in the habit of thinking that they could take up sin, or lay it down, at their will, that they were its masters. Christ, however, has shown that it is not so, but that every time we yield to sin we increase its hold over us and become more deeply enthralled under its tyrannous power, so that we are compelled to obey its behests, however cruel or malignant they may be." "Every sinful indulgence strengthens the soul's aversion to God. The man who manifests an infidel hardihood, or a stolid indifference, to divine truth, is but reaping the harvest of that which he has himself sown. In all the Bible there is not a more fearful warning against trifling with evil than the words of the wise man, that the sinner 'shall be holden with the cords of his sins.'" Prov. 5:22. Those who are "of the Devil" (1 John 3:8) are slaves (2 Peter 2:19); but the service of Christ is freedom. "Jesus Christ came into the world to set men free, and to plant in their souls the genuine principle of liberty, liberty actuated by love, . . . liberty in which man may be free from all men, yet made so gentle by love that he would willingly become the servant of all, in order to bring them to the enjoyment of this same liberty. This is freedom indeed. This is the freedom which Christ gave to man."
5. HOW MUCH is included in the promise, "Ye shall be free in reality"? We are free from the imputation of Adam's sin, because He, as the second Adam, has borne it away; free from the lash of a broken law, because He has paid the penalty, and met its last demands. We are set free for service (Luke 1:74, 75), and that the character of God as set forth in his law may be fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:2-4) through Christ. Freedom from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13) and the privilege of being "made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21), have been purchased for us. "O blessed announcement that God our Father has taken our part against our sin, and, in the person of his Son, has come to make us free, that we may be free in- indeed!" "Christ is ready to set us free from sin, but he does not force the will; and if by persistent transgression the will itself is wholly bent on evil, and we do not desire to be set free, if we will not accept his grace, what more can he do? We have destroyed ourselves by our determined rejection of his love."
6. THE true children of Abraham "do the works of Abraham." By nature, inherited from Adam, being children of wrath (Eph. 2:3), we need a new nature (2 Peter 1:4), in order that "we may work the works of God." "As Adam never could have brought us under the power of sin and death if he had not been our father, communicating to us his own nature, so Christ never could save us except by taking our nature upon him, doing in that nature all that we would need to do, had it been possible for us to deliver ourselves, and then communicating the fruit of what he effected as a nature within us to be the power of a new, an eternal, life. . . . So alone could he be the second Adam, the Father of a new race."
7. JESUS "spoke the truth, but always in love. He denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity, but tears were in his voice as he uttered his scathing rebukes. . . . These words (verse 44) were spoken with sorrowful pathos, as Jesus realized the terrible condition into which these men had fallen." Speaking the truth roused enmity against himself, and so it will against his messengers (Gal. 4:16); but let every messenger be sure that he gives no other cause for enmity than "speaking the truth in love."
8. CHRIST was without sin in himself, altho sin was laid on him (Isa. 53:6), being found without fault at his trial (John 18:38). No one could convince him of sin (1 John 3:4); for the law which he fulfilled (Matt. 5:17) was in his heart (Ps. 40:8). He is asking of many to-day, "Why do ye not believe me?" Is there any answer? See Matt. 22:12.
Suggestions for Further Study.
Had these Jews forgotten Egypt, Babylon, and the Roman power? What was the cause of their subjection to other nations?
Note that the personality of the devil, and the fact that he has inspired others with his nature, are clearly taught here. See 1 John 3:10, etc.
How many of the human family had Satan involved with himself in the guilt of being murderers? See 1 John 3:15; Titus 3:3, etc.
How did the Jews condemn themselves by their appeal to their descent from Abraham?
