Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent - March 28, 2012
John 8:31 - 42
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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?”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
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.
"We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone." This is the reply (v. 33) of the Jews who have believed in Jesus (v. 31). Amazing. These are not unbelieving Jews, but those who have desired to be with Jesus; yet, they make the claim that they have never been slaves of anyone. I wonder what planet they were living on?!
In fact, the descendants of Abraham have been slaves much more than they have been free. The history of Abraham's people has been a history of servitude and the longing for freedom. Their claim to have never been slaves seems incredible, given their background . . . from slavery in Egypt, though Exodus, all the way to periods of Exile and dispersion across the known world.
Maybe this is simply human blindness or pride . . . for we are all slaves to someone or something. Not a one of us lives free of slavery. Some slavery may be more obvious than other slavery, but none of us escapes slavery.
The real question is, "Do you recognize that which enslaves you?"
It is not the goal of the human life to deny our slavery, but rather to see it, to be honest about that to which we are enslaved. To say, "I'm not a slave to anything or anybody" is pure delusion.
To see what enslaves me, both in the outer world and in the inner world, is the first step toward freedom.
For today . . . it is very possible to live under a harsh and difficult outer slavery and be free on the inside. A few persons throughout history have demonstrated this . . . perhaps most poignantly, Jesus demonstrated that even as others were taking his life, they could not steal what was deepest and most vital within him. His connection with the Father sustained him inwardly.
Today in your prayer, ask God to help you see one or two of the persons or forces to which you are enslaved. The first step toward freedom is acknowledgement, so honestly speak these things to God. As you offer them to God, notice how you feel inwardly.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
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?”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”
“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
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.
"We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone." This is the reply (v. 33) of the Jews who have believed in Jesus (v. 31). Amazing. These are not unbelieving Jews, but those who have desired to be with Jesus; yet, they make the claim that they have never been slaves of anyone. I wonder what planet they were living on?!
In fact, the descendants of Abraham have been slaves much more than they have been free. The history of Abraham's people has been a history of servitude and the longing for freedom. Their claim to have never been slaves seems incredible, given their background . . . from slavery in Egypt, though Exodus, all the way to periods of Exile and dispersion across the known world.
Maybe this is simply human blindness or pride . . . for we are all slaves to someone or something. Not a one of us lives free of slavery. Some slavery may be more obvious than other slavery, but none of us escapes slavery.
The real question is, "Do you recognize that which enslaves you?"
It is not the goal of the human life to deny our slavery, but rather to see it, to be honest about that to which we are enslaved. To say, "I'm not a slave to anything or anybody" is pure delusion.
To see what enslaves me, both in the outer world and in the inner world, is the first step toward freedom.
For today . . . it is very possible to live under a harsh and difficult outer slavery and be free on the inside. A few persons throughout history have demonstrated this . . . perhaps most poignantly, Jesus demonstrated that even as others were taking his life, they could not steal what was deepest and most vital within him. His connection with the Father sustained him inwardly.
Today in your prayer, ask God to help you see one or two of the persons or forces to which you are enslaved. The first step toward freedom is acknowledgement, so honestly speak these things to God. As you offer them to God, notice how you feel inwardly.
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