March 19 -- John 8:31-59
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.” –John 8:31-32 (NIV)

Jesus says that those who “hold to [His] teaching” (i.e., obey Him) are “really [His] disciples.” Truth will be revealed to them, and this will bring freedom from the slavery of sin (vv. 31-32, 34-36). This means we must follow Jesus as Lord, putting His words into practice, before we can really experience the truth of them, and in this truth, there is freedom. (“Faith without deeds is useless.” – James 2:20)
This freedom we find in Christ is not freedom to do whatever we want when we want to do it. Instead, it is being who we really are—who God created us to be—and engaging in relationship with Him, where we find true joy. This freedom comes when we follow Jesus and see the truth of His words in our journey with Him.
The Pharisees were not only incapable of seeing the truth as it was illuminated by Jesus, the “Light of the world” (John 8:12), but they were also incapable of hearing it (vv. 43, 47). He had told them over and over that He came from God and is the Messiah, but they refused to believe and put their faith in Him. When Jesus told them they were slaves to sin but that through Him they could be set free, they insisted that their physical descent from Abraham assured their freedom. Jesus responded that they did not do what Abraham did, so their physical descent from him meant nothing. Instead, the Jewish leaders acted like children of the devil, for they were seeking to kill Jesus, who was bringing them truth directly from God.
The religious leaders resorted to name-calling, saying that Jesus was a Samaritan and demon-possessed. (Samaritans were descendants of foreigners—Assyrians—who married among the Jews and eventually distorted Jewish religious customs. The Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies, so this was an insult.)
Jesus responded that He was not demon-possessed; in fact, whoever obeys Him would “never see death” (v. 51). Then, He identified Himself with the personal name of God (Yahweh), which translated is “I Am Who I Am” (v. 58). The Jewish leaders realized Jesus was claiming to be God, so they picked up stones to kill Him. He was able to slip away because it was not yet His time to die.
The Pharisees chose to reject Jesus and remain slaves to their sin. We are given the same choice they were. Jesus invites us to follow Him and find freedom. Obviously, we cannot perfectly obey Jesus, but we need to try if we are going to be His disciples. As we follow Him and obey His teachings to love God and love others, we will find ourselves becoming freer as we do.
Consider: Do I accept Christ’s words mostly as theory, or do I sincerely try to live my life according to them? Do I ever rely on something other than Christ Himself for spiritual assurance?
Ask God to show you any way that you might be trying to live your life on your own terms or looking to something other than Him for assurance. (We are often blind to these things in our lives, but God is always ready to reveal them to us so that we can have an increasing measure of freedom!) If He shows you anything, ask for His forgiveness, and accept it. Don’t feel guilty. Our walk with Christ is about being conformed to His image, and that is a process. As we go through it, He will help us detach from the things that hold us back from relying solely on Him, and He will help us attach to Him, where we will find great freedom and joy!
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