Posts
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"
Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."
They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."
- John 8:33-47
In our current reading, Jesus is in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles, and He is in dialogue with the leadership, especially the Pharisees, who have unsuccessfully sought to arrest Him. (For earlier reading of His teachings and encounters at this festival, see the readings from last Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.) Yesterday, we read that Jesus said to His questioners again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." So they said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?" And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him." They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made free'?" My study bible asks, "Who are the true children of Abraham?" Of the dialogue that follows, it notes, "Jesus makes it clear that one lives either by God's way or the devil's way. There is no middle ground."
Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." We get a hint here about what it is to be confronted with a revelation of God: it creates a powerful moment of choice. Ultimately, it is about what we love most. See yesterday's reading for a discussion of slavery in this context.
They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God." My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom here: "[Jesus] wished to detach them from this racial pride and to deflate their excessive conceit, and to persuade them no longer to place their hope of salvation in Abraham, or in nobility of race according to nature, but in that according to free will. For, this was the thing that prevented them from coming to Christ; namely, they thought their descent from Abraham sufficed for their salvation."
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me." My study bible tells us that the word translated as proceeded here (referring to Christ) comes from the Greek word exerchomai. It contrasts this with "proceeds" in 15:26, referring to the Holy Spirit, from the Greek ekporeuomai. It notes, "Christ's eternal relationship to the Father is one of Sonship rather than procession."
"Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word." My study bible tells us: "They are not able to listen to His word because they are not willing to learn from Him. Spiritual truth can be genuinely heard only if there is a willingness to know God and to do His will."
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." Truth here is tied to what we love, and these sayings reflect back on Jesus' words that the truth makes us free (in yesterday's reading).
Love and truth are tied in today's reading, and the question really goes back to what we love first, what comes first in our hearts and in our choices, in our lives. He ties everything back to the Father: this is Jesus' identity and His word, He does nothing alone. The religious authorities here in this picture, those who are supposed to be the experts in the Scriptures, in the spiritual treasury of the people of Israel, are the ones who confront Him and accuse Him of speaking falsehoods. So, where are their hearts? What is it that gets in the way for them? Because, if we really pay close attention to the text, this is what the real drama is here. This is the central point. (And, let us remember, it's not all of the leadership that are unanimous about Jesus. There are those who believe. This is also a part of the text.) Jesus says, "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. . . . And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?" I watched a movie the other day, called "Adaptation." It was a rather strange movie, but among the rest of what went on in the film, one character told another the following thing: "You are what you love." It seemed to me that, while used in another context, of course, this is a great truth -- and like so many great ideas taken out of context -- it comes from the Gospel. I don't think a more succinct version of what Jesus seems to be teaching here could be summed up. Let's remember the two great commandments He gives, in summation of all the Law and the Prophets: "You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." Here in today's text, to love God is to be a child of God, and a child of truth. To love a lie indicates a different love, a heart that is elsewhere, that does not put God first. What gets in the way here? Love of position, love of honor from one another, and envy, to name a few of things mentioned in the Gospel. While all of us may have such temptations, it's a really a question of what we put first, what we love. The choices we make about what we love most determine what we make of our lives. If we love truth, Jesus implies, then we are free. If we do not, we are slaves -- our "father" is a murderer, who does not stand in truth. When the truth stands right in front of us, we're confronted with a choice. In that moment, we have to decide what we love most. We're always going to be faced with choices. Later on, Jesus will tell His followers that in the future, those who persecute them will believe they are doing good, serving God by doing so. But here, the implication is clear, that the leadership He's speaking to, those who want to persecute and kill Him here, they should know better, but other considerations get in the way. In some sense, we're all faced with such choices all the time, every day. It can be hard to know what is what. But Jesus ties everything back to the love of God, the love of truth, what is foremost in our hearts. It's not that we don't face a myriad of temptations. But we go to our heart, to what we love most, and ask for truth. Such choice may involve sacrifice and difficulty, but His love is there, if we respond to it, to help us go forward.
Love and truth are tied in today's reading, and the question really goes back to what we love first, what comes first in our hearts and in our choices, in our lives. He ties everything back to the Father: this is Jesus' identity and His word, He does nothing alone. The religious authorities here in this picture, those who are supposed to be the experts in the Scriptures, in the spiritual treasury of the people of Israel, are the ones who confront Him and accuse Him of speaking falsehoods. So, where are their hearts? What is it that gets in the way for them? Because, if we really pay close attention to the text, this is what the real drama is here. This is the central point. (And, let us remember, it's not all of the leadership that are unanimous about Jesus. There are those who believe. This is also a part of the text.) Jesus says, "But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. . . . And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?" I watched a movie the other day, called "Adaptation." It was a rather strange movie, but among the rest of what went on in the film, one character told another the following thing: "You are what you love." It seemed to me that, while used in another context, of course, this is a great truth -- and like so many great ideas taken out of context -- it comes from the Gospel. I don't think a more succinct version of what Jesus seems to be teaching here could be summed up. Let's remember the two great commandments He gives, in summation of all the Law and the Prophets: "You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." Here in today's text, to love God is to be a child of God, and a child of truth. To love a lie indicates a different love, a heart that is elsewhere, that does not put God first. What gets in the way here? Love of position, love of honor from one another, and envy, to name a few of things mentioned in the Gospel. While all of us may have such temptations, it's a really a question of what we put first, what we love. The choices we make about what we love most determine what we make of our lives. If we love truth, Jesus implies, then we are free. If we do not, we are slaves -- our "father" is a murderer, who does not stand in truth. When the truth stands right in front of us, we're confronted with a choice. In that moment, we have to decide what we love most. We're always going to be faced with choices. Later on, Jesus will tell His followers that in the future, those who persecute them will believe they are doing good, serving God by doing so. But here, the implication is clear, that the leadership He's speaking to, those who want to persecute and kill Him here, they should know better, but other considerations get in the way. In some sense, we're all faced with such choices all the time, every day. It can be hard to know what is what. But Jesus ties everything back to the love of God, the love of truth, what is foremost in our hearts. It's not that we don't face a myriad of temptations. But we go to our heart, to what we love most, and ask for truth. Such choice may involve sacrifice and difficulty, but His love is there, if we respond to it, to help us go forward.
