If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews 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."

- John 8:21-32

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn festival.  It is the last day of the Feast, and He has been debating with the leaders in the temple.  Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  Jesus' going away refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension to heaven.

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.   Jesus reiterates His identity.  There is almost a plaintive quality to these words, and His repeated warnings that they will die in their sins, as they have no faith in what He says about Himself.  He repeats twice the warning, and the assertion that He is from above, and not of this world.  All things turn back to the Father, as Jesus replies that "He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."    But they do not understand.  It is very important, also, to note that Jesus says He is from above.   In chapter 3, Jesus spoke of Baptism as literally being born "from above" (3:7), which is usually translated into English as "born again."

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.   My study bible explains that lift up has the double meaning of being nailed to the Cross and also of being exalted by His Father upon the completion of Christ's mission and work.  John notes here that 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."   To be a disciple is to be a learner (the literal meaning of the word in Greek).   My study bible explains that to be disciples is what Christ expects from all who follow Him.  To abide in His word is the responsibility of all believers -- not simply the clergy or an elite class of zealots.  The truth, it explains, refers both to the virtue of truth, and even more importantly, to Christ Himself (14:6).  My study bible adds that to be free refers to the freedom from darkness, confusion, and lies, as well as the freedom from the bondage of sin and death.

The threads of themes of justice continue to run through John's chapter 8, as we have observed with each reading in this chapter.  Today, Jesus deepens our understanding of judgment on spiritual terms, as He speaks of faith, sins, truth, and freedom.  His judgment, as He has said in yesterday's reading (above) is true, because His judgment is not of Himself but from the Father, whom He follows in all of His choices.  Let us look carefully at the text, and at Jesus' reply after all that He has said and sought to teach:  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."   Let us note that this is not just the common people He addresses, but those among the leaders who also believed Him.  He now turns and addresses them with this statement, exhorting them to abide in His word and to be His disciples, so that they will find the spiritual truth that makes them free.  In the next reading, Jesus will teach, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin" (8:34).  Each of these teachings touches on justice and judgment, and the freedom He offers through His truth is the freedom of a judge or deliverer in the traditional sense of the spiritual heritage of the Jews.  He is liberator, and He sets free through the judgment He brings into the world.  He offers redemption, a way out.  But it's no shortcut, and it's not a cheat.  It is a way through the mess of this world, the evil that might ensnare and entangle us in its mazes of deception and confusion.  It is a way out, a straight path, and it is through Him because of His allegiance to the Father, which He shares with us.  One might wonder, in the modern perspective or mindset, why we need to bother with all this.  Don't all sin?  Isn't the world filled with sin as a way of life?  With shortcuts and expedience, and cheating?  But those who have struggled in their hearts with a life of lies know that these things kill the soul, that they go more deeply into the self than the surface can understand.  The experience of the killing nature of sin is not something easily shaken off, and for that, there is only one remedy:  and that remedy is the truth, the spiritual truth that Christ offers, which is found in discipleship.  As He follows the Father, so we may follow and learn from Him, and neither will He desert us.  In keeping with the themes of justice and judgment, He has sent us a Counselor, an Advocate, one who pleads for us and is on our side when we call, and that is the Spirit who is always with us.  Let us be certain to understand that when the world presents us with simple solutions, they are rarely as simple as they look.  It is easy to be ensnared in what looks like the easy way, and easy to feel discouraged and tired of struggling, of making an effort.  The grass always looks greener when you see from the outside the appeal of a simple life, where all that matters is the worldly perspective of getting ahead, not thinking too much or too deeply, skating on thin ice and fantasies that deceive us.  But real life is what Christ offers us, the truth of His message and His love, and His once-for-all-time sacrifice that calls us to Him and asks of us to let Him show us the way through our problems and struggles.  This great Reconciler is the One who offers us a justice that does not evade truth and does not take shortcuts around our pain and struggles.  He offers us truth and beauty, the real deal, the way through, and He means every word He teaches.   All we need is faith.