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 recent readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, an eight-day autumn harvest festival which commemorates the time when Israel dwelt in tabernacles, or tents, following Moses.  It is the great and final day of the feast.  It is also the final year of Jesus' earthly life.  On Saturday we read that Jesus spoke to religious leaders 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'?"  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.  My study Bible comments that going away here refers to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  Note how Jesus once again ties everything in to His communion with the Father.  All things come from God the Father:  "He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  That includes the identity of Christ from the One who sent Him, and all the things Jesus speaks to the world.

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.   Lift up, as used here by Christ, has the double meaning of being nailed to the Cross, and also of being exalted by the Father upon completion of His work.  

 

 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."  My study Bible says that Jesus expects all who follow Him to be disciples.  "Disciple" is the Greek word μαθητής/mathetes, which literally means "learner."  He expects those who follow Him to be learners.  To abide in His word, my study Bible continues, is the responsibility of all believers -- not simply of the clergy or of an elite class of zealots, but all who believe.

 

 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  My study Bible explains that the truth refers both to the virtue of truth, and even more importantly, to Christ Himself (John 14:6).  To be free refers to freedom from darkness, confusion, and lies, as well as the freedom from the bondage of sin and death. 

What does it mean to be free?  To some people, freedom means freedom from something.  Some may want to be free of financial debts, or possibly a difficult circumstance one wants to escape.  Some may want a kind of spiritual freedom in the sense of doing what pleases them, or what they think is right on their terms.  For others, there is emotional freedom, such as freedom from worry, or freedom from sorrow.  And there is also physical freedom from things:  freedom from pain, freedom from social or political circumstances, freedom from authority with the power to punish or imprison.  There are other kinds of freedom that people desire as well; this is from to do things.   As opposed to freedom from something, one may desire freedom to go to the beach, to smoke cigarettes (or other substances), to shout in a movie theater, to buy a car or build a swimming pool, to go take a walk when we need a break, even to breathe fresh air.  But the kind of freedom which Jesus offers here is the truth in an absolute and even relative sense (relative to our present circumstances, for example), but His truth also includes Himself, everything that is in His being which He offers and freely shares with us.  This is a freedom that goes far deeper than an immediate desire for freedom to or freedom from something.  This is the root of all freedom which asks us the question about what we do with freedom, how we use it, how we take it and explore it, how we think of it or even understand it.  This deep-rooted place of freedom is the place where Christ offers us both "freedom to" and "freedom from," for it is the place of the deep truth which is reality, and offers us what will correct not only what ails us but also offer to us what we need.  It is a truth that teaches us what our best use for freedom is, and how to live that freedom in the best way possible.  It will throw out what is extraneous by getting us down to the nitty-gritty of where our identity is, what truths are that we need to embrace, and what delusions and personal handicaps we need to discard to find who we are.  This kind of freedom roots us in the place where our values can be restored, made whole, and revivified when our dreams are cast down, or our own disillusion gets the better of us.  It will teach us which false gods we worship, and be there when their feet of clay are exposed, and we need direction.  It will make out of us "learners" -- that is, disciples, so that we may find what is worthwhile and not waste our time on what is not.  Christ's truth, therefore, offers us a freedom which cannot be found anywhere else, because His truth is the light of life.  It is therefore the light of this world, where darkness can so easily obscure our best path, because we don't of ourselves have the capacity to know what Christ can reveal and give to us.  For this reason we must all be "learners," and walk the path of the truth He offers, which makes us truly free.