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

 

 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 if 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 readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival.  He teaches and preaches daily in the temple, and has been disputing with the religious leaders.  They have tried unsuccessfully to arrest Him.  It is the final year of Christ's earthly life.  In yesterday's reading, 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."

 

 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."  Jesus continues the discussion regarding His statement from yesterday's reading (above), "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  Here He makes the further distinction regarding the nature of sin, and its enslaving effect.  Freedom comes in the truth of Christ, which permeates and supersedes all things, for it comes from the Father.  Here He emphasizes further His communion with the Father.  As the Son, all things are committed into His hands (John 3:35); and Christ is entirely loyal to the Father ("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" from yesterday's reading, above).  Therefore, as Son, He has the capacity to make us free.

"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."   My study Bible comments here that to be a child of Abraham, it is not enough to be simply related by blood.  Instead, Abraham's true children share Abraham's faith and virtue (Luke 3:8).  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who teaches that our Lord wanted to detach the Jews from racial pride and to teach them no longer to place their hope of salvation in being of the race of Abraham's children by nature, but to come to faith by their own free will.  St. Chrysostom comments that their notion that being a descendant of Abraham was enough for salvation was the very thing that prevented them from coming to Christ.  

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."  Here, my study Bible explains, proceeded refers not to the Son coming eternally from the Father, but to Christ being sent from the Father to His Incarnation on earth.  

 

"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 if 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."   My study Bible remarks that just as being a child of Abraham is based on sharing Abraham's attributes, so likewise, those who reject Christ share the same attributes as the devil (in particular, a hatred for truth), and so are therefore rightly called the devil's children.

In today's reading, Jesus' words imply that there is really no neutral ground when it comes to the heart and its love -- or lack of love -- for God.  This is also not separable from a basic attitude toward truth, starting with spiritual truth.  Jesus says that these religious leaders are "not able to listen to My word."  Let us understand that the powerful men to whom He speaks are those religious leaders of Israel, who are among the most learned in the Scriptures and the whole of Jewish spiritual history.  The Pharisees spend their time poring over the Scriptures; the chief priests are responsible for the maintenance of the temple and its practices.  And yet, Jesus says that they cannot understand His speech.  He gives His conclusion and explanation for this:  "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 if 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."  The conclusion is stark, and we can understand it clearly as Christ voices it.  What is it that draws us away from God, and keeps us from drawing toward communion with God?  If we accept that this communion is our true natural state -- that is, it is the condition of creation before sin entered the world, to be as Adam and Eve were in communion with God -- then the broken communion (or what is referred to as a "fallen" state) is actually not natural to us, but unnatural.  As human beings we are made for worship, and have a natural capacity for doing so.  But other things draw us away, such as Jesus illustrates in His explanation in the parable of the Sower and those within whom the seed of His word fails to take root and produce (Matthew 13:18-23).  Using those things He shares in the parable that inhibit the taking root and growth of the word, we read of the "wicked one" who snatches away the word from a person's heart, those who have no root in themselves for the word and so stumble when tribulation or persecution arise.  There are those for whom "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word," and so they become "unfruitful."  If we look closely, each of these things comes from "the evil one" in one way or another, and the word in the heart that was snatched away was attributed directly to the devil by Jesus.  So, what He describes is an activity in the world by that which is opposed to God, and therefore also to the Son, and all that is under the yoke of God and what we might call "godliness" or holiness.  We also find examples in the Gospels of evil action in the world, especially in the story of the demoniac possessed by a legion of demons (Mark 5:1-20).  But here, what we find is the nihilistic nature of the demons.  That is, they're very destructive, but they create nothing.  True essence or substance belong to God, and so -- at best -- the "evil one" can seek to tear down the good, but cannot create true power of its own.  And there perhaps we find the heart of the matter.  What we seek is the truth Christ offers us, at the depth and breadth of life He offers, the Son who receives all from the Father, who also sends us the Spirit.  Evil can choke us with cares, distract us with concerns of the world, put stumbling blocks in our way.  But the desire for truth in the heart is, in Christ's words here, the real foundation we need for our faith and for grace to find us.  Let us seek the ground of the truth of His word, and the freedom it brings.  For even the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the rock of faith He can build in us.  Jesus describes the nature and work of the devil:  "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."  The devil is the origin of lies.  Jesus asks, "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."  Let us look to the heart which loves truth; let His truth be our treasure.