Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed

 

 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 readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn festival.  It is now the final year of His worldly life as Jesus.  He has been in disputes with the religious leaders in Jerusalem, who have unsuccessfully sought to have Him arrested at this feast.  Yesterday we read that Jesus replied again to the religious leaders, "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."  Christ's response builds on His words 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."

 

 "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 tells us that to be a child of Abraham, it is not enough to be simply related by blood.  Abraham's true children, by contrast, are those who share his faith and virtue (Luke 3:8).  According to St. John Chrysostom, it notes, our Lord wanted to detach these men from racial pride and teach them no longer to put hope of salvation in being of the race of Abraham's children by nature, but to come to faith by their own free will.  Their notion that being a descendant of Abraham was enough for salvation was in fact 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."  Proceeded, according to my study Bible, 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 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."  Just as being a child of Abraham is based on sharing the attributes of Abraham, so it is also that those who reject Christ share the same attributes as the devil (in particular, a hatred for truth).  Therefore, my study Bible explains, they are rightly called in this sense of attributes the devil's children.  

 

 Jesus says, "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."  These words really do give us pause.  As modern citizens of a very modern world, we in the West, in particular, might consider how important that notion of freedom is to our cultures and communities, and then seek what it is that Jesus had in mind when He taught these words two thousand years ago.  While freedom for us may mean that we have the freedom to do or say just about anything, freedom in the sense that Christ is using this teaching here means something else ("If you abide in My word,  you are my disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.")  Jesus expands on what freedom means here by giving us an ever deeper context to His words.  He says that "whoever commits sin is a slave of sin."  So, He is contrasting freedom and slavery.  In Christ's time, slavery was common.  Often people became slaves because their people had been conquered in war, and so they were a subject people.  Still others were slaves due to debt, or perhaps they had been born into slavery.  Slaves were subject to being bought and sold by their masters, and so in this sense, they were not free.  In this sense, Christ says something quite commonly understood when He tells these leaders that "a slave does not abide in the house forever."  A slave also has a master, and so we must understand in what sense committing sin effectively makes someone a slave.  It follows that sin takes on characteristics of a master, commanding and imposing a will upon another.  So, we might understand, sin is a product of a prompting, a desire that takes us away from the freedom found in God, in the Son who can make us free indeed.  St. Augustine points out that the way that "freedom" is used here in the Greek is a verb; that is, this refers to being made free, liberated.   To be free, then, in this sense in which this word appears in the Gospel, is to be made free, saved, released from slavery, from bondage.  And sin cannot set us free nor liberate; only Christ can do that, and only the truth in Christ can give us that kind of liberation. Only Christ the Son can make us free to remain in the master's home.   Just as God showed their Hebrew ancestors freedom from slavery in Egypt, so Christ comes declaring His doctrine of worship in spirit and in truth.  Therefore what Jesus implies here is that to commit sin is to follow a kind of command or will that does not come from the Son, and is not part of the love that gives us grace and truth.  The impulse to sin does not come from a loving master who makes free, but a cruel one which entangles and enslaves more deeply, even to a kind of compulsion or addiction.  Jesus says elsewhere, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).  So there is a choice of which master we would rather serve:  the one who makes free and makes us a home in His house, or the one that would enslave us in hell.  Jesus speaks quite clearly of how we human beings take on the character or attributes of that which we serve.  Is it love or hate we wish to serve?  Truth or lies?  Grace and truth, or condemnation and blindness?  The mercy of God's love is the liberation the Son brings to us; running away from God means turning to a cruel master.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter

 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

- Mark 6:13-29

 Yesterday we read that Jesus went out from Capernaum and came to His own country of Nazareth, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  This final verse from yesterday's reading reminds us that Jesus has sent out the apostles on their first mission.  Its success tells us that Christ's name is spreading among the people.

Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  My study bible points out that Herod actually fears John more dead than alive.  At this point, hearing news about Jesus' disciples, Herod decides that John has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.  Herod is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great who slew the infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  He's popularly called king, but he's technically the governor (tetrarch) of the territory which included Galilee under the Romans.   The text also gives us popular reactions of the people to Jesus, so we have a sense of the atmosphere created by His mission.  Elijah was expected to return and work signs before the second coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:5).  The Prophet is interpreted by some to be a reference to the Messiah, foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).  Others understand it to mean that a new prophet had arisen. 

For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.   Mark gives us the background of Herod's encounters with John the Baptist in a flashback, explaining Herod's current unease at the effects of Jesus' ministry, and why he would think that John had risen from the dead.  John had been put into prison because he publicly opposed Herod's marriage to Herodias.  She had been married to his brother Philip, and his brother was still living, so the marriage was in violation of Jewish law.  My study bible suggests that the fact that Herod, with his wealth and soldiers, feared John, a man who lived in poverty and was clothed in camel's hair (1:6), is a testament both to the power of personal holiness and integrity, and also to the people's perception of John, for they held him in the highest esteem (11:32). 

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. The Gospel gives us a picture of the court of Herod, and the ruling house of those who governed.   Herod the Great, the father of Herod Antipas, was one of the most renowned rulers of the ancient world.  He was also known as Herod the Builder.  His greatest achievement was the majestic restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem.   But he was also known -- in a world where power was used brutally -- as an exceptionally cruel ruler.  

In the Gospels, the state power is always in conflict with the power of holiness.  Material expediency isn't what is important to Christ; His mission is the fulfillment of the will of God the Father, and His method is love and compassion.  He does not amass an army to do His bidding.  John the Baptist also, as an example of holy power, acts as a prophet, speaking up for religious tradition of the Jews when violated by Herod.  The whole tone of the house of Herod can be seen in this episode recounted in which Herodias' daughter danced for all those present, and was taught by her mother to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.  For contemporary hearers, it no doubt gave a sense of the great impropriety of asking a daughter to dance in front of strangers, and teaching and celebrating immodest behavior on her part.  It gives us a good picture of the lust for power and rage present in Herodias, and what the king himself is willing to sacrifice simply because he'd made an oath.  The text tells us explicitly that Herod was aware that John was a just and holy man, that he had earlier sought to protect John, and was "exceedingly sorry" to carry out the execution -- but does so anyway.  We contrast the environment of the house of Herod and Herodias with the moral rectitude of John the Baptist.  He's an example of what is now popularly called "speaking truth to power."   He was also speaking for the Jewish people when doing so.  Although the family of Herod the Great were nominally Jewish and made a show of celebrating Jewish religious holidays, they ruled under Rome.  Most of those attending his party are also most likely Jewish, various men of importance in the region and those who are allied with him.  Hidden in the story therefore is an important implied question:  What does it mean to be a Jew?  While most of us today reading this Gospel text may not find that question uppermost in our minds, it nevertheless by just the same token asks us, "What does it mean to be a Christian?"   Both can be summed up by asking us what it means to follow the path to God.  Most ancient commentators focus on the slippery slope of the passions on display in this story:  the persuasion of immodesty for a daughter, the rage and lust for power of the mother, Herod's vain swearing of an oath in front of all -- and his inability to turn back from it.  (We compare this to David's gratitude that he did not fulfill a foolish oath; see 1 Samuel 25:21-35.)   Herod's fears reveal much about his guilt, but he lacks repentance. Historically, Herod and Herodias, for all their ambition, came only to exile. Others focus, by contrast, on the true freedom of John the Baptist.  Tertullian writes, "Set aside for a moment the term 'prison.' Just call it a temporary retirement. Even though the body is imprisoned, even though the flesh is confined, everything still remains open to the spirit. Walk back and forth, my spirit, not thinking of shady walks or long cloisters, but of the road that leads directly to God. As often as you shall walk in this way in the spirit, so often shall you find yourself not in prison."  While Herod and those around him are slaves to their passions, it is John the Baptist who remains free, even in martyrdom.   It is a crucial perspective to add to our modern lives.  What are we free for?  What claims us?  What enslaves us?  What would we exchange for our own integrity in the love of God?  How free are we to live our faith?   These are all important questions whenever we have choices to make, and need to consider goals for our life.   Lent is precisely the time to examine motivations, and develop our capacity for saying no to things that won't lead us where we want to go.

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

 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 readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles.  Yesterday we read that He spoke again to the Pharisees who question and seek to accuse Him.  He said, "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 teaches about freedom in a depth meaning, even in a type of existential sense.  Sin works as a kind of slavery, it does not cherish us as human beings.  But to become a son (and therefore heir) by adoption is something different.  It is to become a member of the household of Christ who loves us.  It is to be given the fullness of life.

"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."   My study bible says that to be a child of Abraham, it is not enough to be simply related by blood.  Instead, Abraham's true children in fact share his faith and virtue (Luke 3:8).  According to St. John Chrysostom, 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.  He teaches that they must come to faith by their own free will.  The idea that being a descendant of Abraham was enough for salvation was the very thing that was preventing them from coming to Christ.

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."  Proceeded refers not to the Son coming eternally from the Father, but rather He's saying that He's sent from the Father to His Incarnation on earth.   Jesus has repeatedly told these leaders that if they truly loved the Father, they would hear His word and understand Him.  Their hearts betray their ability to hear the One sent by the Father.

"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."  My study bible explains that just as being a child of Abraham is based on sharing his attributes, as Jesus has expressed in the verses above, likewise, those who reject Christ share the same attributes as the devil.  In particular, that would entail a hatred for truth.  Possessing such attributes results in being called the devil's children.  Again, Jesus repeats the link between the love of God and the capacity to hear His words.

At Jesus' time, although emphasis on genealogy was clearly important, lineage was emphasized more by household than purely by blood relation.  Adoption was a common practice, ensuring lineage and inheritance.  (Augustus Caesar, for example, was a maternal great-nephew of Julius Caesar, but was named in Julius' will as adopted son and heir. Augustus was in turn succeeded by his adopted son and heir Tiberius.)  Identity was shaped through affiliation of household, lineage, family branch, clan, community.   We can see the cultural importance of the extended family group even in the language of the Gospels, as those called Jesus' brothers and sisters are more likely to be either step-children of His mother Mary by an earlier wife of Joseph, or cousins.   The notion of fatherhood as given by Jesus in today's reading shifts the view of lineage from a worldly perspective to one of a spiritual perspective, emphasizing the orientation of the soul.  Whose character do we emulate?  What traits do we take on?  Where does our heart place us in deference to its true objects of love?  Jesus emphasizes the state of the heart, and more clearly, what our true preferences are, what or whom we love.  He returns always to the love of the Father, and in so doing, reminds us of the depth of communion that is at work determining everything about us, even true identity.  It is in this sense that we are to understand paternity.  The person (or Person) you love will be the one whom you emulate, whose characteristics you take on, to whose ideas you will be receptive.  Jesus says elsewhere that the whole of the Law and the Prophets hang on the two greatest Commandments.  The first is to love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and the second is to love neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:36-40).  In the great consistency of the Gospels and Christ's teaching, our very identity and character is determined within the framework of such a command. Everything depends on what we put first in our hearts, and whom we truly love - or not.

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

 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 readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles, and teaching daily in the temple in Jerusalem.  He has been in dialogue and confrontation with the religious leadership.  It is now the last day of the eight-day feast, and Jesus has been addressing the leadership.   For the earlier parts of this current dialogue, see the readings from Friday and Saturday.  Yesterday, we read that 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 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.  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."  My study bible says here that it is not enough to be related simply by blood to Abraham.  To be Abraham's true children it's necessary to share his faith and virtue (Luke 3:8).   My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who taught that Christ wanted to detach the Jews from racial pride and teach them no longer to place their hope of salvation in being of the race of Abraham's children by nature.  Rather they should come to faith by their own free will.  The idea that being a descendant of Abraham was enough for salvation is the very thing that prevented them from coming to Christ.

"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."  Christ again refers back to His relationship to the Father.  Here He emphasizes that He was 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 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."  My study bible tells us that just as being a child of Abraham is based on sharing his attributes (above), likewise, those who reject Christ share the same attributes as the devil.  This particularly manifests as a hatred for truth.  (See yesterday's reading for a discussion of truth.)   This hatred justifies calling them the devil's children.

In yesterday's reading, we discussed the concept of truth, especially the truth that is Christ ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6).  Here Jesus speaks about the opposite of truth, the hatred of truth.  In yesterday's reading, He taught "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  In today's reading, Jesus begins to address the opposite of freedom, slavery -- and its relationship to the rejection of truth.  All of this is linked to the personal relationship (as in a relationship of persons) to the Son.  Abiding in His word creates sonship, the freedom of full belonging, something akin to the fullness of citizenship but with the greater blessings of inheritance.  But to actively reject His word, this truth, is slavery, and worse.  It not  only produces the state of slavery to sin, but allies with the one who hates the truth of God.  In this sort of slavery, relationships are reduced to forms of power hierarchies, exploitation, and manipulation.  Persons are diminished to things, which are useful or not -- or they become obstacles to our desires.  Without discernment, without "righteous judgment," we may become willingly compliant.  To be unable to listen to His word is to ally with that which hates truth, and to inherit the place of the one who rejects, who lies, and who was a murderer from the beginning.  Such hatred results in the desire to kill Christ, to kill God's messengers, the ones who bear this word -- including the prophets who came before Christ (see Matthew 23:31).   At a fundamental level, there is a part of us that rejects or accepts the spiritual truth that Christ brings into the world, the word of God He speaks.  And Jesus presents this within the fullness of relationship and relatedness, not an intellectual debate.  This kind of truth is something that has power to it, and depth of meaning that keeps on giving the longer one pursues a life based on finding its fullness.  It creates true relationship, and it is born out of the love of God that would give us life eternally and in abundance.  This relationship permeates and supersedes all others.  It teaches love.  All of that is what is tied up in active rejection and hatred of it -- and all of that is what is lost.  Jesus teaches these men that to be true children of Abraham is to live as did Abraham, in faith and love of truth, of God and God's word.  Abraham was taken out of his home in Ur, and sent to live far away, led by the word of God and the love of God, by faith.  So the challenge is before these men:  can they go where the Word is taking them?  Can they accept what He teaches?  We're told that among them there were those who believed -- can they make the same journey that Abraham did?  And can we?  The spiritual truth of Christ comes to us and pulls us out of our sense of who we are.  It takes us beyond what we think we know, what identity we cling to.  It always promises us more life, life in abundance, something beyond our particular comfort zone, and into a greater fullness of its promise.  It wants to give us its full freedom from slavery.  Can we follow where He leads?  Do we love the truth that much?

IF the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed

 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.

He is a liar and the father of lies

 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 lies.  But because I tell you 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 recent readings, Jesus has been speaking in the temple to the leadership.  They tried to seize Him and arrest Him, but this has failed.  He has been giving them a discourse on His identity.  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.'?"   Again, they take His words at their surface value.  This is a device used often in John's Gospel, when Jesus uses words to teach of deeper meanings and values.  The leadership turns to Abraham to express their identity as free men.

 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."    Jesus proclaims His doctrine of freedom:  true freedom is freedom from sin.  Moreover, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  This tells us something about the "ruler of this world" and what kind of regime and power that evil uses, in contrast to the love of God.  We are invited into sonship by adoption, through the Son who makes us free -- and therefore, the Son makes us "free indeed."  Jesus contrasts fatherhood between that of God the Father and the one who makes slaves of others.  Freedom is inextricable from this struggle between two choices, one Way or another.

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."   Who are Abraham's true descendants?  For what is Abraham known, and how did he become the Patriarch of the people of God?  If they therefore do not do as Abraham did, who is their father?  My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom:  "[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."

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."  My study bible says, "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 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 lies.  But because I tell you 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."  Jesus speaks of our basic choices in life.  How are we going to hear?  What do we love and what do we worship?  It's a link here between whether we love truth, or we do not.  What do our hearts desire most?  Jesus alludes to their desire to murder Him, to suppress what He is saying and doing, to rid themselves of His presence.  And what is their motive to do this?  He asks, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" for an important reason.  Their desires do not stem from a love of truth, nor a love of true justice.  In this way, they are not like their ancestor Abraham; they do not do as he did.

Jesus ties in truth and lies together with the love of God the Father, the willingness to commit sin and therefore be a slave of sin, with murder, and with the capacity for embracing true freedom.  All of these things are tied together and bound by an understanding of what we love in our hearts.  There's a song written by Bob Dylan that says, "Gotta serve somebody."  Succinctly put, the point is that we are creatures all made with a capacity for worship, and one way or another we have to choose what we really love, and where our true treasure is, what we are truly going to worship in our hearts.  If we don't do this consciously, we will engage unconsciously in things we hold dear, things we worship.  In the case of the leadership, there are reasons that have nothing to do with justice or truth why they wish to purge Jesus from their midst.  He's a threat to their authority.  He criticizes the ways in which they do things.  (See the cleansing of the temple; in John's Gospel this becomes one of His first acts of ministry.)  When anything gets in the way of the love of God in our hearts, we begin to serve that goal.  Here, it is the jealous guarding of position that is rooted in their compromises with integrity:  they will believe lies about Jesus, they wish to murder Him, they will seek to justify themselves even by avoiding what is written in the Law which they are supposed to uphold for the people.  When Jesus speaks of their "father" who was a murderer from the beginning, who is a liar and the father of lies, He's referring to the alternative to God's love and truth, and what we serve when we put obstacles to that love in our hearts.  We can become a slave to this type of sin:  where vanity and selfishness and envy and arrogance and all the whole host of things that cloud our capacity to find where God would lead us get in the way of living a righteous life, then we are slaves to something that is unwilling to allow us the freedom to make the choice for love and truth.  We limit ourselves by such choices, and fall into a trap which refuses to let in the light that would take us beyond ourselves, and broaden the persons that we are with love and with understanding and wisdom.  This is the trap of the "slavery" Jesus is speaking of here.  With these limiting passions there is no compromise, but with God there is love and forgiveness and a gentle leading forward into a deeper sonship.  Let us consider that the examples that we find in the Gospels are here not because they simply want to tell us a story about other people, but because we are vulnerable to the same things reported here.  Our slavery can come in all sorts of forms depending on circumstances.  Therefore let us not separate ourselves from the very contemporary lessons of relying on an ancestor or a heritage or even an environment to claim that we are in the light of truth.  Let us instead remember that to carry the cross is an act for which each of us is responsible.  To choose what we will truly serve and worship, to guard our own hearts with truth and the humility to accept it and to "change our minds" when necessary,  is something each one of us must always do.

"We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, 'You will be made 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. 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 the recent readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem at the temple for the Feast of Tabernacles. At this point, He is in a discourse with the leadership, who have sought to have Him arrested but failed to do so when the officers returned to them empty-handed. They exclaimed, "No Man ever spoke like this!" Yesterday, we read that Jesus told them, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come." They wondered where He was going. He said, "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." When they asked, "Who are You?" He replied, "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 still didn't understand that He was speaking of the Father. He told 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." After that, many believed. To those who believed in Him, He said, "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'?" The leadership takes pride in their lineage, as descendants of Abraham. My study bible asks, "Who are the true children of Abraham?" It says, "Jesus makes it clear that one lives either by God's way or the devil's way. There is no middle ground." We have to ask what it means to be children of Abraham, too. And, what is freedom?

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." 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." What I think is remarkable here is that He is speaking to the leadership specifically. It is they who are experts in the Scripture, in the Law and rabbinical regulation. So what we have to see is essentially their pride of place. As descendants of Abraham, they pride themselves in their lineage. But He's seeking to speak to their hearts, the place of relationship to God the Father of whom He's sent. It's their very pride that keeps them from truly hearing Him. So, we go back to another question raised by Christ in the Gospels, and that must ask what do we truly love? "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

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." Here begins a very profound reflection of the Gospels. What does it mean to call someone your father? Is it merely descent, lineage of nature? For Jesus, it means one does the works of one's father. So, who does that mean the real father is of these people to whom He's speaking, the leadership that seeks to kill Him?

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." My study bible points out that the word translated proceeded here is different from another word translated "proceeded" which refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit in chapter 15. It says, "Christ's eternal relationship to the Father is one of Sonship rather than procession." The important thing here I believe is to note that sonship and being sent are synonymous: He does the works of God. He bears out God's will in the world. Again, it depends upon what we truly treasure.

"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." My study bible says, "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 willingness to know God and to do His will." I think it's important that we take note, once again, that this is the leadership He is speaking with, and they are the experts in their religious heritage. But it is they who fail to understand anything of the Scriptures truly, because the love of God isn't in what they are doing. It's their pride that gets in the way, their arrogance and their faith in themselves, essentially. They can't hear Him, He says, because they don't truly love God. There's something else they love more.

While Jesus speaks to the religious leadership of His time, it's important to remember that this is an example for all of us. Jesus has said Himself that many will come in His name. Some of them will be wolves in sheep's clothing. So we can go through the motions and learn and do all sorts of things, but the love of God should bring us closer to God, so that we bear God's works into the world. This is what it means to become sons by adoption. The leadership here stands as an example to us all, an example of what we don't want in our faith: that is, a mere pride in our heritage and ancestors and an insistence on lineage of some sort. Worse, a kind of arrogance that can come with position and authority, one that ignores the true virtue of humility before God without which there is no true virtue at all. So it all comes down to what we love, and what gets in the way of the love of God. Why can't they hear Jesus words? What is truth and where does it truly come from? What makes us really free? Again we note the things that blind us to spiritual truth and the love of God. Let us make our highest ambition service to God's love, and to truly bear God's will in the world. Loyalty to anything else binds us in a kind of slavery, and keeps us from our true heritage and identity, blinding us to what truly might be ours. What do you love most?