JOHN 8:36 BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

John 8:36 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed' 

At this point Jesus Christ is talking to a group of Jews in the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles (8:2). This section of the narrative begins at v.31. His listeners already believe in Him, but it soon transpires that they have understood very little of who He is and what His message really is.

Jesus begins this particular conversation by saying (31b,32) 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.' His hearers, being keen temple-attending Jews, somewhat object to that comment because they pride themselves on their religious heritage. They believe themselves to be free already. So they object indignantly 'We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves to anyone. '(They repeat this assertion in v.39 as if it is a trump card) 'How can you say that we shall be set free?'

They surely have not forgotten the slavery of their ancestors in Egypt with the ensuing Exodus that they remember every year at Passover? No, they are referring to their freedom from the idolatry of the heathen nations that have always surrounded them. But their reference to their religious heritage alerts Jesus to the fact that they have not understood what their real problem is. They are blind to the truth about themselves - as we all are until we listen to Jesus. He goes straight on to say 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'

By this, Jesus does not mean that everyone who commits 'a' sin is a slave - although that is a symptom of what he is really getting at. He is thinking at a much deeper level. He means that our fundamental human nature ensures that we are all subject to the power, rule and penalty of sin - of our rebellion against the rule of God. His hearers, despite being Jews with a great spiritual inheritance, are just as captured by sin as everyone else. Their heritage cannot deal with this problem of sin. Only He can deal with their sin, and ours. The souls of men and women are fettered in a way which no amount of nominal belief or external religion could remove. Only complete submission to him could achieve that.

Jesus then proceeds to say something rather puzzling 'Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever.' What does He mean by this? Well, first, slaves cannot emancipate themselves. And, second, their position is only temporary. They have no permanent place in the family: but a son does. This saying may be doubly clever on Jesus' part. He may be referring to the fact that the dispensation of the Old Testament covenant is only temporary - as it was - but that a new covenant is coming; one installed by the son. But the overwhelming thought here is that the slave cannot save himself. None of us can save ourselves. Hence to the statement we are focussing on - 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed'.  John the writer understands precisely what Jesus is getting at and elevates the word 'son' to 'Son'.

Only the Son of God, the man sent from heaven, can release us from our slavery to sin. And He is going to die a sacrificial death to make that possible. His death on the Cross was in our place. He took the punishment for our sin so that we do not have to answer for it before Almighty God. We receive this benefit by believing in Christ and submitting to him as the Lord of our life.

http://www.understandingthebible.org/verseoftheweek1.htm