Never been slaves said the murderers

March 20

TREKKING WITH ABRAHAM

“…before Abraham was, I AM …”
John 8 verse 58

(John 8 verse 31 – 33)

There are many Old Testament prophecies that make the point that Messiah, “was coming” in order to set Israel free from all oppression as well as freeing people from their personal bondages and prisons. This is the entire Jewish concept of the Messianic intervention with the world. The people to whom we are focussing our attention today had been bitterly arguing against Jesus, before they finally chose to believe that He was the Messiah. By the tone and verbal demeanour of what follows, they must have thought they were doing Christ a favour in believing on Him. They did make the choice to believe. And make no mistake about it, believing is a choice. Christ then made a remark that catapulted these people to the actual act of stoning Him. As it was He hid Himself from their sight.

“Never been slaves to anyone”?

The remark was for the new believers. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This inflamed them beyond reason. The first section of the statement about holding on to His teaching, or continuing in His word, then they would really be His disciples, was not the offending section. That first line has to be one of the most amazing things Jesus ever said. It is translated in many ways throughout many English translations: “If you abide in my word” (American Standard Version). “If you live in my word” (Beck). “If you are faithful to what I have said” (Philips). “If you dwell within the revelation I have brought” (New English Bible). It is surely the desire of any Bible believing Christian to bring their entire mind and heart into the captivity of Christ’s words here. All Christians surely desire to really be a sold out disciple of Jesus Christ. Nobody would have a problem with the statement. But very accurately, Christ added to the phrase of continuation in His word, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” And it was those words that dropped the spiritual nuclear bomb that had fall out that could have led to His premature death. It definitely birthed mature seeds of murderous intentions amongst the Jewish leaders.

With hatred and homicide in their intention they responded animalistically, as well as animatedly, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” And this is why we are trawling through John 8 with a fine tooth comb while we are Trekking with Abraham. What was Abraham’s relationship to these people? Why on earth were these people so offended with what Jesus said?

“We are Abraham’s descendants…” And here on hangs their doctrinal flaw which was the source of their murderous hearts. Somehow, their mental processes could not digest what He had said. Working in reverse, we would logically put it like this: “Christ is offering us freedom. But we do not require freedom because of our blood line to Abraham”. Having angrily decided that they didn’t need “freedom,” of whatever sort they thought Christ was referring to, they irrationally lied in the midst of the crowd. “… We have never been slaves to anyone …” Pardon me, sirs? Were they talking politically, spiritually or socially?

Never been slaves? Had they forgotten the years in Egypt before God sent Moses? Had they forgotten the various bondages that the days of the Judges had brought them into? Had they forgotten the various subjugations to various despotic monarchs and rulers during the days of the kings? Had they forgotten that they were genealogically 10 tribes short since 722 BC when the Assyrians had taken the ten Northern tribes into exile – an exile that rendered 10 tribes utterly assimilated into the world’s population – an exile that was a cruel and heartless bondage to Israel? Had they forgotten the fall of Jerusalem in 587BC, when the nation of Judah was taken to Babylon as slaves? Had they forgotten the Greek world domination? And more currently to them, as they stood before Jesus Christ, how is it possible that they had forgotten that Rome held Judea in the palm of their hands? “Never been slaves to anyone?” Perhaps they were mental. However, religious bigotry always brings out the most selective memory in its participants.

Spiritually… how could they not see that their murderous intentions towards Christ were sin? Because of their Jewish obedience, and commitment to the Old Testament law, how could they not join the writing together that “sacrifice” meant “blood,” which meant “confession”? “Confession” meant “sin”. “Sin” surely meant “bondage”, even to a hard hearted cynical legalist like a freshly converted Pharisee. How could they not see where Jesus was going with His words? Was it simply a case of “mob mentality?” Was it the case that in joining the psyche and argument of the crowd they responded with words that seemed acceptable to the mass opinion, even though it was illogical and untrue? They were in bondage to unbelief and the devil as they spoke.

In what other form could they have perceived that the “freedom” Christ was talking about was nothing to do with them? I have read books, listened to sermons and Bible studies, enquired of scholars and scoured the internet and I have no rational answer for their anger and perverse manner towards the Lord Christ. “Never been slaves to anybody,” in any context whatsoever was just not true. And why on earth should their descent from Abraham make the truth of the various bondages throughout their national history hitherto null and void? My personal opinion is that the demons that were driving them to kill Jesus, were at this point finding a full and free voice. There was literally no intelligent rationale to their rejection of Jesus here. Their hatred, bigotry and murderous intentions rendered them mindless – only for demonic minds to speak through them.

Their sin was leading them to reject Christ, reject salvation, and to be condemned to hell. And the only strand of thought they give us to understand why they would be so mindless is, “We are children of Abraham”. I therefore conclude that a wrong understanding of the Abrahamic covenant was leading this group of “many” people to hell. They would miss their destiny in this life, and the will of God that sought after them to grant repentance and salvation, would be made of none effect throughout all their existence. Let none of us make the mistake of these people. A good understanding of the faith that saves us, and the scriptures that God has given us, could save your eternal life in a thousand different ways. I do not just mean to learn verses like parrots. Biblical truth needs to be deeply meditated and leaned on. We need to read the Bible as if our lives depend on it.