Devotional: Set Free: John 8:28-36

“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36, NASB).

When Jack and Jill got married, both of them were struggling financially because of the huge debts that they owed. They had good jobs that paid decent salaries, but it seemed that they never had enough money to make ends meet. They could not figure out a way to manage their money and pay their bills. Eventually, their financial problems led to problems in other areas of their marriage. Frustrated and angry they begin to blame each other for all of their problems. They soon lost sight of the fact that their problems were caused by their bondage to debt. When at last they sought marriage counseling the counselor discovered that finances were the root cause of all of their problems. The counselor recommended that they see a financial counselor. They learned how to manage their money, and to their surprise, when the finances were straightened out, their other problems begin to be resolved.

In our text Jesus was teaching the people about the kingdom of God. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a problem that would lead to other problems. They argued and debated with Jesus about who He was, His relationship to God, and His knowledge of the will of the Father. Jesus claimed that He was from God and made Himself equal to God. The religious leaders found His claims to be blasphemous, but some of them believed His words.

Jesus commended those who believed Him. They were willing to follow Him and be His disciples—one who attaches their self to a teacher in order to learn from the teacher. Jesus told them that if they followed Him they would be set free. The problem was that these people were experiencing bondage, but they did not know what was causing their bondage. The religious leaders thought that Jesus was talking about their bondage to the Roman government. They were living a life of denial and forgetfulness, saying that they had never been in bondage to anyone even though they had been ruled by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and now the Romans.

Jesus was not talking about slavery to other human beings. Their slavery to the Romans was not the root cause of their problems. Instead, their problems, all of them, had their root in their bondage to sin. Jesus advised them to accept His words so that they would know God and be set free from their sins. In being set free from their sins they would be able to enjoy the abundant life that He was offering to them.

Many of us would be surprised to learn that most of our problems stem from our bondage to sin. Our bondage to sin means that we think differently than the Father. Sin causes our problems to increase because sinful practices come to us from Satan who is a liar and the father of lies. We need Jesus to set us free from our sins so that we can be free of many if not all of the problems that haunt us every day of our lives. The freedom that Jesus offers does not end problems. Rather, we are free to live in the midst of a troubled world with peace with God and other people.

Prayer: God we thank You for Jesus who sets us free from our sins and gives us freedom to walk in a new life. Amen.