# 8 (He was) setting us free from the bondage of sin
When Jesus was speaking to the crowds of people gathered around Him in the temple precinct in Jerusalem, He said to them, John 8: 32-34, 36 ‘you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But we are descendants of Abraham, they said. We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’? Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.’
Notice in the text that Jesus said, John 8: 32, ‘the truth will set you free’
Even today, you will hear people quote Jesus when they say, ‘the truth will set you free’
It has become a popular modern saying even though most people don’t know that Jesus said, ‘the truth will set you free’ and they certainly don’t know what He meant when He said it!
Today when people say, ‘the truth will set you free’ what they usually mean is, it’s better to know about something than not know about it
Example: “Did you know that drinking orange juice every day is good for you?”
“Oh, I didn’t know that”
“Well, there you go, the truth will set you free”
Let’s go back to the John 8 narrative
The people who heard Jesus say, ‘the truth will set you free’ didn’t know what He meant; they thought that He was saying that they were living in the kind of slavery where one person owns another person as their property, so they said, John 8: 33 ‘But we are descendants of Abraham...we have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, “You will be set free”’?
Jesus explained that He wasn’t referring to the kind of slavery where one person owns another person as their property and said, John 8: 34 ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. So, if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.’
And there it is - Jesus said that the truth is that in our ‘fallen’ sinful condition (Genesis 3: 1-7) we are slaves to sin and only He can set us free from the bondage of sin
I’m thinking that we too are just like the people that Jesus was talking to, we too would say, John 8: 33b ‘We have never been slaves to anyone’
But the Word of God tells us that in our (Genesis 3: 1-7) ‘fallen’ sinful condition we are slaves to sin and are serving the will of the devil
Romans 3: 23a ‘everyone has sinned’ and, Ephesians 2: 2b-3 ‘in sin, just like the rest of the world, (we were) obeying the devil...all of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.’ And, Romans 6: 16a ‘Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?'
In the Old Testament we find a lot said about slavery - the kind of slavery where one person owns another person as their property
Leviticus 25: 47-54
This text tells us that if someone became so poor that they had to sell themselves into slavery to survive, later they could be made free/redeemed from their slavery (49b redeem, 52b redemption,)
To be made free/redeemed from their slavery, someone had to pay money to the slave owner (48a bought back, 49b buy them back, 49c redeem themselves, 52a repay a small amount, 54a bought back)
And again, going back to the John 8 narrative
Jesus went on to say, John 8: 36b ‘if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.’
So, what was Jesus doing on the cross?
He was setting us free/redeeming us from the bondage of sin by paying for it with His blood
I love, Ephesians 1: 7 ‘He (God) is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.’
You might ask, “Pastor David, what’s so special about the blood of Jesus?”
The Apostle Peter said, 1 Peter 1: 18-19 ‘You know you were not bought and made free from sin by paying gold or silver. The blood of Christ saved you. This blood is of great worth, and no amount of money can buy it. Christ was given as a lamb without sin and without spot.’ NLV
Acts 20: 28; Revelation 5: 9
As Jesus was suffering and dying on the cross, with His last words He declared the full and final payment for our freedom
John 19: 28-30 ‘Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. When Jesus had tasted it, He said, “It is finished!” Then He bowed his head and gave up His spirit.’
The casual reader might say that when Jesus tasted the sour wine He said, “It is finished”, meaning the wine is finished. NO!
Referring to His mission, the word ‘finished’ is very specific, ‘finished’ in the original language is (GK) ‘Teleo’ and means full and final payment!
Illustrate:
Many years ago, Jennifer and I had some renovation work done in the kitchen of our home. We agreed on a price with the builder and the new kitchen was installed. Weeks later we got an Account request which was more than what we agreed to, so I sent them a cheque and wrote on the cheque, ‘Full and Final payment’. The kitchen business banked the cheque and made a Small Claims Court Application against me for the extra money they claimed. So, I sent a copy of the cheque with the words written on it ‘Full and Final Payment’ and that was the end of the case. The Court ruled in my favor. ‘Teleo’ = it is finished!
Through the shed blood of Jesus, we are free from the bondage of sin; Jesus paid the price fully and finally for our freedom
Hebrews 9: 24-26 ‘For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in Heaven. He entered into Heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And He did not enter Heaven to offer Himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, He has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by His own death as a sacrifice.’
“It is finished (teleo)”
Yes, dear friends, we are now free from the bondage of sin, but in another sense, we are NOT free - We belong to the Lord and have the responsibility to serve His will, Leviticus 25: 55 'For the people of Israel belong to Me. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’
Let us remember, 1 Corinthians 6: 20 ‘God bought you with a great price. So, honor God with your body. You belong to Him.’ NLV
Honoring God means serving God’s will just like a slave would serve the will of the slave owner
Romans 6: 22
Serving the Lord is not something that just those in ‘ministry’ do or something that we do from time to time only when it’s convenient
We all belong to the Lord, and it is our duty to serve His will as Jesus said, Luke 17: 10b ‘When you obey Me, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’
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