{"id":1330,"date":"2025-08-01T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=1330&2025"},"modified":"2025-07-29T18:00:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T00:00:22","slug":"slavery-or-adoption-john-8-31-59","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/slavery-or-adoption-john-8-31-59\/","title":{"rendered":"Slavery or Adoption: John 8:31-59"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: John 8:31-59 (NIV)<\/div>
\r\n

31\u00a0<\/sup>To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, \u201cIf you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32\u00a0<\/sup>Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.\u201d<\/p>

33\u00a0<\/sup>They answered him, \u201cWe are Abraham\u2019s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?\u201d<\/p>

34\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus replied, \u201cVery truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35\u00a0<\/sup>Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36\u00a0<\/sup>So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37\u00a0<\/sup>I know that you are Abraham\u2019s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38\u00a0<\/sup>I am telling you what I have seen in the Father\u2019s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.\u201d<\/p>

39\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cAbraham is our father,\u201d they answered.<\/p>

\u201cIf you were Abraham\u2019s children,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cthen you would do what Abraham did. 40\u00a0<\/sup>As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41\u00a0<\/sup>You are doing the works of your own father.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWe are not illegitimate children,\u201d they protested. \u201cThe only Father we have is God himself.\u201d<\/p>

42\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus said to them, \u201cIf God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43\u00a0<\/sup>Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44\u00a0<\/sup>You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father\u2019s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45\u00a0<\/sup>Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46\u00a0<\/sup>Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don\u2019t you believe me? 47\u00a0<\/sup>Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.\u201d<\/p>

48\u00a0<\/sup>The Jews answered him, \u201cAren\u2019t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?\u201d<\/p>

49\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cI am not possessed by a demon,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cbut I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50\u00a0<\/sup>I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51\u00a0<\/sup>Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.\u201d<\/p>

52\u00a0<\/sup>At this they exclaimed, \u201cNow we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53\u00a0<\/sup>Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?\u201d<\/p>

54\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus replied, \u201cIf I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55\u00a0<\/sup>Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56\u00a0<\/sup>Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.\u201d<\/p>

57\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cYou are not yet fifty years old,\u201d they said to him, \u201cand you have seen Abraham!\u201d<\/p>

58\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cVery truly I tell you,\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cbefore Abraham was born, I am!\u201d 59\u00a0<\/sup>At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.<\/p>\r\n

Read John 8:31-59<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, as He was speaking to a crowd of Jews in the temple during a festival, Jesus shares a powerful statement about slavery and sin. John\u2019s gospel includes this message Jesus shared, as well as some details the Jews might not have been ready to accept.<\/p>\r\n

John tells us Jesus said, \u201cVery truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 34-36)<\/p>\r\n

The first statement Jesus makes in these verses is profound: \u201ceveryone who sins is a slave to sin.<\/strong>\u201d While we would like to think slavery is something that we are erasing from the world, perhaps it is something that is not possible to do while sin is present in the world. Jesus\u2019 statement doesn\u2019t leave any flexibility when it comes to freedom for someone who is actively sinning.<\/p>\r\n

The next statement Jesus makes is powerful as well: \u201ca slave has no permanent place in the family.<\/strong>\u201d While this sounds cruel to think about, someone who is a slave or who has been hired to help in a home may develop close friendships with those in the family, but they are not a part of the family simply because they are present. In this second statement, Jesus is drawing a parallel that someone who sins is a slave and as a slave, he\/she is not part of the family.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

The third statement switches our perspective because Jesus then tells us: \u201ca son belongs to it <\/strong>[the family] forever.<\/strong>\u201d While Jesus is hinting at Himself as a member of the family, He is really setting the stage for former slaves being freed and adopted into His family. In the third statement, Jesus begins to give us hope that we are not always destined to be slaves to sin.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

The last statement in these verses tell us: \u201cif the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.<\/strong>\u201d Jesus draws our attention now onto Himself being the original Son (or first Son, or eldest Son) in God\u2019s family. This last statement is a promise that Jesus can free us from sin, and that He is willing to adopt us into God\u2019s family where we are truly free.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

But the catch we don\u2019t often realize is that the freedom we are invited into when God adopts us is a freedom from sinful desires and from choosing sin. Jesus can set us free, and when He does, if we choose to return to a life of sin with our freedom then we essentially are telling God we reject His offer and would rather be a slave.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

With God through Jesus, a sinless life is possible. This does not mean we live a life without mistakes, but it does mean we live a life where our thoughts and desires are focused on God and living as He directs.<\/em> Living an entire life without sinning at some point is not possible for us, but focusing on Jesus and on living for Him can make our future lives sinless even if our future lives are not \u201cmistakeless\u201d. Living with Jesus in this way tells God we accept the adoption He offers us into His family.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Part way through Jesus\u2019 ministry, as He was speaking to a crowd of Jews in the temple during a festival, Jesus shares a powerful statement about slavery and sin. John\u2019s gospel includes this message Jesus shared, as well as some details the Jews might not have been ready to accept. 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