Image from agnusday.org
Hear this devotional read here: https://bit.ly/3mp6XJM
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:31-36 NRSV)
Happy Monday, dear Friend! I pray this finds you well. This finds me a year and a day older! I am so blessed that my granddaughter Eliana Beth Garcia and I share the day and helps me keep track of her age. She and I both turned 8 yesterday! Of course, I only have 60 years on her! We are very much alike and I enjoy her company, though this Covid has kept us apart than we like. As we pray, please pray for Tiffany Itz of San Antonio, TX who tested positive for Covid yesterday. Pray also for her colleagues who were all being tested yesterday as well. Pray for those who are ill, sad, mourning, hungry, and in need. Pray for yourselves as well.
We find ourselves now in the Gospel of John. Of the four gospels, John is the more spiritual gospel. The other three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called synoptic gospels because they tend to have the same general themes of Jesus in them, and it is believed that Mark was the first gospel written, Matthew and Luke borrowed from it, as well as other sources. John's is very much on the theme of God's Holy Spirit and several declarations made by Jesus in that gospel that the other three did not. These include several declarations that Jesus makes about Himself, such as The Light, the Gate, Bread, etc. In this passage we find Jesus speaking of truth, and as the sheep declare above, Jesus is the Truth, for it is He who sets us free.
This passage has Jesus wanting those Jews who believe in Him to stay in the faith. His parable about the sower shared the truth about how the word of God does not always find solid footing and soil in which it can grow, and knowing that to be truth, Jesus wants those Jews to stay in the faith. It is through maturity in faith they would come to deeper realizations of life and the fullness of life that Jesus was sharing. A key theme for Jesus is that in Him, we/they can find true freedom. This confuses them for they make a declaration that basically said that by being descendants of Abraham they had never been slaves of anyone. Did they conveniently forget that part of their history that they celebrated annually as the Passover, precisely celebrated being made free from slavery in Egypt? Jesus drives home the point that anyone who sins is a slave to that sin. And Who can set us free from sin? Only Jesus. And to further the truth of His statement, Jesus adds, "Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son or a daughter belongs to it forever." Who in their right mind wants to choose to be slave when they can be a child? And a big amen to the last verse of this passage, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." All of us who have experienced the freedom Jesus has given us from sin will resonate and celebrate that saying, for indeed freedom is better than enslavement.
We celebrate the power and love that Jesus has to set us free, and we should joyously tell others about what Jesus can do for them.
PRAYER: Loving Father, thank You for always wanting us to be a part of Your family. We thank You for having accepted us in, and we pray You would empower us to share in ways that others might come to You. May we see and speak to those who are still enslaved to sin in ways that sets others free. As we say in our Communion celebration, "Free us for joyful obedience!" In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Do something that celebrates your freedom in Jesus in such a contagious way someone will ask you why you're so happy!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
