Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”— John 8:34-38

So let's back up today and remember our context.

At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus went to rest for the evening outside the Temple grounds on the Mount of Olives. The Feast of Booths ended, and people are now packing to make their trips back home. Jesus returns one more time to the Temple grounds to teach. He doesn't stop. He is aware that the religious leaders want to arrest and kill him. He walks back into a highly volatile situation, onto the Temple grounds where religious authorities gathered. Again he begins teaching again.

The issue at hand in this dialogue is, "Who is this Jesus?" And the people and authorities cannot reconcile who this man is even though he repeatedly tells them. And Jesus is not tip-toeing around personal, political, or religious issues. He is very direct.

As their confusion persists, we discover that Jesus has to explain who they are so they will see who he is. He has to tell them that they are slaves. The worst kind of slave. A slave to sin. Which is the truth about man.

Imagine the boldness and courage it would take to walk back into this situation and tell these people this. No one does that. You would never do that.

But here is the issue.

They don't think they are slaves to anyone. They believe that they are religiously free because they are related to Abraham by their lineage and covenant. But Jesus points out that their assumptions are wrong. These wrong assumptions give them false confidence, which jeopardizes their spiritual inheritance.

So here's the application.

If someone wrongly understands who they are, they will never be able to understand who Jesus is. This is why the people we know in this life who perceive themselves to be morally good or spiritually self-righteous need help understanding the person and the point of Jesus. The assumption they have is that they are good enough, and that is good enough for them. And the problem is, it is not. And either life will teach them that their assumptions are wrong, or we have to. And this is always risky and volatile because we have to tell people they are sinners that are slaves to sin that need a Savior. And that's Jesus.

We need more bold and courageous men like this today. Men who are willing to address the assumptions that people have about their moral and spiritual state. But it must be done, realizing we, too, have assumptions about who we are. Because we are not the Savior, we are just pointing others to the Savior.

ASK THIS: Are you pointing people to the Savior?

DO THIS: Tell someone they need the Savior today.

PRAY THIS: God, give me the opportunity.

PLAY THIS: My Savior, My God.

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