John 8:36-40

 

John 8:36 (KJB)

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 

Indeed - Certainly or really

 

Jesus now enhances the thought from verse 32. In Verse 32, He stated that the truth will make them free. Here He plainly tells them that the Son will make them free. Jesus is telling them that if they believe in Him, then they would be freed from the spiritual bondage of the law which they would be unable to keep anyway. This freedom is not something which would be temporary but eternal. They would be freed from having to keep the law and then they would be able to enter Heaven because grace is the way to glory. Not only were they in bondage to the law which they could not keep, they were also in bondage to the traditions which were created and added to the law down through the years. They basically had a double life sentence and Jesus is telling them that through Him, they would receive an eternal pardon.

 

John 8:37 (KJB)

I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

 

Hath…place - To progress, make room, proceed

 

Jesus did not deny the fact that they had physically descended from Abraham but the problem is that they did not spiritually descend from Abraham. Abraham was called the “friend of God.” (James 2:23 KJV) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. They Jews had sought to kill Jesus which would have proven that they were not the friends of God but the enemies of God. What kind of friend would you be if you tried to kill your friend’s son? Would that prove you are a friend or an enemy? Since the Jews had wanted to kill Jesus and they were living in complete harmony with the world, the words of Jesus, which are spiritual words, have no place in them because they were spiritually dead and proved to be the enemy of God. (John 6:63 KJV) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. The words of Jesus were not making any headway with the Jews because they had rejected Him in favor of their law and tradition.

 

John 8:38 (KJB)

I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

 

Here Jesus speaks about their separate sources. Jesus spoke with words which he had seen from His Father. The words “I have seen” are in the perfect tense which means that this took place long ago at a certain time, definitely before the Lord came into the world, and there are still ongoing results of what Jesus saw of His Father. Jesus does not stop there but goes on to state that the foundation of the attitudes and works of the Pharisees have come from what they have seen from their father. They saw all the luxuries of living a grand lifestyle and wanted to live that way. Satan always lets his people believe that his way is the right way just as he has these false leaders believing that very principle to the point where they have rejected the Son of God and have aligned themselves with him.

 

John 8:39 (KJB)

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

 

Then they answered him with a diversion believing that Abraham was their father. He may have been a physical descendant but their actions did not coincide with Abraham’s. Abraham had believed God and it was counted as righteousness but these were anything but righteous. Jesus tells them that if they were truly Abraham’s children, then they would do the works of Abraham. The works of Abraham was belief in God and to act on that belief in obedience to the Lord. Abraham was a child of God. (Gal 3:29 KJV) And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. The only way these leaders could be a true child of Abraham is if they would receive Christ as their Savior. This would be the work of Abraham. Every true believer is a descendant of Abraham in the area of salvation. We are related by being in the body of Christ.

 

John 8:40 (KJB)

But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

 

(Gal 4:16 KJV) Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? The difference between a real spiritual descendant of Abraham and being a physical descendant is the fact that the spiritual descendants believe the word of God. These leaders had tried to convince themselves that they were children of God through Abraham but their works had manifested a totally different spirit. Instead of them believing God about His Son, they desired to kill Him, and Abraham did not possess a murderous spirit like these Jews did. Jesus brought them the truth which He heard directly from God the Father and their response was to kill Him.

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