SATURDAY, July 4, 2009                                                       READ: John 8: 25 - 38                                                                                                        

WHOM THE SON MAKES FREE

MEMORIZE: “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”         John 8: 36

Today, July 4, 2009, we are celebrating the two hundred and thirty- third years birthday of this nation, the United States of America. Its break from the yoke of colonialism under England has proven to be significant and beneficial for the world. Those who made the decision believed that God, Almighty, had called them to take that step. They did it at the peril of their own lives, but were confident that they were on God’s side and that He would prevail against all odds. Today, at two hundred and thirty-three years old, it is still the land of the free. More and more, though, people with access to power are contriving ways to deny the sons and daughters of this great land the freedom which that initial group of brave men, and many men and women since that time, have given their lives to guard and defend. This is an important celebration. More and more we are made to ask, are those people who exercise the power of these United States still interested in forging a perfect union, or, are they aspiring for something else, something different from what the Founders had in mind? Even more importantly, we must ask, what does God have in mind for these United States to be at a time like this? Happy Independence Day to you and yours!

In our text chosen for today’s reading, John 8: 25 – 38, we are able to see how Jesus of Nazareth sought to help the people who had heard Him speak to grasp His identity. The Jews had refused to embraced the idea of Jehovah being father. If Jehovah was not a father, how could anyone, in his right mind, claim to be His Son? In v. 25, they asked Him, “Who are You?” He just did not say to them, “I am the Son of God.” Notice how He answered to their question: “I am who I have been saying that I am from the beginning. Have you been paying attention to what I have been saying to you? I have more of the same, teaching and judgment to utter to you. At some point you will have to deal with it and either believe what I say about myself, or, just deny it. What I am saying is utterly consistent with the facts. I am not here because I am from here. I am here because I have been sent to come here, by Him who is true. I am speaking only what He has authorized me to speak.” John tells us in v. 27, that “They did not understand that He was actually speaking to them concerning the Father.” So, in vv. 28, 29, He spoke to them about lifting up the Son. He said, “When you make the decision in your heart to lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He … and that I have been sent by My Father who is with Me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” In v. 30 we see that while He was speaking this, there were those who made the decision to believe in Him. In v. 31, 32, we are able to see that Jesus was aware of what they had done. He spoke to them and told them that, “You are to continue to believe in My words, then you will become my disciples, and you will become people of the truth, and the truth will set you free from what you are accustomed to.” In v. 33, they got their culture and their faith mixed up. They saw their essential identity being that they were descendants of Abraham. He wanted them to know that there was something more basic in God’s eyes. They, like the rest of us, were descendants of Adam and that made us sinners (cf. Romans 3: 23). If they were talking about nationality, then they had forgotten that they had been captives in Assyria and then Babylon, and that even now, they were living under the watchful eyes of Rome. In v. 34, Jesus made it clear that, they too were slaves to sin. Like all of Adam’s descendants, we are addicted to sin. According to v. 35, as sinners, slaves we can only be set free, released from our bondage, our slavery, by a son, not by another slave. So, in v. 36, Jesus made it clear to them that, as God’s Son, He alone can make us free. If we believe in Jesus as the Son of God, He will make us free. Have you believed (cf. John 1: 12; 6: 39, 40; 1 John 5: 5)?

PRAY:Lord, God Almighty, I praise You and bless Your holy name. Thank You for giving Your Son to be our LORD and Savior. I am opening my heart to Your truth. I want to live in the freedom which Jesus gives to those who believe in Him. Help me to live by Your power today. I ask this in Jesus’ strong name. Amen.