Jesus the light of the world

 

They are in bondage to sin    John 8v32-40

This simply played into Jesus hands as He was able to expound to them the bondage that they were in, a state which applies to every  unbeliever.  Here he unravels the true state of the human heart without God.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.  And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son of abideth ever.  If the Son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed.  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed, but ye seek to kill me because my word hath no place in you.  I speak that which I have seen with my Father, and ye do that, which ye have seen with your father.” 

Jesus goes to the very heart of the matter. Everyone that practises sin is a slave to sin.  Sin enslaves us, it dictates to us how we act and we become its slaves. The world is horrified at the thought of slavery in an economic and social sense, but slavery to sin is far worse.  This applies to each one of us, He says “whosoever”.   In Romans 6v12 sin is seen to be a monarch ruling over us; in 6v17-18 it is a master dictating the terms of how we live and act; in 7v1 it is a marriage that binds us for life.  Sin is a power which is universal in its scope, and personal in its operation.  Jesus uses the picture of a rich household with servants.  The only one who can set free slaves in the household is the Son who is over the house.  We remain slaves to sin until the Son sets us free.  We are enslaved to serve sin all our lives, until and unless, the Son, that is Jesus Christ, sets us free. 

He acknowledges that ethnically they are the seed of Abraham, but spiritually they are not.  Heritage is defined not by physical links, but by spiritual. They were not following the ways of Abraham for they were seeking to kill Jesus. 

They do the works of their father      John 8v41-47

This is an extension of v23, where He indicated their origin as being from beneath.  He now personalises it, declaring that the devil is their father. This is because they are doing the works of the devil.  We are defined not by what we say, but by what we do.  They took objection to this by hurling common insults at Him, based on common gossip, suggesting that He was born of fornication-a reference to the virgin birth.  In demeaning Him they exalted themselves by saying that “we have one Father, even God.”  Jesus ignored the personal insult and probed the claim that God was their father.  It is not words, but works which prove a relationship.  Externalism means nothing to God. He says you do the deeds of your father. Abraham is not your father, nor is God your Father.  Your father is the devil because you do his works.  If God were your Father, you would love me because I came from God, it was He who sent me.  How can you be so dumb? It is because you can't hear my word. In fact, your father is the devil, and the works of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, you are seeking to kill me.  He was a liar from the beginning, and you cannot receive the truth because you have believed his lie.  If you knew the Father, you would love me because I proceeded forth from Him and I came from Him...He sent me, I came in full agreement with Him.  You cannot understand what I am saying because you cannot hear my word.  Your ears are open to someone else, the voice of your father the devil.  In v37 He said that  His word no place in them.  This is challenging, for we may well ask, what place does the word of Christ have in us? 

What place the word should have in men’s hearts?- C.H. Spurgeon bible notes 176

The Word comes from Jesus, the appointed Messenger of God; it is true, weighty, saving; and, therefore, it must have a place among those who hear it. It ought to obtain and retain—

An inside place: in the thoughts, the memory, the conscience, the affections. "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart"-Ps. 119:11. See also Jer. 15:16.
A place of honour: it should receive attention, reverence, faith, obedience-John 8:47; Luke 6:46; Matt. 7:24-25.
A place of trust. We ought in all things to rely upon the sure Word of promise, since God will neither lie, nor err, nor change Isa. 7:9; 1 Sam. 15:29; Titus 1:2.
A place of rule. The Word of Jesus is the law of a Christian-John 8v31.
A place of love. It should be prized above our daily food, and defended with our lives (Job. 23:12; Jude 3).
A permanent place. It must so transform us as to abide in us-Col. 3v16.

The Jews, the ruling class, gave no place to the word of Christ. But their ears were open to the lies of the Devil.  How many today are in that situation?  We are told to “give no place to the devil”-Ephesians 4v27; indeed we are advised to resist him-James 4v7. These men gave no place to Christ or to His word.

He said to them “Which of you convinces me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?”  He was sinless? They were sinners.  He had already told them they would die in their sins.  The particular sins He's talking about here are the lies of the devil that they have swallowed.  “He that is of God heareth God’s words.  Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.”  Here is the clearest definition of what it means to be saved. “He that is of God heareth God’s words.” This is far reaching; He is not speaking only of the general broad outline of the word, He is speaking of the very words of God. This is repeated later in the New Testament, and it is so important we grasp this.