You Are Of Your Father The Devil

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John 8:39-47

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

 
 

Way back at the beginning of the Bible, the Lord speaks to the serpent after it tempted the man and woman to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil:

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel” [Genesis 3:15].

Note that the Lord says there will be two kinds of people:

  • People who are offspring of the woman;

  • People who are “offspring” of the serpent, because of their rebellion against God.

The very next story in Genesis is the story of Cain and Abel, whereby Cain acts like an animal and gives over to sin and anger and murders his brother.

Here, Jesus is pulling from the same idea—that His opponents are actually working for the devil and against the purposes of God.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies [John 8:44].

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Every time we engage in falsehood, we are doing the work of the devil. There is a lot at stake in being a person who tells the truth.

 

What Does "The Truth Will Set You Free" Actually Mean?

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John 8:31-38

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

 
 

“The truth will set you free” is a popular and well-known statement, but what does it actually mean?

Jesus is not speaking in vague generalities about the concept of truth, but is making specific reference to the truth about Himself. Let’s look at His statement in context, drawing from yesterday’s reading:

28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

29 And he who sent me is with me . He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” [John 8:28–32].

So, what is the truth that will set a person free?

That Jesus is the Son sent from the Father, and those who hold fast to that knowledge will thereby be identified as Jesus’s disciples and they will be set free as a result.

From what are those people set free? Jesus tells us:

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed [John 8:34–36].

People who know the truth about Jesus are set free from slavery to sin.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The very fact that modern people have taken the phrase “the truth will set you free” and stripped it of any reference to Jesus merely proves the point that He is making—what matters is holding on to the truth about Jesus, which is the only truth that has power to truly save.

 

What John Means By "The Jews"

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John 7:10-13

10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

 
 

What John means when he uses the term “the Jews” depends on the context. Sometimes it just literally means “Jewish people.” But other times, as here, it means “the Jewish religious establishment.” These are the power brokers that are particularly opposed to Jesus’s message of repentance. Note how much influence they have over the people, in that people choose to censor themselves rather than face the consequences of upsetting the religious leaders.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Speaking the truth is an important part of faithfulness to Jesus. There is no call for needless provocation, but at the same time Christians need to be more committed to speaking the truth than afraid of the powers that be.