John 8:31-59 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;… I. THE RELIGION OF THESE JEWS. 1. It was a matter of blood and ancestry. There were, it is true, certain ceremonies to be observed, but it was enough to be "Abraham's seed" to secure the favour of Jehovah. Without that the most diligent piety could not avail. Good parentage no one will despise. If we have got our vigour from virtuous ancestors, we may well be thankful. Even if prodigal of such an inheritance, we shall still have an advantage in the battle of life. Aaron Burr was a stouter sinner because his mother was Jonathan Edward's daughter. Robert Burns exhausted himself at thirty-eight, but what did he not owe to an honest and frugal parentage? The first generation of sinners lasts longer than the second; much longer than the third. But it will not do to trust blood as a substitute for religion. "Who is your father?" may be the first question, but "Who are you?" comes next. Many a boy disclosing his father's. name has excited surprise in the police court, but the father's good name does not keep him out of prison. Absalom was David's son, and Judas Abraham's. 2. Christ told the Jews that this dead faith in our ancestor was really a bondage to the devil (vers. 34-44). Their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt and Babylon, and now the Roman Eagle had them in its talons. Yet by some legerdemain of logic they reasoned that to be a Hebrew was to be a free man. At once Jesus set them on a deeper search (ver. 44). What a hard master the devil is! For Paradise Eve gets an apple. See this illustrated in the case of Cain, Esau, Samson, Saul, Judas, Agrippa. The prodigal is sure to be set on the lowest tasks, and left to crave even husks. Nor has the devil grown kinder since. 3. Of course the bondsmen of Satan "cannot bear" the truth (vers. 43, 45, 47), neither receive nor recognize it. Paul thought he was doing God service when killing Christians, and perhaps these Jews were sincere, but with the maladroitness of those who give themselves to the service of evil they reserve their criticisms for that which was most fair, and direct their assaults when the line was most secure. Our Lord's treatment of the woman was apparently the cause of their hostility. The truth and goodness which angered them angers sinners now. II. CHRIST'S DISCIPLES. 1. They are those who abide in Christ's Word. The dead religion was a mere name, an accident of birth; the new religion laid hold of the soul and was light and life (vers. 31, 32, 47). What the mind must have is truth. A man who believes a lie warms a serpent in his bosom. Christ's heel has crushed the head of the serpent of falsehood, and for His disciples its charm is broken. Having come to the light the real children of Abraham continue in it. Bartimaeus has no wish to return to his blindness. The Christian's love of the truth is one that lasts. And Christians obey the truth (ver. 31; cf. Peter 1:22; Galatians 3:1, 5, 7). The truth not only touches their intellect, judgment, conscience, but quickens, guides and establishes their will (ver. 39). 2. Yet they enjoy a real freedom — a further contrast (vers. 32, 36; cf. Romans 6:14-22). Subjection to Christ's word is not slavery. Freedom does not destroy law nor overturn authority. The best liberty finds its satisfaction within the limits of a law which is loved. Note the Divine order; first a change of heart, then morality and piety. To require these bloodthirsty children of Abraham to do his works would be to put an intolerable yoke upon them. The Bible is a weary book to a bad man. Prayer to the worldly is a burden. For the dissolute no shackles so heavy as the rules of virtue. But change a man's mind, and his world is changed. Obedience becomes a song. Besides this, there is the liberty from the penalty of sin by Christ's Cross. 3. As a result of all comes an assurance of endless life (ver. 51, etc.). (H. A. Edson, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; |
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