Re: Verse reading – John 8:31-47 (Six)
“We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves to anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”—v 33. We don’t see what God sees. Even about ourselves. Jesus saw the Jews as slaves needing liberation. “The Spirit is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim release to the captives.”—Luke 4:18. They immediately imagined political captivity. His focus was spiritual slavery. If society controls what kind of house I buy, what kind of car I drive, where my kids go to school, am I a slave? If fears dictate how many hours I work, or desire shapes what I buy or watch, can I claim to be free? If, when I pledge to live by the higher purposes of God, I then fall back into sinful habit, isn’t it because there is a power operating in my life that even I don’t control? Jesus sees this situation very clearly. Do we?
