Regional Lenten Devotion

I was asked to write a devotion for March 19th using the text John 8:21-32.

“The truth will set you free”

It is amazing that a passage that is so antagonistic is also the holder of one of the most beautiful concepts in all of the scriptures. But then again, maybe it should not surprise us at all. For ideas have consequences and our allegiances matter, especially our allegiance to God and the One whom God has sent—Jesus.

Consider the whole passage, and the ways that Jesus attacks the religious authorities. How would we respond to this kind of exchange today? Jesus seems pretty intolerant—he condemns his opponents by telling them that they will die in their sins. He tells them and us that he always does what pleases his Father, and that they, and we, will know who he is and where he came from after he has been put to death. Then he turns to those who believe, and to them he says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

It’s a clear message. If we hold to Jesus’ teaching, we will really be Jesus’ disciples. What teaching is that? Well, there are a couple of central teaching points in John’s gospel, one a faith statement and one an action statement. The faith statement? We must believe in Jesus as “the light of the world,” who lives in union with “the Father who sent me.” For John, this is the foundation of our faith, the belief that Jesus is the “One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” and the one sent by God “so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Our confession of faith sounds a great deal like this—“We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and we accept him as our Lord and Savior.” What is the action statement? To love one another as God (and Jesus) has loved us. Love, not a feeling, or an emotion, or a sentiment, but love, a verb. A verb that means serving one another before we serve ourselves. A verb that shows the world the character of God’s love for us in Jesus. A verb that sacrifices, that feeds, that nurtures, that gives for the sake of others. Love the active and powerful force that saves the world in the name of Jesus.

So—let us both believe and love, and so participate in the reign of God which Jesus ushers into existence, through the cross and through the empty tomb.

Then we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free. Thank you, Jesus.