John 8:31-36 - Reformation Sunday - October 26, 2014
Jesus Sets Us Free
Jesus Sets Us Free
Then
Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you remain in My word, you are truly
My disciples. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
They
answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed, and have never been enslaved. How can You say, ‘You will be made
free’?”
Jesus
answered them, “Amen amen I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
And a slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
Therefore if the Son frees you, you shall certainly be free.”
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When Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by executive order in
1863, the opponents of slavery rejoiced.
Though the war was not yet over, they had won the day. They had fought against the institution of
slavery for so long and finally the institution was crumbling. Those who had been held against their will
and forced to labor under a heavy burden were pronounced free to reap the fair value
of their work. No longer would they be
held captive, but would work for wages as free agents. No longer would they be bred like cattle so
that their sons and daughters could be sold and forced to work for someone
else’s profit. They were free and so were
their children.
So what did they do?
Did they all draft up resumes and get well-paying jobs? Did they begin to open up their own
businesses and pull themselves up by their bootstraps? No!
Most of them continued to work for their former masters. That’s all they knew. Sadly, the legal declaration of their freedom
achieved very little in reality.
