John 8:31-59

Freedom

My favorite Eagles song is “Desperado”. With just some very minor tweaking it easily becomes a terrific evangelism song. It’s sort of the “Just As I Am” for the Woodstock crowd. All of the lines are good, but the one I’m thinking of in particular is, “Freedom? Freedom, well that’s just some people talkin’.” If it really is just some people talkin’ then that is all it is. If it is Jesus Christ talkin’ then that is another mater.

One of Jesus’ most quoted lines is, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” When people quote it they often intend it to add weight to their own opinion. What they are really saying is, “I’m getting ready to tell you what I think, which I assume to be congruent to the truth of God, since I can’t possibly be wrong. If you will listen to me you will see the light and be free, and even Jesus agrees with me.” That’s what they mean but of course that is just some people talkin’.

Usually when people pull Jesus’ words out of context the real question is, “But what is the rest?” In this case the kicker isn’t “the rest” but what came before, the set up. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

We aren’t really set free by hearing what Jesus has to say. (Gasp!) We are set free by hearing what Jesus has to say and then acting on it. Often we don’t really comprehend the depth of the truth we are hearing simply by hearing. As we “hold to it”, as we act on it, the beauty of the truth comes into focus. To the degree that we act on the truth, to that same degree we are Jesus’ disciples. And to the degree that we are His disciples we are free; free indeed!