John

Check out all the previous John readings here.

John Reading Plan | Week 13, Day 4

Prayer

Pause for a moment of quiet and calm. To be fully present in both body and mind, inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Repeat this three times. Ask God to grant you His wisdom today.

Bible Reading: John 8:31-47

Read these verses three times slowly.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Reflection & Questions

This week, Jesus has been drilling down into His identity and the fact that without Him we are lost. The Pharisees are offended and angered. The Jews are having a hard time understanding that salvation is not a birth rite. Today that becomes very clear. They are “children of Abraham,” so how could they not be saved, be slaves of sin or not have God as Father? But in fact, Jesus bluntly tells them that not only are they slaves to sin, their father is the devil himself. Imagine someone, let alone a rabbi, telling you that, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.”

But this clarity is indeed kindness. For if they receive it, and repent and turn to Jesus, they can be saved. But if they remain as they are, thinking that they are saved by birth rite, they shall remain slaves and have “no permanent place in the family.”

The good news for those who receive Jesus is that He “sets [us] free” and we have a “permanent place in the family” because “a son belongs to it forever.” We are children of God. We have God as our Father!

1. What word or phrase from these verses sticks out to you today? Why?
2. What differences does it make in your life that you are a child of God?

Prayer

Talk to God in response to today’s reading.

Worship Song

You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:

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Questions?