John 8:31-44

This is a hard passage for me. Jesus is speaking to those who believe in him (vs. 30-31). He is being very hard on them. So what does this passage mean?

Jesus is speaking against those who would smile and say, "Jesus is a good person." or "Jesus is a great teacher." Admiration and intellectual ascent is not enough. In fact they are deadly to the soul. If they were just mildly good Jesus would not call them evil as he does.

An old friend of mine used to say, "A lot of people are inoculated to the Christian faith. The got just enough of it to make them immune to real contagious fruitful faith." So true. And so challenging. Where do I sit on this?

The commentator notes he just heard an old interview with John Lennon where he spoke of his belief in Jesus. He then added he also believed in Mohammad and Buddha, etc. This is only a surface ascent. Jesus is telling the Jews in John 8 that this will not do.

Your life must change. "The truth will set you free." Their reaction to this comment shows he is right.

"Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin." That is the opposite of "The truth will set you free."

Jesus speaks the truth. He tells them they cannot handle the truth. They hate him for it. Without faith we cannot handle the truth. We must allow God to change us or we will never handle the truth and be set free.

Jesus is rough on this group because he wants them fully in. Mental ascent only will not save them. While Jesus seems to be rejecting them he is hoping to convince them. I see a strong parallel to the OT prophets trying to convince the Israelites of their sins, to repent or God will bring judgment on them. Jesus is also saying to repent or God will bring judgment.