If You Hold to My Teaching

John 8:31-58

Key Verses 31-32

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

In the previous passage, Jesus revealed himself as the light of the world. He said that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 

When the Pharisees challenged him, Jesus replied to them (in verses 23-24): "You are from below; I am from above. you are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”

The Pharisees rejected Jesus' message, but verse 30 says, "Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him." 

Today's passage picks up from this point. Now Jesus turns his attention to those who had believed him. Jesus taught them what it practically means to believe in him and what the result would be: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus' message to them is an "If...then" statement. The first part of being a disciple of Jesus is to hold to Jesus' teaching. "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples..." A disciple of Jesus is not merely someone who says, "I believe in Jesus," but it is a person who holds to Jesus' teaching. 

When we believe in Jesus, we do not merely believe in a religious doctrine or concept; we believe that he is, as he said, "the light of the world." If Jesus is the light of the world, then I will fix my eyes on him. I will look to him for guidance in how to live my life and what to do. I will listen to what he says, seek to understand, and put his words into practice in my life. 

Anyone who says, "I believe in Jesus," but pays no attention to Jesus' teaching is not really a disciple of Jesus. They may believe something about Jesus; they may have a good, warm feeling toward Jesus; they may agree that Jesus teaches good things. However, if they don't hold to Jesus' teachings in their daily life, they are not really Jesus' disciples. 

Again, those who believe that Jesus is the light of the world will hold to his teaching. 

Disciples of Jesus hold to Jesus' teaching in the following ways:

First, disciples of Jesus listen to Jesus' teaching. 

Second, Jesus' disciples seek to understand Jesus' teaching 

Third, disciples take his teaching words to heart with faith and conviction

Fourth, disciples of Jesus think about how to put Jesus' words into practice.

Fifth, disciples put Jesus' words into practice; they repent, they change course, they use energy

Sixth, Jesus' disciples remember and remind themselves of Jesus' teaching each day

Seventh, and finally, Jesus' disciples "hold" to Jesus' teaching even when it's not easy to do so

The following verbs summarize these seven steps: listen, understand, accept, consider, apply, remember, persevere

What will happen when we hold to Jesus' teaching? Now we come to the "then" part of Jesus' statement: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus says that "if" we hold to his teaching, "then" we will know the truth. Jesus' words are the truth, but just hearing his teaching does not mean we know the truth. Only those who "hold" to Jesus' teaching know the truth. To know the truth is not just about head knowledge; it is the knowledge that comes from experience. In order to truly know the truth, we must live by the truth. 

Here's an example: In John 4, Jesus says that he is the spring of living water and that anyone who drinks the water he gives will never be thirsty. Jesus is talking about deep satisfaction of soul. It's not too hard to study that passage and understand, conceptually, what Jesus is talking about, and yet still remain "thirsty" and continue to look for things in this world to quench our spiritual thirst rather than Jesus. It is not until we are filled with living water that we truly understand what Jesus is talking about. Then we don't feel thirsty any more because spiritual life and joy is flowing within. 

Again, truly knowing the truth is not a matter of mere knowledge or study. 

Rather, knowing the truth comes with deep confidence that I can depend on and live by. If I put drop my pen, I know that it will fall down, not up. I know this truth without even thinking about the law of gravity; it is not a conceptual truth, it is a practical truth for me. When I hold to Jesus' teaching, I know the truth of God in this way: I am so confident of it that I live by it. 

What happens when we know the truth like this? Jesus says, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 

Ultimately, being a disciple of Jesus brings freedom. It's common for people to think that holding to Jesus' teaching takes away our freedom. Disciples of Jesus imitate Jesus. They are not free to do the things that non-disciples are free to do. This, however, is a very narrow perspective. It's true that disciples of Jesus hold to Jesus' teachings and do not do what they used to do, but this is not because they are less free; it is because they are finally free. Consider why freedom is valuable. Freedom is valuable because it allows people to pursue happiness. 

Gravity keeps us from floating into space; seat belts keep us from being injured in a car accident; belts keep our pants from falling. These could be considered "constraints," but the truth is that they provide us with freedom: freedom to take a walk without fear of floating away and drink coffee without hot liquid floating into the air; freedom to drive a car with less fear of death; free to walk without fear of our pants falling down. 

Similarly, truth sets us free. When we don't know the truth, we are enslaved to lies. When we sin because we think that sin will make us happy, we are deceived. We thought we were free, but we only ended up doing what is harmful and self-destructive. When we have true freedom, we don't do those things; we do what will bring us true happiness. 

This principle applies to politics  as well. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of the press. This is because the only way for people to be free politically is to know the truth about what's going on in the world. That is also why countries like China, where the people have far less political freedom than in the U.S., the government works hard to control what people say and write and read. They keep people under control by controlling information; they don't want their citizens to have access to the truth because that might lead to calls for more freedom. 

When it comes to political freedom, people are willing to fight and die for it, even though political freedom does not bring spiritual freedom. There are many people in the U.S. who enjoy freedom of speech and many other political freedoms, yet they are slaves to sin. Similarly, there are many people in China who are not free to worship God openly in their homes and yet who are enjoying freedom from the power of sin; the freedom to live truly happy lives. Although they are living under political oppression, they are enjoying "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," as followers of Jesus. 

Jesus offers us the freedom to live as children of God. 

OK, so if this is what Jesus is offering, everyone should gladly accept his offer. We should all jump at the chance to live as true disciples of Jesus. 

And yet many people don't take up Jesus' offer. In fact, some people even take offense at Jesus' offer. In the rest of the passage, we see some of the obstacles that get in the way of people being free. We see that the devil is very good at keeping people under his control. 

VERSE 33

 33 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?”

Notice that they seemed to claim that Abraham’s descendants were never slaves, but this is not true (see Exodus chapter 1). Here we see that they didn’t like Jesus’ suggestion that they were not free. So Jesus explained more. 

VERSES 34-47

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

Their basic problem was that they were in denial. They were not willing to listen to what Jesus was saying because of their pride. They hid behind their identity as “children of Abraham.” They ultimately did not want to admit that they were slaves to sin and in need of freedom. 

 39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

   “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would[d] do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does.”

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

 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. 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. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

In response to their claims that they were children of Abraham and children of God, Jesus pointed out that if they were children of Abraham they would do what Abraham did, and if they were children of God they would love God. Similarly, as Jesus pointed out earlier, if they were truly his disciples they would hold to his teaching. 

VERSES 48-56

 48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

   49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

 52 At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

 54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

 57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

   58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Ultimately, they became more and more defensive as Jesus pointed out their sin. The more they rejected Jesus’ teaching, the more they became filled with the murderous desire of the devil, until finally they tried to kill him. Thus, when we hold to Jesus’ teaching, we are set free from slavery to sin and the power of the devil. When we reject Jesus’ teaching, we become more enslaved to sin and the devil’s dark desire. 

In conclusion, Jesus offers us freedom so that we can live as children of God and enjoy true freedom. May God help us to humbly recognize our need for freedom and hold to Jesus’ teaching. 

One word: Hold to Jesus’ teaching