“Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, ‘If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” —John 8:31–32
Jesus, the one who frees the captive. Jesus, the great liberator, sets us free from bondage—bondage to sin, bondage to self, bondage to death and destruction. Jesus breaks the strong chains of sin that blind and bind us. When we are not yoked to Jesus, we will find ourselves yoked to the things of this world. We are either bound to Him or we are bound to sin. That is why Jesus issues the following call to all to “come” and “learn.”
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.” —Matthew 11:28–30
Isaiah had prophesied regarding this particular aspect of our Savior’s job description. Indeed, Jesus himself read from Isaiah’s scroll at the advent of His ministry (Matthew 5:11) claiming to be the freer of the prisoner and the preacher of the very good news:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners, to announce the year when the LORD will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, to console all who mourn.” —Isaiah 61:1–2
Jesus’ half-brother James gives us an even broader dimension to our verses for today. He echoes and emphasizes Jesus’ words regarding our knowing and demonstrating and continuing on in the truth.
“But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty—and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out he will be blessed in what he does.” —James 1:22–25
It is one thing to begin to follow our Savior and quite another to persevere—holding firmly to the end. Not considering the cost beforehand, sadly, many of Jesus’ disciples fell away when His teaching got tough … and still do today. We must remember heaven is our home, not earth, and our path to heaven is not always easy.
Become More
Christ came to give us freedom, liberty, privilege—the state in which one can act and move without restriction or hindrance. Believers in Christ are free when we hold to and follow His leading and teaching.
We are foolish indeed if we seek to divide Jesus from the word of truth, the Bible, God’s revealed will. We cannot compartmentalize Jesus from the Bible—seeking to elevate either one or the other. Jesus is the Word in the flesh. He came demonstrating to us the glorious revelation of God–full of grace and truth. He held God’s Word, the Law, in highest esteem. Jesus was the incarnation of God and His Word. He is the eternal expression of the divine intelligence and the disclosure of the divine essence.
Further Reflections
“Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.” —John 1:14
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.” —Galatians 5:1