Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
The freedom Jesus came to offer was at the core of the Gospel message. It was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah of the messiah who would come to inaugurate the new and perfect year of Jubilee, which Jesus made his mission statement.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (see Luke 4:18-19).
The crowd to whom Jesus spoke were Judeans who believed in him. But that belief was still limited, perhaps meaning that they thought it was worth continuing to listen, but not that Jesus was worthy of absolute trust. They were more than ready to push back when he said something that upset them, the ancient equivalent of 'Cafeteria Catholicism'.
They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, 'You will become free'?"
It was of course the case that this was an example of willful blindness. The history of the descendants of Abraham was frequently marked by periods of enslavement. Even at the time of Jesus they could not say they possessed full freedom because they were ruled by the Romans. But they had a sense of pride because they were descendants of Abraham. It was as though they thought that this fact gave them all they needed and that, as of consequence of it, they wanted for nothing. But, as Paul would later write, "it those of faith who are the sons of Abraham" (see Galatians 3:7). The belief these crowds had in Jesus did not rise to that level, for they were unwilling to listen to his diagnosis of the problem, or to welcome the solution he offered.
Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
Jesus wasn't speaking merely of the political situation. He was speaking of a deeper and more intractable slavery, that of sin. He was staging an intervention but his audience didn't accept that they were addicts. But it was precisely as an addiction that sin made people slaves. Although it seemed, and they believed, that they acted in freedom by choosing according to their whims, they chose to indulge in actions that left them increasingly unfree. Had they simply been smokers they might have been able to recognize the danger and quit. But pride, for instance, though more deadly, was harder to recognize, and harder still to quit once it became an ingrained habit. Sin was like a disease for which natural immunity was insufficient, for which needed a cure. Or more to it, they needed a rehab clinic in which they could abide while struggling through the pains of withdrawal. And this clinic was the word of Jesus, where one could abide, know the truth, and find freedom.
It was not only through excessive positive stimulus that sin stripped people of freedom and made them slaves. It was also, and perhaps above all, the fear that came along with it. It was the fear of not getting what one wanted, or of getting what one did not want, or of not being able to keep what one had. It was the fear that resulted from having treasure on earth rather than in heaven. It was the result of putting second things first, of seeking the inheritance away from the house of the Father.
that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (see Hebrews 2:14-15).
The Judeans proved that they were not Abraham's true children because the works they did proved they were of different descent. Their works imitated those of devil, the father of lies. He was the one who oppressed the righteous in every age, from Abel, to the prophets, and finally to Jesus himself. One could not claim to have God as his Father and at the same time reject the Son whom he had sent.
It takes a will made strong by grace and faith to resist the influence of the evil one, and to choose God over the expediency of idolatry. One does not make the choice by his strength or alone and unaided. But when one does make the choice he is not alone to face the consequences.
"But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt,
walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God."
However tightly the ropes are bound when we are thrown into the fire of temptation we should look to the fourth man with us in the flames to set us free. If we do so we will emerge unfettered and unhurt, not even smelling like smoke. This freedom can then serve as a witness to the world, whom it astounds.
"Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God."
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