John 8.31-32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
Today we read that and we only have a figurative understanding of the word free, but to the people Jesus was talking to, they understood literally and practically what being set free was all about. Slavery and servitude was common, not to mention they lived in a land occupied by a foreign ruler, so they knew all about what it meant to be set free. That’s why they object when Jesus says, “you’ll be free” because they think they are. ONCE AGAIN Jesus is challenging them to think differently, to look beyond the world they understand into something else.
All too often, this v. 32 is used out of context to talk about the truth instead of Jesus who is The Truth. Honesty or understanding a clear fact is not freedom. Resting, living, thinking, moving, tarrying in Jesus’ teaching, lifestyle, motivation, and thought is how we will know the truth.
Jesus just said that He always does what the Father wants, so the Father doesn’t leave Him. Now He adds on to that that WE TOO can be His disciples (carbon copies and replicas) and know the truth. The root of truth here is unconcealed, unhidden. As we walk in Jesus’ ways, the truth of God is revealed. It is only hidden if you don’t look for it, but as soon as you begin to look it jumps right out at you.
Reminds me of the arrow on the Fedex logo. If you don’t know about it, you would never notice it, or know that it was there, but as soon as somebody tells you there is an arrow in the logo, that’s all you see.
Jesus is telling them, if you reside in His teaching, you will know the truth and not be enslaved any more. And that truth will be continually revealed to you by God, unconcealed and available.