Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to My teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” 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?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill Me, because you have no room for My word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.” The answered, “Abraham is our father.” “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. 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. You are doing the things your own father does.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only father we have is God Himself.” 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. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 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. Yet because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
– John 8:31-47
Devotion
The Pharisees claim they are Abraham’s children (thus, they are pleasing to God). In this dialogue with Jesus, they claimed they had never been slaves. Is this true? Jesus goes on to point out that true (spiritual) descendants of Abraham hear God’s voice and do God’s will.
The Big Question
How did Jesus respond to the Pharisees’ claims to be Abraham’s children? He told them their real father was someone else. Who? What did Jesus mean by “the truth shall set you free”? What inconsistencies do you see in the Pharisees’ dialogue with Jesus? What is Jesus main point in this text?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.