The Gospel of JohnThe Son Shall Make You Free

John 8:28 “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
37 I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.”


1. The Lifting Up
2. The Truth Shall Make You Free
3. The Servant of Sin
4. The Deeds of Your Father


1. The Lifting Up

The whole earth, and all that lived and breathed right up until 33 AD, were waiting for the deliverance “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” [Romans 8:21-22]

Which brings us to our text here in John chapter eight, verse twenty-eight: “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”

Jesus Christ was to be lifted up in similitude to what is recorded in the book of Numbers in chapter twenty-one. Remember, it was in the wilderness when the people of God [Israel] sinned, and were bitten of poisonous serpents in the judgment of God. There was remedy provided in the mercy of God. It was a brazen fiery serpent which was set upon a pole, and all one had to do was look upon it and they would live. “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he,” points to the Cross of Calvary where the LORD would be lifted up on a pole to die for the sins of all men, for the whole world, for you and me. Amen!


2. The Truth Shall Make You Free

Verse thirty-two: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

There is something so very hard to come by these days. It is THE TRUTH. There is a drought in the land TODAY for the lack of truth. What abound are the lies.

Where is TRUTH?  What is TRUTH?

This was the question of Pilate had as he judged Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. In [John 18:38a]: “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?”

Good question.  There is so much outright deception and lies taking place that one can be said … to be in total darkness with no hope of escape. It is a SEA of LIES out there!

Now this old world will tell it to you otherwise. They will sell you a lie. They will tell you that you are free when in reality you are in bondage. They are the ones who are captives themselves, and are the very PRISONERS in a prison. [2 Peter 2:19] “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.


3. The Servant of Sin

Verse thirty-four: “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” [You know what my friend?  This is our sad state and story.] Our flesh is so tied to trespasses and sin that we cannot help but sin. It is in our very nature to sin ... from day one.

From the very day that Adam and Eve SINNED [which thing occurred almost six thousand years ago] by their disobedience to the commandment of God, they turned over the deed of the world, [so to speak] to the DEVIL, and became the SERVANTS of SIN.

Therefore, we all suffer. We all come into this world ... in our natural state, born as SINNERS. This shouldn’t shock you. It is just plain common sense that all is not well in this world.

Come on now! Look at the blackness of our own heart. It is BLACK! Here is God’s commentary on the thing.  We are all REBELS from HIM! GOD says our HEARTS are desperately wicked. You say, God wouldn’t say that about me.

Oh, yes HE would. I am telling you ... based on the OLD BLACK BOOK that it [THE HEART] is blacker than the Ace of Spades. Amen! [Jeremiah 17:9] “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Well … I say, the PROOF is in the pudding!

Now, turn to the book of [Ephesians 2:1-3] and see how the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit describes our STATE before we get “quickened.”

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”


4. The Deeds Of Your Father

Verse forty-one: “Ye do the deeds of your father.”

 By nature we are children of wrath! Now just whose child does that make us to be?

Who is our father? You say to me, God is our father. Now, do you know why you say that? It is your Adamic sinful SELF not wanting to take a HIT where it hurts. [It is a pride problem.] Do not get defensive. Didn’t the BOOK say we have DESPERATELY wicked hearts?

Do you BELIEVE the Bible?

Now, that is exactly the answer the Jews gave Jesus in HIS day. “Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.”

They were blind men! They could not see the TRUTH about themselves.

The Truth is … that The Devil was their father.   Further, the Truth is ... that all men come into the world having the Devil as their father.

I’ll never forget HOW the Holy Ghost reproved me [thirty-four years ago] of sin and of righteousness, in order to prepare my heart so that I could see myself as HE saw me … as the wicked sinner I was before Jesus Christ saved me from the wrath of God by the new birth that is described in John chapter three.

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” [John 3:5-7]

For the last two thousand years, this is the FORMULA whereby we must be saved if are to go to heaven. Amen!