Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This passage is from the Sermon in the Temple and it takes place during the Feast of the Tabernacles (John 7:2, 8:2). The Feast of the Tabernacles was celebrated by the Jewish people coming to Jerusalem and have a national campout. They constructed booths of palm branches and boards, these arbors are to remember and celebrate their freedom from Egypt during the Exodus. For forty years they lived in tents traveling through the wilderness (Leviticus 23:43) The feast of tabernacles was a time to remember that exodus to freedom and to thank God for it was Him that gave them their freedom.

During this celebration, they would remember their identity as a nation under God. During the time we are reading about today in John 8 they would be especially conscious of their oppression under their Roman oppressors and their desire to be free, as a people and nation, would be strong.  

In the midst of all this, Jesus stood in the temple area, the center of all the events taking place in Jerusalem and He gives this sermon about freedom, but it is a freedom unlike the freedom that the Jewish people had in mind. They wanted freedom from the Romans but they did not want to make the choices necessary to have the real freedom Jesus came to give.

Jesus says, Ye shall know the truth

The word know is from the Greek word ginosko (ghin-oce'-ko), It meant to learn, to know, to come to know, get a knowledge of, to feel, or experience.

Now to the Greeks, this meant to know facts, but these facts may or may not affect one's conduct. But to the Jewish people and especially to Jesus in this sermon, true knowledge always manifested itself in one's conduct. One did not know something until that fact had a practical outworking in his life.

So Jesus says John 8:31-32 If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Two parts to this statement.

First, following Jesus was the mark of true discipleship and faith. Secondly, as they follow and continue in Jesus’ words then they would know the truth and that truth would free them. It is critical then that we know what was the truth Jesus spoke of?

Look back in the context of the verse at chapter 8.

 John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 8:21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. 23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

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.

The truth, Jesus spoke of was spiritual truth and it was centered on Himself. The truth was that Jesus was the light of the world. The truth was that those where were listening to him were dying in sin. The truth was that Jesus was not of this world. The truth was that if they did not believe that Jesus was the I AM then they would die in sin. The truth was that Jesus would be lifted up, crucified by the very people he came to save. But when that happened then they would know the truth that Jesus was who he said he was and send by the Heavenly Father.

The truth, that brought their freedom, was faith in Jesus Christ and His death for them. No other truth could bring the freedom they desperately needed, not freedom from Roman, but freedom from the slavery of sin, and freedom from eternal death and the judgement of Hell.

Freedom Only Through Truth

We must understand what Jesus is saying. Freedom is only freedom if it is built on the truth. This is a universal reality. we are talking today about spiritual truth, but it is the same with any freedom. If it is not built on truth, then it is not freedom.

Many people today believe that freedom means no rules, no laws. no restrictions on anything they in their sinful nature want to be or do. They believe that freedom is sin and anarchy is liberty. They want freedom but not from the chains of sin, but freedom from morality,  from the law, from facts, from family, from biology, from their birth. They don’t want to hear that the truth will make them free because they want to be free from the truth, all truth.

What they call freedom is actually slavery because there is no truth in what they believe and if there is no truth then there can be no freedom.

Here is THE TRUTH, that Jesus declared during the Feast of Tabernacles and the truth that is still declared from God’s Word…True freedom is only possible when it is based on the truth,  the truth of who Jesus is and what Jesus did on Calvary.