John 8:³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. ³⁶ So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

Jesus was talking to some of his Jewish disciples who took issue with his suggestion they were enslaved. As happened frequently in the gospels, Jesus’ hearers took him literally while Jesus was offering an analogy. His disciples weren’t literally slaves, but were enslaved to sin (v.34). As are we apart from Jesus. But, Jesus does indeed set us free by taking our sin upon himself and imparting to us his righteousness. And by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, we are made children of God.

The passage this morning is calling to me to reflect on my own sins, which are many. As the words of the liturgy say, “We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves”. Lord Jesus, by your grace alone, set me free. Again. Amen.