Wednesday after Cantate
Posted on May 18, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. John 8:21-36 (NKJV)
8:21 Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”
22 So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”
And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.”
27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
Devotion
People are not born morally neutral. While we might be able to maintain a certain level of civic righteousness, spiritually speaking we are by nature dead in trespasses and sins. We are born blind slaves to the devil, and subject to death and damnation. The only way to be saved from our sins and to enter into new life is by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. He is the Resurrection and the life. And so, Christ warns those who do not believe in Him, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” The Truth that sets us free from spiritual bondage is the Gospel of His death and resurrection.
Our natural corruption is so total, however, that we cannot by our own reason and strength believe or even understand this Truth. The Holy Spirit of God must work this understanding in us through the preaching of the Cross of Christ. The image of Christ, lifted up for our sins, testifies His true identity as the Son of God and the only Savior of fallen mankind. His resurrection from the dead is the public demonstration that He is the Lord of Life, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). For the sake of our eternal salvation, we must continue in this Word of Reconciliation!
Prayer: O God, Who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will: Grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest, and desire what Thou dost promise; that, among the manifold changes of this world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
