Wednesday after Cantate Sunday
Posted on May 10, 2023 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
In Mark 16:16, the Lord sent the Apostles, saying, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” But people don’t often want to hear the rest of the decree: “But he who does not believe will be condemned.” Christ warned the people of His day not to waste the time of their visitation. They were told what would happen to them because of their unbelief: “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Jesus faithfully preached the message His Father gave Him to proclaim, and many believed in Him through His Word. But the greatest demonstration of the Father’s will for the salvation of mankind came when Christ was lifted up on the cross for all to see. This was the propitiatory offering for the sins of the whole world, and all who trust and believe in this sacrifice are made free through the blood of the Son of God. The consequence of rejecting this atonement is condemnation. With nothing to cover one’s sins, and with no mediator to stand between him and Father, all that remains is the righteous judgment of God against sin. May we give heed to the preaching of the Gospel while it is still being proclaimed, and believe in Him who sets us free by the Word of Truth.
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.
