Free

“Therefore, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”  John 8:36

Free – What kind of freedom does Jesus give?  It’s not what you might think.  The two Greek words here (eleutherose and eleutheroi) actually should be read “if the Son shall make you unconstrained and independent, you really will be liberated”.  Ah, so we see that the freedom Jesus has in mind is a relation between independence and liberty.  Then it strikes us!  Independence from what?  Liberty for what?  For the answer, we must turn to the life of Jesus.  He will show us what independence and liberty really mean.

But when we look at the life of the Christ, we don’t see independence.  He says over and over, “I do nothing on my own”, “My actions are completely dependent on My Father” and “Your will be done, not mine.”  What kind of independence is that?

And liberty?  Jesus had the “liberty” to go to the cross.  He had to “liberty” to be brutalized, tortured, rejected, despised and insulted.  That is not what you and I call “liberty”. 

In fact, if Jesus’ life defines the word “freedom”, we are more apt to call it “total dependence” and “volunteer slavery”.  That is exactly what Paul says about Jesus in Philippians 2.  Jesus definition of “freedom” is giving up all His rights and becoming an obedient slave to the will of the Father.  Is that what you thought about “freedom”?

Now hear this! (a command from the captain).  Jesus makes you free to live under the authority of God.  He frees you from every chain of the world’s view of power.  He gives you the liberty to give yourself away.  That is real freedom!

Freedom is no longer living under the constraints of this world.  No longer being subject to its conditions.  No more “to do” lists in order to earn self-worth.  No more shackled to the wheel of success.  No more need to look out for Number 1.  Jesus makes you free to put all of that aside and live in the hope of God’s unwavering faithfulness.  That’s exactly what he did.  No power on earth controlled him.  He was free to let his life be completely under God’s authority no matter what the earthly consequences because he knew that he was independent of this world and liberated from its weight.

Are you free?