As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
Comment: Jesus spoke to those of whom it is recorded ‘believed in Him’. Jesus pointed out that believing inferred to abide in or to be consistent/growing in their belief. He gave the great promise that if they did that they would be set free. We might ask what we who believe would be free from. To whom ‘they‘, refers isn’t made clear. By normal English sentence structure it means ‘those who believed’. But I suspect it refers to the Jewish leaders who were very much against Jesus. But they jump to shout the freedom which they have as Abraham’s ‘children. Jesus centred in on sinners being the slaves of sin. I think that He is saying that if you remain a slave to sin ultimately you won’t end up in Abraham’s house as a son. I will deal with sin and you, if you believe in Me, will be a freemen, not a slave – a son not a slave. You are offspring of Abraham but not children of God! I think that when they said ‘We were not born of sexual immorality.‘ they were really saying ‘we know the story – you are Mary’s bastard child’! How will Jesus respond?
Prayer: Help me to understand what it means and live in ‘Your freedom’, Lord Jesus.
As I read it! 