So if the Son sets you freeThis phrase emphasizes the role of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the liberator from spiritual bondage. In the context of
John 8, Jesus is addressing the Jews who believed in Him, explaining the difference between physical and spiritual freedom. The concept of freedom here is not political or social but spiritual, referring to liberation from sin. This echoes the Old Testament theme of God as a deliverer, as seen in the Exodus narrative where God frees the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Jesus, as the Son, fulfills the role of the ultimate deliverer, offering freedom from the bondage of sin and death. This aligns with prophecies such as
Isaiah 61:1, which speaks of the Messiah proclaiming liberty to captives.
you will be free indeed
The assurance of true freedom is highlighted in this phrase. The use of "indeed" underscores the completeness and authenticity of the freedom Jesus offers. This freedom is not just a temporary or superficial release but a profound and eternal liberation. In the broader biblical narrative, this freedom is contrasted with the temporary and incomplete freedom offered by the law or human efforts.Romans 8:2 further explains that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set believers free from the law of sin and death. The freedom Jesus provides is transformative, leading to a new identity and life in Him, as seen in2 Corinthians 5:17, where believers are described as new creations. This freedom is also a type of the ultimate rest and peace found in Christ, prefigured by the Sabbath rest in the Old Testament.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Jesus ChristThe central figure in this passage, Jesus is speaking to the Jews who had believed in Him. He is the "Son" referred to in the verse, emphasizing His divine authority and power to grant true freedom.
2.
The JewsThe audience to whom Jesus is speaking. They are grappling with the concept of spiritual freedom versus their understanding of physical and national freedom.
3.
The Temple in JerusalemThe setting of this discourse, where Jesus often taught and engaged with the Jewish leaders and followers.
4.
AbrahamMentioned earlier in the chapter, Abraham is a patriarchal figure whose descendants are the Jews. They claim their freedom based on their lineage from him.
5.
Slavery and FreedomThe broader theme of the chapter, where Jesus contrasts spiritual slavery to sin with the freedom He offers.
Teaching Points
True Freedom in ChristJesus offers a freedom that transcends physical or political liberation. It is a spiritual freedom from the bondage of sin.
Understanding Spiritual SlaveryRecognize that sin enslaves, and without Christ, one remains in spiritual bondage regardless of external circumstances.
The Role of the SonJesus, as the Son of God, has the unique authority to grant this freedom. Trust in Him is essential for experiencing true liberation.
Living as Free PeopleEmbrace the freedom Christ provides by living a life that reflects His righteousness and love, avoiding the entanglements of sin.
Freedom and ResponsibilityWith freedom comes the responsibility to live according to God's will, using our liberty to serve others and glorify God.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of John 8:36?
2.How does John 8:36 define true freedom in Christ for believers today?
3.What does "the Son sets you free" imply about Jesus' authority and power?
4.How can we apply the freedom in John 8:36 to overcome personal sin?
5.Connect John 8:36 with Galatians 5:1 on living in Christ's freedom.
6.How does understanding John 8:36 impact our daily walk with Jesus?
7.What does "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" mean?
8.How does John 8:36 relate to the concept of spiritual freedom?
9.In what ways does John 8:36 challenge modern views on personal autonomy?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from John 8?
11.What does "free indeed" mean in John 8:36?
12.What does true freedom in Christ mean?
13.What does being free in Christ mean?
14.What defines Christian freedom?What Does John 8:36 Mean
So- The word “So” links us back to Jesus’ ongoing dialogue with the Jews who had believed Him inJohn 8:31–34.
•John 8:31: “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples.”
•John 8:34: “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
- Jesus is drawing a logical conclusion: since sin enslaves, freedom must come from outside ourselves.
if- “If” signals a personal condition. Freedom is available, yet it must be received.
•John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
•Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- God does not coerce; He graciously offers liberty that requires a faith response.
the Son- The liberator is not a philosophy or a program but the divine Son of God.
•John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”
•Hebrews 1:3: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature.”
- Because Jesus is fully God and fully man, He alone possesses the authority and power to break sin’s chains (Acts 4:12).
sets you free- Freedom here is release from the mastery and penalty of sin.
•Romans 6:18: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
•Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
•2 Corinthians 3:17: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
- This is not partial relief but a decisive act: He transfers us “from the dominion of darkness” (Colossians 1:13–14).
you will be free indeed- “Indeed” underscores certainty and completeness.
•Romans 8:1–2: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”
•John 10:28: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.”
- Our status changes forever:
• Positionally—no longer guilty before God.
• Practically—enabled by the Spirit to walk in newness of life (Philippians 1:6).
• Eternally—assured of ultimate glorification (1 John 5:13).
summaryJohn 8:36 promises that Jesus Christ personally and decisively liberates all who trust Him. Because He is the Son, His act of setting us free is effective, complete, and permanent. When we believe, we move from slavery to sin into the full, secure freedom of children of God—freedom we can enjoy now and forever.
(36)
If the Son therefore shall make you free.--Now the thought of
John 8:31-32 is repeated in special reference to the position they had claimed for themselves. There is need for the emancipation of which He has spoken, and His mission in the world is to proclaim it. If they will enter into spiritual union with Him, and
abide in this new spiritual relation, it will make them new creatures, freed from sin by the power of truth. In the language of St. Paul, as quoted above, "Christ will be formed in them." They will become "members of Christ" and "children of God." The Son of the divine household will make them free, and in Him they will become members of the great family of God Himself. (Comp. the same thought of the divine household as addressed by St. Paul specially to Gentiles, in
Ephesians 2:11-22. See also in this Gospel,
John 14:2-3.)
Ye shall be free indeed.--Or,ye shall be free in reality.--The word is not the same as that rendered "indeed," inJohn 8:31. They claimed political freedom, but they were in reality the subjects of Rome. They claimed religious freedom, but they were in reality the slaves to the letter. They claimed moral freedom, but they were in reality the bondmen of sin. The freedom which the Son proclaimed was in reality freedom, for it was the freedom of their true life delivered from the thraldom of sin and brought into union with God. For the spirit of man, that in knowledge of the truth revealed through the Son can contemplate the Father and the eternal home, there is a real freedom that no power can restrain. All through this context the thoughts pass unbidden to the teaching of St. Paul, the great apostle of freedom. There could be no fuller illustration of the words than is furnished in his life. He, like St. Peter and St. John (Romans 1:1,e.g.;2Peter 1:1;Revelation 1:1), had learnt to regard himself as a "bondservant," but it was of Christ, "whose service is perfect freedom." We feel, as we think of him in bonds before Agrippa, or a prisoner at Rome, that he is more truly free than governor or Caesar before whom he stands, and more truly free than he himself was when he was armed with authority to bind men and women because they were Christians. The chains that bind the body cannot bind the spirit, whose chains have been loosed. He is free indeed, for the Son has made him free. . . .
Verse 36. -
Therefore if the Son - who abideth ever in the Father's bosom, and fills the house with his glory, and is the Heir of all things -
make you free, ye shall be free indeed (
ὄντως, "essentially," only here used by St. John, who elsewhere uses the word
ἀληθῶς, ver. 31;
John 1:48;
John 4:42;
John 7:40;
John 6:14). The Son is he who gives power to become the sons of God. "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees from the law of sin and death" (
Romans 8:2). Only by acquiring the true spirit and regenerated life of a son can any man be delivered from the bondage induced by ignorance of the actual truth about God, about man, and about the relation between God and man. This knowledge is produced by the Son of God, who is the Truth. A full and believing apprehension of the Son of God, a realization of what he is, confers a new life and reveals the wonderful possibilities and relations of human nature. The incarnation of the Son of God as a veritable Son of man emancipates the soul fettered by the tyranny of nature and baffled by the mastery of time and sense, inasmuch as it discloses the august majesty of its own origin. Essential freedom accrues to him who knows that sin is pardoned, that death is vanquished, that the prince of this world is cast out. The eager Jew might look through the battered walls of Zion and the charred fragments of its gorgeous temple, and still see the adamantine structure and its agelong triumph. But the disciples of Jesus, with John as their leader, when these words were recorded by him as they fell from the Lord in their true connection, saw the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, with its open gates, its crystal stream, and the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb as the Light of it. The freedom of a perfect service and the glorious liberty of the sons of God was theirs, in proportion as they accepted their emancipation from the Son himself (
1 Corinthians 7:22;
Romans 8:35, 36;
2 Corinthians 3:18). The sons are "free indeed," whatever the world, or the Hebrew Christians, or the philosophers might think or say.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
Soοὖν(oun)Conjunction
Strong's 3767:Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.ifἐὰν(ean)Conjunction
Strong's 1437:If. From ei and an; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.theὁ(ho)Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.SonΥἱὸς(Huios)Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5207:A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.sets you free,ἐλευθερώσῃ(eleutherōsē)Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1659:To free, set free, liberate. From eleutheros; to liberate, i.e. to exempt.you will beἔσεσθε(esesthe)Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1510:I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.freeἐλεύθεροι(eleutheroi)Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1658:Free, delivered from obligation. Probably from the alternate of erchomai; unrestrained, i.e. not a slave, or exempt.indeed.ὄντως(ontōs)Adverb
Strong's 3689:Really, truly, actually. Adverb of the oblique cases of on; really.
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NT Gospels: John 8:36 If therefore the Son makes you free (Jhn Jo Jn) 
