Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Slowly and carefully read the passages of Scripture. Reread them. From memory, determine the central points.
- Some of Jesus’ hearers believed in Him. Is this saving faith? Likely not, but a step in the right direction. Some of these may have been converted on the Day of Pentecost. The sign of genuine conversion is a continued abiding or remaining in the words of Jesus.
- The hearers protest they had never been enslaved. Of course, this is not politically true what with the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Syrian, and Roman occupations, but they likely mean religious bondage.
- Sin enslaves and this is not restricted to individual sinning, but rejection of Jesus Himself. Only the Son makes free. They are not free because they mean to kill Him.
- Jesus reveals something so very frightening: they have a father, who is not Abraham, but is the devil. For indeed if they were in fact Abraham’s children, they would believe in and accept Jesus as the son of the Father, the Messiah.
- In fact, these people’s intent is to kill Jesus, the very son of the Father.
- Jesus explains that if they were Abrahams children, they would love Him.
- The reality is these opposers cannot even stand to hear what Jesus is saying.
- Now He tells them that their father is the devil, that means, they are under the influence and power of Satan. And their opposition to Jesus is inspired by the devil.
- Jesus now, in my opinion, reaches out in love to those who are opposing Him. There is love in the wording.