Does teaching bring…freedom?

Ask any school aged child or teenager, and you’ll rarely get any of them to say that their schooling feels like freedom.  [Of course, ask any child in a different culture for whom school has been kept from them, and you’ll get a different answer!]  

But what if some teaching is better than others?

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31

In previous notes/posts, we’ve talked about how integral Jesus’ teaching is to being a learner of Jesus.  Jesus taught primarily about the kingdom of God, because he wanted to correct false assumptions about the character of God, and wanted to proclaim a message of good news about what God was doing, and will do, in the world.  Through many illustrations, he talked about what the kingdom is like, what God is like, and the unexpected nature of the kingdom and its availability to those considered to be on the outside.  

Here, we see Jesus telling us plainly that holding to his teaching is a marker of discipleship.  And, the truth of his teaching will free us from the things that enslave us.  

Of course the crowd that first heard these words argued with Jesus.  They focused on the last word—free—and argued that they weren’t slaves.  We might have the same reaction.  We have a hard time identifying the things that hold us captive.  We say we can quit [coffee, gossiping about others, social media, Netflix shows, fill in the blank] anytime, until someone actually challenges us to do that.  

I did a little digging into the first part of Jesus’ words here.  When he says “teaching” the word used is logos.   When he says “hold to” the word is meno, which means to remain, dwell, or abide.  

Jesus says something similar a few chapters later when he says:

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”  John 14:23

The word “home” comes from the same root as meno, to dwell or abide. 

It seems that Jesus is saying that if and when we dwell in his words, his teaching, his message, that in turn the Father and Son will dwell in us.  And, the idea that truly living in the words and teachings of Jesus sets us free from things that enslave us is a profound one.  

May we give ourselves to the teaching of Jesus, and find the truth that brings freedom.

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