This morning we're going to be serving and partaking of the Lord's table.
And as we come to the table, we want to take a few moments to think about what this table means.
Many of us know what it means. We've done this before.
But our hearts easily forget what this table is all about.
And so that's why we do this.
We need to be reminded in here of the love of God for us and what he has done because of that love.
So we're going to reflect a little bit on what Jesus said that points to this table,
right from in John's Gospel where we have been studying up until now.
Last Sunday was all about what it means to be a true disciple, a true follower of Jesus.
And this morning we're going to focus on something else Jesus said in that same section.
Let me read it for you from John 8, verse 31.
To the Jews who had believed him, 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.
They answered him,
We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.
How can you say that we shall be set free?
Jesus replied,
Very truly I tell you,
Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Now a slave has no permanent place in the family,
But a son belongs to it forever.
So if the son sets you free,
You will be free indeed.
So Jesus told the people who were gathered there that day
That they needed to remain in his word.
That they needed to continue to hold to his teaching.
And if they did, he said,
They would come to know the truth.
And that truth, he said, would set them free.
Would liberate them.
And the people responded with surprise,
And perhaps some confusion.
What do you mean the truth will liberate us?
We're Abraham's descendants.
We are his offspring.
We've never been slaves to anyone.
What do you mean liberate us, set us free?
We're not in bondage.
Now I don't think that they meant that the Israelites
Had never been slaves in history.
Of course they were.
They were slaves in Egypt.
They were slaves in Babylon.
Right now in the story,
They're not really in slavery or in servitude per se.
The Romans are ruling over them.
But it's not like it was in the days of Pharaoh.
Or Nebuchadnezzar.
Probably they are thinking about
A different kind of being slaves.
More than just being slaves in a social status sense.
They try to remind Jesus
That they are no ordinary people.
We are Abraham's descendants.
We are free men.
Free women.
By birth.
By right.
By blood.
We are a people of spiritual privilege
Because of our ancestry.
Who we come from
Is Abraham.
The man who God chose
And made a special covenant with.
The one that God promised
To make into a great nation
And the father of nations.
We are his offspring.
We're nobility by birth.
And by blood.
And therefore we do not ever belong
To anyone
But God.
So how can you say
That we need to be liberated
Or set free?
Jesus looks them in the eye
And he says this
Very truly
I tell you
Everyone who sins
Is a slave
To sin
In other words
Jesus says
I'm not talking about
The ordinary kind of
Slavery
I'm talking about
A different kind of slavery
Spiritual slavery
It's kind of
A surprising statement
That Jesus makes
Isn't it?
Everyone who sins
Is a slave
To sin
But this is what he said
Now normally
When people are slaves
They are slaves
To other people
Either they have been
Enslaved by other people
Or they have sold themselves
Into slavery
To other people
But Jesus talks about
A kind of slavery
That's not to another person
But to sin
Itself
Well what is sin?
And how can people
Be slaves
To sin?
Sin is a pretty loaded word
I did a quick little search
On my computer
And it
Over 800 times
It's mentioned
From cover to cover
In the Bible
And it's talked about
In a variety of different ways
Often it means
Simply to do wrong
Either against God
Or other people
But especially
Against God
It's often described
With the language
Of breaking the law
Or disobeying God's commands
But sin is also used
To describe
More than just
The act of sinning
Or doing wrong things
It's also used
To describe
The spiritual condition
Of people
Sinful
Or the spiritual state
Of people
Guilty
And then in some places
Like this one
Sin is even personified
It's talked about
Almost as if it was
This personal force
Within us
A restless evil
Within us
That tempts us
That
Desires what is wrong
That tries to deceive us
And lead us astray
And damages
And destroys us
But here
It enslaves us
It is
The slave master
That we are a slave to
In the language
That Jesus uses
It's a pretty serious
Thing to say
I want you to
Imagine yourself
In the crowd there
That day
And Jesus saying
This to you
We might feel free
Just like the Jews did
Who were speaking
To Jesus that day
But Jesus basically
Tells them
You're not free
You are in bondage
You are trapped
You are a slave
You are owned
And controlled
By sin
It has power over you
Like a slave master
Over a slave
Now what does Jesus
Mean by this?
Truthfully
There are a number
Of different places
And passages
In the Bible
That talk about
How sin
Enslaves us
And we're not going to
Go into all of them
This morning
But the worst way
Of all
Is how sin
Has power
And control
And ownership
Over our final destiny
This is how it works
By sinning
We become guilty
And I don't mean
Just that we feel guilty
I mean that we
Actually become guilty
In the ledger of heaven
Of doing what is wrong
And God
As the righteous judge
Must do something
About our guilt
He can't
Just let us off the hook
And pretend that all
The wrong things
That we've done
Never happened
That wouldn't be just
It wouldn't be right
For him to do that
He has revealed
Many times
And in many ways
Throughout the pages
Of his word
That the consequence
The penalty
For sin
Is death
And then to stand
Before him
In judgment
He's revealed
That all who are guilty
Must receive
What they deserve
For every sin
That they have committed
And he has revealed
That the punishment
That fits the crime
Of sin
Is no less
Than hell
And so because
Of our sins
Our status before God
Is guilty
And we are destined
To face
God's punishment
And so it really does
Have power
And authority
And control
Over us
And over what will
Happen to us
We are not free
We are trapped
We are stuck
And in bondage
It doesn't matter
If you're physically
Descended from Abraham
By itself
That is not enough
To change your status
Before God
Do you hear what Jesus
Is saying to them
Picture yourself there
In the temple courts
As he says this
To you
Sin has you
It owns you
It holds sway
Over you
The wrong things
That you've done
In your life
Have made you guilty
Before God
And so you've forfeited
Your freedom
Your life
And you are a slave
There is good news
Coming
But before we get to it
Let's look at what
Jesus says next
Verse 35
Now a slave
Has no permanent place
In the family
But a son
Belongs to it
Forever
So if the son
Sets you free
You will be free
Indeed
At this point
Jesus begins to talk
For a moment
About a household
A family
And it's kind of
A mini parable
I think
He talks about
The difference
Between a slave
Of the family
Or we might think
Of a household servant
And a son
In the family
He says
The slave
Doesn't have
A permanent place
In the family
But a son
He remains
In the family
Forever
Now there's
Some different ideas
About what Jesus
Means by all this
And how this
Applies to the people
He's talking to
And I'm not
Going to go too far
Beyond what Jesus
Says here
Because I'm not
100% sure
Just how it applies
But there are
At least two things
That seem clear to me
That I think we can
Draw out
First of all
As we've already said
The people who
He is talking to
In this little
Parable analogy
Are the slaves
He says
If the son
Sets you
Free
If the son
Liberates you
In other words
You
Are a slave
To sin
And
We should know
It's not just
The people
Jesus is talking to
Who are slaves
To sin
As we just saw
Jesus said
Everyone who sins
Is a slave
To sin
That includes
The people there
That includes
Me
That includes
All of you
We have sinned
Against God too
And so we
Are slaves
In bondage
But the second
Thing that comes
Out clearly here
Is what Jesus
Says in verse
36
So if the son
Sets you free
You will be
Free indeed
If we are the
Slaves
In Jesus
Illustration
Jesus is the
Son
In the family
And this might
Be a little bit
Hard for us
To relate to
In our culture
Today
But back in
Those days
It was common
For families
To live
And to work
Together
Sons would
Take up the
Family trade
And work
Alongside
Their fathers
And while
The family
Estate and
Business
Belonged to
The father
The son
Would eventually
Come to
Manage it
For his
Father
And then
After his
Father died
He would
Inherit it
The business
And the estate
From his
Father
And so
As part of
This way
Of doing
Family
The son
Had a place
Of special
Privilege
And authority
In the family
He was given
Authority
And the ability
To make
Important decisions
On behalf
Of his father
Including such
Things as
Hiring
And firing
And managing
The servants
Or the slaves
So if the son
Took his
Family signet
Ring and
Pressed it
Into a
Business deal
It was as
If his dad
Had signed
It
If the son
Decided to
Set a slave
Free
Then that
Slave was
Free
Because he
Acts with
The authority
Of his father
That seems
To be the way
Things were
Back in that
Day
And culture
And so
Jesus is
Kind of
Using this
As an
Analogy
A mini
Parable
At the
Same time
As telling
Us that
We are
Slaves
Who need
To be
Liberated
He is
Saying
I am
The son
In the
Family
And so
I have
Come on
Behalf of
My father
To set
You free
And if
I set
You free
Then in
His sight
My father's
Sight
You are
Free
Liberated
So it's
Bad news
That as
Jesus says
We are
Slaves to
Sin
And guilty
Before
God
But Jesus
Has come
To bring
Good news
From God
Do you
Hear it
There is
A way
To be
Set free
He says
If the
Son sets
You free
You will
Be free
Indeed
There is
A way
To be
Liberated
From this
Slavery
To sin
That we
All have
This guilt
Which has
Us destined
For hell
There is
A way
To be
Set free
This is
What Jesus
Has come
To announce
To declare
And he
Is
That way
He is
The one
Who sets
Slaves
Free
This is
Why he
Came
Jesus
Does not
Want you
To stay
A slave
To sin
He doesn't
Want you
To remain
Trapped
He doesn't
Want you
To face
Judgment
Without any
Way to
Escape
What you
Deserve
For your
Sins
That's
Why he
Came
Do you
Hear him
Pleading
Back up
In verse
24
If you
Do not
Believe
That I
Am he
Said
Jesus
You will
Indeed
Die
In your
Sins
There is
A way
To be
Set
Free
To be
Liberated
And here's
What you
Need to
Do
First
And this
Is implied
You will
Have to
Admit
What you
Know to
Be true
You will
Have to
Admit
To god
That yes
I have
Sinned
Against
You
And I
Am a
Slave
To sin
It really
Does have
Control over
Me and
My final
Outcome
You have
To admit
That you
Have to
Confess
That you
Have to
Agree
With jesus
About that
That's
Implied
And then
To be
Set free
To be
Liberated
We must
Simply do
What jesus
Says here
Let's look
Back up to
What he
Said earlier
If you
Hold to
My teaching
If you
Remain
In my
Word
You are
Truly my
Disciples
And then
You will
Know the
Truth
And the
Truth
Will set
You free
So
It's the
Truth
That will
Set you
Free
It's the
Truth that
You will
Come to
Know from
Listening to
What jesus
Says to
Jesus word
That will
Set you
Free
From slavery
To sin
It's the
It's really
Simple
If you
Listen to
The truth
That jesus
Speaks
And you
Sincerely
Grab a
Hold of
What he
Is saying
With all
Your heart
And believe
Believe it
Take it
Seriously
Then his
Truth
His good
News
The very
Words that
He speaks
Through the
Pages of
Your bible
To you
As you
Read them
Will save
You
Will set
You free
Will liberate
You
Many of
You have
Already done
This
Many of
You have
Been set
Free
From slavery
To sin
By faith
In jesus
And we
Praise the
Lord for
That
For us
These words
Of jesus
Are a
Reminder
That we
Have been
Of what
We have
Been
Liberated
From
They're a
Reminder
Of just
How
Hopelessly
In trouble
We were
When sin
Enslaved
Us
But we
Who believe
In jesus
Are here
This morning
To celebrate
And to
Give thanks
For the
Day of
Our
Redemption
And so
Let's turn
Our attention
Finally
To how
Jesus
Is able
To set
Slaves
Like
Many of
Us were
Free
That's what
This table
Is all
About
That's what
It points
To
Jesus
Couldn't
Just simply
Speak a
Word
And forgive
Us
Something
More
Was needed
To satisfy
The laws
Of divine
Justice
Our
Transgressions
Had to
Be punished
And that's
What jesus
Came to
Do
Out of
Love
And compassion
For us
He
Willingly
Came
And chose
To take
The punishment
That we
Deserve
For all
Of our
Sins
Upon
Himself
That's what
He did
Is he
Hung there
And died
On the
Cross
A sacrifice
Of atonement
To god
In order
To set
Us
Free
And so
The bread
And the
Cup
We all
Know
Represent
His
Death
His
Body
His
Blood
Broken
And poured
Out
To set
You
Free
So if
You're
Here
This
Morning
And you
Believe that
With all
Your heart
That jesus
Died on
The cross
To set
You free
Then i
Want to
Invite you
To join
With the
Rest of
Us
Who share
In that
Faith
And partake
With us
Of the
Bread
And the
Cup
In just
A moment
Here we're
Going to
Have a
Couple
Minutes
Of
Quiet
We'll
Put on
Some
Music
And i
Want to
Encourage
You in
These
Moments
To pray
To talk
To god
Talk to
Him about
Sin
About being
A slave
About the
Cross
And what
He did
There
Charles is
Going to
Come around
After a
Couple
Minutes
And pass
Out the
Bread
And the
Cup
And i
Just ask
That you'd
Hold on
To both
Of them
Until
Everybody's
Been
Served
And then
Once we
All have
I'll lead
Us in a
Prayer
And we'll
Partake
Together
Thank you.
We love you so much.
And we celebrate you.
We thank you that you are alive.
And that someday we shall see you face to face.
Amen.
Let's eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus.
Thank you.