Plugged and Unplugged

John 8:35 is a difficult passage. "And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever." Remember context is everything when tackling such matters. Jesus tells us that anyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. So the slave in verse 35 is the one who commits sin. But, the text does say that the slave is in the house, though he does not remain there forever. The audience is Jewish. Jewish sinner-slaves are in the house but will not remain there forever unless they become sons. Is this what Jesus is saying? The special place of the Jews in God's plan is sometimes difficult to fit into the teachings of the gospel. It seems to me that those who lived prior to Jesus' arrival were putting their faith in the one who was to come. Abraham's faith was in the one promised to be a blessing to the whole world (Gen.12). But what of those alive when Jesus came. They were confronted with a different component of faith, i.e. the one who was to come had come, and was standing before them. It was no longer faith in a coming Messiah, it was faith in a present Messiah, and they rejected Jesus as being that coming and present Messiah. So what happens when a person has faith that God will send the Messiah but rejects that Messiah when He arrives?

Didn't Paul shed some light on this in Romans 11? "But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them(Jews) jealous." (11:11) "If their rejection be the reconciliation of the world what will their acceptance be but life from the dead." (11:15)  11:20 says the Jews were broken off from the Olive Tree because of their unbelief, i.e. they did not believe in the One God sent. "And they also, if they also do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again." The overall picture here is that the Jews are the Olive Tree, and that wild branches, i.e. the Gentiles when saved, are grafted onto the tree. But, when a Jew does not believe in Jesus, they are broken off the tree. But, if they put their faith in Jesus, then the can be grafted in again. Now how does all this apply to Jesus' statement in John 8:35?

All men are sinners, of course, including the Jews before and after Jesus came, those who believed in the coming Messiah and those who did not. Romans 3 says that God passed over the sins previously committed before Christ came in view of the person's faith in the coming Messiah. He knew these sins would be atoned for on the cross for all who believe. It is like God had put judgment for the Jew on hold and for those in Jesus' day who were able to decide if they would believe in Him everything hinged on whether they would believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Those who did stayed on the tree. Those who did not were broken off due to unbelief, and therefore held accountable for their sins, i.e. remained a slave and did not remain in the house. But, those who did put their faith in the present Jesus became sons of God, and gained a permanent place in His house. This specific audience on this day were putting their faith in Jesus, but Jesus knew that their faith was not solid, and that they were not yet true disciples. For those who became true disciples of Jesus they remained on the tree and in the house as sons, but for those who did not they were cast out of the house and broken off the tree.