John 8:31 ~ Daily Devotion June 20 2023

John 8:31 Devotional (Daily Bible Verse)

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples

Apostle John, in John 8:31, recorded the words of Jesus to the Jews who had believed in Him. He told them: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples”.

The Actions of the Unbelieving Jews: Evil Schemes Against Jesus

Compliance with the law of Moses

Moreover, Jesus spoke these words a day after the Festival of the Tabernacles, while He was teaching the gathering at the temple courts. Then the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery before them (John 8:1-3).

They, consequently, sought Jesus’ opinion on the command that prescribed that the woman be stoned, of course, in a bid to find grounds to accuse Him (John 8:4-6). This followed Jesus’ claim to be the Water of Life (7:37-38), a claim which considerably intensified the official opposition against Him.

Nevertheless, Jesus invited those among them who had not sinned to cast their stones (John 8:7-8). But one by one, they all went away beginning with the oldest (John 8:9). And Jesus followed suit by not condemning her just as they hadn’t (John 8:10-11a).

Additionally, He commanded the woman not to sin anymore (John 8:11b) and continued to teach, telling them that He was the light of the world, who could give life to His followers (John 8:12).

Compliance with the law of witnessing

The Pharisees, therefore, challenged Him on the account of Him being His own witness, thus, invalidating His testimony (John 8:13). He, consequently, told them that His testimony was valid because of where He came from (John 8:14-15) and Who had sent Him (John 8:16-20).

The Thoughts of the Unbelieving Jews: Failure to Understand the Identity and Authority of Jesus

Christ also told them that He would return to where He had come from, a place they couldn’t find Him or go to (John 8:21). So they wondered if He was going to kill Himself (John 8:22).

He added that He was from above, therefore, not of this world. And He also told them that their only way to life was through belief (John 8:23-24).

The Jews, therefore, asked Him who He was (John 8:25a), and He told them that He had come from the Father (John 8:25b-27). But they couldn’t believe His testimony in spite of laying a claim to the (same) Father (John 8:41b) and because of not belonging to God (John 8:47).

Jesus, therefore, told them that they would know that He was from the Father when they would lift Him (John 8:28-29). Consequently, many believed in Him (John 8:30) and He told them that “If they held to His teaching, they would be really His disciples” (John 8:31). And He informed them that they would know the truth, which would set them free (John 8:32). However, they didn’t perceive that they were slaves to sin, thus, slaves (John 8:33-47).

History of Unbelief

Earlier, during the Festival of the Tabernacles, Jesus taught the Jews at the temple courts. But despite His amazing teachings (John 7:14-15), some of them thought that He was a good man while others thought that He was a deceiver (John 7:12-13). Others even tried to kill Him for testifying that His teaching was from God (John 7:16-19). And when He told them that they wanted Him dead because He had healed a man on a Sabbath, they claimed He was demon-possessed (John 7:20-24) – this is the same claim they made when He told them that He was from the Father (John 8:48-59).

The Jews were, therefore, divided on whether Jesus was the Messiah, mainly because they knew where He had come from (John 7:25-27). He, therefore, told them that He had been sent by the Father, Who they didn’t realize (John 7:28-29). And they, consequently, tried to seize Him, but couldn’t because His time had not come (John 7:30).

Christ, therefore, informed them that He was on earth for a short while (John 7:33-36).

Many believed Jesus

All in all, many believed Him, something which made the chief priests and Pharisees want to arrest Him (John 7:31-32). And He told them that those who believed in Him would receive the Spirit (John 7:37-39). Therefore, some of them thought that He was the Prophet, while others thought that He was the Messiah (John 7:40-44).

Hold onto the teachings of Jesus

When you, therefore, claim to be Jesus’ disciple, you have to hold onto His teachings (John 8:31). This is the mark of a true disciple of Jesus because a disciple by definition is a learner. No wonder James taught that faith without actions is dead (James 2:14-26).

Prayer/Blessing

Lord Jesus, I pray that You grant me the grace to hold onto Your teachings. I want to be identified as Your disciple.

This is my humble prayer of faith in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Joshua 1-3 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))