Wednesday, May 6, 2026
John 8:31-38
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 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?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”
Devotional
“If you hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples.”
The Greek word for disciple is mathetes—a word that means learner, pupil, or apprentice. It appears throughout the New Testament and always carries this sense of someone who is actively learning from a master.
In this passage, Jesus is speaking to a group of Jewish people who have taken their first steps toward trusting him. And just like many of us who begin following Jesus, faith doesn’t end with that first moment the Holy Spirit opens our hearts. It’s only the beginning.
Jesus is shaping the path forward for these new believers—these disciples. One of the clearest and most helpful ways to understand that word is apprentice. An apprentice doesn’t just listen to a master; they imitate them. They watch how the master works, how they think, how they respond—so that, over time, they begin to resemble the master themselves.
Following Jesus works the same way. The Holy Spirit gives us the faith to begin the journey, but Jesus gives us the pattern. His life shows us what true freedom looks like. Jesus is the perfect human, and so it makes sense that his way of living becomes our model as well.
For the early converts in this story, apprenticeship to Jesus meant releasing their reliance on the Law as their primary guide. For us, the question is similar:
We’re all being discipled by something or someone.
So what do you need to stop following so that you can start following Jesus more fully?
Where is Jesus inviting you into apprenticeship today?
– Pr. Jason
Let us pray: Jesus, thank you for giving me the faith to step out on this great adventure of following you. Keep my eyes fixed on you so that I can become who you have called me to be. Amen.
