As a Christian, one popular scripture I and many other Christians have encountered is John 8:32. Here, Jesus confounded His audience when He said “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (KJV). They were confused because they(the Jews) were living free and not as slaves (to the Romans) so they couldn’t understand what other freedom He was referring to. Today, that scripture means a lot of things but perhaps the widely accepted meaning is that the truth is the word of God (John 17:17). Still, people often just use it to refer to the literal truth in a matter i.e knowing what is really going on will be beneficial to you.
Now what does it really mean to know the truth and how can it make you free? I remember a Pastor once pointed it out that the Bible uses the term “make you free” instead of “set you free” which is what is oftentimes quoted. The word “make” connotes a process, it speaks to the gradual happening of a thing which means that the truth you know will continually give you fresh insight and revelation. I encountered this ‘revelation’ last week when reading this same verse that I may have quoted and read a thousand times. I felt the Holy Spirit shining a light in my mind to let me know that not only was the Bible referring to the word of God, it was referring to Jesus Himself.
Think about it, didn’t Jesus say He was the ‘way, truth and life’? The verse suddenly made sense to me in a whole different way. Jesus is the truth we know that can make us free. We spend time with Him, we meditate on the words He speaks to us through the Bible or in our hearts and we begin to experience freedom. Some may wonder freedom from what? I will just have to say its something you have to experience for yourself.
Spending time with God and His word (Jesus) will lead us on the journey of total self discovery and it will be a process of illumination. Those who saw the verse as referring to the literal truth are also correct because walking with Jesus opens your eyes to your identity, to who you truly are. Jesus also says He is the living spring which means that the truth He has for us is ever refreshing. It is so easy to feel drained and lost in today’s world but suddenly we realize that we have a place where we go to feel refreshed and rejuvenated.
It’s the truth you know that can make you free. Jesus is that truth. Knowing Him guarantees access to knowledge and understanding that goes beyond what the brain can comprehend, it is only your soul that can grasp it and when you do, it is just peace from then on. This truth is a process and it will require that you constantly go back to it to remind yourself when you feel confused but no matter the confusion and contradictions around you, it still remains the truth and it is through it(and in this case Him) you experience true freedom.
