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.”

To whom was Jesus speaking in our verses for today? At first glance, one might think that Jesus was speaking to disciples that truly believed in Him. When one reads our verses for today in its context, however, it becomes plain that the belief of those He was addressing was not as firm as required for true discipleship. Jesus was often surrounded by people who had a superficial, conditional belief in Him. They had the kind of belief that would disappear in a moment if things didn’t turn out as they expected.

What does it take, then, to be counted as a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Jesus answered this question by setting forth one of the main criteria for true discipleship: you must hold to His teaching in order to be a true disciple. It’s easy to get caught up in a moment and say you believe in something or someone; However, the true test of your belief is whether you hold on to it through thick and thin.

If you are steadfast in your belief, then you will know the truth. The people who Jesus was addressing didn’t really know the truth. They didn’t really know Jesus, who is the truth (John 14:6). They only knew the Jesus they wanted to know. They were willing to accept Him as Messiah if He met their expectations of what the Messiah should be. As events unfolded, they became unwilling to accept the true Messiah that was actually before them.

If you actually know the truth, then the truth will set you free. Apart from Jesus Christ, people are slaves to sin (John 8:34). Sin is a bondage that keeps the soul enslaved to evil desires. It is a blindness that keeps the soul from seeing the truth. The truth, the truth that is Jesus Christ, however, breaks through and sets us free from all of that.

Today, accept and believe the real Jesus, not the Jesus of your own making. Surrender to the Jesus that can actually set your soul free from the bondage of sin and sin’s misguided expectations.

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International