“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does
not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36)
When Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses back in 1517, he eventually antagonized a lot of people. Those who were most upset included the Pope and the cardinals as well as all those corrupt priests and prelates in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther had revealed the truth about the Word of God, truth which the Church had misrepresented and hidden for centuries in order to protect the power and wealth of its leaders. They brought down on him the wrath of the secular authorities of the Holy Roman Empire who tried to silence him.
Luther remained steadfast in his teaching because he was devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Jesus had a similar problem with the religious leaders of the Jews. Whenever He spoke to them He antagonized them because He told them that no one can be saved by the Law for all people are enslaved to sin including the most religious. True freedom is not found in following the Mosaic Law, nor, for that matter the American constitution, but in becoming a disciple of Jesus, that is, having faith in Him as the Savior of all mankind. That may sound simple and easy but it is not. Faith necessitates a total surrender to Christ to obey His teachings.
The leaders of the Jews did not like to hear what Jesus said. He spoke words of authority and truth which ran contrary to the rules of the bureaucratic Jewish religious system. They could not accept these truths because they felt that Jesus not only broke the Mosaic Law (which He came to fulfill) but also because He challenged their authority and power just as Luther did with the rulers of his day. Consequently the rulers of the Jews wanted to eliminate Him. Rightly did Jesus call them children of the devil: though they claimed to know God and to be His followers, they did not walk in faith or obedience to Him.
The same words Jesus spoke that angered the Jews fill us with peace, hope and comfort. Yet many today still refuse to accept this truth or take it out of context. The truth that sets men free is that Jesus is our salvation who frees us from the power of sin and death. Many today would rather see Jesus as just a man on a par with Moses, Buddha, or Mohammed, but Jesus does not give us this option. Jesus is infinitely superior to all men for He is God incarnate. Faith in Him is the only true faith there is. All those who lack such faith are enslaved to sin. People make think they are free to act and think as they choose, but they are not. True freedom only comes by faith in Jesus who alone is our sin offering.