Misunderstandings about ‘Freedom’ in John 8:31–36

Abstract

In John 8:31–41a, Jesus (as the author of the Gospel portrays him) rejects the claims of his Jewish interlocutors that they are the descendants of Abraham and do not need to be set free. In vv. 31–36, he first denies their implicit claim to be free people; instead, he calls them slaves. The author of the Gospel introduces a popular Hellenistic topos, which is often used to demonstrate that being free (in the philosophical-theological-ethical sense of the word) has nothing to do with one’s birth or the social status of one’s ancestors; the only ones who are truly free are those who are free in a religious or moral sense. However, Jesus gives a unique twist to this topos, for he even contests the claim of his Jewish interlocutors to belong to the ‘household’ of Abraham (v. 35), which he explains in more detail in vv. 37–41a.