The issue was that of “freedom.” Freedom from “sin”. The issue was not being enslaved by or to sin. The issue was being “set free” from sin.
John’s Jesus speaks in riddles sometimes, he is not always crystal clear…so people are left to their own devices to discern exactly what it is – he is saying.
As is sometimes the case – there was confusion and misunderstanding.
People picked up on the issue of “slavery.” That is what they heard. Maybe even, that was all that they heard.
They were not slaves.
They were “free men.” The response of these Judean elites was almost outright laughable. They said they had never been slaves to anyone.
How quickly the communal mindset can sometimes forget.
Apparently they were in denial about being conquered by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans. (All of which, were real-in-time historical events.)
Just as – we can say, that we too…are not “slaves to sin.” We do not sin that much! A little here, a little there, but certainly not “slaves” to sin. Besides that, the “slave” word is one of those concepts that today we would rather avoid talking about. It’s not PC.
We prefer to talk about “freedom.” (Especially “religious freedom” or “freedom” in general, as a nation and as a people!)
Martin Luther was a “slave” to his childhood, a slave to the thought patterns of the Middle Ages and a slave to the religious practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
Understand this: it was a different age and a different time. His father would discipline him so severely with a rod, that he would actually bleed through his pants. For any infraction, mistake or for any act of disobedience – you could be severely beaten. The church taught that God was like an earthly father, strict and stern. The church also taught that you had to say your prayers, venerate statues of the saints and make pilgrimages to Rome to “earn” your forgiveness and salvation. Without the purchase of Indulgences, grandpa and grandma and maybe even your parents themselves might not be freed from the fires of hell.
Common belief of the day and of the time – was the world was flat – the sun revolved around the earth and the earth was the center of the universe. Any teaching to the contrary – was punishable by immediate death.
It was also an era in which, the trees and the woods were filled with goblins, witches, demons and trolls. Devils were everywhere and all around us. People were haunted nightly by their demons.
The people of Jesus’ time and of Luther’s time 1500 years later were not “free.” They were all held in one form of bondage or another.

For Luther, it wasn’t until he became professor … of New Testament in a small German village, named Wittenberg…that he started to become free.
It started with his in depth study and reading of the Holy Scriptures that he discovered a new found freedom.
God was not at all “punitive” like his earthly father but was all forgiving, merciful and kind. God was love incarnate. God was a heavenly father.

He also discovered that God was mighty and more powerful than all the demons and all the devils that lived with him and surrounded him. God is all powerful.

He also learned that God’s love and mercy for him were entirely free, that there was no such thing as “earning” or “buying” God’s forgiveness. Therefore, indulgences were a hoax and got you nothing at all – for all of your money.
But, he did learn that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was being built and benefited from every coin that supposedly went into the pot.

Like a breath of fresh air…the Reformation opened up a new way of thinking and believing. Luther became “free” to be the kind of human being – God intended him to be. It was immersion in the WORD, immersion in the Gospels, immersion in the Bible that brought forth new freedom and new understanding…

And I am sure that Jesus was smiling because it only took 1500 years, but people finally acknowledged that we are saved by God alone!

Finally, people were being freed from their sinful selves and absolution and forgiveness were being made possible!
Sola, Dei! Sola Gratia, Sola Fide! Sola Scriptura! Solus Christus!