A promise of freedom offended them, because it implied they were not free. They answered by pointing to their family line: they were Abraham's seed. Barnes says the ones who answered were "Not those who believed on him, but some who stood by and heard him," and he calls their claim "a most remarkable declaration, and one evidently false." Gill agrees, noting that "they were at this very time under the Roman yoke, and paid tribute to Caesar." Matthew Henry explains why they missed the point: Christ spoke of spiritual liberty, "but carnal hearts feel no other grievances than those that molest the body." Their question presses Jesus to explain how free sons of Abraham could need to be made free.

Jesus answered at once: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34). A servant "abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever," and "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:35-36). He granted their descent, "I know that ye are Abraham's seed," but added, "ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you" (John 8:37). Barnes notes that Jesus here shows He was not speaking of political bondage but of the slavery of the soul.

Israel's own history told a different story. God had told Abram that his seed would "serve" in a land not theirs and be afflicted four hundred years (Genesis 15:13), and the Ten Commandments open with the LORD who brought them "out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2). Gill points to both texts, and also to Israel's servitude under the Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines, and the seventy years in Babylon.

The Greek verb behind "were never in bondage" is dedouleukamen, from douleuo, to serve as a slave. It is in the perfect tense and is paired with popote, "ever": "we have never at any time been enslaved." The promise they objected to used eleutheroi, "free."

This question shows how Jesus redefines freedom. The people around Him thought of freedom in terms of birth and politics. Jesus located the real bondage inside: "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34). Being born into the right family could not fix that. Only the Son, who "abideth ever" in the Father's house, can make anyone free (John 8:35-36).

Matthew Henry puts it simply: "Christ in the gospel offers us freedom, he has power to do this, and those whom Christ makes free are really so." The way into that freedom is the one Jesus named first: continuing in His word and knowing the truth (John 8:31-32).