It seems that there was a small group of Israelites that had believed and followed Jesus, but maybe they were getting pushback for doing that. I think Jesus is saying also that we have to continue in the grace that we have been given.
The mystery is why the children of Israel have not received Jesus. St. John mentions this all the way back in 1:11. This is a mystery that we don't really start to get an answer to, until St. Paul considers it in his letter to the Romans. In any case, Jesus offers a close relationship to him to every person, regardless of their ethnicity. That had been the Father's will all along. Being a friend and disciple of Jesus can break any power of sin, even if we are "enslaved" to a sin, or to many sins.
It is the divine power of Jesus that makes us free. Jesus again mentions his intimate relationship with the Father, which stirs opposition. Jesus knows that his fiercest opponents here aren't listening to God at all. He will go on to make the argument that Abraham would receive and listen to Jesus.
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