John 10
John 10:1-6 In biblical times many different flocks were gathered together within a walled enclosure for protection during the night. A gatekeeper would guard the gate all night long. In the morning, the shepherds would come, walk into the pen through the gate, and call out to his sheep. Remarkably, the sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice and follow him out of the pen. Jesus tells a story here that would have been understood by all. It was common practice among the Jewish people. But as He said this to the Pharisees who were present (see John 9:40), they simply did not understand. They didn’t make the Spiritual connection. They could not make the connection that Jesus was speaking of Himself. What Jesus was saying is that those who truly recognize the voice of God were following Him, insinuating that since the Pharisees were not following Him, they obviously do not know the voice of God nor are they part of His flock. These religious men were not only blind to the miracles but deaf to God’s voice as well. I should probably point out here that this chastisement was directed toward those who should have recognized the voice of God, but would not. This is not the same as someone who is following Jesus, but who has a difficult time discerning His will. This scripture should not be used in that context.
John 10:7-10 To help clarify just what He was implying, Jesus gives two examples of how He cares for those who hear His voice. He is the door – He is the only way a person might find security and safety. Everyone else who came before Him only cared for themselves, not for the flock. If these Pharisees truly cared for the people they would not pitch holy temper tantrums every time someone came along and put a person ahead of custom or tradition. It was from selfishness and vain conceit these Pharisees drilled the former blind man and were upset that a rule was broken. Andy Griffith once explained this to Opey. He said “Suppose there was a lake that had a No Swimming Allowed sign. And suppose a boy comes along and disregards the law and goes swimming anyway. And suppose that boy starts to drown. Now if a man came along and saw the boy drowning, the more important thing to do was to save the boy rather than obey the law”. That’s the point Jesus is trying to make. Out of selfishness and vain conceit these Pharisees were upset that the Law was broken rather than rejoicing that a life was saved. That’s stealing grace. That’s killing hope. That’s destroying truth.
John 10:11-13 Jesus points out that He is willing to sacrifice His own life for the good of the sheep (the people of Israel), something the Pharisees were not willing to do. They expected the people to make the sacrifice, and not an animal sacrifice upon the altar, but personal sacrifice to rules and laws and customs. For example, the Pharisees placed their customs and traditions ahead of the people, as seen with this man born blind. Jesus, on the other hand, elevates the person above the law. Sometimes I think this is still an issue the church struggles with today. Sure, the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin. I agree with that teaching. But I am not going to drive a person away from God because they practice homosexual behavior. I will gladly do what I can to bring that person to the Lord. I don’t criticize and harangue them about their sin, trying to clean up their life before they come to Christ. I will teach them that God accepts us while still a sinner, redeems us from a life of sin by the blood of Christ, and will then confront our sin from that day forward. To minister in this way is to place the person ahead of the Law, and still uphold the Law. We don’t diminish God’s requirement for holiness, we simply place the person’s salvation ahead of the Law. Now I know a lot of my evangelical friends will disagree with that statement, but it has been my experience that a person becomes more sensitive to their sin once the Spirit is present in their lives. And the Spirit is given after they accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. It’s just far more effective to teach holiness to someone filled with the Spirit than it is to someone deaf and blind to God’s truth.
10:14-18 Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus indicates that His voice will be heard among the Gentile nations (not of this fold). This too becomes a condemnation to the Pharisees. Jesus is saying that even those among the Gentiles are above these Pharisees, for they hear the voice of God while these religious Jews do not. Harsh words, but true. In due time the Church will be more Gentile than Jewish. Even today, Gentile Christians outnumber Messianic Jews. Amid this reference to other sheep, Jesus makes an interesting statement that was probably missed by most of the group. Not only will He lay down His life when the time is right, but He (Jesus) has the authority to take it up again. Someday I want to spend some time discussing whether God raised Jesus from the dead, or if Jesus chose to renter His old body, reanimating it back to life. I mean, it was only the body that had died, not Jesus, right? And since He and God are one, would He not have the authority to make that choice? Anyway, we’ll talk about that another day.
John 10:19-21 Once again the people are divided about Jesus. Some head His voice and believed, while others thought they heard the raving of a demon-possessed lunatic. This division still happens today.
John 10:22-23 Today we call this celebration Hanukkah; an eight-day festival celebrating the cleansing of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in 168 BC.
John 10:24-27 Jesus says that His works in His Father’s name should be proof enough. But those doing the questioning would not believe what they see nor believe what they hear. Arguing and debating with these people was pointless. It’s the same today. Those who want to debate about Jesus will not believe even if you win the debate. They are not seeking the truth. They are seeking proof that their beliefs are correct. If you even encounter someone who wants to argue about Christ, don’t waste your time. Don’t cast your pearls before swine. These people are not the same as someone wanting to know more about Jesus.
John 10:28-30 In Christ’s final confrontation with these unbelieving Jews, He leaves them with an amazing statement of assurance for those who do believe. No one can snatch a believer away from God. For those who see and believe or hear and know, Jesus will grant everlasting life. They become a child of the King; a child of God. Paul’s words of assurance come to mind as Jesus assures those who believe (see Romans 8:38-39). Our eternal security rests in the strength of the Shepherd, not on frail sheep like you or me. Those who call upon Jesus for salvation will be guarded, protected, and secured by Jesus who, by the way, is one with the Father (not one person, but one in purpose or one in nature).
John 10:31-38 Once again the people become irrational. Notice that in verse 33 they clearly understood what Jesus had just implied. He had claimed to be God. In His defense, Jesus points them to scripture; Psalm 82:6, to be exact. Although this was not considered part of the Mosaic Law, all the Old Testament was considered to have God’s stamp of authority (Cannot be altered or broken). Jesus quotes this Psalm questioning whether these Jewish people wanted to say that the scripture was in error. Which they would not (a testimony to the inerrancy of scripture). The point He is making here is that the leaders of Israel who had been appointed by God to represent Him on earth should be acting as His representative. Asaph (the author of Psalm 82), in an effort to awaken honor and responsibility in the leaders hearts, calls them “gods”; for through them the justice and righteousness of God might be seen. So what Jesus is pointing out is that since Asaph called God’s representatives “gods”, was it wrong for Jesus, God’s representative, to call Himself God. Let the proof of His work be His testimony of truth.
John 10:39-42 Jesus leaves Jerusalem and travels east of the Jordan River where His ministry first began. John has taken us full circle.
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