Do Not Keep Us in Suspense

Lesson #171

With this lesson we will open the next major section of Chapter 10, in which Jesus asserts his deity by claiming that he and the Father are one. We will break it up into lesson sized pieces, with the first piece covering John 10:22 – 25a. “At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon” (John 10:22 – 23 ESV). We now move to a different time and location. It was the time of the Feast of Dedication. I am tempted to simply define what this feast was and move on, but I think we need to stop here for a thought. This is not the first feast John has referenced to give a better understanding of Jesus. For example, Passover gives background to the Exodus themes running through the Bread of Life discourse in the sixth chapter. John used the Feast of Booths as background for the discourse and drama in chapter 7 – 9. The use of this feast is not quite as clear, but if we look ahead to what follows it seems to create a fitting setting for that discussion and allows John to continue to emphasize Jesus’ fulfillment of the feasts, and in particular of the temple.

The Feast of Dedication, which was once called the Feast of the Maccabees, is today called Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. This feast refers back to the re-dedication of the Jewish temple after it had been defiled with pagan sacrifices and rituals. The Festival of Lights is reference back to the one jar of undefiled olive oil found in the temple, which was used to light the menorah in the temple. This oil lasted for eight days, allowing time to make more olive oil to keep the light burning. As the light of the world, Jesus walks into the temple and will soon declare that he and the Father are one and that he is the replacement of that temple, which will soon be destroyed.

Since it was winter, Jesus did not teach outside, but inside, in the area referred to as the colonnade of Solomon. “So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”” (John 10:24 ESV). Did they gather around Jesus to have him clearly explain if he is the Christ or not or are they hoping he will say something that will cause the gathering to become a mob with the desire to kill him. I don’t think this gathering is entirely friendly. After all they have seen Jesus do and say, their request seems to indicate a level of hostility. They want a direct answer, not one couched in a parable, that can be used to either condemn him or believe in him.

“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe”” (John 10:25a ESV). Jesus points his finger back to the people and says to them, “I told you, and you do not believe.” This is sure to increase their anger, but what Jesus then says, we will see later, brings them to the boiling point. A final comment before leaving; What can be very plain to one person can be a complete mystery to another. Think about what you as a believer see as being clear, but to an unbeliever it makes no sense. The natural man is unable to understand spiritual things, but to the one who is spiritually alive it becomes clear. As we witness and teach, we must not forget this because like with Jesus before these people, what we say may be accepted as truth or it may result in persecution against you, as it did with Jesus.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, I find that the closer I walk with you and the deeper I abide in you, the easier it is to understand your word. Thank you for the indwelling Spirit that gives this understanding. Thank you considering me worthy to entrust me with this growing understanding. I pray that you will give me clarity as I write, that my readers would be blessed with a greater understanding of your word and desire to walk more closely with you. 

Division and Resistance

Lesson #170

With this lesson we will finish the fourth section of chapter 10, defined by John 10:19 – 21. Jesus comes to the end of his discourse and as expected, “There was again a division among the Jews because of these words” (John 10:19 ESV). These Jews professed that they worship the God of Abraham and obey the Law of Moses, but now when Jesus comes in fulfillment of the law, they begin to struggle with what Jesus is saying. Over the years the Jews have constructed walls around their belief system and have decided what to look for in the coming Messiah. In their minds he was to deliver them from the Romans. Think about the demands of the law concerning sacrifices and how to worship. To replace these sacrifices with the sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb of God and to accept him as the Messiah, not of a current physical kingdom, but of an eternal kingdom is too radical for them. Jesus is trying to tear down their walls and enlarge their spiritual borders, but those walls provided them security and comfort. With what Jesus is saying about who he is and what they should believe, they are feeling very insecure and troubled. Some understood and believed, but most didn’t, resulting is division, accusations, anger and hate.

“Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”” (John 10:20 ESV). Standing before them is the Son of God, their Messiah and they say he has a demon and is insane. If only they knew that one day, they would have to stand before him in all of his glory and face God’s judgment against them. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain they will experience when this time comes. How thankful I am that Jesus took all of my pain and suffering that I would have experienced and gave me eternal life in place of eternal judgment.  They said, “Why listen to him?”; because he has the words that will set them free of their sin. When a person doesn’t understand and begins to feel uncomfortable or threatened, the natural response is to condemn the one causing their problem and remove that one from their presence.

“Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”” (John 10:21 ESV). There are those who see the miracles Jesus performs and see the hand of God at word, not the powers of the demonic. They also see the connection between the signs and his words and realize that Jesus is indeed their deliverer and for now they are followers of Jesus. Jesus will say and do things in the future that will cause many of these to also turn away.

Prayer

Father, I pray that when I encounter challenges to my faith, I will not react negatively against the challenge, but will step back and quiet my soul and seek understanding of the truth. Lord, I pray that you will continue to open the word to me in greater understanding and strengthen my ability to write, that my readers would be touched by the word through the work of the Spirit, resulting in changed lives to your honor and glory. 

Why the Father Loves the Son

Lesson #169

With this lesson we will finish the fourth section of chapter 10, defined by John 10:11 – 18. We will pick up our study at verse 17: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again” (John 10:17 ESV). Why does the Father love Jesus? “For this reason” looks back to Jesus as the shepherd in verse 16 who is calling the sheep out of the sheepfold to himself, but in order to have these sheep he must die for them. This brings great delight to the Father because in this way Jesus is reconciling us to the Father. He loves us so much and his desire for a relationship with us is so great that he is willing to sacrifice his only Son to obtain it. Our salvation is dearer to him than his Son’s life. To think that the Father would ask his Son to drink the cup of his wrath in our place shows that in his mind he values us as equal to that of his Son. That is the price he is willing to pay to obtain us. It is for that act of obedience that the Father loves Jesus.

This act of obedience, on the part of Jesus, eternally changes him. It starts with the necessity of the Son taking on our flesh and becoming Jesus the God-man and taking that flesh to the cross as the perfect sacrifice. Through our faith in him and what he is doing we are joined to him in his death; we die together physically, but it doesn’t end there. Jesus has the power to lay down his life when his work is done and then he has the power to take it up again. His resurrection doesn’t raise just him, but those of us who by faith died with him. “For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:5 NET). This union with the resurrected Jesus is the great mystery of the ages, “which is Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27). Forever, he and we are intermingled together as one. As he is one with the Father and the Spirit dwells in us, thus we are one together with God. If we really understood this and embraced it, it would radically change our lives. We would indeed by seen as aliens and strangers and would be willing to forsake our idols of safety and comfort and sacrifice our lives, if called upon, and stand as a witness for our Lord.

Jesus continues his discourse: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:18 ESV). Jesus is totally in control, even while dying on the cross. He knows when his work is done; when all the sin for those chosen by the Father have been covered; have been paid for by his shed blood; he then cries out “It is finished.” (John 19:28); “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46). Then on the third day he frees himself and us, who are joined with him through faith, from death. We rise with him, to forever be one with him. It is no longer us and him, but we. I am sure it will take an eternity to fully fathom the meaning of this “we” and what it will be like.

Prayer

Father, as I begin to understand how much God has done for me, through the preparation of these 169 lessons, I find myself standing more and more against the world and standing with more determination with the Lord as a witness.  Activities that I engaged in with the world a short while ago, I can no longer tolerate. The constant desire of my heart is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and serve him in loving obedience. As I continue to study and pray, God continues to change me. Father, thank you for the change. 

I Must Bring Then Also

Lesson #168

With this lesson we continue with the fourth section of chapter 10, defined by John 10:11 – 18. We will continue our study of verse 16, looking at the second of four parts. The first part was “I have other sheep” and the second part is “I must bring them in”. We saw in the last lesson that these other sheep are those chosen by the Father that are yet to be found and be born again. The “must” of this statement is critical; it is of divine necessity because their names are in the book of life, the Father has chosen them, and Jesus has laid down his life for them. Therefore, not one of them can be overlooked. Everyone has to be found! So, how does Jesus bring them into the flock?

We find the answer in verse 3: “To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3 ESV). How does that work today? The Father sent Jesus to be a witness and “Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21 NET). So how is his voice heard as we are sent out? Jesus said, “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony” (John 17:20 NET). Jesus calls through prayer and we witness to those he is calling. Can you see the importance of our prayer to know who he is calling so we can be at the right place at the right time for an effective witness?

The third part of verse 16 is, “They will listen to my voice.” If Jesus calls and the sheep hear him, then is there a need for our witness? Yes, as we have seen above, there sure is! But there is more. Jesus commands us to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark16:15 ESV); to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19 – 20a ESV). It is a partnership in which we share the gospel and he calls. It is true that today many Muslims are reporting having dreams and visions in which Jesus calls them, but there is still follow up to the experience with someone sharing the gospel. Once Jesus calls and has “brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:4 ESV). How do you know you have been called out? You hear his voice and you follow him. If you are not following the Lord Jesus in loving obedience, then you need to question your salvation.

The fourth part of verse 16 is, “So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Notice the two words “will be”? Some say there are two flocks; Jews and Gentiles and they are to become one. The results of our studies indicate two different flocks; those in the sheepfold and those already called out. As people are born physically, those with names in the book of life will be in the sheepfold, waiting to be found and called out. These are lost sheep waiting to experience being born again. One day when the last person whose name is in the book of life is born again, then there will be just one flock and this flock is forever. We know this because of verses we will study later: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27 – 30 ESV).

Prayer

Father, what a beautiful plan is laid out here. Every person is born in sin and deserves eternal punishment, but you prepared a way through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to satisfy the demands of justice, allowing you to exercise your sovereignty and show mercy to a chosen group. These you adopted as children into your family, giving the gift of salvation as an act of grace. Father, my salvation is all about you and not about me. The only part I played was to simply accept your offer, which no “lost sheep” is able to resist. I will never forget the night I heard your call. Nothing could have prevented me from accepting Jesus Christ into my life that night. Absolutely nothing! 

I Have Other Sheep

Lesson #167

With this lesson we continue with the fourth section of chapter 10, defined by John 10:11 – 18. We will pick up our study at verse 16: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16 ESV). There are four important parts to this verse; 1) “I have other sheep”, 2) “I must bring them also”, 3) “They will listen to my voice”, and 4) “So there will be one flock, one shepherd”.

Before we look at these four statements, consider how one becomes a sheep. The sheep are those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ as instruments for righteousness (Romans 6:13) and their bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). These will not perish, but will have eternal life (John 3:16). Have you given your life to Jesus Christ as an instrument for righteousness and your body as a living sacrifice? If not now is the time to do so.

Jesus says, “I have other sheep.” Who are these other sheep? Before we answer that we need to review this chapter. In verse 1, we are introduced to the sheepfold containing sheep. Jesus is the shepherd of these sheep (verse 2) and enters by the door. He calls to these sheep by name and they come to him and he leads them out (verse 3). Jesus goes before those he brought out of the sheepfold and they follow him because they know his voice (verse 4). Before Jesus calls them these people are already defined as sheep. I believe they were defined as sheep when their names were recorded in the book of life way back in the beginning. In the context of chapter 10, these sheep are the people Jesus is calling to himself during the time he was in Israel as her Messiah. He is in the process of creating a new people, a new flock. Notice, that these he calls and adds to the flock are already known as sheep that already belong to him, because when he calls them, they hear his voice and come to him.

How can people be sheep before Jesus calls them, before they are born again? The answer is found in John 17:6: “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word” (ESV). These people, these sheep, belong to the Father and he gives them to Jesus at their salvation, when being born again. These were the loss sheep that are to be brought into the fold. They are sheep because their names are in the book of life. Ephesians 1:4 helps us understand this: “For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love” (NET). From before the foundation of the world the Father had title to these sheep. They were his to do with as he pleased; these he given to the great Shepherd to give eternal life to and to keep secure forever. Today, throughout the world are these lost sheep waiting to be called and brought into the fold.

Prayer

Father, so many people struggle with this concept of sheep existing before being born again. You are sovereign and you can choose who you want to adopt, but we your sheep have been given the command to search for the lost sheep. Father, for me these two doctrines are not one or the other, as so many argue, but both. I believe you choose and we are to find those chosen. Thank you for the power and the beauty of these two doctrines working together. 

The Unreliable Hired Man

Lesson #166

With this lesson we will begin the fourth section of chapter 10, defined by John 10:11 – 18. We begin this section by considering the inferiority of the hired hand who was to watch over and care for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep” (John 10:12 – 13 ESV). Jesus is telling this story, a parable, to point out the failure of the Jews as shepherds to the people of Israel and point out that God sent him as the true Shepherd.

Those who names were recorder in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world are the people the Father chooses for salvation. They are the ones Jesus died on the cross for and with the shedding of his blood he purchases them. These chosen ones the Father draws to himself, prepares them to understand and to desire to come and accept Jesus Christ for who he is. These people the Father causes to be born again and given as gifts to Jesus Christ.  

Since the hired man does not own the sheep he thus considers his life and its protection to be more important than the safety of the sheep. When the hired hand sees danger coming he is not willing to risk harm to himself, he leaves the sheep to the destruction of the wolves and flees to safety. As a believer, are we like the hired man? Do we embrace safety and comfort so that when our faith in Jesus Christ is threatened, we tend to remain silent or even deny Jesus to protect ourselves? We need to evaluate our willingness to face persecution and its cost and we also need to consider the effect on our relationship to God if we do not remain faithful.

After pointing out the unreliability of the hired man, Jesus then continues by saying, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14 – 15 ESV). Jesus is the good shepherd because he was willing to lay down his life for the sheep. Jesus owns the sheep because, as the perfect sacrifice he shed his blood, dying on the cross as payment. These he owns, he knows by name and they know him. Jesus then gives an example of how well we should know each other; as well as the Father knows him and he knows the father. Jesus then, for the second time, says he will lay down his life for the sheep.

The relationship between us and God may be greater than you think. On January 29^th I posted some thoughts about 1 Corinthians 6:17 on Facebook. That verse reads: “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” Jesus has always existed as the Son of God, who came to earth in the form of a man; fully God and fully man. At our spiritual birth our new creature in Christ had its beginning; our start point for eternal life. At that point the eternal Spirit came to dwell in us and we in him. At that instant we became God-men; one with God and he with us. This same eternal Spirit dwells in you and I, if you are a believer, making us part of one body. Can you comprehend the meaning of oneness with God and having the capacity to know every believer intimately because of this oneness of relationship? We who make up this body of believers are the sheep that belong to Jesus, the good Shepherd. As you get your mind around what God has done for you through Jesus Christ, we can’t but bow before him in worship and out of love serve him in obedience.

Prayer

Father, the more I study for these lessons, the more I learn about who I am in Christ and what he has provided for me now and for the future. The more I know and understand the more overwhelmed I become and the more I look forward to passing from this earthly body to the heavenly realm. What a truly awesome day that will be. But if we don’t study and learn so as to understand, how can we look forward to that time with anticipation? Father, maybe that is why people pray so hard to be healed when near death; to live a bit longer here on earth. When that time comes for me I pray that my family and friends will pray for a quick passage and for the grieving of those left behind. 

The Good Shepherd

Lesson #165

With this lesson we will begin the third section of chapter 10, defined by John 10:11 – 18, where Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11 ESV). Here we encounter another one of the “I AM” statements made by Jesus. Use this link to see a summary of the seven “I AM” statements. Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd, which is in contrast to what we will see when we look at the behavior of a hired hand. Jesus is good because he cares for his sheep, even in the face of great danger. When the wolves come he does not leave the sheep to be destroyed, but fights them, even to the laying down of his life for them.

Four times in this section, Jesus says he lays down his life for the sheep. Verse 11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”; Verse 15b: “I lay down my life for the sheep.”; Verse 17: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.”; Verse 18: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” The last three we will consider when we get to those verses. But here in verse 11, Jesus is considered good in contrast to the hired hand of verse 12: “He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them” (John 10:12 ESV). If we are the sheep, then who or what are the wolves?

Three times in John wolves are mentioned that Jesus lays down his life to save us from. First, in John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Sin is a wolf that is destroying the world and cuts us off from a relationship to God. Jesus came as the Lamb of God to offer up himself as the perfect sacrifice to draw the wolf of sin off of the world and onto himself and die in place of the sheep. Isaiah spoke of this in Isaiah 53:6 – 12, where “All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him” (Isaiah 53:6 NET) like wolves. “He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7 NET). Jesus, as the Shepherd in John 10:11, is the Lamb of God here in Isaiah and in John 1:29.

The second wolf is death and follows after sin: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 ESV). The wages of sin is death and death destroys. It does not matter who you are; your position; your wealth; your age or your sex, you will experience its devastation in your life. Death does not end what we have planned in this life and end our conscience existence. It destroys what we have planned in this life and leads us into God’s judgment. Jesus died on the cross for our sin and by rising again he defeated death. If we are in Christ we have eternal life and are free of judgment and protected from this second wolf.

The third wolf is judgment. “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 ESV). Justice requires that one die for his sin, but Jesus came and lived a perfect life and earned the right to take and drink the cup of God’s wrath, which was meant for us, by his death on the cross. By being judged for our sin, justice is satisfied and God is able to grant us mercy by pardoning our sin and extend grace to us in the form of eternal life. The death of Jesus satisfies justice and protects us from this third wolf.

Indeed, Jesus is the good shepherd to give his life for the sheep for through his death he defeated the wolves that would have overcome us; the wolves of sin, death and judgment.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your obedience to the Father, to willing come to earth as Jesus and out of your love for us, die that we might have eternal life. Lord, your sacrifice, by the shedding of your blood you established the means of our salvation and became the head of the church. Father, through our sacrifice and the shedding of our blood when necessary, the church is being extended. Father, set me free from the need to embrace safety and comfort and prepare me to be willing to sacrifice everything for my faith if called upon to do so.