New Life Bible Fellowship Church
3-9-25
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  • Come To Jesus
  • What A Wonderful Savior

  • Introduction:

    As we continue this morning in the Gospel of John and Jesus public ministry to the people, you will remember last week that Jesus continues to drill down into the truth of those who were once blind but now see, showing that unlike their blind guides, the Pharisees, Jesus is both the Door and the Good Shepherd, as he declares both his third and fourth “I AM” statements from John 10:1-21.
    This morning, we see Jesus at another of the great feast celebrated by the Jews, the Feast of Dedication. Jesus uses this opportunity to connect the “I Am” statements of last week to the security that his sheep have in him, particularly because of the oneness shared between Jesus and his father. So let’s read together John 10:22-42.

    Text: John 10:22-42

    John 10:22–42 ESV
    22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 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.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 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. 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

    Main Idea: Since Jesus and His Father are One, we His sheep can trust Him for our present and eternal salvation.

    I. Skeptical Inquisition (10:22-30)

    A. The Setting (22-23)

    (22) At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
    The eight-day Feast of Dedication, now called Hanukkah, is celebrated in December. It celebrates the rededication of the Jewish temple in December 164 B.C., after its desecration by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 167 B.C. (1 Macc. 1:59), and subsequent Jewish revolt in the time of Judas Maccabeus against Antiochus Epiphanes. In summary, the Jews celebrate it because:
    The rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE 
    The miracle of the oil, when a small amount of oil burned for eight days 
    The Jewish people's victory over the Seleucids 
    The Jewish people's refusal to submit to the religious demands of an empire practicing idolatry 
    (23) and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
    colonnade of Solomon. A portico with roof and supporting columns on the east side of the court of the Gentiles in Herod’s temple, which after Pentecost is the site of healings and preaching in Jesus’ name (Acts 3:11; 5:12).

    B. The Question (24)

    (24) 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.”
    If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. This is the key question arising from Jesus’ ministry. The disciples have already reached that conclusion ( Matt. 16:16). The question will be raised again at Jesus’ trial, and the high priest will regard Jesus’ answer as blasphemy (Matt. 26:63–65). In essence, the Jews are asking, are you the Messiah?

    C. The Answer (25-30)

    (25) Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
    I told you. Jesus affirmed this to the Samaritan woman (4:26) and to the man born blind (9:37), and He had accepted the confession of the disciples (Matt 16:16). In His discussions with the Jewish authorities, He implied as much (8:28, 58). Here He once more affirms His messianic identity absolutely, saying…
    The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me. Jesus earlier referred to His works as evidence of the trustworthiness of His claims (5:36, cf. 3:2), and He pressed this point later before the disciples (14:11; 15:24). The man born blind reasoned the same way (9:32, 33).
    Jesus will again affirm His Messiahship through the works of his Father in and through him…
    John 14:10 ESV
    10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
    Jesus nows drives the point home by stating the real reason for their unbelief…
    (26) but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
    you do not believe. They have closed their eyes to the clear evidence.
    because you are not among my sheep. Only those who are Christ’s, whom the Father has given Him, come to faith. Others are so blinded by their sinful prejudice that they refuse to believe. Only the regenerate, who have been “born again” (3:3, 7) believe.
    Jesus now gives three evidences of how we know who are His sheep…
    (27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
    My sheep hear my voice. They listen to Jesus (vv. 3–5) and they follow Him (v. 4). These believers show renewal in the new direction and commitment of their lives.
    We will see this dramatically illustrated at Jesus second coming and final judgment, as Matt. 25:31–46 shows us, where the Son of Man acts as a shepherd, separating His “sheep” from “goats,” ushering the former into eternal life and sending the latter away into eternal punishment.
    I know (ginosko [pre, act, ind]) them - I know them intimately, and am involved in every area of their life, and as a result,
    they follow me. - They respond by following him. Nothing else in their lives is more important than following Jesus.
    Jesus now declares the outcome for those who are his sheep and hear his voice, and follow him…beginning broadly, and drilling down into the minute details…
    (28) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
    I give them eternal life - The Lord gives His sheep the endless life of fellowship with God (Rev. 7:14–17)
    Revelation 7:14–17 ESV
    14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
    they will never perish - He protects them from perishing, according to the infallibility of divine grace; and
    no one will snatch them out of my hand. - Snatch in 10:28 and 29 denotes the use of force, which He therefore assures us that He allows no one to force them from His hand. The saints persevere because God preserves them. The sheep are not even able to snatch themselves out of God’s hand because the divine Shepherd will keep all of His true sheep from eternally straying (cf. 17:12). The solemn warnings of Scripture against apostasy are not intended to cause doubts about God’s perseverance with those He has saved (cf. 1 John 2:19).
    He now emphasizes how secure his sheep really are…
    (29) 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.
    My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all - as the great originator and sovereign over the covenant of redemption, no one is greater. The Son and the Holy spirit the equals in essence, eternality, and power, nonetheless submit to the eternal roles of the Godhead.
    no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. Because the Son and the Father are one in essence and purpose, the sheep in the hand of the Shepherd is also in the Father’s hand, making the supreme power of God is the ultimate guarantee of the sheep’s safety. Jesus further iterates this oneness with his father…
    (30) I and the Father are one.”
    one. Not identical persons but one in divine essence (the Gk. word for “one” is neuter, not masculine as would be expected if the persons are identical to one another). The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit possess alike the fullness of the divine nature. This essential unity underlies their unity in the redemptive purpose. The verse indicates more than unity of purpose.
    Jesus’ claim that I and the Father are one echoes the Shema, the basic confession of Judaism, whose first word in Deut. 6:4 is shemaʿ (Hb. “hear”).
    Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV
    4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
    Jesus’ words thus amount to a claim to deity. Hence, the Jews pick up stones to put him to death. Jesus’ unity with the Father is later said to constitute the basis on which Jesus’ followers are to be unified (John 17:22). As in 1:1, here again the basic building blocks of the doctrine of the Trinity emerge: “I and the Father” implies more than one person in the Godhead, but “are one” implies that God is one being.
    The Jews understood completely what Jesus was saying as we see in their…

    II. Misinformed Response (10:31-39)

    A. The Response (31-33)

    Note: Because the Jews have understood Jesus’ claim to deity, they are preparing to stone Him for blasphemy (8:59).
    (31) The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. - As in 8:59, stoning was the prescribed punishment for blasphemy (Lev. 24:16). However, this punishment was supposed to be the result of righteous judgment, not mob violence (Deut. 17:2–7).
    (32) Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” - Jesus words echo the purpose of the law’s prescribing a trial for a supposed blasphemer, in which Jesus claims would have been irrefutable.
    (33) The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” - The Jews were hardened to whatever evidence Jesus would propose, as they were locked into Jesus’ destruction no matter what truth was presented.

    B. The Explanation (34-39)

    (34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
    Jesus, in his explanation, is quoting from Ps 82:6
    Psalm 82:6 ESV
    6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
    Also, with relation to God using Aaron to speak for Moses…
    Exodus 4:16 ESV
    16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.
    Under the old covenant, human judges could be called “gods” because they were viewed as acting in God’s place in dispensing justice.
    The Hb. word elohim (the word for God that denotes activity or function of one who governs); it is used not only to refer to the one true God but also to denote false gods, angels, and, very rarely, men exercising divine functions (as in Ps. 82:6, cited here by Jesus, in which the human judges’ mortality appears in the next verse).
    Also note that the phrase, your Law (Hb. torah) is not restricted to the Pentateuch, or Torah, but can refer to any part of the OT as also having legal authority.
    (35) If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—
    to whom the word of God came. This is not a reference to the writing of Scripture but to the divine appointment of the judges.
    Scripture cannot be broken. A strong statement of the authority of Scripture. In this serious confrontation, Jesus does not hesitate to base His whole argument on one word of a minor psalm of Asaph.
    (36) do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? (37) If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
    the works of my Father. The miracles and the whole course of Jesus’ life attest to the correctness of His claim of a heavenly origin and mission.
    (38) but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
    but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, - the works alone bear witness of the truth of who Jesus is…
    that you may know - they become the irrefutable authority that…
    the Father is in me and I am in the Father. This mutual indwelling is characteristic of the relationships within the Trinity. The Father indwells the Son and the Spirit; the Son indwells the Father and the Spirit; and the Spirit indwells the Father and Son. Theologians use the Gk. term perichōrēsis to refer to this indwelling. This mutual indwelling is the basis for the affirmations in this gospel that the glory beheld in the incarnate Word was “as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Though no human has seen God the Father, the Son has made Him known (1:18). Thus, the one who has seen Jesus has seen the Father (14:9–11).
    Jesus’ argument may be understood as follows: “Rather than taking offense because this word is used of Me, you should examine My credentials, which prove My Father has sent Me into this world.”
    (39) Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
    he escaped. John does not give us details but makes it plain that nothing can happen to Jesus until God’s appointed hour (7:44; 8:59; see Luke 4:30).
    However, when it seems that all hope is gone, there will always be evidence that God is at work, bringing his sheep into the fold, as we see finally…

    III. Informed Belief (10:40-42)

    (40) He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. This place, if you remember, was mentioned in John 1:28
    John 1:28 ESV
    28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
    (41) And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” - Those who accepted the truth saw things for what they were, remembering all that John the Baptist had declared about Jesus, …
    (42) And many believed in him there. - they put their trust in all that was revealed about Jesus, in essence because they were his sheep.

    So What?

    Do we understand that because Jesus, our shepherd, has called us, his sheep, he gives to us eternal life as part of his eternal covenant of redemption?
    This eternal life means they will never perish
    This eternal life is secured by both the Father and the Son.
    Do we understand that this eternal life cannot be snatched from us, by anyone, including ourselves?
    The Perseverance of the Saints, is not dependent on us, it is an outcome of our salvation which was not dependent upon us, it is wrapped up in the very character of the covenant keeping God! This is why Paul could say in Romans 8:
    Romans 8:38–39 ESV
    38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    Do you truly believe in Jesus as your shepherd and desire to follow him wherever he leads you?
    David, who lived 1000 years before Christ understood this relationship as he penned one of the most beloved Psalms:
    Psalm 23 ESV
    A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
  • My Jesus I Love Thee
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