JOHN 10:22-38
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.24 The Jews who were there gathered around Him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,26 but you do not believe because you are not My sheep.27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand.29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again His Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone Him,32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?”
33 “We are not stoning You for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’?35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as His very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse Me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?37 Do not believe Me unless I do the works of my Father.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 in the Father.”
JOHN 10:22-38 JESUS AND THE FATHER ARE ONE
Springford Baptist Church: April 3, 2022.
As we listen to or read the news coming out of the Ukraine and Russia, we can often be left wondering what is true and how can we verify what is true and what is not. How do we know what to believe?
How much do we want to know the truth?
Today we are asking, How do we react to the truth of who God reveals Himself to be?
The conversation that Jesus has with some Jews, that we find recorded in John 10:22-38, indicates that although the evidence of Who Jesus is was right there in front of them, many refused to believe it. They had the opportunity to consider the evidence and to listen to Jesus’ voice and to draw accurate conclusions about Jesus’ identity, but they were unwilling.
Think with me of young children who want a certain answer. When they come to their parents, they keep persisting and pushing for the answer they want. When are we as adults like that? If we already have the answer that we want to receive in mind, how open will we be to listen? How willing will we be to listen to the voice of Jesus, the One Who gives us eternal life?
Could we be praying that God will enable us to set aside our resistance to hear truth and to come today asking God to allow us to know Him more completely. This is such an important part of our journey toward Easter- to know God as He is and to know God as He reveals Himself through Jesus.
When some of the Jews come to Jesus, it might appear that they really do want to know the truth. They say to Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” (vs. 24b)
The Jewish people did not want to miss the coming of The Messiah/ The Christ/ The Annointed One. They did believe God’s promise that He would send The Messiah to save them. However, when Jesus did not fit their ideas of what The Messiah should be, many refused to believe that Jesus was sent by God and was God’s Messiah.
Our desire to know God must set aside our assumptions in order to encounter God as He is truly.
Jesus responds to them, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,but you do not believe because you are not My sheep.” (vss 25,26)
Isn’t it really hard to tell someone something if they are convinced they already have things figured out?
What will it take for us to be willing to receive from God confirmation of Who He is and fresh understanding of how we know God by knowing Jesus?
For those who will listen to Jesus there can be the choice to follow Him and to receive eternal life.
This is even more than a relationship of knowing God through Jesus here and now. This is the wonder of a gift that is literally “out of this world”. It is the gift of eternal life.
Sometimes people struggle with the thought of losing their salvation. Jesus makes it clear here that when He gives the gift of eternal life, no one can take that away. He declares, “no one will snatch them out of My hand.29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.30 I and the Father are one.” (vss. 29, 30)
Both Jesus and His Father guarantee the gift of eternal life. The truth and dependability of what they offer is secure because as Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” (vss. 30)
There’s a renovation show that we sometimes view on TV called “Rock Solid Builds.” It is set in Newfoundland. The son and the father are both contractors and they work together, but they do not always agree. Sometimes they have very different ideas about how to approach things.
This is not the case with Jesus the Son and God the Father. They are absolutely agreed. They are agreed in the crucial matter of eternal life because as Jesus truthfully states, “I and the Father are One.” (vs. 30)
What happens when truth is staring us in the face and we refuse to accept and believe it?
For these Jews they refused to believe that Jesus was God’s Son and so they also rejected the chance to receive eternal life through Him.
Jesus persists in giving them the chance to recognize the truth of Who He is in relationship with His Father. He says, “37 Do not believe Me unless I do the works of my Father.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 in the Father.” (vss. 37,38)
We do need to consider carefully and to discern what is true in our world.
We do need to consider carefully and to know what is true about God.
When we look at the works of Jesus, we can know and understand that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. Jesus and the Father are One. Further to this is the whole purpose of Jesus entering our world is to show us the Father and to make it possible for us to receive eternal life with the Father.
Since Jesus and the Father are One, this is their shared purpose. The Son and the Father are in complete agreement. We experience this complete agreement of the Father and the Son when we come together to the Lord’s Table this morning. Will we, the sheep, listen to the voice of our Shepherd who speaks truth when He invites us to come and to remember His sacrifice for us?
Jesus giving his body and shedding His blood for us is not a plan that He came up with independent of God the Father. They both knew this was the only way that human beings like us could receive the gift of eternal life and Jesus was willing to do this for us. We express the truth that Jesus and the Father are One and we can know God in a deeper way this morning as we come to remember Jesus and the truth of what He has done for us!