Gospel of John - Whose Voice Is Leading Us? Part 2

                                     

Whose Voice Is Leading Us - Part 2

John 10:22-42

 

The feast of Dedication or Hanakku was and is a Jewish celebration of the purging of the temple of God from the defilement by the Seleucid king, Antiochus Ephiphanes, whom Jesus may have made a reference to as a forerunner to the abomination of desolation in the end times (Matt. 24:15). Antiochus Ephiphanes ( meaning “illustrious one” or “god manifest”) sacrificed a pig on the altar of burnt offering to Zeus in the temple as well as in other cities. The Jews rebelled against him and cleansed the temple. They only found one jar of oil not defiled, and they used the one day supply of oil in a menorah. The oil lasted eight days instead of one. It was during this celebration, we find Jesus walking among Solomon’s colonnades, possibly thinking about the defilement of the temple by the world rulers and their teachings. Let’s begin with the text for this lesson, “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. 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.” 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, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 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.”

The Pharisees again pressured Jesus to explain who he is. Jesus again tells them simply, “The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”  The works of God are the evidence that Jesus is the Good shepherd, the Christ, that he and the Father are one. The works of God aren't just the miracles of healing and deliverances, those are but signs. The works of God are in the Words spoken, the transforming faith in believing God’s words, and the One who came from Father. They are the very words of life. Those who hear the words and believe in the One whom God sent, these are his sheep. The changed lives of all who believed and have chosen to follow Jesus, listen to His voice and obey his words by entering through the Gate. But to those who are blind and deafened by the world and its teachings, or the teachings of traditions are blind as well as deaf to the voice of the One God has sent. 

The Pharisees couldn’t hear the voice of the Good Shepherd because it wasn’t the voice they wanted to hear. They clung to the traditions and teachings of religion. They held onto the words of the patriarchs yet didn’t understand that all the words that the Jewish fathers spoke were of the Messiah to come from the Father. 

Jesus in clearness pointed out to the Pharisees, that  those who believe have eternal life, and God the Father had given them to Jesus, as the shepherd to protect, feed, and care for those whom the Father had given to him. He had used figurative language before, but now in literal words “no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Literally it means no one can take them away from God. Jesus continued to clarify this phrase with “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.” The Father is greater than all gods, peoples, traditions, etc. There is no greater power or authority than God. He protects his sheep with his power, feeds them the very words of life, and cares for them as a shepherd cares for the sheep. God the Father has given these to the One he has sent, for He and the Father are One.

Application - In my small town, every spring a local shepherd brings his sheep into the sagebrushed hills to eat the cheatgrass and other vegetation that grows abundant. They are well guarded from the coyotes and other predators. The shepherd stays with his flock day and night with the help of his sheep dogs. They have no concerns other than to take in the provision of the shepherd as he moves them around the hillside to fresh grass. They trust his voice and judgment knowing he is their shepherd. 

Jesus is still the Good Shepherd, even though many do not know his voice. For those who hear his voice and follow him (trust, obey, and submit to his will) He is the Lord (Elohim), the Son of God.

For those like the ones who question Jesus' authority and power, they will not believe and listen to the voice of the One who came to give eternal life. They hear only the voice of this world, the voice of human reasoning and the belief in man as the ultimate authority in life. They have been blinded by the enemy of God (2 Cor.4:4) to the works of God that are even now present everyday. God the Father has given them over to their depraved minds (Rom. 1) to follow the voices of this world or human reasoning, but he has not forsaken them totally, he still seeks the lost lambs and sheep (Matt. 18:10-14) The Good Shepherd still seeks the lost, even if they have gone far astray. 

For all those who believe, he holds them in his hands, and as Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Now in true form, the jewish leaders wanted to judge Jesus by their understanding of words by religious dogma, instead of judging Jesus by the God of the Word. Let’s look at the last portion of the text, “The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 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.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 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’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  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.”  ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  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.”  ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  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.” 

As the jewish leaders picked up rocks, Jesus questioned them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” Again they don’t correlate the good works from God with God approval on the One he has sent. They held to the physical and not the spiritual. For they had asked Jesus to plainly explain to them who he was. They couldn’t deny the works of God, both through words and miracles, that Jesus had done. They held to the thought that no man can be God,  “but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” To them this is inconceivable, though the very words  from God that they heard and read in Synagogue from the scripture pointed to Jesus being sent from God and being God. So Jesus in compassion uses the very scriptures to open the eyes and ears of those blind and deaf to the truth.

Jesus’ response begins with a quote of the patriarch, Asaph a psalmist “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world.” 

Jesus used the Word of God to which they would have been familiar. In psalm 82, God is supreme above all, and he had stated that He said they were gods (small gods), The word for gods is Eliohim, supreme ones. In the psalm, God, the One true God, rules supreme and judges rightly and with power. The psalmist used the word Elohim for the magistrates, those who hold positions of authority and power over people by God's authority to judge. God appoints them to judge with righteousness and authority over men. Jesus used the word to show that God the Father had sent him as Elohim, one who judges rightly and with the authority of God. Jesus was consecrated from birth to a virgin by the Holy Spirit, he was sent by the Father personally to do the will and purpose of God through the works of God. He is Elohim.

Jesus continued, “You said ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;  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.” 

The jewish leaders got their answer to who Jesus said he was, but they couldn’t comprehend the power and authority of Elohim, the one true God, and that he sent his Son, the one true emissary and magistrate from God to bring the truth, judgment, and power of God to do the works of God. Jesus wanted them to at least to know and understand the Father’s good works and know that Jesus and the Father are one, The Father is in him, and he is in the Father.

The Jews again tried to take up judgment against Jesus, But Jesus slipped through their midst. Jesus and his followers walked to the place on the Jordan river where John the Baptist first baptized. It was here that Jesus stayed. “Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.”

Jesus continued to teach the words of God and do the works of God and many from all around came to hear and believe in Him, they heard the voice of the Good Shepherd who cared, fed, and protected his sheep from the wolves.

Application - God’s infallible Word, the sword of the Spirit, the living and active Word that pierces even the soul from the spirit, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The Word that will never change and is absolute truth. This is the Word that we can hear today. But as in Jesus’ day, many still judge him by human standards. I remember having a professor in a Master’s class that was totally upset with Jonathan Edwards' sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.” The professor called him a bully and his sermon was hateful. I told her “We can not judge God by man, but must judge man by God.” Many, like the professor, have a skewed view of God, and Jesus his Son. They want to judge by the voice of this world, by the human reasoning of intellect and emotion. But the greatest judge of mankind is the very Word of God. For it reveals God and His Son, as well as the will and purpose of God the Father. Isaiah said clearly, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6 

Jesus came as the Good Shepherd, but he also is the Savior, who died for our sins, iniquities, and transgressions. As his sheep, we have heard his voice. We have found grace through faith in Him (Eph.2:8-9). We have submitted our lives to him totally by forsaking all others and denying ourselves (Matt.16:24). We confess our sins and trust him for eternal life. He will “forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9), and we follow him as his sheep. We lack nothing, He makes us lie down in green pastures (Jn. 10:10b), leads us to still waters where we are quenched with living water (Jn. 4:14). He refreshes us daily with his presence and guides us in the everlasting way (Ps. 139:22b). He guides us in paths that will have us honoring his name and the name of the Father. (Ps. 23:1-3)

So whose voice are you listening to today? Are we judging Jesus by human reasoning, emotion, or our problems? Are we content in His presence or are we astray following the voice of this world? One day Jesus will separate His sheep from others, His sheep to paradise, the other to damnation (Matt. 25:31-46) . 

As scripture says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Heb. 13:15)

 I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I am developing a new webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. I’m adding answers each week to questions that pertain to our time today.  Thank you

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com