John 10:22-42

Bible's open to John 10.

John 10 verses 22 to 42.

John 10:22–42

!

John 10 verses 22.

John 10:22

It was winter and Jesus is walking around the edge of the temple in the colonnade of Solomon.

It stretches around the perimeter of the temple.

It would be very busy, particularly at festival time.

That's where this argument takes place.

And the argument is about what lies right at the heart of John's Gospel.

That is Jesus' identity.

So do you remember what John's purpose is in writing this Gospel?

We've talked about it many times, haven't we?

You can see Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, but they're not written in this book.

But John says these are written for the express purpose that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that by believing you might have life in his name.

And so the central question, right at the heart of John's Gospel, is Jesus' identity, who he is, and faith in him.

And that is what this argument is all about.

We don't know actually if voices were raised, but if you look at verse 31, it certainly seems it's about to get violent.

His Jewish opponents pick up bricks.

They pick up stones to stone him.

Verse 39, they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

And at the very end of this passage, Jesus gets out of Jerusalem very wisely,

where people are trying to kill him, and he crosses over to the River Jordan.

And verse 42, many people believed in him there.

And what I want to do is very quickly go through the passage, and then kind of step back and see what issues are at stake.

The argument kicks off in verse 24.

The Jews gathered round him, they said to him,

How long will you keep us in suspense?

If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.

We're nearly halfway through John's Gospel.

For nine and a half chapters, Jesus has been teaching about himself and the miracles.

And they still think his identity is a bit of a mystery.

As recently as verse 14 of chapter 10, Jesus said,

I am the good shepherd, I know my own and my own know me.

So Jesus' response to them, to ask and tell us plainly,

Jesus says in verse 25,

I told you, and you don't believe.

The works that I do in my Father's name, bear witness about me.

Not only have I told you on numerous occasions who I am,

but all my works, by which he means his miracles,

surely they're a big clue as to who I am.

You see, it's not that you haven't had the question answered,

or that my identity has been hidden,

it's just you haven't liked what you've heard.

And you haven't liked what you've seen.

I've just told you, I am the good shepherd.

My sheep know me and I know them.

And the only reason that you're still asking this question is because

you're not my sheep.

You're not one of my people.

You're not one of the people that God, my Father,

has given to me to belong to me forever.

Look at verse 28.

I give them eternal life.

And they will never perish,

and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

But then he says,

I'm not the only one who's keeping them safe.

My Father who's given them to me is greater than all,

and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hands.

Jesus is saying,

he and I,

my Father and I,

work so closely together

in looking after the sheep,

the only conclusion that you can come to

is verse 30,

I and the Father are one.

Is that plain enough for you?

The temperature rises,

verse 31,

the Jews pick up stones again to stone him.

They did it in verse,

in chapter 8,

and Jesus gives them the slip then,

and he does again.

He deflects that anger,

he avoids getting stoned.

Jesus tries a different tactic.

He asks the question,

verse 32,

I've shown you many good works,

beautiful works,

from the Father,

for which of them are you going to stone me?

Those stones which you've got in your hands,

for which of my many miracles

are you going to kill me for?

Maybe it's the healing

of the man of his blindness in chapter 9.

Maybe it's for feeding 5,000 people

in the wilderness in chapter 6.

Maybe it's for healing a man

who's been paralyzed for 38 years,

chapter 5,

or bringing a boy back

from the verge of death,

chapter 5.

Those terrible things I've done.

Take your pick.

Which of the beautiful things

that I have done

deserve death,

Jesus asks.

Verse 33,

the Jews answer him,

it is not for a good work

that we're going to stone you,

but for blasphemy,

because you,

being a man,

make yourself God.

Can you see that the plainness

of what Jesus said

in verse 30

has been understood?

They had registered,

they'd got what Jesus was saying,

even if they hadn't liked it

or accepted it,

they understood it.

The next bit

is a little bit complicated,

but basically Jesus says,

let me give you two reasons

why you shouldn't stone me

for equating myself with God,

for claiming to be equal with God.

The first reason

is that the Bible itself

calls humans

both gods and his sons.

Seems strange to us.

The Bible calls humans

both gods and his sons.

It may seem strange to us,

especially the first bit,

but Jesus quotes Psalm 82

to back that up.

See, he says,

if you want to stone me

for blasphemy,

for calling myself God's son,

if you want to be consistent,

you have to accuse God himself

of blasphemy

because he called

other humans his sons.

And I guess that's a bit

of a problem for you,

for you to accuse God

of blasphemy.

He then gives them

a second reason

not to stone him.

If you have a problem

with me and me a man

calling himself God,

well, I'm undeniably

doing the things

that only God could do.

So again,

the only conclusion

that you could come to

is at the end of verse 38,

that the Father is in me

and I am in the Father.

Again,

they sought to arrest him,

but he escaped

from their hands.

That's the argument.

They are the contentious issues

of John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

And what I want to do

in the rest of our time

is dig just into the imagery

that Jesus uses

in verse 14.

And so there's three points.

My sheep is point number one.

Not my sheep is point number two.

And then the shepherd

is point number three.

First, his sheep.

There are five hallmarks

of people who are his sheep.

That's very helpful

for us tonight.

There are five marks

of every sheep

that belongs to Jesus

who have him as their shepherd.

The first mark

of being one of Jesus' sheep

is verse 27.

They listen to my voice.

It's not that they

just can hear,

but they listen.

They listen to him.

Being one of Jesus' sheep

means that you listen

to his authoritative voice

in Scripture.

First of all,

they listen to him.

The second mark

of his sheep of Jesus

is that they're known by him.

Verse 27.

My sheep hear my voice

and I know them.

I think that's really important

for you and I

to grasp about Christianity.

Christianity is about,

listen to this,

knowing Jesus

and more importantly,

being known by him.

Christianity is a two-way relationship.

We know him

and he knows us

as those who belong to him.

The third mark

of one of Jesus' sheep,

they hear my voice,

I know them

and they follow me.

So when they hear Jesus speak

with authority in their lives

and when they see

where Jesus is leading them

and what he's calling them to

in their lives,

they follow him.

They obey him

because he is their shepherd.

Their obedience is patchy,

to say the least.

Sometimes the sheep

are willfully disobedient.

But we still remain

his sheep after all

because over all,

sheep who belong to Jesus

want to do what he says

in their lives

because they trust him.

They trust that he is

their good shepherd.

Their good shepherd

who has laid down his life

for them

and so they follow him.

And that is how fourthly

he is able

to give them eternal life.

Verse 28,

I give them eternal life

and they shall perish

and no one will be able

to snatch them

out of my hands.

Because Jesus died

and rose again

defeating death,

he can give his sheep

eternal life.

Eternal life

that only he has to give.

All humans

have souls

which are immortal.

but only his sheep

have eternal life.

Not just eternal existence.

They have eternal life

as a gift.

And that means

that they,

his sheep,

they and they alone

will never perish.

The fifth mark

of Jesus' sheep

is that those sheep

are given,

are not only given

the gift of eternal life.

But they themselves

are a gift

given by God the Father

to God the Son.

Just look with me

what Jesus says

in verse 28.

It's not only

that they are given

eternal life,

but they themselves,

the sheep,

are a gift

given by God the Father

to God the Son.

Look at how Jesus

puts it in verse 28.

I give them eternal life

and they shall never perish.

And no one will snatch

them out of my hand.

It's wonderful.

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.

And we know,

don't we,

we talk about the gift

that goes on giving.

We say that expression,

don't we?

But here,

you have a giver

who never quite

lets go of the gift.

Can you see that?

the Father gives

to Jesus

the sheep

to keep safe

as their good shepherd

forever.

But safe as they are

in Jesus' hands,

it's as if they never

really leave

the Father's hands

in the first place.

He is the giver

who never,

quite,

never quite lets go

of the sheep.

How about that

for security?

When you go home

tonight,

most of us

on our doors

before we go to bed

will have two locks

on our front door.

Two locks

on the front door,

why?

Why isn't one lock

enough?

Two locks

to keep you safe.

In our homes,

there will be

a double security.

Well,

the sheep

who belong to Jesus

have this same thing

forever,

double security.

His hand

wrapped around them

for all eternity.

And the Father's hand

doing

the same thing.

So before you go

to bed tonight,

before you go

up the stairs,

remember that when

you double lock

the door tonight,

there's this beautiful

picture,

there's this double security.

You are in Jesus' hands,

you're in the Father's hands.

And so his sheep

hear him,

know him,

follow him.

He gives them

eternal life

and he gives them

to Jesus

to keep safe

forever.

Do you recognize

yourself as one

of those sheep?

Does that resonate

with you?

If you do,

there are five reasons

there,

aren't there,

for you to thank

Jesus that he is

your good shepherd.

But if you don't,

if you don't recognize

yourself tonight

as one of Jesus'

sheep,

you might recognize

yourself in the group

he describes next.

Secondly,

not his sheep.

And it's clear

from the way

that Jesus is speaking

that people

who are not

his sheep

are the opposite

of those who are.

It's very simple.

So,

they don't listen

to him

and they don't

know him

and they are not

known by him

as belonging to him.

They don't follow him.

They don't want

to do what

he tells them

to do.

It's just not

interesting,

it's not relevant

for them,

it's not that

they're necessarily

ignorant of him.

And the people

who Jesus first

said these words

to,

they had seen

exactly the same

thing as the

sheep had seen.

They had heard

exactly the same

thing as what

the sheep had

heard from him.

but they just

didn't believe

what they'd seen

and heard from

Jesus.

And so the

question is

why not?

And the answer

to that question

is the surprise

of the passage.

The question,

the answer to that

question is not

what we expect,

it's not what we

want to hear.

Have a look at

verse 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.

You have

heard,

you have

seen,

what everyone

else has

seen and

heard.

But verse 26,

what's the

reason?

You do not

believe because

you are not

among my

sheep.

Jesus does

not say what

we would be a

whole lot more

comfortable with.

He doesn't

say you

don't believe

you are not

one of my

sheep.

you don't

believe you

are not

one of my

sheep.

He says

because you

are not

one of my

sheep,

you don't

believe.

Being a

sheep or

not determines

whether you

believe or

not.

Does that

make sense?

You're looking

at me a little

bit puzzled.

Does it?

Let me just

repeat it.

Okay.

He doesn't

say you

don't

believe you

are not

one of my

sheep.

He says

because you

are not

one of my

sheep,

you don't

believe.

Being a

sheep or

not is

what determines

whether you

believe or

not.

Not the other

way around,

which begs the

question,

how does

someone become

one of his

sheep?

if you

have to be

one in the

first place

to believe in

him,

and the

answer to

that question

is implied

in John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

but I think

it's clearer

maybe in

John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

Do you

remember that?

Jesus said

to them,

I am the

bread of

life.

He changes

the metaphor.

He's using

a different

picture there

to explain

his identity.

I am the

bread of

life.

Whoever

comes to

me shall

not hunger

and whoever

believes in

me shall

never thirst.

So coming

to

Jesus,

believing

in

Jesus,

they are

the same

thing.

And then

John 6

John 6:38

verse 38

says,

all that

the Father

gives me

will come

to me,

and whoever

comes to

me I

will never

cast out.

And then

verse 44,

no one

can come

to me

unless the

Father

draws them,

and I

will raise

them up

on the

last day.

So how

do you

come to

Jesus?

How do

you believe

in Jesus?

Well first,

the Father

has to

draw you

to him.

Switch back

to the

shepherd and

the sheep

analogy.

The Father

has to

make you

one of

his sheep.

And if

he does

that to

you,

if he

draws you

to Jesus

and makes

you one

of his

sheep,

then you

will come

to him,

you will

believe in

him,

you will

listen to

his voice,

and you

will know

him and

you will

be secured

in his

hands

forever.

But if

he doesn't

do that

for you,

you won't

be any

of those

things.

No one

can come

to me

unless the

Father draws

them.

Now we

like to

think of

it being

the other

way around

because that

puts us

in charge,

doesn't it?

it puts

us in

control,

whether we

choose to

believe in

Jesus or

not,

whether or

not we

come to

him.

The way

Jesus puts

it in

John 6

and in

our

passage

today,

John 10,

puts the

Father in

charge.

He is

in control

of who

believes in

Jesus or

not,

of who

is a

sheep or

not,

and

instinctively

when we

hear that,

we don't

like it.

But it

gets worse

if you come

back to

John 10.

if not

being his

sheep is

the opposite

of being

one of

his sheep,

not only

do we

not listen

to him

and are

not known

by him

and not

follow him,

we are

not given

to him

by the

Father.

And we

are not

given

eternal

life.

We are

not safe

in his

hands and

the Father's

hands

forever.

We will

exist

forever

beyond

this body

and life

on this

earth

but not

in a

way that

you could

call

life

in any

way.

What Jesus

calls it

here,

he calls

it

perishing.

That's how

you will

exist.

And so

again,

let me say

tonight,

if you

recognise

yourself

as not

being one

of Jesus'

sheep,

sheep,

that may

well offend

you,

mightn't it?

And that

might well

provoke you.

Why can't

you be the

one who

decides

whether or

not you

are one

of his

sheep?

And if

you can't

be the

one,

then why

do you

seem to

be responsible

for that?

Facing the

prospect of

eternal

perishing

rather than

eternal

life.

And if

that is

something that

troubles you

or confuses

you or

irritates

you,

please,

please,

ask a

question of

me or

one of

the elders

afterwards.

But can I

also say

this?

If you

recognise

yourself as

not one

of Jesus'

sheep

tonight,

and your

main reaction

as you

recognise

that,

it makes

you really

sad,

because you

would actually

rather like

to be one

of his

sheep.

You would

really like

to be one

of his

sheep.

has it

ever

occurred to

you that

that in

itself might

be the

clearest

indicator that

you've had

that the

father is

right now

through the

words of

John 10,

as God's

word is

preached,

it is

drawing you.

He is

drawing you.

He is

drawing you

to his

son.

He is

making you

into something

that you

are not

yet,

but may

well be

by becoming

one of

his

sheep.

The

sheep,

not his

sheep,

and then

finally the

shepherd.

Again,

there are

five things

that he

says one

himself,

and all

of them

are massive.

First of

all,

Jesus

performs

miracles.

It's one

of the

things that

Jesus is

well known

for doing,

isn't it?

But the

fact is,

he still

did them.

He healed

a blind

man,

a paralyzed

man.

He fed

5,000

people in

the next

chapter.

He will

actually raise

a dead

man back

to life.

And those

arguing with

him in

this passage

don't dispute

that he did

any of

those things.

They don't

say you

never did

those things,

you can't

do them.

They just

don't like

his assertion

that he

can only

do it

because God

the Father

is doing

it through

him.

The

miracles

of

Jesus,

what do

you make

of them?

What

conclusion

do they

bring you

to about

him?

The second

thing that

Jesus says

about himself

is that

he and

the Father

are one.

Verse 30,

we've seen

it already,

I and the

Father are

one.

And there's

something very

similar at

the end

of verse 38,

the Father

is in me

and I

in the

Father.

that is

the only

conclusion

Jesus says

that you

should come

to about

his miracles.

Not that

he and

the Father

are the

same person,

but they

are about

the same

thing.

He and

the Father

are on

the same

page.

They are

eternally

synchronised

and united

in their

purpose and

intention.

That is a

huge claim

for anyone

to make

about God.

I and

the Father

are one.

And that

is why

they actually

want to

kill him.

Which

means that

for today

all those

who object

and there's

lots of

ways,

different ways

to object

to that

claim,

they are

wrong if

Jesus is

right.

If he

and the

Father

are one,

totally

united in

purpose

and in

intention.

And so

that means

Muslims

are wrong

about

Allah

if

Jesus

is

right.

It means

that

atheists

are wrong

about

God's

existence

because

there was

once a

human

being

who

walked

this

earth

in

history

2000

years

ago

whose

existence

was

fully

attested

who

did

what

only

God

can

do.

It

means

Buddhists

are

wrong

and

Hindus

are

wrong

if

Jesus

is

right.

He

and the

Father

are

one.

He

is

ruling

out

all

other

alternatives.

The

third

thing

is

he

is

God's

Son.

He

is

not

the

same

person

as

the

Father.

He

is

the

Son

of

God

the

Father.

But

he

is

just

as

much

God

as

the

Father.

the

fourth

thing

he

is

the

good

shepherd.

Sheep

need

a

shepherd

to

thrive

and

survive.

In

fact

all

sheep

need

a

shepherd

regardless

of how

robust

and

self

sufficient

they

are

regardless

of

whether

they

believe

in

the

existence

of

a

shepherd.

They

need

one.

And

how

good

it

is

to

know

that

the

shepherd

that

God

the

Father

has

provided

is

a

good

shepherd.

one

who

lays

down

his

life

for

the

sheep.

And

the

fifth

thing

the

last

thing

Jesus

says

about

himself

is

he

is

the

giver

of

eternal

life.

Because

he

voluntarily

laid

down

his

life

he

was

able

to

take

it

up

again.

Have

a look

at

verse

18.

Jesus

says

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

the

authority

to

take

it

up

again.

Because

Jesus

had

the

authority

to

take

up

his

life

again

authority

over

death

he

has

through

that

victory

eternal

life

to

give.

His

resurrection

is not

just

good news

for

him

it

is

good

news

for

others

only

because

he

is

generous

to

share

with

others

what

he

himself

has.

verse

28

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

!

Jesus

gives

us

eternal

life

it's

not

that

he

gives

us

our

own

private

personalized

existence

but

he

draws

us

into

his

eternal

life

life

to

the

full

which

makes

him

not

just

a

good

shepherd

or

the

good

shepherd

but

makes

him

the

best

shepherd

that

anyone

can

have

and

that

leaves

us

with

this

one

question

doesn't

it

from

John

10

is

he

your

good

shepherd

are

you

one

of

his

sheep

or

not

let's

pray

some

Thank you.