Why don’t people believe in Jesus Christ? You tell them, you plead with them. You show them the folly and emptiness of life without God. You show them the offer that Jesus Christ makes. "Follow me, and I will give you eternal life." You show them that they really are not going to lose anything in coming to Christ that they have to leave behind anyway, but they will gain the world. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." [1] You show them that life is nasty, brutish, and short, but Jesus Christ offers life to the full, abundant life, eternal life. You show them the benefit of life with Christ Jesus as Lord.
Yet as the parable of the soils tells us, many come to the very edge of true faith. They might see that Jesus is the Christ, and assent to that proposition. But they will not go the next step and entrust themselves to Jesus Christ. They do not commit themselves to Jesus Christ, and rest and rely on him. They will not throw in their lot with Jesus Christ. Why don’t they do what so many of you have done? Why don’t they give their whole lives to Jesus Christ? Why don’t they hear the call of Christ as he comes to them in the gospel?
There are many answers to that question. They are addicted to this world, they want to have their cake and eat it, they are stuck in something that is more real to them than Christ is, they are skeptics and distrustful of the church, they aren’t convinced that it is true.
But there is a big reason that they don’t come to Christ as the good shepherd, and it is this: they are not Christ’s sheep. That is the reason Jesus Christ gives that the Jews who surround him won’t accept him as the Christ in our passage.
Our reading locates Jesus in the temple area (v. 23). A few weeks earlier, Jesus gave sight to the blind man. Then Jesus called himself "the gate for the sheep", giving them life to the full. And Jesus claimed to be "the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep".
The feast of dedication, which is the setting of this discourse, wasn't one set down by the Old Testament. It arose from the re-dedication of the Second Temple in 167 BC, after it was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes. While not a festival commanded by the Old Testament, it was about 200 years old when Jesus was walking in the covered outer temple porch area called 'Solomon's Colonade'. And at this time, the Jewish leaders encircle him, as sharks do their prey, and they have one simple request for Jesus.
Verse 24, "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly" (NIV). Jesus, you haven’t really been clear enough for us. Tell us, are you the Christ? Answer us in unambiguous and unmistakable language.
Now, in a sense, Jesus has spoken more clearly to others in John’s Gospel. Jesus clearly revealed himself to the Samaritan woman as the Christ, and John never records Jesus saying that to the Jews. However, Jesus openly revealed himself as the Son of Man to the once-blind man, probably in the hearing of the Pharisees, in chapter 9. Jesus claimed to be the “I am” that existed before Abraham was born in chapter 8, and the Jews wanted to stone him for that. They thought it was plain enough evidence of blasphemy at the time.
Jesus probably avoided saying the exact words "I am the Messiah" to the Jewish leadership because the Jewish people as a whole, including his disciples, all misunderstood the Messiah’s job. Just like his disciples, who objected to Jesus saying that he must die, the Jews would have understood a direct claim, “I am the Messiah”, as a political and military claim. Indeed, in chapter 6, on the occasion of the feeding of the 5000 in the desert, the crowd intend to make Jesus king by force, which is why Jesus withdraws. But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, but is of a different place. And so Jesus couldn’t talk to Jewish people in that way, that he was the Messiah and the Christ.
In any case, these Jewish leaders are probably fishing for a case against Jesus. They have gathered enough witnesses around him to make the case stick, if Jesus puts a foot out of line. Now they want a clear statement that they can use against him.
So Jesus says to them, "The problem’s not me, it’s you. No, I have been very plain and open. All my claims and the evidences for them are on the public record, for you to see." Verse 25:
I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles [or works] I do in my Father's name speak for me [or bear witness concerning me] (NIV)
Jesus is saying, "I’ve been clear. I’ve even got the testimony of my Father’s works. Here I am, doing my Father’s works. And you say I haven’t been clear?"
"But", says Jesus, "the problem is you, it’s all you, not me". Verse 26, "but you do not believe because you are not my sheep" (NIV). "You don’t come from my flock. So of course you don’t believe." Verse 27:
My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. (NIV)
My sheep believe, and follow me, that’s just what my sheep do. They know and follow me. You do not believe because you are not my sheep. You are the problem.
Note, it is not, Believe in me and so become my sheep. It is, you don’t believe because you are not my sheep. In the end, Jesus’ words point back to God’s eternal election. Being God’s sheep depend on the merciful decision and predestination of God. For left to ourselves, we would never choose Jesus Christ, because of our fallenness and sin. We need God’s prevenient work in us, which goes ahead and changes our hearts. Faith in Jesus Christ is the fruit and result of election. Election is not the fruit and result of faith; it is the cause of faith. And the fruit of election is hearing Jesus' call as the good shepherd, knowing his voice, and following Jesus Christ. The way you tell that you are Christ’s sheep is "Do you follow Christ? Do you hear Christ’s voice? And do you believe on Christ? Have you given yourself to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for you, and took it up again?" That is the mark of being Christ’s sheep. "My sheep hear my voice."
And people don't follow Jesus because they are not Christ’s sheep. That is the ultimate reason. God is not to be blamed because he can have mercy on whoever he wants, any more than the President of the United States is to be blamed because the US has occupied federal prisons. The President could conceivably pardon any and all such persons, and empty the prison. The President of the United States has the power to pardon every prisoner in every prison, as far as I am aware. But for good reason no US President has ever done this. But no one considers the President blameworthy for their incarceration, even though the President has the power to bring it to an end. And likewise, God is not responsible that some people are not his sheep. Responsibility for sin is sheeted home to the sinner. But praise for divine mercy is to be given only to God.
And there is great benefit of being the sheep of Jesus Christ. If the good shepherd is your shepherd, look at what Jesus Christ says of you. Jesus says of you, verse 28:
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish (NIV)
Jesus gives his sheep eternal life. This eternal if is a gift. It is given. This eternal life is life to the full, the abundant life that Jesus promised (John 10:10). Christ’s sheep will never perish, because the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep, and has authority to take up his life again. The gift of eternal life comes from the good shepherd’s death and resurrection for the sheep. And the result is that the sheep shall never perish. Literally, they will never ever perish into forever. [2] You get the feeling that the sheep are eternally secure, don’t you? You get the impression that nothing can separate the sheep from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. They will never ever ever perish into forever.
But we have such a weak grasp of the shepherd, don’t we? Our trust is often weak and faltering, sometimes tired and frequently ready to fall. In fact, if our faith be looked at strictly, it is accompanied by all kinds of doubts, it is timid, it is at times half-hearted, afraid, and prone to waver.
But our salvation does not depend on the strength of our grip or the power of our hand.
Sheep wander and get lost. So much is certain. That’s why sheep need a shepherd. But you see, there is something more certain and trustworthy than that sheep wander. It’s that the good shepherd is on duty, and will not lose one of his sheep. The last part of verse 28 and verse 29:
28 No one can snatch them out of my hand. [3] 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; [4] no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. (NIV)
No one can snatch the sheep from the good shepherd. And if that were not enough, the sheep are not only safe in the hand of God the Son, but also safe in the hand of God the Father, who is greater than all. The devil cannot snatch them from the hand of the Father and of the Son. The demons cannot. Wolves cannot. Wolves in sheep clothing cannot. False shepherds cannot. Other sheep cannot. Even they themselves cannot.
Sure, the sheep would go astray and wander from the hand of the shepherd if they could, because they are, after all, dumb sheep. We all like sheep have gone astray, and we would continue to wander if left to our own devices. But we have a shepherd, a good shepherd, who ever lives to shepherd us. That’s why we need a shepherd to keep us in line. And we have one. And this shepherd is busy overseeing the safety of our souls. The good shepherd’s rod and staff, which he uses to correct, rebuke, and chastise the sheep, are in the end a comfort for the sheep. "Ah, my shepherd rebukes me, he shuts me in behind and before, he won’t let me go." That is the security of the sheep.
And God is continually at work in the elect, the sheep, to give them the heart to continue to believe and trust in Jesus Christ their shepherd, through his loving discipline and oversight. The saints persevere, that's just what they do, otherwise they wouldn’t be saints. The sheep will persevere unto the end in faith and repentance, in hearing the voice of God, in responding to his rebukes, falling into sin and then being restored to repentance like the dumb sheep they are, because of the unity of purpose of God the Father and God the Son. The good shepherd will lose none of those sheep that the Father has committed to his care. And God will bring to completion the good work that he has started in you, his sheep. That is the assurance for those who trust and faith in Jesus Christ.
But Jesus can’t help himself, and can’t stop himself from making the big claims. Those kidders say that Jesus hasn’t been plain! Jesus always pushes the envelope in John’s Gospel. He always provokes his hearers, and oversteps the bounds they set. It is not enough for Jesus to talk of the unity of purpose that the Son shares with the Father. It is not enough for Jesus merely to say, "I do what my Father does. Look at my works. I want my Father wants."
All that is true. But Jesus must talk about who he is, and not just what he does or what he wants. Jesus must talk about the unity of being that he has with the Father. The last part of verse 30:
I and the Father are one. [5]
The one who says that before Abraham was born I AM (John 8:58), and who willingly receives worship as God, says "I and the Father are one".
John introduces Jesus Christ as the one who was in the beginning with God and was God. Jesus Christ is the great God the only begotten (mongenes theos), who is at the Father’s side (John 1:1, 18). And John starts his Gospel this way because Jesus himself taught that he himself was one with the Father.
Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "The LORD our God, the LORD is one". But now Jesus, who makes that God known, is saying something about that one God. There is a plurality of persons within that one God. Within the Godhead of that one God, the Son is one with the Father. And indeed, at the end of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus reveals the triune name of the One God who eternally has existed in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In other words, Jesus’ statement, "I and the Father are one", is not just a statement of the will and works of the Father and the Son, but a statement about their being and divinity. That is, Jesus is saying that he is, as the Nicene Creed says, "one in being with the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God."
The Jewish leadership wanted a clear statement about Christ being Messiah. Again, Jesus gives them more, a claim to be equal with God, to be one with the Father. And they understand it as such, because they pick up stones to stone him in verse 31. And they understand what Jesus is saying as a claim to divinity. Verse 33:
"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." [6]
They get it. They understand what Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying just what John claims for him, what Thomas says to him. Jesus is God.
And Jesus doesn’t go back on this claim. He leaves the claim hanging there, unretracted, in all its extraordinariness. "I and the Father are one."
But Jesus does go back to what the Jews knew. Jesus goes back to the Old Testament, to Psalm 82:6. And in Psalm 82 verses 6 and 7, God says to the leaders of Israel.
6 I said, 'You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.' 7 But you will die like mere men … (NIV)
Here is Jesus quoting the Old Testament, and the Old Testament calls the judges of God’s people, ‘gods’.
Now, when I lived at Rooty Hill, I used to work past a martial arts shop on my way home. And I went in and got to talking about Christian things. And it turned out he was a pantheist. He believed that we were all part of the divine nature. And he quoted John 10:35 to me. God has said, "you are gods". "So we are all gods", he said. "And we shall all return to the god from which we are sparks." Jesus made himself God, and so should we. What is true of Jesus is true of us. Jesus is not God the unique and one and only Son, but simply showing what is true of everyone.
But this is to read John 10 verse 35 in contradiction to John 1:18, that Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. He is the one the Father set apart as his very own (John 10:36). He is the one who had glory with the Father before the world began (John 17:5). None of us existed before we were born, but Jesus did.
Those called ‘gods’ in Psalm 82:6 are gods in terms of their function, not their being. They are men, they are not eternal. Because verse 7 says "you will die like mere men". They are gods in the sense that they act in the function of God, having the power of life and death as judges. But they are mortal. So the Psalmist is using a metaphor. Because the human judges exercise God’s function of judgment, Yahweh the God of Israel in the Old Testament calls them, ‘gods’. They are called 'gods' because they are like God in exercising God’s prerogative of judgment.
And Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater. Since God calls judges of Israel ‘gods’, how much more can Jesus ‘the only begotten Son of God’, say that ‘I and the Father are one’.
Who is Jesus? (v. 36)
In the end, Jesus plainly calls himself God’s Son, in verse 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"? (NIV)
And this is a Messianic claim. For in Psalm 2, which was applied to the Messiah, the Davidic Christ was told, "You are my Son, today I have become your Father." (Ps 2:7 NIV)
So the Jewish leadership have got all the evidence they need. If they wanted to accuse Jesus of being the Christ, he has claimed to be God’s Son, he has claimed to be uniquely set apart and sent into the world, and to be one with the Father.
Perichoresis (v. 38)
Far from retracting his statement, "I and the Father are one", Jesus goes further. Not only is Jesus one with the Father, but the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father. The Father and the Son mutually indwell. Verse 38:
But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand [perhaps better, know and keep on knowing] that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. (NIV)
Jesus is saying that the Father dwells in him, and that the Son dwells in the Father. This reflects the fact that the persons of the Trinity mutually indwell one another. Anyone who has seen the Son, has seen the Father, because the Father indwells the Son. And when you have the Son, you have the Father. And the Holy Spirit, too, likewise mutually indwells Father and Son. So when you have the Holy Spirit, as every Christian does, you also have the Son and the Father. If the Spirit indwells you, so too does Father and Son, through that same Spirit. So Paul says, in Romans 8:9-11, that the Christian is indwelt by the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of Christ, who is Christ in you, who is the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit all mutually indwell one another. When the Spirit comes to live in us, so to does Christ, and the Father.
Though Jesus says that the Jews don’t believe because they are not his sheep, he bids them to believe. Verse 38:
even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles
He calls on the people who surround him to have faith in him. And if Christ’s words are not enough, Jesus points them to his works. The works Jesus did testify to Christ’s identity.
So I will do the same. I call upon each of you, dear friends, to put your trust in Christ. Believe his words, believe his miracles, believe Jesus Christ is one with the Father. Believe the Father is in Jesus, and Jesus the Son is in the Father. And believe that nothing can snatch you out of his hand and that he will give you eternal life. For that is why Jesus came.
Let’s pray.
[1] Jim Elliot (1927-1956) after Philip Henry (1631–1696).
[2] Emphatic future negative καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται with prepositional phrase εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
[3] Verse 28: κἀγὼ δίδωμι αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει τις αὐτὰ ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου.
[4] Verse 29a is textually uncertain. Does Jesus say that the Father is greater than all, or that which the Father gives is greater than all. It is most likely that Jesus would say the former rather than the latter, though the latter statement is the harder reading. But the harder reading is in fact impossible. Moreover, the masculine is supported by P66 and A, as well as D, θ, and the Byzantine text, which is reasonably good ms support.
[5] Verse 30: I and the Father are one. (ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.)
[6] ἀλλὰ περὶ βλασφημίας, καὶ ὅτι σὺ ἄνθρωπος ὢν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν.
[7] So NIV. Literally, How long will you lift up/take away our life/soul?
NA28
22Ἐγένετο τότε τὰ ἐγκαίνια ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις, χειμὼν ἦν, 23καὶ περιεπάτει ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐν τῇ στοᾷ τοῦ Σολομῶνος. 24ἐκύκλωσαν οὖν αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· ἕως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις; εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός, εἰπὲ ἡμῖν παρρησίᾳ.
25ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε· τὰἔργα ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ πατρός μου ταῦτα μαρτυρεῖ περὶ ἐμοῦ· 26ἀλλ’ ὑμεῖς οὐ πιστεύετε, ὅτι οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐκ τῶν προβάτων τῶν ἐμῶν. 27τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούουσιν, κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτὰ καὶἀκολουθοῦσίν μοι, 28κἀγὼ δίδωμι αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει τις αὐτὰἐκ τῆς χειρός μου. 29ὁ πατήρ μου ὃ δέδωκέν μοι πάντων μεῖζόν ἐστιν, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται ἁρπάζειν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ πατρός. 30ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν.
31Ἐβάστασαν πάλιν λίθους οἱἸουδαῖοι ἵνα λιθάσωσιν αὐτόν. 32ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· πολλὰ ἔργα καλὰ ἔδειξα ὑμῖν ἐκ τοῦ πατρός· διὰ ποῖον αὐτῶν ἔργον ἐμὲ λιθάζετε;
33ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ οἱἸουδαῖοι· περὶ καλοῦ ἔργου οὐ λιθάζομέν σε ἀλλὰ περὶ βλασφημίας, καὶ ὅτι σὺἄνθρωπος ὢν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν. 34ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς· οὐκ ἔστιν γεγραμμένον ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ὑμῶν ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε; 35εἰἐκείνους εἶπεν θεοὺς πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ οὐ δύναται λυθῆναι ἡ γραφή, 36ὃν ὁ πατὴρ ἡγίασεν καὶἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι βλασφημεῖς, ὅτι εἶπον· υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰμι; 37εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρός μου, μὴ πιστεύετέ μοι· 38εἰ δὲ ποιῶ, κἂν ἐμοὶ μὴ πιστεύητε, τοῖς ἔργοις πιστεύετε, ἵνα γνῶτε καὶ γινώσκητε ὅτι ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί. 39Ἐζήτουν [οὖν] αὐτὸν πάλιν πιάσαι, καὶἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν.
40Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν πάλιν πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου εἰς τὸν τόπον ὅπου ἦν Ἰωάννης τὸ πρῶτον βαπτίζων καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ. 41καὶ πολλοὶ ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἔλεγον ὅτι Ἰωάννης μὲν σημεῖον ἐποίησεν οὐδέν, πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ ἦν. 42καὶ πολλοὶ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ.
My Translations
10:22Then came the feast of dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, 10:23and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s porch. 10:24So the Jews encircled him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly.”
10:25Jesus answered them, “I told you and you don’t believe. The works which I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 10:26but you don’t believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, 10:28and I give them eternal life, and they will never ever perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 10:29My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. 10:30I and my Father are one.
10:31Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him. 10:32Jesus answered and said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works do you stone me?
10:33The Jews answered him, “We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God!” 10:34Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, that ‘I said, “You are gods”? [Psalm 82:6] 10:35If those to whom the word of God came are called ‘gods’, and the Scripture cannot be broken, 10:36what of he whom the Father set apart and sent into the world? But you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’. 10:37If I don’t do the works of my Father, do not believe me, 10:38but if I am doing [them], and you don’t believe me, believe through the works, so that you might know and keep on knowing that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. 10:39So they again looked to seize him, yet he escaped their hand.
10:40And he went away again across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and he stayed there. 10:41And many came to him and said, “John did no signs, but everything John said about him was true. 10:42And many believed in him there.