Introduction
In this chapter, John continues his interaction between Jesus and the authoritarian Pharisees recorded in Chapter 9. Now he records the shift in Jesus becoming direct and emphatic with them. Now was the time for Jesus to do so in his journey to the Cross.
1 Very truly I tell you Pharisees…
"In other words, pay special attention to what I am about to tell you because it is authentic truth… "
Jesus is about to use a lengthy metaphor to frame the truth about their intentions as religious leaders, who had just disenfranchised the healed blind man with their self-righteous bullying. Their goal of control was more precious to them than Jesus’ goal of healing love. The metaphor contrasts the behaviour of a shepherd caring for his vulnerable flock of sheep with that of others who would do them harm. Jesus introduced it at a time that the Pharisees were split in their assessment of Jesus.
16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner perform such signs?"
So they were divided. (9:16)
Just as the interaction of the Pharisees with Jesus had reached a crisis point, ours does also. We all come to a time of life development when Jesus confronts us head-on with the truth about the life affections we are choosing that are dividing, diminishing and displacing his desires for our life built on his truth and not deceptions. To whose "truths" am I submitted?
The timed confrontation of us by Jesus is a critical moment, after which we can never be the same again. When we hear Jesus confront us with his call to trust and follow him, this becomes a life turning point. However and whenever that comes, we face the most important decision we will ever face for our life on earth and forever.
Hence, we need to be honest with our self-assessment, "Have I heard that call, and how did I respond?" I urge you to stop and think about it. His call can never be distorted, minimised or trivialised without effecting our eternal destiny. That is a bold statement to make. Is it true? Where can one turn in the last moments of life after rejecting the Creator Jesus throughout one’s, through whom all things were made that have been made? (1:3) Calling out to our Creator expecting his favourable response immediately to address our need is equivalent to hailing a taxi expecting instant service on our terms. The created cannot control their Creator and make him jump to their agenda of what they want and when.
Jesus had not confronted the Pharisees’ behaviour at the Feast of Tabernacles until now, even though they had aggressively shut down freedom of expression at the holiday event with threats of banishment for any Jew who interacted with him, should he come. Their plan was to kill him. They blanketed the Feast with fear of having any perceived association with Jesus as they searched for him among the attendees. Their strategy was to maintain their popularity and authority, and squash his threatening claim of deity by removing Jesus from the populace, just as they had John the Baptist.
Jesus, however, caught them off-guard with an ‘attention-grabber’ for the Festival crowds that the Pharisees could not have predicted. He healed the sight of a vocal, middle aged man, who had been blind from birth. Who could ignore or upstage that? The Festival attendees could not ignore it, and the Pharisees could not upstage it. Furthermore, the healed man was not going to let them brush him aside. His response was vocal, public and irrepressible. Yes, Jesus had arrived unmistakably at the Festival, and in miraculous style!
How did the Pharisees handle this critical moment? What do we learn observing them?
The treatment of the healed blind man by the Pharisees and later by Jesus stood in stark contrast. The Pharisees threw the healed man out of the Temple to disenfranchise him as a Jew. They had to sever any and every association of Judaism with Jesus, the "Messianic imposter", and with his spectacular healing miracles. They attempted to strip the healed man’s identity as a Jew. Other Jews present in the Temple at the time would have known it and spread the word. The Pharisees considered the healed blind man no longer qualified for religious association with the God of Moses. A bizarre and unsustainable rejection!
Whereas in contrast, Jesus sought out the healed blind man, in order to bring him to self-awareness of his full acceptance as a child of God. The Pharisees showed they were driven by their own self-interests and would use their power to strengthen their authority by robbing the status of anyone. Jesus, on the other hand, demonstrated that his love for the healed man went beyond his spectacular physical healing to the affirmation and full acceptance of the healed man’s whole identity by God. Jesus assured him that His blindness was not caused by the sin of his parents or himself.
3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Jesus affirmed that the man was born blind to demonstrate the higher purpose of God’s plan for humanity only to be seen in him. He is the light that enlightens our world. Jesus seeks out every individual for the same reasons as he did the healed man:
- to help us discover our full identity conceived by God before creation, and
- to understand that God created us for an exalted purpose chosen by him to be carried out during our lifetime.
Jesus sought out the healed blind man to complete such an understanding of the fullness of the love of God for him. He gave the healed man a whole new understanding of his pre-planned exalted identity. He was to become a living simile of Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world.
The healing of this middle-aged blind man centuries ago continues to beckon each person today to seek Jesus to enlighten their life by shining his light into their every situation and relationship. There is no greater need for the world today than for each person to see Jesus as the light for their world and have their plans and affections enlightened by him and aligned with him. The question is, "How will our ego handle our emotional reactions and consequential choices in life when confronted by Jesus shining his light into our whole person?" His light is pure light! It cannot mix with darkness clothed in moral compromise of any kind or with any other fraudulent fabricated god.
What a stark contrast for the healed blind man having just been discarded by the Pharisees as conniving thieves and robbers of what remained of his life in Jewish society! With no sign of a conscience, they plundered the defenceless healed man of his newly found dignity. All sizes and shapes of religious and community leaders ever since have plundered countless thousands of seekers of a higher life. Jesus came looking for him as his sheep to secure him in his sheep pen with his other sheep. That is where each of us belong.
John followed, listened and watched this restoration journey of the healed blind man with Jesus and recorded it as he had done so with previous encounters.
The Shepherd and his sheep metaphor
Jesus used an extended metaphor to restore the dignity of the healed blind man built around the role of a shepherd with his sheep. The metaphor compares the role of Jesus, as a good shepherd, with the behaviour of the Pharisees as robbers of life, and how true followers of God recognise him and follow him wherever he journeys by listening to his voice, just like John was doing and the healed blind man could.
1 "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the hep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
This is the beginning of a touching and highly relational lengthy metaphor of a shepherd’s care for his sheep in a hostile environment. It presents timeless truth. John hints at a potential reason Jesus used it to expand his confrontation of the Pharisees, viz., they were blind to the symbolism behind its main identities and their behaviours. Understanding it was beyond the realm of their spiritual capability as official teachers of their religion. Tragically, they did not have a clue what Jesus was talking about! They did not see themselves, the healed blind man, nor Jesus in the metaphor of a sheep pen with sheep, thieves, robbers, a shepherd, gatekeeper, gate, and voice. It probably sounded like jibberish and having nothing to do with their attempts to clarify how a blind man could now see. Nevertheless, most likely Jesus did not want to place before the Pharisees a clear presentation of the path to healing and salvation, because they would twist and demean it for their own ends.
Why so? Because their plan to capture and crucify Jesus was still very active. They were on an adversarial path with their power ambitions and not a welcoming and serving path. They could not allow his demonstrations of deity, or any claims of it, to reach, distract and diminish their power-base of devout adherents. They were not ready in any way to entertain the possibility of Jesus being divine and submit to him. They had wilfully positioned themselves as the enemy. That continues to be the chosen position of many opposed to any involvement with Jesus. He would not open up to such rigid wills and scheming minds his priceless way of salvation, which he would establish one day at great personal cost on a Roman Cross, while his enemies stood by mocking in their ignorance, assuming they had achieved their goal of his annihilation. These were intelligent leaders who had become fools. They had no answer to his resurrection and ascension 40 days later.
The path of salvation still remains unseen to those who place their ego interests above those of God, and criticize his works, and therefore his identity, privately in their mind or publicly. If we can’t see the path of salvation clearly provided by Jesus, we need to examine our ego. Such persons commonly consider that God’s plans are not good enough for them and reject Him. That is a dangerous place to be. It is the stance of a fool.
Therefore, it is life-critical for each one of us to reflect honestly on our current attitudes when standing figuratively with a meditative posture before the Cross. Otherwise, we will never see the spiritual collision that occurred there for us between good and evil, God and Satan. This collision continues in our present as we choose our personal orientation to what happened there, but now the collision continues within us on our journey in life.
The Sheep Pen
1 "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
This was country speaking to city in Jerusalem. Jesus was from country Galilee. He knew about the domestication of sheep across the Middle East and how shepherds fed and protected them to gain income from their sale for food, textiles, sacrifices, and more. Sheep had become so central to daily life that both gods and kings were often referred to as shepherds.
The Festival crowd could relate instantly to the image of a sheep pen with walls built of rocks and a narrow gate access where the shepherd would lie down for his night’s sleep to protect his investment in the flock he nurtured. Because the shepherd slept at the entrance of the pen to protect his sheep, thieves and robbers had to climb in another way.
Some flocks were large enough to support a gatekeeper. In this case, the gatekeeper controlled who had access to the pen. He kept the gate closed to anyone he suspected as wanting to harm or steal the sheep. When the shepherd arrived, he gave him direct access to his flock.
2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice
The Voice
Jesus used this metaphor to enable the devout Jews to understand the listening relationship he wanted with them and compare it with the current status of the relationship they had with the Pharisees.
The central measure of our relationship with Jesus is our response to his voice. It is not how consistently we carry out religious rituals led by religious leaders, while our will is closed tight to any challenge of love and honesty that his Voice is beckoning us to address. A closed will cannot hear the beckoning Voice of love and is not listening for it, e.g., a closed will that refuses to extend forgiveness to another person. What is the posture of my will towards the Voice of Jesus? Openness or closedness?
"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice."
Myriads of voices run continually through our minds like a river, or like a boisterous parade that drowns out any gentle voice. Therefore we each have to learn how to stop and observe the voices constantly vying for our attention and obedience.
What voices in your head are drowning out the voice of the Good Shepherd? Have you ever heard the Voice of Jesus pierce to the depth of your being and interrupt the continual flow of other voices? It does not come through a megaphone on a high place reaching as many as possible. It usually does not come through our ears. Instead we hear it come clearly from deep within. We instantly know it is not the voice of our conscience, which we may have suppressed too often to become distorted, or weak and ineffective. The Voice of the Spirit of Jesus is stronger and more certain than that. When we hear it, we immediately know it is him calling us to change our direction and follow him into making him known to those persons he knows are also open to hear his Voice, trust him and follow.
…and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
We embark on listening for his Voice speaking through meditation in our circumstances, through his words in the Bible, a hymn, or a teaching from a chosen teacher of his. The more we follow this Voice, the quicker we recognise Satan’s voice in its many forms beckoning us to try out an alternative appealing path, just like he lured Eve with promised rewards. If we have disciplined our time to listen regularly to the Voice of Jesus, we quickly recognise Satan’s luring voice, and quickly dismiss it. Jesus states it this way,
5 "But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice."
The Pharisees were listening to a competing voice with its objective to kill Jesus. They could not recognise his Voice, while they clasped their objective to kill him. Consequently, the metaphor of the Shepherd was meaningless to them.
6 The Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
They could not see themselves as the thieves and robbers in the metaphor seeking to capture for their own sake the devotion of as many of their race as possible.
The Gate
Jesus now expands on his metaphor from a different perspective. In his first iteration of the metaphor, he is the shepherd who has a gate keeper controlling who can enter the pen of the sheep. In this second iteration, Jesus describes himself as the gate providing a secure two-way access for the sheep to find safety in the pen when needed, and food in the pastures outside of the pen for timely sustenance when needed.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus now makes his purpose clear. He has come not merely to give spiritual life to us who are incapacitated in sin from birth. He has come to give us the full measure of his life, which we can live to the full. Incredible!
The person who hears the Voice of Jesus, and who welcomes, trusts and obeys it, lives a life filled with the qualities of life which Jesus displayed continuously in the face of great opposition. Those qualities as observed by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in their biographies of Jesus are: love, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, meekness, gentleness and self-control. Because these qualities of life are the very life of Jesus, they are dynamic and not static. They collectively describe the quality of life displayed by Jesus. They are destined to enrich us forever. No amount of money can buy them, but Jesus offers them freely to the person who hears his Voice and follows him with full trust and obedience.
For our own sake, therefore, it is imperative that we stop and consider the honest answer to the question, "Have I heard this Voice of Jesus and now have his life energising me and directing me to the full? Have I entered into salvation through Jesus the gate? Or is my life governed by a myriad of other voices and my own that have crowded out any capacity to hear the Voice of Jesus? What certainty are those voices giving me for my future in this life and the nature of my future ever-lasting destiny?"
The Good Shepherd
Now Jesus moves into a third iteration of his metaphor focusing on how he protects those who follow him as their Shepherd.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Jesus presents himself as a shepherd who will go to maximum limits to protect his flock of sheep. He wants every sheep to know that, from the strongest to the weakest. Accordingly, Jesus states clearly the extent to which he is prepared to go as a shepherd to protect the sheep in his flock.
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
How would the Pharisees and other listeners understood this statement? They would have been familiar with the everyday use of the word Jesus used for laying down.[1] It was used to describe intentional acts of placing or laying down an object in a precise position, such as:
- in home decoration, e.g., placing a lamp on a stand for visibility and not under a bed (Luke 8:16);
- for comfort e.g., Jesus placing children in his arms and blessing them (Mark 10:16);
- placing prisoners in detention to protect the general public (Acts 12:4);
- placing the sick on cots in strategic places hoping Peter’s shadow would touch and heal them as he passed by (Acts 5:15);
- laying aside the dead until buried (Mark 15:47);
- permanently laying the dead to rest (Matthew 27:60).
There are many ways a person can choose to lay down their life for another as an act of serving them. The Daily News coverage provides a range of examples from the actions of various government servants doing their job such as family carers. police, firefighters, and young people choosing to place themself in the dangers of war to protect the masses at home and be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of their own life for the sake of another.
Was Jesus foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice he later made on the Cross for his sheep? He may have been. Was he signalling to the Pharisees how far he was prepared to go in challenging their status quo to bring salvation to many, just as prophesied in their scriptures? Did any of them consider that he was staring down their plan to kill him?
Ownership
Jesus further clarifies his use of "laying down his life" by illustrating with the vivid example of a wolf attacking the flock and the shepherd not running away like a hired hand would. He identifies ownership as the defining motivation for care and protection.
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
The aim of Jesus for every life created by his Father is his ownership. Without it, there are no guarantees of God’s care and protection of our life in this life and the one to come. John later records how Jesus won the ownership of his flock by paying the price of his physical life at the Cross. All sheep in his flock have been bought for a price using his own blood poured out on the Cross. They no longer belong to Satan but him. They have been set free by Jesus as their new owner, in order to listen to his Voice and follow. Those who choose not to follow remain scattered.
Would some of the Pharisees have seen themselves anywhere in this metaphor of the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep?
Their pressure on Pilate and mocking at the Cross shows they had learned nothing as a group, even though some individuals were in the process.
The Ultimate Knowledge
Jesus now describes the eternal reality on which his relationship with any of his sheep is built. The eternal reality upon which our relationship with the shepherd is built is the same indivisible unity of the Father and the Son of God that has continuously empowered and informed their relationship from eternity past. Jesus establishes his relationship with his sheep on the same footing. Just as the Father and the Son know each other intimately, based on their sacrificial love for each other, so also God has designed the functioning characteristics of the relationship he builds with any person prepared to trust him and obey his every request. With this statement Jesus made it clear that he did not come to earth to create the religion of Christianity but a living unified flock of sheep, who recognise his Voice as their shepherd, who lays down his life for them and desires to know them to the same extent of intimacy that he knows his Father.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.
This is coming to know spirit empowered love by living in it and it living in self. It is the knowing that comes from experience and not solely from text books. It is the knowing of relationship and not the result of academic qualifications. Jesus said that most reject it preferring their will over his.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7:14)
The tragedy of lives lost forever continues to this day!
The United Flock
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Jesus heralds the expansion of his flock beyond Jewish nationhood to the inclusion of an undefined and unified number of foreigners. Every practicing devotee of Jesus, who is not Jewish by birth, will be brought into the original Jewish flock by the same means as them, i.e., by listening to the Voice of Jesus and fully entrusting their life to what he promises and claims about his identity and purposes. They become empowered by the same unifying Spirit of God. The resulting global network of relationships, with Jesus at its core, is not nationally, organisationally or theologically defined. It is spiritually enlivened by the Holy Spirit of Jesus in cleansing, teaching, strengthening, empowering with his life until he returns for his 1,000 year rule and the judgement of every human.
They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
The Ultimate Authority
Jesus now elaborates on what might possibly be the most significant command that he ever received from his Father. Had this command not been given, Jesus would not have been able to lay down his life for my sin. He would not have been able to take my judgement.
Without the Father’s intention behind his command to sacrifice his sinless Son for sinful me, the death of Jesus would have had no salvation effects for me. The Father’s desire, however, was to provide a universal sacrifice for every sin of every human in every age. From his heart of love came this command to his Son to lay down his life for every human. Without the Father’s expansive heart of love, there would not have been the command. There would not have been the uniting of the Spirit of Jesus with a human egg cell. Jesus would not have come as an embryo developing through the stages of pregnancy in Mary of Nazareth, or been born in a manger. Nevertheless, the command did come from the Father to the Son, paraphrased as, "Lay down your life and then take it up again. Do it on your own accord. I will love you for it!"
17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
The scene of this command was heaven. Jesus explains that the Father loves the Son for fulfilling his command completely on earth including his resurrection and ascension both witnessed by his followers as the culmination of the purpose for his death. He laid down his life and took it up again. That is where his gift of eternal life originated for each of us. The essential question it leaves each reader is, "Has the command in heaven, faithfully executed by Jesus on earth, brought any eternal heavenly effects for me? Or has it been wasted?"
Jerusalem crisis point
It was wasted on the right-wing members of the Pharisees and their followers.
19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided.20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"
The confrontation of the Pharisees by Jesus resulted in a split group. Some became dismissive of Jesus to the extreme by labelling him as a raving maniac[2]. Similar dodges are used today in order to avoid giving any claim of authority to Jesus.
21 But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
Others sought to modify crowd opinion by questioning the logic of the extreme right-wing categorisation of Jesus as a maniac.
In the face of so many miracles by Jesus of various kinds confronting the right-wing Pharisees, were they not in fact the ones who were acting mad? Is the denial of provable and measurable evidence madness, no matter how intellectually or emotionally the denial is framed?
Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
Are the biographies of the life of Jesus written by those who lived with him for three years fictitious? Would any one of these followers have been prepared to be executed for promoting what they knew was a lie? John’s friends journeying with Jesus chose to be.
The winter festival
Who are you?
John progresses his account of Jesus journeying from summer to winter, from the ‘Feast of Tabernacles’, full of the celebrations of bountiful agricultural harvests, to the eight-day ‘Festival of Lights’ that had originated over a century before to celebrate the restoration of Jewish control of Solomon’s Temple.
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication (i.e., Hanukkah) 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."
The devout Jews who had previously sought him out were wanting resolution to his identity. John describes these Jews as surrounding or encircling Jesus. This aggressive picture could imply that in this case he is using the term "Jew" (Ioudaia) to represent the Pharisees. At a minimum, they would have been devout Jews in the Temple pushing for resolution to the identity of the posturing "prophet" who was challenging their current leadership.
It is not uncommon for devout seekers of truth to want to arrive at conclusions to their search quickly, particularly if they sense their status quo is under threat. In their speed, they miss the truth. Often Jesus is superficially dismissed by conveniently linking him to obvious examples of religious malpractice. How often have you heard an example of hypocrisy or maltreatment by a church official quoted as a reason to dismiss what Jesus represented? The history of the visible Church throughout the world across many ages is full of such examples of human frailty that is easy to criticize. However, worthy research of a topic like Jesus requires patience, particularly when the research of him must reach out beyond time as we know it.
Frustration and impatience can push for short-cuts. However, there is no short-cut to understanding the unique identity of an individual, particularly one who claims to have existed eternally. The intricate identity of any person is more than a label of judgement quickly stuck to their name like the label on a bottle. Taking short-cuts to make snap judgement of what is driving a person’s behaviour leads to false conclusions and distrust. How do they perceive themselves and others? What prior experiences have led to this position? In sharp contrast, the constant focus of the verbal and demonstrated teaching of Jesus to his disciples was to extend love to all, to the least and even to our enemies.
His commandment to love God was based on trust, i.e., belief. I cannot love God without trusting him fully as seen in Jesus.
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes (trusts) him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. (5:24)
Is that why Jesus came? To see my Creator more clearly and trust him with my destiny? To enjoy the confidence now that I have already crossed over from death to life? More specifically, is that why Jesus was sent by the Father as he claimed? Who is this Father Jesus instructs me to trust, and does that make Jesus an eternal Son? How can there be a Father and a Son, if there is only one God and Creator of all?
One with the Father
Jesus instantly put the responsibility for their lack of understanding where it belongs. Their problem was not in his telling but in their believing. Why would they not believe? Every unbeliever needs to examine for themselves the reasons for their unbelief. Admittedly, it would be difficult for any human familiar with observing and acting in a four dimensional space-time environment to comprehend a Creator, who is comprised of an unseen eternal Father and a visible Son with a human mother, and who is not one without the other. That task is above and beyond the smartest philosopher. So is there any avenue we can take in order to comprehend these claims of Jesus?
25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me…"
Jesus points to his works as the visible endorsement on earth of his claims. Each genuine enquirer about Jesus has to make an objective assessment of the behaviours and miracles of Jesus, in order to arrive at an authentic acceptance or rejection of his claims. When the assessment is not objective then the enquirer is not genuine. Jesus confronted the Pharisees with the reason their relationship with him was ingenuine,
26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.
These religious enquirers pressuring Jesus would never follow, while seeking to maintain the grip of control on their life and the lives of the devout adherents to their laws. They could not afford to listen to his spiritual instructions and follow him when at the same time they were vying with him for followers to control and expand their power. Their enquiries about his Messianic identity were therefore ingenuine and leading nowhere but to opposition. Consequently, Jesus proceeded to make the relationship between himself and his sheep clear in terms that are eternal and applicable to every seeker today.
One with the 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."
The sheep of Jesus listen and follow. In other words, they are open and attentive to him. On his part, Jesus claims to know them, and consequently knows imposters who do not receive what he gives to his sheep. They receive the gift of eternal life, which is permanent once given, and protected by the power of the Creator of all in unity with Jesus. I am guaranteed eternal life within the dual clasped hands of the Father and the Son. It is in fact their life from eternity with no division. They were Spirit before created physical distinctions existed.
…no one will snatch them out of my hand… no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand (who is greater than all)
30 I and the Father are one."
Blasphemy needing eradication
At this point, the confrontation of Jesus with those surrounding him in the Temple reached its zenith. His claim to be one with the Father was intolerable to a devout monotheist, who exalted the Laws given to Moses on Mount Sinai by the God who governed all his creation and miraculously set their forefathers free from slavery in Egypt. Such blasphemy needed instant eradication.
Blinded by their religious status and its feeding of their pride and pocket, these Pharisees ignored the prophecy of Isaiah, which heralded a divine Son as the Mighty God, who would be sent by human birth by his everlasting Father, yet himself be called Everlasting Father.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
Blasphemy by Isaiah?
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."
Their pride could not entertain the thought that the God they claimed to serve was standing before them. They sought to kill him. John listened and learned until he saw. He later wrote,
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
(1 John 5:20)
The corollary to this claim is that in rejecting Jesus and remaining outside of him, there is no eternal life. There is no everlasting love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness and self-control. The absence of these is everlasting hell. This is so critical that Jesus urged those doubting his identity to at least look at the multiple works he did as evidence of his identity.
Believe the works!
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."
To cut through the deception of self-interest founded solidly on pride and its fear of loss, Jesus throws out the ultimate challenge. It cuts through every excuse given today that attempts to dismiss him as the Son of God. "Believe my works. Who else do you know has walked on water, multiplied a small boy’s lunch to feed 5,000, raised the dead, and healed the deaf, blind and crippled multiple times? Who?" This requires an honest answer by the person seeking to understand his identity with integrity. We can now add, "Who has, returned from the dead, showed the marks of his crucifixion, then spent 40 days in person teaching his followers about his identity recorded in prior history, ascended visibly through the clouds with angelic testimony that he would return again in the same manner? Who?" Believe these physical actions of Jesus, witnessed by many, to gain certainty. What other spiritual leader or mystic has such physical miracles as evidence to back up their claims?
The fisherman, Peter, gained his certainty after watching the many works of Jesus over three years. In his appeal to listeners of his first sermon to follow Jesus, he points out that God’s method of accrediting Jesus as his Son was his miracles, wonders and signs. They were well known. They move our personal conclusion of the identity of Jesus from the trap of the flawed subjective attributes of our personality and knowledge formation to an assessment based on easily observed physical facts. Therefore, Peter began his first sermon to a gathering crowd by referencing the undeniable physical works of Jesus.
22 "Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
(Acts 2:22-24)
Peter was clearly continuing to challenge the Pharisees with the identity of Jesus as accredited by his witnessed supernatural physical works driven by love, yet they crucified him. The response to this challenge was entirely different. For Jesus, the subjectively driven response of the Pharisees was,
37 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
This reaction made clear their unyielding motivation to control and silence Jesus.
To Peter, the response of the Pentecost crowd was vastly different, however, when he pointed to the public reality of the crucifixion they had demanded. Now the response of the attending crowd came from open hearts rather than frozen wills,
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Sav yourselves from this corrupt generation." 42 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Save yourself! No one else can make your choice. At the very least, believe in the works and follow where that takes your mind and heart. Belief in the works will save you from the blindness of subjective responses and take you forward with certainty to baptism.
Departure
There comes a time when Jesus chooses to move on to a more productive use of his presence. In this case he moved from hostile resistance to welcoming belief. He moved back across the Jordon. The result? Luke is clear – many believed.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had beenbptizing in theeary days. There he stayed, 40 and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true." 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
Many have continued to believe since then. Nevertheless, the ratio given by Jesus of those saved from destruction to those who are not, tragically remains.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7:14)
Even with hundreds of miracles witnessed in the lifetime of Jesus, they would be wasted on the majority. Each person chooses how they will treat each miracle recorded by John as he journeyed with Jesus to his ascension via his crucifixion and resurrection. The next miracle witnessed and recorded by John is raising Lazarus from the dead four days after his burial. The miracle had many witnesses and sparked a groundswell of support for Jesus that caused the ruling class to put national political wheels in motion to remove him.
47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
Dispossession
"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation."
Each person has to confront for themselves whether or not their fear of dispossession of their future comfort, material possessions and social relationships will finally cause Jesus’ departure from them.