Marks of Security in the Messiah (John 10:22–30)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 10:22–30

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: November 26, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

On Sunday nights, we are going through an overview of the Old Testament, and we will be getting to the 400 years of time between the testaments soon, the Intertestamental Period. In that time, Alexander the Great came and conquered the entire region. His kingdom was eventually divided between four of his generals, two of which fought back and forth, each time crossing through the holy land.

All of this was predicted in Daniel 11, and it proceeded according to prophecy. A Syrian man arose, taking the Seleucid kingdom through intrigue, and eventually persecuting the Jewish people. His name was Antiochus IV, and he called himself Epiphanies, “God Manifest.” He exalted himself, desecrated the temple, forbade Jewish customs, installed his own rulers, and enforced idolatry and Grecian customs upon the people. Scripture sets him up as a picture of the Antichrist.

Yet, he did not succeed. Obviously, some of the Jewish people did not respond well to this persecution, leading to the Maccabean revolt. Led by the family Maccabees, rebels engaged in a campaign of guerrilla warfare and amazingly forced back the Seleucids. In God’s providence, there were growing divisions in the Seleucid empire, and Antiochus himself died as the revolt was gaining ground in 164 BC, giving the Maccabean Revolt a chance to solidify its independence. God predicted this period because He was continuing to provide providential protection for them.

It was in 164 that the Jews were able to recapture the temple, rid it of idols, and rededicate it to the Lord. When they relit the menorah inside, though, they only had enough fuel for a day and needed time to prepare more. However, the candelabra miraculously remained lit for eight days, giving them enough time to resupply the ceremonial oil. In commemoration of all God did, they began holding an annual feast of dedication or renewal, accompanied with a festival of lights.

God protects His people, both physically and spiritually, as we see in the text before us. Now, it’s the promised Messiah — who isn’t another revolutionary as the Jews expected — but one who shepherds God’s people spiritually, protecting them against spiritual harm. Of course, His protection rests on the question of whether we are following Him. So, first, we’ll note that those who reject the Messiah have no security in Him. Second, we’ll note that those who follow the Messiah have His security. What does that mean? Let’s start with the first one.

First, Those Who Reject the Messiah Have No Security (vv. 22–26)

At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying 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, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.”

There is a break in the narrative here, and this would have been the more natural place to start chapter ten. The Good Shepherd narrative follows the events of chapter nine, the healing of the blind man. Moreover, it concluded Jesus’s Judean visit during the Feast of Tabernacles, which began in chapter seven.

Here, John now turns us to the events of the Feast of Dedication, which takes place two months later. Remember: Chapter and verse divisions were added to the text later. They are often helpful, and here, it helps us to keep the image of shepherding in view for this passage. Yrt, they can sometimes be misleading, so just bear that in mind; this is a later event.

This event also serves as Jesus’s final public teaching (vv. 22–42). The Jewish nation is rejecting the Messiah. We will again see them pick up stones to stone Him (v. 31), and we know that they will eventually crucify Him. This is the sad state of their religious system.

At this moment, they are at the feast of dedication. What is that? We just described it! It could also be translated “renewals,” but it has a different name from the Hebrew you may know better: Hanukkah. This is a feast in December, in the winter.

Hanukkah ultimately celebrates God’s deliverance of the people, of light over darkness. Well, in our passage, the Light of the World has come into the world. He is walking around in the portico of Solomon, or Solomon’s porch, a columned and covered area on the outer part of the temple complex. Nevertheless, the darkness attempts to surround Him! In v. 24, we read that they “gathered around,” “encircled,” or “closed in on Him.” It is, ironically, the people celebrating this festival who now serve as a force of darkness to snuff out the light.

The text says they were speaking to Him. The verb is imperfect, hinting at continued questioning and speech. As one commentary notes, the verb suggests persistence, of pressing their question. Matthew Henry described them as having “encompassed him about like bees”! Theirs was a hostile approach.

This follows the division a couple months earlier, noted in vv. 19–21. There were some saying Jesus was a demon-possessed man, while others were not buying that explanation. In the intervening time, there was undoubtedly lively debate around many dinner tables as well as in the halls of the Sanhedrin. The people who felt the sharpest rebuke from Jesus’s Good Shepherd teaching could not abide His continued freedom and wanted to find cause to accuse Him.

So, they were saying, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” In the original language, the pronoun in the second question is emphasized — “If You, You are the Christ, tell us plainly!” Partly of why they say this is because, as Jesus Himself will say in John 16:25, “I have spoken to you in figurative language;” He had been using biblical metaphors and allusions. For us, on the page of inspired Scripture, His words seem clear enough to us with “20/20 hindsight,” but these men didn’t believe they had such a clear Word from Him.

Yet, from Christ’s own perfect perspective, He had told them clearly enough. In v. 25, He says, “I told you, and you do not believe.” This verse alone should be a clear enough statement for anyone. If someone asks you if Jesus ever explicitly said He was the Messiah, this is a verse to take them to, as well as a following number of texts.

We can start at the beginning of His public ministry. In His hometown of Nazareth, in Luke 4:16–21, He read a prophecy from Isaiah which specifically applied to the Messiah, and He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In John 5:17–47, He gives that four-fold witness of Himself. In 6:35–40, Jesus speaks about being the bread of life, saying, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” At the end of John 8, Jesus said that Abraham anticipated and in fact rejoiced to see His day, declaring, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58). And in this chapter, the Good Shepherd discourse is premised on the fact that He is the shepherd prophesied for God’s people. What is rather clear is that the Pharisees had already understood His claims, for as John 9:22 notes, the Jewish leadership “had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.”

Of course, Jesus had been even clearer about His identity in private encounters. With the woman at the well, in John 4:25–26, after she says they expect the Messiah, He responds, “I who speak to you am He.” In Matthew 16:15–17, when Peter says of Him, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus replies in the affirmative. Even when Jesus faces the High Priest later, who asks Him directly if He is “the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One,” He replies, “I am” (Mark 14:61–62).

Jesus said He told them and they do not believe. This means that He not only expected people to reach the conclusion that He was the Messiah, but to also believe in Him. In John 6:29, He said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” This is what He expects of us all.

He says they should believe. He goes on to note that in v. 25 that His works testify of Him. This is that argument He made back in John 5:36 — “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.” He’ll also note this again in v. 38, “but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” His miracles are an undeniable reality.

Of course, people today say that the Bible could be inventing His miracles. Remember, though, that the Scripture represents multiple lines of testimony from various sources, not just one. It also comes to us through history, meaning we can examine earlier copies of the original languages, earlier translations into other tongues, and earlier commentaries to see if anyone tampered with it. Moreover, This, as well as the accurate telling of historical people, places, and events in the Gospels, all evidence the miraculous claims of Scripture. It’s insincere for people to ask for evidence of Jesus’s miracles and then say they won’t accept the Gospel writers as sources.

It's also insincere for these Jewish sophists to continue questioning Jesus just to avoid the truth about Him. We might ponder and say they didn’t believe because they expected a different kind of Mesiah than Jesus, which is partly true. Still, Jesus sums up the issue in v. 26 as this: “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.” He previously condemned them with a similar thought back in John 8:47, “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” He says they don’t belong to Him.

Why? He knows His sheep, and they would listen to Him and follow Him. Theologically, this evidences that regeneration must precede faith. That don’t believe because they aren’t His sheep. Those who hear and follow are, meaning those who believe can know the Holy Spirit has already regenerated them to have that capacity. They’ve already been set apart as His sheep, but that doesn’t describe these unbelievers.

So, Jesus has no obligation to shepherd them, protecting them. In fact, they are the ones that Jesus confronts to protect His sheep. And they will face strict judgment for trying to lead His sheep astray. He will protect His sheep, bringing us to this other group.

Second, Those Who Follow the Messiah Have Security (vv. 27–30)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, 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.”

We noted before that believers are identified as the sheep of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Jesus characterizes His sheep in this section. As we go through this, we’ll see why they have such security with Him as their shepherd.

First, we read that Jesus knows them (v. 27).

Right in the middle of this verse is the statement “I know them.” He says it with an emphatic pronoun — “I, I know them.” The Savior knows those who are His (cf. v. 14). What does He know about them?

First, He knows that they will hear His voice, as He said in vv. 4, 16. There is something irresistible in the gracious voice of our Lord. Those who are Christ’s will hear His voice, no matter how dark the hour or powerful the temptation.

Second, He also knows that they will follow Him. They will do His commandments. They will, for instance, believe in Him when others reject Him. They may follow imperfectly, but they will ultimately move in His direction.

Because He knows them so perfectly, He also knows their future. That brings us to the next verse:

Second, Jesus gives them eternal life (v. 28a).

This is a promise we’ve seen before, such as in John 3:16. Here, again, we have affirmed that Jesus is giving eternal life. This is His promise to us (1 John 2:25; 5:11).

One can hardly speak of eternal life if it can be lost. Jesus says specifically here that “they will never perish.” This is emphatic in the original language, and the Legacy Standard Bible adds the untranslated “ever” here — they will never, ever perish! It’s odd that some say that people can still lose their salvation in light of such language — it’s not as if Jesus said, “they will almost never perish, but a few slip through the cracks.” Rather, Jesus’s words are an ironclad promise of perseverance.

Won’t some people perish? Yes, but categorically, those aren’t Christ’s sheep. Those are the ones with a bad shepherd, and they will be led down a road to perdition. Scripture speaks of hell, where people are judged for their deeds. Thankfully, the gospel word here is that Christ’s sheep never ever have to fear such a fate! Why?

Third, Jesus holds them (v. 28b).

Jesus says, “no one will snatch them out of My hand.” He warned in v. 1 and v. 8 about thieves and robbers, and of the wolf in v. 12. However, Jesus’s sheep don’t need to fear them. He will shield believers in Christ from all dangers.

Jesus later reveals that Satan demanded to sift the disciples like wheat (Luke 22:31), but also that Jesus prayed for Simon that his faith would not fail (v. 32). Jesus knew that Simon Peter would fall, but He continues, saying to him that “when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” There was never any question as to whether Simon would return; Jesus was holding tight!

Jesus also said in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” In Romans 8:29–30, we read, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” We can believe Him because, as Hebrews 10:23 says, “He who promised is faithful.”

Fourth, Jesus’s Father holds them (v. 29).

We should not read into this verse a denial of Jesus’s divinity, as some do. Jesus is, in fact, clear in the next verse that He and the Father are one. However, for the sake of discussion, we consider God the Father to be over all of heaven and earth, and Jesus is yet unexalted in this text. So, in case anyone had doubt in Jesus’s own ability to protect the sheep, He now appeals to the power of God Himself to keep salvation secure.

The term, harpazo (“snatch”), also describes how the Spirit supernaturally took Philip away (Acts 8:39), how Paul was caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2, 4), and how believers will be raptured together to be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). Jesus says that none can pluck or seize by force any sheep in this way either from His or from the Father’s hand. They have a perfect hold.

There are some who argue that Jesus is only providing protection against the devil, that it is still possible to voluntarily leave Jesus’s hand. However, in context, Jesus is distinguishing between His sheep and those who aren’t His. It seems impossible that someone who He has called His sheep can suddenly change identities, stop following entirely, wiggle free the perfect hands, and perish despite Jesus’s emphatic promise. Don’t make an idol of free will and personal autonomy; besides, the idea that we could voluntarily leave His hands contradicts what He clearly said in John 6:39, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” We are safe in the Lord!

Does the Father and Son have the same salvation goal in mind, though? Consider this final verse:

Fifth, Jesus and the Father are united (v. 30).

Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” Again, this is not a comprehensive statement on the nature of the Trinity or Godhead. Jesus isn’t saying that He and the Father are the same person. The gender of the terms in the original language do not allow us to read it in this way. As the New American Standard Bible reads here in the footnote, this is “a unity; or one essence.” They are united.

This comes down to a question of how many wills exist within God. This evidences not only the oneness in purpose but also the sinlessness of Christ. There are not two wills within the Godhead, but one. Because there is one will, there can be no doubt as to whether Father and Son want different things concerning you — they are united in keeping you eternally secure.

Conclusion

Those who rejected Him were not His sheep, and the context makes it clear that they were never His sheep. If they had been His sheep, then they would believe, hear His voice, and follow Him. If they had been His sheep, He would have known them, given them eternal life, would have made it were they would have never perished, and would hold on to them so tightly that no one would be able to remove them from His hand. Unfortunately, none of this was true for them. This proves that they are not His sheep. However, His sheep can be assured of these promises!

Those who struggle with security may be saved, but they may struggle because they have been turning a deaf ear to Jesus lately. If you read His commands in Scripture and choose to wander in a different direction, you will not experience the feeling of assurance you may have once felt. Repent, turn to Him, so you can remember the joy of your salvation. Know this: He keeps you secure, not yourself!

If you are not His sheep, or you don’t know if you are, simply call out to Him for salvation. Not only will He save you, you will find that He’s been calling you all this time, and now you’re listening. Hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow after Him, knowing you have His full guidance and protection.