John Part 21
Notes
Transcript
Tonight we are starting a new chapter
Chapter 10
We are still in the same scene
Where Jesus is talking to some Jews
immediately following the healing of the blind man
on the Sabbath.
And John is using that story
to teach us a lesson about
seeing the truth
vs being blind to the truth.
And the Jews still do not see the truth
Even though Jesus is standing right in front of them.
So, he continues to teach them
And he starts by teaching them through a parable
about a flock of sheep
a door
a pasture
a Shepherd
And a Theif.
And each piece of this parable
Represents something real
But the Jews do not understand it
Because they are still blind to the truth
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
Now, what do you suppose each element in this story represents?
Do you think Jesus is the Shepherd, sheep, pasture, or theif?
What do you think the church is?
Who do you think the theif is?
What does the pasture represent?
Well, the Jews had no idea
Which is why Jesus is about to eplain it to them.
starting in verse 7
but before we do that
I want to point out this topic about the Voice of Shepherd
Jesus says in vs 3 and4…
3 … The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he (The Shepherd) has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Remember the context
The blind man being healed
The Jews being spiritually blind
The Truth was right in front of them
And yet they could not see him
Well, here, We see that the issue is not their sight
It is their hearing
Remember
Faith comes by hearing, not by sight
So, the real reason the Jews are not following Jesus
Is because they are following his voice
His words
The Truth
If they would only follow his voice
They would be brought out to a pasture
The Pasture represents eternal life
To a sheep
Their source of life is a green pasture
Jesus wants to take everyone out to pasture
but only the ones who know his voice
will ever leave the stable
And then we have this thief
He doesn’t enter through the door
He enters another way.
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
A theif AND a robber
It sounds redundant
but the word robber here
Actually means the Head of a Rebellion
And who is that?
Satan
So, Satan is the thief
He doesn’t enter through the door
He comes in some other way
and he tries to take sheep from the fold
and he isn’t leading them out to the green pastures
So, all this fits, and makes sense to us
Because we know the truth
we hear his voice
and we think this parable is really quite simple
but to those who don’t know his voice
they are deaf
they are blind
and they don’t see or hear the truth
even when it is right in front of them
They will be led astray by a theif
who comes in anther way
and not through the door
The Jews didn’t understand
They were blind to the truth
they were deaf to His voice
So, Jesus says it plainly
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Wait, I thought Jesus was going to be the Shepherd
But instead, he says. I AM the door
1st of all, there’s that name “I AM” again
He is intentionally using God’s name
over and over again
This time, he says I AM The Door.
Now, if Jesus is the door,
Then who is the Shepherd?
A trinitarian would like to tell you
that Jesus is the door
and God the Father is the Shepherd
Because The door is the way to get from the fold
out to the pasture
and into the protection of the Shepherd
So, it makes sense that Jesus is the door
and that God the Father is the Shepherd
and the Pasture is Heaven
or eternal life
But…
That’s not what John chapter 10 says.
As we will see
Jesus is the Door
Which is why he says…
No man can come to the Father
but by me.
I am the way
I am the truth
I am the life
If you want to get to the father
If you want to get to eternal life
You gotta go through Jesus
So, Jesus is the door
And the Father is the Shepherd
and the Pasture is eternal life
But…
let’s read on…
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
So, Jesus is the door
SATAN is the theif
The Pasture is eternal life
Is is salvation according to verse 9
and abundant life according to verse 10
So, we want the pasture
as a sheep
You need the pasture
But, you can’t get to the pasture
without going through the door
and Jesus said… I AM the door
but in verse 11
He also says…
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
So, not only is Jesus the Door
But he also says:
I AM the Good Shepherd
What does that mean?
I means:
He is God, and man
He is both God and Mediator
He is both God and Son of God
all wrapped up in one
and that is exactly what Jesus says in this very chapter
and he says it in more ways that one
so it cannot be lost in translation
and it cannot be misunderstood
well,,,
it cannot be misunderstood
UNLESS you are blind and deaf
to the the simple truth
and the voice of Jesus.
Which, the Jews were.
And many people still are today
It doesn’t matter how many times you read the Bible
How many theology degrees you have
You can stare right at the truth
and not see it
and that’s exactly what these Jews are doing
And there’s exactly what many people do today
Jesus is plainly telling you
He isn’t just the door
He is the door AND the Shepherd
There isn’t another person
There is just one God
and Jesus is God manifested in the flesh
We don’t need one person to be the door
and one person to be the Shepherd
Jesus said… I got this
and I can be both at the same time.
I’ll be the way to the Father
and I’ll also be the Father
How?
Well He is about to tell the Jews
and when he does
He almost gets stoned again.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
So, Jesus is also foretelling his death here
And he is also going to foretell his resurrection
in just a minute
No mere man can do this
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
A hired hand doesn’t care about the sheep
They care about the money
and when it comes to the lives of the sheep
vs the lives of the hired hand
the hired hand will choose to save his own life
but Jesus chose to lay down his life
for the sheep
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
So, he repeats that he is the Good Shepherd here
It isn’t another person
it is him
And he says, I know my own
Talking about the sheep
And the sheep know Jesus.
And the Jews didn’t know Jesus
They know of him as a person
but not as the Truth
The way the truth and the life
so to speak
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
So, he knows the Father
and the Father knows him
and if you read this out of context
you can assume that Jesus is indicating
that the Father is another person
but we must keep reading
Then Jesus repeats the foretelling of his death
and there’s about to be an emphasis on who it is controlling his death
The romans may have killed Jesus
but Jesus takes full credit for it
and says I LAY down MY life
and He did it for the sheep
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
So, who is that?
This is clearly talking about us
The Gentiles
The ones who not part of the first fold
with the Jews who do follow Jesus
But we will come together
and become one flock with them
and there will be only one shepherd
There isn’t a Jewish Church
and a Gentile Church
There’s one church
and one Shepherd
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
Again, to the uninitiated
It appears like there is one person, the Father
who loves another person, Jesus.
But recall
Jesus said he is both the door
and the Shepherd
And he’s about to make it even more plain
18 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 authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
So, again, Jesus takes full credit for laying down his life
But he also takes full credit for resurrecting his own life
And that’s important
Because Roman’s 8 tells us that it was the Spirit
That raised Christ from the dead
And in many places it says it was the Father
Who raised Christ from the dead
And here Jesus says, I raised myself from the dead
So, what do we make of this?
Some will say that means all 3 did it together
But Jesus seems to make it clear that
it is only himself who is responsible
for his own death
and his own resurrection
And this is because Jesus is
both the Door and the Shepherd
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.
20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
So, the conversation ends here
with some believing
and some doubting
But it will resume a two months later
at another feast.
Now, this Feast is also known today as Hannukkah
And it is a feast that commemorates
the rededication of the temple
after the first destruction
and a celebration of the return
of God’s presence to his house.
And it is during this feast
that Jesus first declares
what temple God is really living in.
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Ok, so the Jews are there in the Temple
And they are all celebrating Hannukkah
And they start asking Jesus to speak plainly
and not in parables
And Jesus refers back to the parable
of the sheep
that he left off talking with them about
2 months prior
after the Feast of Booths.
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,
26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
So, Jesus says, the issue isn’t that I’m silent
I’ve been talking to you
I’ve been telling you the truth
The issue is not God’s word
The issue is man’s belief
and Man’s obedience
His Sheep know his voice
His Sheep follow his voice
These men are not His Sheep
They don’t know his word
and they don’t follow his word
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
The difference between a sheep of God’s
and a sheep stolen by the thief
is not the degrees or the IQ
or the credentials
or the position
or the titles
It is simply… do you follow his voice
The blind man in chapter 9 knew more truth
Than this religious elites
who had been studying the OT
for over 40 years of their lives
and it was simply because he followed
the voice of Jesus
and went to the pool
and washed
and his eyes were opened
These Jews wouldn’t do that.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Ok, there’s a lot going on in this verse
and the next verse
First, recall the parable
The eternal life
comes from the green pastures
and the one that gives them that
is the Good Shepherd
The idea that “they will never perish”
Is connected to the green pastures
which is eternal life
This is not saying
that if you believe in Jesus
You will never be lost
It is saying,
once you get to heaven
you will never be lost
Never perishing is the same thing as Eternal life.
So, the subject is eternity
not mortality
Also, even if it were talking about
life here on earth
and being saved the moment you believe
and then never being unsaved
It says, “no one can snatch them out of my hand”
The means, we are safe from the thief
we are safe from some other entity
who might try to steal our salvation
However, it does not say anything about
the sheep being unable to walk
out of God’s hands voluntarily
In fact, that is exactly what Luke 15 is about
So, yes, no one can take you out of God’s hands
But you can walk out yourself
Now, the very next verse says we aren’t just in Jesus’ hands
We are in the Father’s hands
29 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.
So, who’s hands are we in?
Jesus’ hands
or the Father’s hands?
If you said both
you’d be correct
and that’s what Jesus says in the next verse…
30 I and the Father are one.”
So, by being in Jesus’ hand,
We are in the Father’s hand
Because Jesus says, they are one in the same
And he says it plainly here
but he already said it when he claimed to be
both the door and the Shepherd
The KJV says, I and MY Father are one
And this a rare case
where I think the KJV gets it wrong
It is usually more accurate on things like this
but here, the word is clearly “the”
not “my”
And there is no textual variance on that word
They all say “The Father”
not “My Father”
And I’m not sure why the KJV says My
Unless perhaps they wanted some separation
between Jesus and the Father
in a verse that is bringing them together as One.
Now, many will say that one doesn’t mean one here
That it means one in unity
Like, if I say, I’m one with my baseball team
But, this would be incorrect
as that wouldn’t have drawn much anger from the Jews
but… saying you are one and the same as the father
Would make them very mad
And lets see if they get mad
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
I’d say they were pretty mad
Which means Jesus wasn’t just saying
that he was aligned with the Father
He was saying that he was the Father
And… that’s exactly what the Jews say in a couple verses…
32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
The word “from” here is actually the same Greek word used as “out of”
In verse 28 and 29
when Jesus was talking about snatching sheep OUT OF his hand
So, really Jesus says, I’ve shown you many good workd
OUT OF the Father.
Meaning, the works Jesus did
Are really the works of the Father
Which Jesus has already claimed to be true in chapter 5
He asks for which miracle will they stone him for
That the Father did through him
will they stone him for
33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
That are stoning him because he,
being a man,
make’s himself God
When did he do that?
When he said he was both the door (a man that leads us to God)
And the shepherd (God)
He also made himself God
When he said the sheep are in his hand
and at the same time
the sheep are in the Father’s hand
And he also made himself God
When he said… I and the Father are one.
And since it says that the Jew did not understand
the parable of the sheep
They weren’t stoning him for that
They were stoning him for what he said in John 10.30
Further validating that “One” means
One in the same
Not one in unity.
They said, you are making yourself God
Not, you are making yourself aligned with or unified to God.
Now, Jesus is going to quote some OT here to make a point
and it can be hard to follow for us,
but not for the Jews he is talking to
and who know the OT better than anyone..
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?
35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—
36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;
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 am in the Father.”
The quote Jesus is giving them in from Ps 82
where God calls judges elohim
a word that means God or gods
Now, this is he whole point of the incarnation.
The judges in Psalm 82 were vessels that received a word.
FROM God
Jesus isn't a vessel that received a word
— he is the Word (John 1:1, 14).
The Father didn't send a message THROUGH Jesus.
The Father came as Jesus.
So the argument Jesus is making is:
if a mere man who carries God's word can be called elohim,
what do you call the one in whom the fullness of the Father dwells bodily?
They didn’t take to kindly to that logic
as the next verse says…
39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
But, not all was lost on this conversation
Because in each of these encounters
There were always a few that believed
And this case is no different…
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.
41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”
42 And many believed in him there.
Next week, we will look at the resurrection of Jesus’ friend Lazarus
and see that many more begin to believe these witnesses
about Jesus being the Messiah.
