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The Wonderful Works of Our Lord
The Gospel of John
John 10:27-42
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - March 29, 2017
(Revised November 12, 2019)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to John 10, as we think about the wonderful works of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
*Verses 22-24 give us the immediate background for tonight's Scripture.
22. Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
23.
And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
24.
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?
If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.''
*Last time, I mentioned that the Feast of Dedication wasn't one of the Feasts established by God in the Old Testament.
That's because it didn't begin until after the Old Testament was completed, and it is still celebrated as Hanukkah today.
*The Feast of Dedication began in 164 B.C. to celebrate the rededication of the temple after the blasphemy and butchery of Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes.
William Barclay explained that "this wicked king was a lover of all things Greek.
Antiochus decided that he would eliminate the Jewish religion once and for all.
He introduced Greek ways, thoughts, religion and gods into the nation.
*At first, Antiochus tried to do so by peaceful means, but in 170 B.C. he attacked Jerusalem.
It was said that 80,000 Jews perished, and 80,000 more were sold into slavery.
It became a death penalty offence to have a copy of the Word of God, or to circumcise a child.
And mothers who did circumcise their children were crucified with their children hanging round their necks.
*The Temple courts were profaned.
The Temple chambers were turned into brothels.
Antiochus also took the dreadful step of turning God's great altar of the burnt offering into an altar for the Greek god Zeus.
He commanded that swine flesh be offered to the pagan gods on the altar that belonged to the Lord.
*It was then that Judas Maccabaeus and his brother arose to fight their epic war for freedom.
In 164 B.C. the struggle was finally won, and in that year the Temple was cleansed and purified."
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*That's why they started the Feast of the Dedication.
It is usually celebrated in December, and John noted that it was winter, which was about four months before the cross.
Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
Then the hateful Jewish leaders surrounded the Lord and began to pepper Him with questions.
They were trying to goad Jesus into committing a death-penalty offence against God's Law.
*With this background in mind, let's read vs. 27-42, thinking about the wonderful works of our Lord.
MESSAGE:
*In these verses, Jesus focused on His unique and wonderful works.
1. SO, FIRST NOTICE THAT HIS WORKS ARE GOOD.
*The Lord made this truth clear, when He responded to the murderous Pharisees.
In vs. 27-33, Jesus said:
27.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
30.
I and My Father are one.''
31.
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
32.
Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.
For which of those works do you stone Me?''
33.
The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.''
*In vs. 33, even the Lord's worst enemies had to admit that He had done good works.
They hated Jesus with the heat of a thousand suns.
They even hated the Lord for His good works.
But they had to admit them, because they had seen them with their own eyes.
*We see a good example of this fact that in Luke 6:6-11.
There God's Word says:
6.
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.
And a man was there whose right hand was withered.
7.
And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.
8.
But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here.''
And he arose and stood.
9. Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?''
10.
And looking around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand.''
And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
11.
But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
*There is abundant biblical evidence of the Lord's good works.
My favorite summary of His work is from Peter's sermon in Acts 10.
In vs. 36-39, Peter said:
36.
"The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ He is Lord of all
37. that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:
38.
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
39.
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree."
*Evidence of Jesus' good work abounds.
We find it in the Word of God, and we can find it in our own lives.
One of Stanley Baldwin's examples is from when he was a little boy, and his family took a trip to the Pacific Coast.
*This was during World War II, and fear of a Japanese attack had led to a strict lights-out policy after dark.
Stanley and his family stopped at a motel for the night.
They decided to take a quick walk along the dark beach to get some fresh air.
Little Stanley ran ahead of his parents and sister, and he came to a barricade wall blocking his way further.
*Like any other boy, he decided to climb the wall and explore the rest of the beach.
But just as Stanley reached the top of the wall, his sister called out and stopped him.
Then, in the blink of an eye, some soldiers drove up, with guns aimed right at the Baldwin family.
The squad leader chewed them out and sent them back to the motel.
*The next morning, the family returned to the barricade wall to look at the beach.
Imagine their horror when they looked over the wall and saw a 40-foot drop to the rocks below!
If Stanley's sister hadn't called for him when she did, if the soldiers hadn't shown up when they did, Stanley probably would have jumped over that wall to certain death.
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*God was at work watching over Stanley Baldwin that night, and He is watching over us right now.
Every true believer can look back and see the evidence of God's good work in our lives.
*We know about the good works of Jesus Christ!
And even the Lord's enemies had to admit His good works, but we also see their accusation.
In vs. 33: "The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.'''
*Their astounding accusation was: "Jesus, you are making yourself out to be more than just a man.
You are claiming to be God!"
And that would be a horrible thing for Jesus to do, unless it was true.
Thank God! -- It is true!
*So, the people who try to say that Jesus was just a man, or just a good man couldn't be farther from the truth.
The great Christian author C. S. Lewis wrote about this error in MERE CHRISTIANITY and said, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus.
That is: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.'
*That is one thing we must not say.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of thing Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.
He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
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