One Flock, One Shepherd

I also put it to you that this spiritual body possesses a spiritual unity – the unity of the remnant from within Judaism combined with the soon-to-be-saved Gentile believers – and that this precious unity comes purely and simply from the supernatural connection each of us sheep share in common with χ as our dying & rising Shepherd behind Whom each genuine sheep is called to follow.

I put it to you that there were real dangers and temptations that threaten to undermine that spiritual unity between Jew and Gentile inside Christ’s one true Flock …and we examined 3 of those dangers last week:

Over the last few weeks I have spoken to you about the words of our Lord from …and overall I’ve put it to you that Jesus unites around Himself as the One True Shepherd, one new true flock – a spiritual body – not a formal structured organization that you can now locate in some fixed place or time…

I also put it to you that this spiritual body possesses a spiritual unity – the unity of the remnant from within Judaism combined with the soon-to-be-saved Gentile believers – and that this precious unity comes purely and simply from the supernatural connection each of us sheep share in common with χ as our dying & rising Shepherd behind Whom each genuine sheep is called to follow.

I put it to you that there were real dangers and temptations that threaten to undermine that spiritual unity between Jew and Gentile inside Christ’s one true Flock …and we examined 3 of those dangers last week:

Three issues have caused that have caused contention between converted Jews & Gentiles in Christ’s new flock:

[1] Christian Zionism when it’s combined with some extreme forms of Dispensationalism

[2] Exclusivism Claims to be ‘The New Israel’ in some extreme forms Amillennialism which we could call ‘replacement theology’/supersessionism

[3] Denialism that the Lord Will Have Any Future Dealings with Israel as a Nation In The Land even tho’ the Bible says Ǝ IS a future for Israel in the Land.

Extreme Zionist Dispensationalism, Exclusivist Extreme Amillenialism

& Denialism of All Israel Futurism

These 3 things disrupt the unity between Jews & Gentiles inside χ’s New Flock.

We could address those sorts of dangers by turning more widely in our Bibles to other teaching themes within the Bible:

… like the different branches of the Abrahamic covenant and how they relate to the Sinai covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant

… like the breaking and grafting process employed by God with the Olive tree figure described in

But today, we are staying on, in , considering a much bigger danger still than potential doctrinal disharmony inside the universal Body of Christ.

Jesus’ words in strike a nerve within traditional 1st century Judaism.

John 10:17–18 NASB95

“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

His teaching begets a violent reaction which you can not only see in vv.19-21 but later on as well…

…And I don’t just mean v.31, 33, 39 of this chapter in our Lord’s ministry…

The kind of conflict we begin to address in our reading today is not some mere squabble within Christ’s true flock!

… It is a conflict between the power of Hell and the Kingdom of God.

It is a conflict between those who are fully rejecting the Messiah’s unique claims and the One true Saviour Who alone can save them from the terrible lostness which faces any individual who rejects their only Saviour.

This is what John foreshadowed at the beginning of this gospel when He wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit of God (, )

John 1:5 NASB95

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:9–12 NASB95

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

So, Jesus goes back to the thought of His death; this is the brute fact that when spoken into the hearts of listeners, Jews or Gentiles, this is what could make either of them true members of His one new flock.

So Jesus goes back to the thought of his death and He says that the Father loves him for it in .

John 10:17 NASB95

“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.

This does not mean that the Father did not love him until He died for people…

…because the Father always loved the Son.

What Jesus IS saying though, is that this love of His Father for Him WAS in some way connected with the cross. HOW?

Christ's death for sinners is first of all an expression of the love of the Father for sinners, as well as, a love of the Son for sinners.

We can see this earlier on in Jesus' thinking, earlier in Jn's gospel for instance in 3:16.

We should never think of the cross as though it meant this was just the love of the Son was triumphing over the wrath of the Father at our sins!

That is not the way it is …at all!

The love of the Father and the love of the Son were both there, & they were there BOTH at the time, and way beforehand too.

And more than this: the Son loved the Father's character and His holy justice …AND the Father loved the Son because of his noble death for sinners and to restore sinners to the love and enjoying of God.

So, when did this love for the Son's noble work begin?

Let me share an illustration:

Sometimes, when people have been married for many years or have been friends for many years (or both!), one will do something that evokes a strong expression of approval one for the other; some action evokes the response "I love you for that!"

Now the love was there before the deed…and before the statement. But the daring deed calls forth that strong expression of love yet once more.

And on this occasion the mighty deed was the laying down of the life for the sake of others…God & man.

So, when did this love for the Son's noble work begin? For all eternity, Christ the Son was the kind of loving noble-hearted agent Who wanted to redeem people to see and enjoy and magnify the beauty & holiness & goodness of His Father…

Throughout this gospel & throughout this passage in this is brought out repeatedly.

It's absolutely central to the teaching of Gospel …central to loving faith in Christ.

Jn refuses to let us miss this & so he keeps recording words that bring this out.

Part of the need for this emphasis is ∵ God j. does not act as we so often do.

It’s now natural for people to try to avoid hardship & j. to take the easiest way.

We do it constantly. Christ was never like this …not in all eternity.

There was a time in World War Il when the allied army launched a strong attack and drove back the central part of the enemy line quite a distance.

But then the German enemy counter-attacked and these allied forces were in danger of being completely surrounded. In this emergency absolutely everyone in the US forces were pressed into service.

Even those whose normal duties were routine office work found themselves called up into the defence effort.

One paper-pusher, actually a typist & delivery guy, found himself instructed to dig foxholes in very hard ground.

He was making heavy weather of it, so made a suggestion to his superior officer: Sir, wouldn't it be better if we attacked them and made them dig the foxholes?"

That corresponds to something deep down in the heart of most of us.

We don't want to do the hard things; we like to discover some easy way round.

But we mustn’t read our own attitudes into the way our salvation was achieved.

The road to Cross would be hard, but the Good Shepherd, we're told here would tread it resolutely and deliberately.

So, Jesus says that he will lay down his life "for the sheep" and also that He will do this "so that I may take it up again" …for purposes which He hints at here.

That statement "so that I may take it up again" indicates a second side of His deep and noble, holy purpose.

We are to see Christ’s resurrection as being in mind long before His death ever took place on the cross.

Jesus is saying that His attitude to life and to death is v. different from ours:

He will go to death, but it will be a voluntary purposeful act and he will rise in due course triumphant over death.

He makes this clear by saying of His life that nobody took it away from me

John 18 NASB95

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. “But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

John 10:18 NASB95

“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

John 18 NASB95

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,” to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.” Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people. Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.” When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?” Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. “But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.

It was true that in due course people like Judas, accidentally, the Jewish high priestly party, deliberately, and the Romans, especially Pilate, pragmatically, would all play their part in seeking to take Christ’s life.

But if χ hadn’t allowed them to put him to death, He would not have been killed.

χ is pictured as supreme over life and death, in this gospel especially.

So, χ repeats that He lays his life down of Himself.

Many but not all manuscripts read in a proverbial kind of way: "Nobody takes my life away from me," …and this may well be the right reading.

But it corresponds to what we would expect if this were a slate night scribal "correction" done to make it sound easier & less puzzling.

I think that this text originally did read as "took" and that Jesus is regarding His death as so certain that He can speak of it as if it were already accomplished.

Jesus makes clear His lordship over life and death by saying that: He has “authority” to lay down his life and to take it up again.

The repetition of "authority" gives the word emphasis here; this is the case when Pilate repeats the same word later on in . Some translations prefer the word "power" but that is not the meaning of Jesus' word, here.

John 19:10 NASB95

So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”

It’s true that χ has power over death, but it’s also true that this is not simply naked power.

Being the Son of God, χ has the right to die and to rise, and it is of right rather than brute power that Jesus is speaking.

Jesus concludes this part of His address by saying that He has received a command, a charge, a calling, from His Father.

Once again, we have the typical teaching of this Gospel that the Father and the Son are at one in this matter of salvation. Ǝ is no division in the Godhead.

Division

But there was "division" among the hearers!

John 19–20 NASB95

Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.” Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the Man!” So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.” Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid; and he entered into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.” Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!” So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be”; this was to fulfill the Scripture: “They divided My outer garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 10:19–20 NASB95

A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?”

Some were for Jesus and some against.

Those against were saying, "He has a demon and is mad."

The contemptuous accusation that Jesus had a demon had been made before (; , ); indeed, in John's Gospel the only times demon-possession is ever mentioned is when this accusation is being made or refuted about Jesus!

Apparently, in this situation with Jesus these critics saw demon-possession and madness as much the same thing, though elsewhere, in other contexts, the two things seem to be distinguished.

Thus, Matthew tells of an occasion when people brought to Jesus for healing "demon-possessed and lunatics" in .

Matthew 4:24 NASB95

The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.

And some some translators render this as "epileptics" instead of " lunatics," but J.B. Phillips is right when he paraphrases this as a broad ref. to "the insane". The old Living Bible also expresses this as "insane".

The separate mention of the two groups, in the Greek construction which Matthew employs, shows that they were 2 different groups he has in mind; there in Matthew the demon-possessed and the insane were not the same.

But these determined opponents of Jesus are refusing to take Him seriously.

They’re convinced that he is in error and simply throw out lazy accusations: "he has a demon" and "he is mad"

They produce no reason for what they are saying and indeed they could not.

But other observers are more balanced.

They have listened to what Jesus said and are clear that words such as Jesus has spoken are not the words of a demoniac .

John 10:21 NASB95

Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”

And it was not only the things he said.

What about his deeds which they’ve observed?

Can a demoniac open the eyes of the blind?

They find both χ's words and His deeds together to be convincing.

This contrast between the two groups is confronting and it's instructive to us as John intends for us to be instructed.

We find such divisions again and again in the history of the human race.

Where people are blinded by prejudice they will always find some “reason” – or should I say, some pretext -- for rejecting Jesus:

They will dare to accuse Him of being a demoniac, a madman megalomaniac, a make-believe projection of our own sensibilities about some-one who was at best a progressivist nice-guy feminist of the first century -- anything will suit their purpose.

But when people fully listen to what He actually says and where they take comprehensive notice of what He actually does, then, there’s always a very different verdict…

…a God-honouring verdict! – what’s yours!