Jesus' Divine Claim - John 10:22-42

John 10:22-42

©April 25th, 2021 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: John

We are asked to believe all sorts of things in our daily lives, though usually it is not a blind belief. We examine the evidence and then make an informed decision. We are asked to believe that the world is a sphere, that there are planets out in space, and that men really did land and walk on the moon. There is good evidence to support all these things and believing in them is quite reasonable. Nonetheless, there are still some who disbelieve each of these things. No matter how much evidence they are given, nothing will change their minds.

That’s the situation Jesus faces in our passage this morning. The people demanded Jesus tell them plainly whether he was the Messiah or not, but the truth is he had made that point clear to them already. If they didn’t have enough reason to believe he was the Messiah already, him telling them he was wouldn’t help either.

In these verses the people demand that Jesus speak to them plainly. This is a pretty good example of the “be careful what you ask for” principle. Jesus does speak plainly to them, but what he said wasn’t what they were expecting. They got more than they bargained for—but we get some wonderfully clear teaching and insight.

Sheep Revisited

John starts by setting the scene for us,

22 It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. (John 10:22-23, NLT)

He tells us it was winter, at the time of the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. Most scholars think the teachings we’ve been reading about from chapter 7 up until last week took place during the feast of tabernacles, which would have been two months before Hanukkah (also called the Feast of Dedication). So, there is probably a two-month gap between verses 21 and 22.

I want to talk briefly about the celebration of Hanukkah, because all the other Jewish feasts are explained in the Old Testament, but Hanukkah isn’t. The reason is that Hanukkah was instituted in the time between the Old and New Testaments.

During that time, Israel was conquered by a Syrian king by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. He wanted to introduce Greek culture into the nation of Israel and also eradicate Judaism. He didn’t have much success attempting to do so peacefully, so he began an all-out attack on the Jewish faith and the Jewish people. It culminated in Antiochus desecrating the temple and stealing enormous amounts of gold. He took the altar to God and turned it into an altar to Zeus. He then desecrated it further by sacrificing a pig (which the Jews saw as unclean) on the altar.

This was the last straw for the Jews, and under a man by the name of Judas Maccabeus, they revolted against Antiochus. In 164 BC, they finally prevailed and rededicated the temple to the Lord. Hanukkah was a celebration of this victory and a reminder of God’s providence.

During this time of celebration, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, teaching in an area known as Solomon’s Colonnade, which was a common place for teachers to teach. And the people came to him demanding he speak plainly to them. So he did!

24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” (John 10:24-30, NLT)

The people demanded that Jesus tell them plainly whether he was the Messiah or not. Jesus’ response was that he had already told them, but they didn’t believe him. Now, Jesus had never (at least according to the gospels) said outrightly, “I am the Messiah,” partly because that statement carried with it military undertones in the minds of many living in Israel at that time, so his message would have been overshadowed by their faulty expectations. But Jesus had made it very clear that he was the One they were waiting for. Jesus knew their problem wasn’t that he had been unclear, it was their unwillingness to believe.

Jesus’ answer didn’t make the people happy, because he said the reason they didn’t believe him was because they weren’t his sheep. If they were his sheep, then they would listen to him and follow him. He makes an important, and difficult point. Some people are not (and will never be) followers of Jesus. Those people will never believe, no matter how much evidence is put before them. The issue is not a lack of evidence, it is a hard heart that is unwilling to believe. Unlike Jesus, we don’t know whose hearts are hard and who may eventually believe, so we should strive to share the gospel as clearly as possible with as many as possible, but we should also recognize that some people will never believe, no matter how hard we try.

But there is another side to Jesus’ statement that is wonderfully encouraging. He says that to those who are His sheep, who listen to His voice and follow Him, He promises eternal life. He says no one can snatch them from His hand. He then doubles down on it and says that no one can snatch them from the Father’s hand either, because the Father is more powerful than anyone.

What a wonderful promise this is! Jesus is promising us that if we are genuinely His sheep, then nothing can change that fact. If we are His followers, we will inherit eternal life. To put it another way, we cannot lose our salvation, because God is holding on to us, and He won’t let go! This is a tremendous promise that should encourage us when we fail. We cannot mess up so badly that we lose our salvation, because we’re not holding on to God, He is holding on to us. The question we must sincerely ask ourselves is whether we are truly His followers or not. If we are, then this is a wonderful promise of assurance.

Jesus then ends this explanation with a bold declaration, “The Father and I are one.” Jesus is making a clear claim of divinity with these words. A popular argument amongst non-believers is to say that Jesus never claimed to be God. People make this claim so they can view Jesus as merely a moral teacher who ultimately makes no demands on them. But this is a clear statement of Jesus’ divinity. And everyone around Him understood this as well.

C.S. Lewis pointed out that the fact that Jesus did, in fact, claim to be God means you cannot simply view Him as a great moral teacher, because a claim of divinity demands a response. He says there are only three options. First, Jesus claimed to be God, but knew He wasn’t. This would make him a liar, and thus he couldn’t be trusted. Second, Jesus thought he was God, but he wasn’t. This would make him a lunatic, and we can’t trust anything he says. The third option was that He claimed to be God because He was God. If that’s the case, then not only can what Jesus said be trusted, it must be followed, and we must worship Him. This is why people want to believe Jesus never claimed to be God…but He did.

We should also talk briefly about what that means. Jesus says that He and the Father are one. This statement hints at a doctrine called the trinity. This doctrine is difficult to understand and may be impossible for us to fully grasp. The essence of the trinity is this: there is one God, who is eternally existent in three persons, the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. There has never been a time where all three did not exist, and there has never been a time where they were not perfectly unified as one. They are three persons, but one in essence. Therefore, we can rightly say there is one God, not three. This is what Jesus was claiming with this statement.

The Response

As you might expect, the people did not like this statement at all!

31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?” 33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:31-33, NLT)

Under Jewish law, the penalty for blasphemy was stoning. The people would pick up rocks and throw them at the person who claimed to be God until they had killed them. That’s what the people were planning to do here. Jesus was undeterred. Rather than panicking, he calmly asked why they planned to stone him. He said he’d done many good works and asked which of these they were stoning him for. That’s when they explained that they were doing so because as a mere man he had claimed to be God.

Their zeal was good, but their logic was flawed. They said Jesus was a mere man, but He wasn’t. A mere man claiming to be God would indeed be blasphemy, because he wasn’t God. But Jesus claiming to be God was not blasphemy, because He actually was!

Jesus’ response in verses 34-38 is confusing, but I’ll try to explain what I think He was saying.

34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.” (John 10:34, 38, NLT)

Jesus refers back to Psalm 82:6, where God calls the human judges who were appointed in Israel “gods”. Clearly, these men were not actually God, but they were God’s representatives on the earth, which is why they were referred to in this way. Jesus’ argument is confusing to us, but it would have made sense to a Jewish way of thinking.

Here’s the essence of what Jesus was saying: if the scriptures referred to these mere men as “gods”, then you surely cannot argue when Jesus (who is far greater than these mere men) is called God. Jesus was making what is called an argument from the lesser to the greater. His point was that he was worthy of far greater titles than these men (who were actually wicked judges). The people would have understood Jesus’ argument much more readily than we do today, because this was the same way Jewish rabbis taught regularly at that time.

Notice something else in this statement, however. Jesus refers to the scriptures as being authoritative and unchangeable. He said “the Scriptures cannot be altered.” This informs our beliefs about the Bible itself. Jesus repeatedly affirmed the scriptures as being the Word of God. He said they are authoritative and unchanging. This view of the Bible is becoming less and less popular, because much of what the Bible says is no longer in line with modern sensibilities. But the scriptures cannot be altered. God has spoken clearly, and He does not change. If Jesus says the Bible is authoritative, unchanging, and without error, then we should hold the same belief as well.

Jesus made his argument from the scriptures, but He didn’t rest with just his words. He told them to check his credentials. He asked them to examine the evidence. He said they shouldn’t believe in Him unless He did the Father’s work. But if He did do the Father’s work, then they should believe what He says. He once again points to the miracles He had done as evidence that confirmed the fact that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him.

Jesus never calls us to a blind faith. Many declare that Christians must be stupid or must turn off their brains in order to believe, because that’s what faith demands. But that simply isn’t true. The Christian faith isn’t a blind faith—it is a settled conviction based on clear evidence. As you have heard both Dad and I say many times, we consistently come back to the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. The evidence is overwhelming! Many who have set out to disprove Christianity have ended up coming to faith as they examine the evidence. In those times when doubt comes in (and I suspect it will), go back to the evidence and remind yourself that your faith is based on solid ground. If you’re looking for a good book to read that discusses this evidence, I would recommend the book, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. You will find that there is plenty of evidence to trust in Jesus. And that was Jesus’ point all along.

Like the people who insist the earth is flat or deny the moon landing, there were still people who refused to believe in Jesus no matter how much evidence was before them. Their issue was not a lack of evidence, it was a hardened heart. They tried to arrest Him because they didn’t like what He had to say, but He once again got away.

The final scene is in verses 40-42,

40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. 41 And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” 42 And many who were there believed in Jesus. (John 10:40-42, NLT)

Jesus left Jerusalem (and wouldn’t return until he came back for the last week of His life) and went to the place where John the Baptist had first baptized people. As he was there, the people remembered John’s teaching about Jesus. They pointed out that John himself didn’t do any miraculous signs like healing the blind or causing crippled people to walk again, but He had spoken prophetically about Jesus. They realized everything John said about Jesus had come true. The result was that many of these people came to believe in Jesus. Once again, the reason was simple—the evidence led them to the conclusion that their belief was reasonable.

Conclusions

This passage is full of rich teaching and some great theological truths. There are several points I think we should pull from these verses.

First, Jesus is God. Jesus clearly claimed to be God, and He demonstrated it to be true. It hurts our heads a bit to try to understand exactly how it all works, but that does not diminish all the evidence that leads us to that conclusion. If I limited my beliefs only to that which I understood completely, I would not be able to believe in much at all. I understand this much, however—there is a mountain of evidence that points to the fact that Jesus claimed to be God and then proved it by the things He did. Chief among these is His resurrection from the dead. If you find yourself struggling to believe, let me challenge you to examine the evidence. There’s plenty there if you’re willing to look at it with an open mind and heart.

Second, the Bible is the authority on which we should base our lives. This comes from the mouth of Jesus himself. Jesus, who was God, subjects himself to the authority of the scriptures. Why does He do that? Because it’s His Word! If Jesus had such a high view of the Bible, we ought to as well. When we find our own beliefs challenged by what the Bible says, we need to respond by changing our beliefs, not by trying to change the scriptures. Jesus said the scriptures cannot be altered. Those who try to alter them do so at their own peril.

Third, we must each decide whether to believe and follow or not. Jesus does not leave any middle ground. You cannot revere Jesus as a great moral teacher but deny Him as God. If you do, then you don’t actually accept what He taught, because He taught that He was God! You have to make a decision: do you believe Him or don’t you? No one else can make that decision for you. You must look at the evidence for yourself and decide. If you believe He is who He said He was, then follow Him. Do what He says, study His teachings, and encourage others to do the same. Don’t put off the decision as something you can deal with later—it’s something you need to decide today.

Finally, for those who believe, He promises to keep us for all eternity. This is a wonderful promise, but it is only for those who believe. Jesus promises that if we belong to Him, then nothing can take us away from Him. That means no matter what happens in our lives, no matter how badly we mess up at times, Jesus still loves us and is still holding onto us. We don’t deserve it, and we can’t—but that’s the whole point. He has chosen to save us and keep us as His own. That means our eternity is made certain by Him—so we can have confidence in everything!

These verses contain some of the clearest teachings about Jesus’ divinity in the whole Bible. There is a mountain of evidence to support Jesus’ claims. Some will refuse to believe by claiming they need more proof. To those people I say this: either you haven’t looked hard enough for proof, or you’re lying to yourself. There is a mountain of evidence if you’ll just seek it out. Sadly, some people will never believe. Many will hide, like the people in John 10, behind a false claim that God hasn’t spoken clearly enough. My hope today is that you’ll examine the evidence for Jesus, and then follow Him wholeheartedly throughout this life, and into the next.

©April 25th, 2021 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: John