johnareyouthechrist

John 10:22-42

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."

25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

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."

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 the Scripture cannot be broken),

36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."

39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.

41 Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."

42 And many believed in Him there.

Two questions:

Question One: What does it take to convince anyone that Jesus is the Christ?

Question Two: What does it mean if Jesus is the Christ?

We will examine the answer Jesus gives to Question One: “What does it take to convince anyone that Jesus is the Christ?” in the message today. The answer to Question One is that nothing will convince a person that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ if they are determined to ignore the biblical evidence for that claim.

The answer to Question Two: “What does it mean if Jesus is the Christ?” is that if Jesus is the Christ and you die in unbelief that He is “I AM” that you will die under the condemnation of God’s holy, just, and good law and your unbelief consigns you to everlasting punishment. You simply remain under the wrath of God [John 3:36].

Before we go any further into these two propositions let’s lay some background for verses 22-41.

From John 7:2 through John 10:21, Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles in fulfillment of Zechariah 14:16. Then verse 22 places Jesus at the Feast of Dedication.

Some scholars believe that a period of two or three months passes between verse 21 and verse 22. This is based on the phrase, “and it was winter”.

Whatever the time lapse is, Jesus is now explaining the parable of the Good Shepherd. His explanation follows the complaint that Jesus had not yet told them plainly if He is the Christ.

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.

The Feast of Dedication is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible but we have Jesus honoring this ceremony with His attendance.

According to the Apocrypha, which is not inspired, the Dedication of the Temple refers to purification and rededication of the temple by Judas the Maccabean in 165 B.C. Even though the apocryphal writings are not inspired there is no reason to question that this as an historical event.

Three years earlier, in 168 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes had defiled the Temple.

Antiochus IV (175 BC - 164 BC), surnamed Epiphanes (God manifest) but called by his enemies Epimanes (madman). Antiochus IV was one of the cruelest rulers of all time.

Antiochus Epiphanes had defiled the temple by sacrificing a sow swine on the altar. A pagan offering an unclean animal as a sacrifice in the temple was intended to be the ultimate insult to the Jews.

Jesus recognized this feast by His presence as He walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Solomon’s porch was a covered colonnade in the courtyard of the temple.

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."

This is an amazing question. It is amazing because of who asked it?

Think about my opening Question One: What does it take to convince anyone that Jesus is the Christ?

"How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

James Boice points out that the Jews were blaming Jesus for their unbelief.

Does this remind you of Adam? “It was not my fault that I disobeyed you God, it was Your fault because You gave me this woman.”

If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ whom are you blaming? It is not because you have not heard the gospel. It is not because you have not been told that the Bible teaches that we are all guilty sinners and condemned by a holy God. It is not because you have not been told that trusting Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. If you are not a real Christian, whose fault is it?

But Jesus will not let them avoid the truth and put the blame for their unbelief on Him.

25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.

Jesus had told them plainly that He was Christ / Messiah?

They had heard Him and they had understood what He said. The problem they had was that they were not satisfied with the “kind” of Messiah He claimed to be. They expected an earthly king to throw off the yolk of the Roman Empire and so they were blinded to the spiritual nature of His claims.

Is it any different today? People want material blessings, physical healing, more money than they need, and friends. But they are not interested in a spiritual King that demands obedience? This is why the new birth or regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential.

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.

Nothing in the Bible that Jesus said is plainer than John 5:17-47, which is a sermon by Christ Himself on His deity.

In John 6, Jesus clearly claims that He is the true Bread and the One sent by God. In John 7:37-39, Jesus says that He is the source of living water. In John 8, Jesus says that He is the “light of the world”. And in John 10 He is the Good Shepherd who entered by the door of the OT prophecies.

It was not that He had not told them plainly but that they refused to hear Him and Jesus will tell them why they do not believe Him.

The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.

Not only had Jesus plainly told them that He was Messiah He had proven His authority by the works {signs} that He had done before them.

In John 5, He heals a man who had been lame for 38 years.

In John 9 Jesus gives sight to a man born blind.

Now what Jesus says next is the great stumbling block for many people.

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

Just as the Jews rejected the evidence clearly set before them even so today men continue to reject the absolute sovereignty of God in the matter of who will believe and be saved and who will continue in spiritual blindness.

“… you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep.”

In verses 11 and 15, Jesus clearly says He gives His life for the sheep. Then in verse 26 He says that some are not His sheep.

Some believe and come and others reject His absolute sovereignty. Who will come? Jesus has already told us:

John 6:37

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

The sovereignty of God causes some to complain [murmur].

John 6:43-45

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Here is what it comes to. You cannot blame God for your unbelief. Do you want to come to Jesus? Then why don’t you come? Be truthful. Do you want to come? Then you may come! And when you come it will be because you were drawn to see your need of a Savior by God. You were taught of God!

But if you continue in unbelief, as did most of the Pharisees, you will die in your sins in the face of having heard the truth of the Gospel.

The matter before us is the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.

Many people are moved to the extreme of one or the other. They either go into error by denying that God is in control of who is saved or they deny that man is responsible for his unbelief.

The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man are both clearly taught in the Scripture. I do not have to completely understand something in order to believe it.

It would be stupid to stop using electricity until you understood how it works. When I was a freshman in college studying electrical engineering a professor told an old saw. The professor asked a student if he could explain electricity. The young man said that he did know but that he forgot. The professor said that is really too bad. Here is the only man in the world that understands how electricity works and he forgot!

From man’s side we are fully accountable to God for our thoughts and actions. But there is God’s side, which is far beyond our ability to completely grasp. That does not relieve us from believing what we are given in the Bible. So learn to accept what the Bible teaches.

If you are saved it will be entirely an act of sovereign mercy. You are no more able to cause God to save you than was Abraham able to cause God to call him out of idolatry to be the “father of the faithful”.

But if you do not believe you will go to hell it will be because you did not want to believe in Jesus!

As men try to reconcile the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man they go to one of two extremes.

One extreme is called Arminianism, which says that man is not so spiritually dead that he cannot decide to exercise his free will and allow God to save him. God, they say, wants everyone to be saved but that no one was actually saved in the death of Christ. The atonement only makes it possible for a man to be saved. The majority of Baptists in America are are taught to be Arminians.

The other extreme is called Hyper-Calvinism. This is also called “Hardshellism” and it says that since God has chosen a people that they will be saved even if they do not trust Jesus Christ while they live. They call this eternal justification. But the Scripture is clear that justification waits on faith. Election is not salvation. Election is unto salvation and salvation is by grace through faith.

Dr. Tom Nettles points out in his book, By His Grace and for His Glory, the difference between Arminianism and Hyper-Calvinism.

Arminianism teaches that God intends to save every human and that the death of Jesus on the cross makes salvation possible for all and not certain for anyone.

Hyper-Calvinism teaches that God has an elect people and that they will be saved whether or not they come to faith in Christ while they live.

Both of these theological systems are in great error.

The way Dr. Nettles sums it up is that both Arminianism and Hyper-Calvinism teach that God does not command what a man is not able to do.

The Arminian says, therefore man is able to believe in man’s own power and thus they deny the sovereignty of God. The Hyper-Calvinist says man is not able to believe and therefore deny that man is responsible to believe.

The truth is that God does command what man is not able to do. And until God takes the initiative and convicts a man of sin and reveals the sufficiency of the sacrifice of His own Son on the cross the man remains dead in trespasses and sins.

A careful reading will show you man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty side-by-side in the Bible? There are many places in the Bible where this can be demonstrated. Just a couple of examples:

Acts 2:22-24

22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know —

23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

Philippians 2:12-13

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

If you are struggling with this matter of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility please ask me or one of the other elders for help. By God’s great mercy He has given me and these other men spiritual insight and we would love to help you see how God saves sinners.

Borrowing again from Dr. Boice, he says that in verses 26-29 that Jesus is a Calvinist. Before you get too upset with that thought, not even John Calvin was a “Calvinist”. The “Doctrines of Grace” have been developed from Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.

All I am saying is that the basic truths of the “Doctrines of Grace” are right here in

26-29.

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

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.

The “Doctrines of Grace” are expressed in an acronym: TULIP.

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Preservation / Perseverance of the Saints

How lost are men unless God shows them mercy?

What ability do men have in and of themselves?

Are men “dead in trespasses and sins” until the Holy Spirit makes them alive [quickens them]?

But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep [26]

A man is totally helpless to believe if that man is not of His sheep.

This is called “Total Depravity”.

How does anyone ever get to be one of Christ’s sheep?

My Father, who has given them to Me [29]

This is called God’s sovereign choice, or “Unconditional Election”.

Who did Jesus die for? Jesus says they are:

My sheep [26]

This is called definite or “Limited Atonement”.

How do the sheep know that they are His sheep and what do they do?

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. [27]

This is called “Irresistible Grace”.

How secure are Jesus’ sheep?

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

This is called the eternal security of the believer.

There is the “Perseverance and the Preservation of the Saints”.

William Hendriksen summarizes this passage as follows:

“My sheep having become such because they were given to me by the Father (10: 29) put forth an effort to catch the sound of my voice. They do this constantly. They eagerly obey me, placing their full confidence in me. I know them, acknowledging them as my very own. They follow me, but turn away from strangers. I give to them here and now (as well as in the future) that life which is rooted in God and which pertains to the future age, to the realm of glory. In principle it becomes their possession even before they reach the shores of heaven. That life is salvation full and free, and manifests itself in fellowship with God and Christ (17:3); in partaking of the love of God (5:3) of his peace (16:33) and of his joy (17:13). Hence, it differs in quality from the life which characterizes the present age, being it's very opposite. And it never ends. The sheep shall certainly never perish; i.e., they shall never enter the state of wrath, the condition of being banished forever from the presence of the God of love. And no one shall snatch them out of my hand (symbolizing my power).”

William Hendriksen

The offense of the Gospel is that salvation is by grace through faith. No one deserves to be saved. If anyone is saved it will be because God chose to reveal to them their desperate sinful condition and then show them the need for a Savior and who that Savior is, even the Lord Jesus Christ!

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.

The gift is “greater” or more excellent because of the Giver. In this case what the Father gives to the Son remains the possession of the Father and is now the possession of both the Father and the Son. This gift from the Father to the Son is greater, more precious than every other created thing, and thus it can never perish.

30 I and My Father are one."

Do not let this be a problem for you.

The Father and the Son are two distinct persons but they are of the same essence. Jesus, the Son, is subordinate to the Father as He always does the will of the Father.

This controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees started in Chapter 5 when Jesus said, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. [John 5:17-19]

Your Bible will show you that every divine attribute of God is ascribed to the Son of God. Jesus of Nazareth is the Word made flesh and He is God!

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

Cf. verse 24. Now they understand Him. He is claiming to be God!

If the Jews were correct in their denial of the claims of Jesus then they would be justified in stoning Him for blasphemy.

32 Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?"

You have seen many good works {signs}.

What kind of works are you about to stone Me for?

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."

The Jews refuse to acknowledge His good works and continue in spiritual blind rage.

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 the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6-7

6 I said, "You are gods,

And all of you are children of the Most High.

7 But you shall die like men,

And fall like one of the princes."

This is a remarkable passage of Scripture. It shows us the view of Scripture that was held by Jesus. He uses one word in the OT Scripture, with the caution that the Scripture cannot be broken, to make His point.

The context of Psalm 82 is that human judges were as gods in their exercise of authority. If in a book that you admit is of divine authority it is said,

“You are gods, …” why then do you charge One who is the Son of God with blasphemy?

Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater. If in your own Scripture men were called gods, why do you charge Me with blasphemy when everything that I have said and done is sanctified {set apart} by the Father who sent Me into the world?

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."

39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

It will always come to this. Do you believe that Jesus came into the world to save sinners? Do you believe that what Jesus did in His life and work is sufficient to appease the wrath of God against you? Before you can answer that, do you know that you are under the wrath of God?

Do you believe that He so satisfied the Father that when He lay down His life for His sheep that He had the power to raise Himself from he dead?

40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.

41 Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."

42 And many believed in Him there.

So when this message of Jesus Christ is told some will refuse to believe the evidence and some will believe it. In fact, many will believe it.

What about you?

We began with two questions.

Question One: What does it take to convince anyone that Jesus is the Christ?

Plain and simple, it takes a work of grace and mercy. That in no way gives anyone the excuse to think, “Well, I will just wait and if I don’t believe on Jesus it will be God’s fault.”

The issue for you is do you want to trust Christ?

Question Two: What does it mean if Jesus is the Christ?

We did not fully answer this question but let me refer to an article in Friday’s Birmingham News: “Who goes to heaven poses an interfaith quandary.”

The gist of the article is that even though Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”, that He simply could not have meant that. God is so good that He will save Muslims and Hindus and New Age. It is simply a matter of interpretation they say. Men who write such drivel deny the claims of Jesus!

They are more ready to offend Jesus than they are to offend man!

That is the answer to Question Two: What does it mean if Jesus is the Christ? It means that Jesus is the only way to God and all other ways imagined by men are false.

So is Jesus the Christ?

What does that mean to you?

Amen