John 10:22-42
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.” 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 part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will 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 the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 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.” 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.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
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.
Reflection
Jesus had already spoken clearly about his identity and purpose as the Messiah (e.g., John 7:37–39; 8:12–59), but apparently many Jews still felt he was veiling his identity. The problem, however, was not that they lacked information. What they lacked was the ability to see spiritual reality. By God’s grace, Jesus’ sheep hear his voice (10:27). They understand him because they know him.
Not only do believers know Jesus, but he also knows us (v. 27). To be known by Jesus is to be held secure by the grip of his grace. No one can snatch believers from Jesus’ hand or from the Father’s hand (v. 28). Why? Because Jesus and the Father are one (v. 30) —they are both divine, acting with power and purpose that human forces cannot overcome. This is an affirmation both of Jesus’ deity and of the biblical teaching of the Trinity (there is one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). Judging by their desire to stone Jesus for blasphemy, the Jews clearly understood the significance of Christ’s claim.
Hebrews 9:15-22
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Reflection
Because of who Jesus is and what he has done, he is the agent of God’s “new covenant” with his people (Heb. 9:15). Old Testament prophets (such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel) prophesied that God would make this new arrangement with his people in the last days (Jer. 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36–37). As his words at the Last Supper indicate, Jesus’ death inaugurated the new covenant: “This cup . . . is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). His sacrifice is so monumental that it saves Old Testament believers as well as New Testament ones: his death “redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant” (Heb. 9:15)!
Psalm 28:8-9
8 The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. 9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Jesus is not merely a religious and holy teacher. He is one with God the Father (John 10:30), and therefore he is God himself. Worship him as your God and pray for others who have not yet heard the voice of this great Shepherd.