If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 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.”
Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.
Interesting how John the Baptist is compared to Jesus by John's followers. It reminds me of how diverse prophets were in the Old Testament. Elijah and Elisha were powerful men who performed amazing acts while the ministries of Isaiah and Jeremiah were more verbal in nature. It speaks to the multifaceted nature of prophetic ministry.
In the same way that the Jewish elders did not recognized John the Baptist as a prophet they also did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. To this Jesus points them to his miracles. One has to wonder how dark their hearts were to not see that the Father was in Jesus. How could they rationalize away the miracles? Sadly that rationalism remain to this day.
Like the followers of John the Baptist I confess my belief in you Jesus.
For which of them are you going to stone me?
The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 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.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 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’?
Do you ever wonder why Jesus referenced this verse from Psalm 82? Do you think that he was really calling his listeners gods or defending himself to them? Interesting how some take this passage and run with it saying that Jesus was speaking about the divine in all of us. My thinking is that the Lord was turning this verse from Psalms inside out. By using it in a literal way he was pointing to the Jews' proclivity to miss the point of the scripture.
I think that many, in their quest to understand the bible, fall into this same trap. For many years I looked at the bible as a book to be logically, and mostly literally, understood. For sure much of the bible is historical and literal. Yet there is much, especially in Jesus' teaching, that we miss when we interpret it literally. When he quotes from Psalm 82 he points to how the Jews miss the heart of the message by focusing on the legal details.
Help me Lord to read the scripture with my heart and not my head.
Do you ever wonder why Jesus referenced this verse from Psalm 82? Do you think that he was really calling his listeners gods or defending himself to them? Interesting how some take this passage and run with it saying that Jesus was speaking about the divine in all of us. My thinking is that the Lord was turning this verse from Psalms inside out. By using it in a literal way he was pointing to the Jews' proclivity to miss the point of the scripture.
I think that many, in their quest to understand the bible, fall into this same trap. For many years I looked at the bible as a book to be logically, and mostly literally, understood. For sure much of the bible is historical and literal. Yet there is much, especially in Jesus' teaching, that we miss when we interpret it literally. When he quotes from Psalm 82 he points to how the Jews miss the heart of the message by focusing on the legal details.
Help me Lord to read the scripture with my heart and not my head.
They will never perish ...
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 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. I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
Eternal life is a gift that is given before we die. It is given with no strings attached yet it is not given to all. While some believe that all have been given this gift it is obvious from this passage that only those who know, and consequentially follow, God are given life eternal. In my thinking only those who have been born of the Spirit possess eternal life and live past death. It is a controversial message because many have embraced the idea that all humans are eternal. Yet Jesus here says that eternal life is something given after we are born.
Eternal life is a gift that is given before we die. It is given with no strings attached yet it is not given to all. While some believe that all have been given this gift it is obvious from this passage that only those who know, and consequentially follow, God are given life eternal. In my thinking only those who have been born of the Spirit possess eternal life and live past death. It is a controversial message because many have embraced the idea that all humans are eternal. Yet Jesus here says that eternal life is something given after we are born.
I love how this gift of eternal life is irrevocable. It is a logical thought because eternity, like God, exists outside of time - the concept of time is no longer relevant.. acts are permanent and not temporary. Once a person is born of the Spirit they become one with God. Interesting how the Jews did not understand this idea. When Jesus spoke of being one with the Father they believed he was blaspheming. Yet knowing God, and being one with Him, is a central theme of the Christian message. Interesting how times have changed.
Lord, thank you for the gift of eternal life and the security of knowing you.
I told you, and you do not believe.
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.” 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, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
The conversation that Christ had with these Jews has been repeated over and over again since this passage was first penned. Since that day skeptics have wanted more evidence but the issue has never been about evidence. To the Jews, and modern skeptics, Jesus says that more evidence is not needed if one has an open mind and a willing heart.
Many take the Lord's words about being a part of his flock and interpret it to mean that God had preordained some to believe and some to not believe. My thinking is that all people have a seed of faith. God has given everyone the ability to respond to the Holy Spirit. If this were not so then who could condemn the unbelieving skepticism of the Jews?
Thank you for the evidence Lord. I accept the testimony of the resurrection. You are worthy.
The conversation that Christ had with these Jews has been repeated over and over again since this passage was first penned. Since that day skeptics have wanted more evidence but the issue has never been about evidence. To the Jews, and modern skeptics, Jesus says that more evidence is not needed if one has an open mind and a willing heart.
Many take the Lord's words about being a part of his flock and interpret it to mean that God had preordained some to believe and some to not believe. My thinking is that all people have a seed of faith. God has given everyone the ability to respond to the Holy Spirit. If this were not so then who could condemn the unbelieving skepticism of the Jews?
Thank you for the evidence Lord. I accept the testimony of the resurrection. You are worthy.
I lay down my life ...
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Many years ago two strangers knocked on my door and proceeded to give me their spin on the gospel story. When I told them that my wife was healed of blindness they told me that they believed that the devil healed people to lead them astray. I imagine the Jews, who confronted Jesus at every turn, had similar concerns. Yet I think that the issue was not so much theological as it was one of control. These religious elders were not healers. They were simply scholars who felt that they were losing their influence on the masses.
These elders are not portrayed as humble men concerned with the lives of those who followed them. They laid heavy burdens on the masses and were strict legalists. In contrast Jesus seemed to be all about the masses - he taught in ways that the simplest among them could understand and was often moved by compassion when he saw people suffering. In contrast to the elders Jesus' ministry was not about protecting his reputation or image but it was about laying his life down. Even before the cross he laid his life down every day.
I offer my life to you Lord as a living sacrifice. Help me to deny myself and follow you.
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Many years ago two strangers knocked on my door and proceeded to give me their spin on the gospel story. When I told them that my wife was healed of blindness they told me that they believed that the devil healed people to lead them astray. I imagine the Jews, who confronted Jesus at every turn, had similar concerns. Yet I think that the issue was not so much theological as it was one of control. These religious elders were not healers. They were simply scholars who felt that they were losing their influence on the masses.
These elders are not portrayed as humble men concerned with the lives of those who followed them. They laid heavy burdens on the masses and were strict legalists. In contrast Jesus seemed to be all about the masses - he taught in ways that the simplest among them could understand and was often moved by compassion when he saw people suffering. In contrast to the elders Jesus' ministry was not about protecting his reputation or image but it was about laying his life down. Even before the cross he laid his life down every day.
I offer my life to you Lord as a living sacrifice. Help me to deny myself and follow you.
I know my own and my own know me,
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
The words of this passage bring to mind this refrain from an old praise chorus:
To that last issue Jesus speaks and says that, at that time, there was sheep outside of the Jewish fold. God's desire from the very beginning has been to know every human being and for them to know Him. It has never been about gender, race or ethnicity because faith has no regard for such things. Knowing Jesus is not an issue of the flesh but one of the spirit.
Lord, I want to know you more. Open my inner eyes to see and my inner ears to hear.
The words of this passage bring to mind this refrain from an old praise chorus:
"Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you. There is no greater thing."Knowing Jesus is not a theological theory or an abstract philosophy. There is no more important issue in life. Knowing Jesus transcends the theological, the intellectual and the emotional. Knowing Him is not limited to male or female, black or white and Jew or gentile.
To that last issue Jesus speaks and says that, at that time, there was sheep outside of the Jewish fold. God's desire from the very beginning has been to know every human being and for them to know Him. It has never been about gender, race or ethnicity because faith has no regard for such things. Knowing Jesus is not an issue of the flesh but one of the spirit.
Lord, I want to know you more. Open my inner eyes to see and my inner ears to hear.
The good shepherd lays down his life ...
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
Jesus paints such a stark picture here. It is hard to read about the contrast of shepherd and hired hand and not think about King David when he was just a boy. Consider what he said to King Saul just before he fought the giant Goliath:
To lay down your life.. to deny yourself and your safety.. is to risk the familiar for the unknown. To lay down our lives means that we lay down our reputation, our relationships and sometimes our livelihood for the sake of another. When we lay down our lives there is no assurance that things will be the same afterwards. It is an issue of genuine faith.
I want a safe faith Lord. Help me to embrace the courage of genuine faith.
Jesus paints such a stark picture here. It is hard to read about the contrast of shepherd and hired hand and not think about King David when he was just a boy. Consider what he said to King Saul just before he fought the giant Goliath:
“Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”When I read this and think of what it takes to lay down your life I think about courage. Often this quality is not considered when we speak of laying down our lives. I don't know about you but I sometimes define faith in very safe terms. Yet in these passages we see that faith is really not safe at all. I sometimes think that "risk" is the best synonym for faith.
To lay down your life.. to deny yourself and your safety.. is to risk the familiar for the unknown. To lay down our lives means that we lay down our reputation, our relationships and sometimes our livelihood for the sake of another. When we lay down our lives there is no assurance that things will be the same afterwards. It is an issue of genuine faith.
I want a safe faith Lord. Help me to embrace the courage of genuine faith.
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