Post by foxjj on Apr 28, 2022 6:57:27 GMT
Understanding Who Jesus Is.
John Ch. 10 is a great portion of Scripture showing the complexity of understanding who Jesus is. John begins his teaching in Ch. 9 where the man born blind is healed by Jesus. Because the healing was performed on the Sabbath, the Pharisees and the people were divided concerning Jesus, as verse 16 states: “Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.”
Ch. 9 ends with these profound verses, which in turn are the opening for Ch. 10: “Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
In Ch.10 Jesus announces to the Pharisees who He actually is by speaking of the sheepfold. The Jewish people understood that Yahweh spoke of them as His sheep and their leaders and guides that He had sent as shepherds. Those leaders who were not sent by Him were spoken against such as in Ezekiel 34:1-2: ”The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?”
Israel had wandered far from the sheepfold of Yahweh as Isaiah 53:6 reads; "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah used this verse among others, to show that there would be an Anointed one coming to Israel. Jesus now claims that He, and He alone is the way onto Yahweh by stating: “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.” He will later say this more clearly when He proclaims: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Israel knew The Almighty as their great Shepherd. As an example, we have the twenty third Psalm; "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The Psalm was written by King David, who, as a youth cared for his fathers sheep. David knew firsthand that a shepherd loves his sheep. A shepherd would seek after a lost sheep until it was restored to the fold. David also knew that a shepherd was willing to lay down his own life to protect his sheep. Jesus declared that He was that Good Shepherd when He said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." It was on Calvary's cross that our Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep. Believers hear the voice of their Shepherd Jesus, and follow only Him. It is significant that shepherds were the first to welcome the Christ Child at His Momentous arrival in our world. These same shepherds were the first to carry the message that Messiah had been born in Bethlehem.
So what is Jesus claiming in this portion of Scripture? He is saying to one and all: “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:10-11) As Matthew 1:22-23 states: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Today, let us continue to thank The Father for The Son.
John Joseph Fox.
John Ch. 10 is a great portion of Scripture showing the complexity of understanding who Jesus is. John begins his teaching in Ch. 9 where the man born blind is healed by Jesus. Because the healing was performed on the Sabbath, the Pharisees and the people were divided concerning Jesus, as verse 16 states: “Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.”
Ch. 9 ends with these profound verses, which in turn are the opening for Ch. 10: “Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
In Ch.10 Jesus announces to the Pharisees who He actually is by speaking of the sheepfold. The Jewish people understood that Yahweh spoke of them as His sheep and their leaders and guides that He had sent as shepherds. Those leaders who were not sent by Him were spoken against such as in Ezekiel 34:1-2: ”The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?”
Israel had wandered far from the sheepfold of Yahweh as Isaiah 53:6 reads; "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah used this verse among others, to show that there would be an Anointed one coming to Israel. Jesus now claims that He, and He alone is the way onto Yahweh by stating: “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.” He will later say this more clearly when He proclaims: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Israel knew The Almighty as their great Shepherd. As an example, we have the twenty third Psalm; "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The Psalm was written by King David, who, as a youth cared for his fathers sheep. David knew firsthand that a shepherd loves his sheep. A shepherd would seek after a lost sheep until it was restored to the fold. David also knew that a shepherd was willing to lay down his own life to protect his sheep. Jesus declared that He was that Good Shepherd when He said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." It was on Calvary's cross that our Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep. Believers hear the voice of their Shepherd Jesus, and follow only Him. It is significant that shepherds were the first to welcome the Christ Child at His Momentous arrival in our world. These same shepherds were the first to carry the message that Messiah had been born in Bethlehem.
So what is Jesus claiming in this portion of Scripture? He is saying to one and all: “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.” (John 14:10-11) As Matthew 1:22-23 states: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Today, let us continue to thank The Father for The Son.
John Joseph Fox.
