John 10:27-42 Many people live with great insecurity. Life seems so unstable and often with good reason. Marriages, and thus families, fail daily rendering them an untrustworthy source of security. Economic situations can fluctuate wildly ending jobs, careers, and retirement plans. Even nations rise and fall. World maps today look different than they did just twenty years ago. All of this is not to even mention how fleeting good health and life itself can be. The fact is we can not find a solid foundation for true security anywhere in this world. That is not pessimistic. It is reality. Thankfully, there is a deeper reality - one that cannot be shaken or taken. If you are currently finding security in holding onto something that can possibly be lost or destroyed, the security you can enjoy is quite limited. If we will let go of the things of this world and take hold of the truth God reveals in this text, we will find unshakeable ground for true security.
First, Jesus declares that God gives (we don’t earn) His people eternal life. Lest anyone think this is just the quality of life people tap into and experience for a while, He adds the life He gives His people never ends. To drive home His ability to make good on such a remarkable claim, He emphasizes His oneness in purpose and power with God the Father. Since He is in perfect step with His Father's will, to mess with Him is to mess with God. Jesus declares that His people are in the supremely secure grip of almighty God's grace. Once our sin completely alienated us from God, but now in union with Christ God has dealt our sin the death blow, making us inseparable. I used to think of G.L.U.E. to keep this reality fresh in my mind. It stood for God Loves Us Eternally - us being everyone united with Christ and thus sharing the great common destiny of eternity in paradise with God. Of course, those not trusting Christ for salvation, including the religious leaders in the original audience, often find Jesus’ claims to be the eternal Son of God and Savior of the world ridiculous and offensive. In fact, they picked up stones to condemn Jesus for blasphemy. In response, Jesus directs them and all who doubt to seriously consider His works, word, and witness.
First, He directs them to the works, that is the miracles, that He has been doing. They not only authenticate His claims to have supernatural power over the physical and spiritual realms. They are also completely consistent with the goodness of God. Jesus’ works make sick people well, blind people see, hungry people full and even dead people live. Jesus’ works bless people with a foretaste of the future fullness the coming of His kingdom will bring, just as God’s written word declares.
Jesus calls the religious leaders to re-consider the written word they are using to justify their judgmental accusations and actions. He calls their attention to Psalm 82, where God gave the word to set people apart as judges over His people. In that text, He called them ‘gods’ or ‘mighty-ones’ in their positions of service. This is not to say they had any actual divinity - far from it. God who raised them up was about to humble them for failing to judge justly and help the helpless in their midst. In the last verse of that psalm, it is God Himself who will rule and judge. Launching from there, Jesus tells them that if it is acceptable for people who were set apart to be judges by God’s word to be called ‘gods’ how much more it is right to refer to Him, the eternal Word of God set apart as the One through whom God will judge and rule His creation and the One sent into the world to save and redeem it, as the Son of God!
Finally, God uses this text to call our attention to His witness, John the Baptist. John’s main mission was to prepare the way and point people to Christ. Thankfully, many of them took his message seriously and honestly examined Jesus for themselves. They found John’s testimony to be true and put their faith in Christ, who saved them from God’s judgment and gave them eternal life that can never be taken away. How about you? Are you convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal Son of God? Are you trusting Him to rescue you from God's judgment? If so, the security described in Romans 8:38-39 is yours, and if you will rest in that reality, it will empower you to follow Jesus' example in the face of His accusers and share God's Good News with confident assurance when you face opposition. If you are not convinced Jesus is God's Son, I pray that you will prayerfully re-consider the evidence God has given with an open mind and heart. Your security and so much more depend on it.
First, He directs them to the works, that is the miracles, that He has been doing. They not only authenticate His claims to have supernatural power over the physical and spiritual realms. They are also completely consistent with the goodness of God. Jesus’ works make sick people well, blind people see, hungry people full and even dead people live. Jesus’ works bless people with a foretaste of the future fullness the coming of His kingdom will bring, just as God’s written word declares.
Jesus calls the religious leaders to re-consider the written word they are using to justify their judgmental accusations and actions. He calls their attention to Psalm 82, where God gave the word to set people apart as judges over His people. In that text, He called them ‘gods’ or ‘mighty-ones’ in their positions of service. This is not to say they had any actual divinity - far from it. God who raised them up was about to humble them for failing to judge justly and help the helpless in their midst. In the last verse of that psalm, it is God Himself who will rule and judge. Launching from there, Jesus tells them that if it is acceptable for people who were set apart to be judges by God’s word to be called ‘gods’ how much more it is right to refer to Him, the eternal Word of God set apart as the One through whom God will judge and rule His creation and the One sent into the world to save and redeem it, as the Son of God!
Finally, God uses this text to call our attention to His witness, John the Baptist. John’s main mission was to prepare the way and point people to Christ. Thankfully, many of them took his message seriously and honestly examined Jesus for themselves. They found John’s testimony to be true and put their faith in Christ, who saved them from God’s judgment and gave them eternal life that can never be taken away. How about you? Are you convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal Son of God? Are you trusting Him to rescue you from God's judgment? If so, the security described in Romans 8:38-39 is yours, and if you will rest in that reality, it will empower you to follow Jesus' example in the face of His accusers and share God's Good News with confident assurance when you face opposition. If you are not convinced Jesus is God's Son, I pray that you will prayerfully re-consider the evidence God has given with an open mind and heart. Your security and so much more depend on it.
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