I Am the Son of God

Jesus declares, “I Am the Son of God.” John 10:22-42

As we move on to our third division of John 10, verse 22 begins with the word “then.” So what we have is a change of scenery and a change of time. It’s been about two months or so since the previous conversation and we are now entering the time of the Feast of Dedication. It was also called the Feast of Lights, better known to us as Hanukkah.

Now Hanukkah is a December celebration of the defeat in 175 B.C. of the mad ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. He had desecrated the Jewish Temple by forcing pork down the throats of the priests. He turned the temple chambers into a brothel and he converted the altar of burnt offerings into an altar to Zeus.

And then there rose up a hero named Judas Maccabeus who defeated Antiochus Epiphanes. There was a great celebration that was held and is in fact celebrated to this day–Hanukkah. And so this very temple that was desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes is where Jesus was here.

So as Jesus walked into the temple and was surrounded by the people, the question again hanging in the air was, “Who are you?” The Jews gathered there asked Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” and the demand was, “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus responded very directly by saying, “I did tell you, but you do not believe.”

Now that was the plain and simple truth! The problem was not that Jesus had not told them who He was, the problem was that He had and they refused to take Him at His word.

And then Jesus told them plainly that the miracles He did, He did in His Father’s name. So these people had both Jesus’ words and His works as a testimony!

But the reason they could not comprehend the truth was that the truth was not in them. Therefore, they were not His sheep or the sheep from His pen. Jesus again pointed them to the fact that if they were indeed His sheep they would have listened to His voice and followed Him.

Why?

Because His sheep know His voice and the truth of His words. And when they hear Him speak they put down what they are doing and they follow Him. The result of their faith and trust in Him is that they shall never perish. They will receive eternal life with Him and His Father. No one, absolutely no one, will ever be able to snatch them out of His almighty hand.

Can I hear an amen?!

From a human standpoint, we become His sheep by believing. But from the divine standpoint, we believe because we are His sheep. He knew us before the foundations of the earth. He had us in mind before the beginning of time. God called us or elected us by His grace to be His children before we even knew Him. He holds our lives in His hands.

Now you may say, “I don’t understand,” and that’s ok. Many scholars don’t completely get the doctrine of election.

There are those things that are often even a mystery to us. The important thing here is to believe what Jesus said about who He is.

We are to take God at His Word and then act in faith as if it is true by following the Good Shepherd where He leads. We can know that He always has our best interests in mind.

You can know that He will never lead you where His grace cannot keep you!

Terri Hamman

Faith & Fitness Coach