With Dale Ratzlaff
John 10:22-30
At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying 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, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, 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 setting is the Feast of Dedication known today as Hanukkah. It celebrates the cleansing of the temple during the Maccabean period. Antiochus Epiphanes IV had destroyed much of the temple, offered a pig on the altar, and put up an image of Zeus in the most holy place. This event is described in Daniel 8:12-14, the very passage that Adventists misinterpreted as a prophecy of the second coming of Christ and then reinterpreted it as the starting of the investigative judgment on October 22, 1844. Antiochus Epiphanes is also described in Daniel 11 as “the abomination of desolation.” (Adventist readers may want to read the article on the contextual, biblical interpretation of Daniel 8:12-14 here.) After about a three-year war the Jews, under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, took control of the temple property, and “cleansed the temple” by removing the image of Zeus and taking out the stones from the altar on which the pig had been offered and deposited them outside of the temple property. They restarted the morning and evening sacrifice on December 14, 164 B.C.
Hanukah is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights and the Feast of Dedication (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah).
The history surrounding the “cleansing of the temple” has little to do with the teaching and dialogue of Jesus in John eight. I have included the information here so that the readers will more fully understand the “Feast of Dedication” as Adventists want to avoid even the mention Antiochus Epiphanes. John, however, shows the reality of The Feast of Dedication as celebrated at the time of Christ.
Jesus walks through the portico of Solomon:
The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus had already told them that He was the “I AM” that spoke to Moses at the burning bush, and their actions showed that they fully understood His words.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple (Jn. 8:58-59).
Jesus continues to give the Jewish rulers more evidence to believe:
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
In John nine, these same Jewish leaders had evidence that Jesus healed the man born blind. They still seem determined not to believe:
But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
This verse has been interpreted in two main ways. I will show both and let the reader decide which they believe is best. First, some interpret this to mean that these Jewish leaders could not believe because they were not included in God’s elect.
From the perspective of human responsibility, the hostile Jews did not believe because they had deliberately rejected the truth. But from the standpoint of divine sovereignty, they did not believe because they were not of the Lord’s sheep, which were given Him by the Father (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, John 1-11, p. 442).
Second, some place the unbelief of the Jews completely on their refusal to believe.
But you—you do not believe because you are not my sheep. Mark the strong adversative and the emphatic pronoun, also the repetition, “you do not believe,” which places the blame entirely on them. True and sufficient testimony ought to be believed; not to believe it is both unreason and guilt. He who refuses to believe such testimony convicts himself. “Because (ὅτι) [on account of] you do not believe” states the intellectual reason which explains the Jewish unbelief, not the effective cause which produces this unbelief. It brings the plain evidence, it does not indicate the secret source. The sense is, “Since you are not my sheep you do not believe”; and not, “Since you are not my sheep you cannot believe” (My emphasis) (R.C.H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament, John, p. 752, 752).
Still others say that both are true because Scripture says both: God knows His sheep from the foundation of the world, and yet our decisions have eternal consequences and are real choices we make. We are to take seriously the Bible’s commands to believe, and we are to take equally seriously His word that He foreknows His sheep. We leave the “how” up to Him.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
This short, little verse speaks of the bond the Good Shepherd has with the sheep, illustrating the relationship we can have with Jesus. First, we hear God’s word. We hear with an open heart; we hear His voice in the word and accept it as truth. Jesus ensures this personal relationship to those who effectively listen to His voice. He says, “I, Myself, know them.” The result is that we follow. We are always to hear, He always knows, we are always to follow. Martin Luther expanded on this section as follows:
This lovely, delightful picture you may, if you wish, see for yourself among sheep. When a stranger calls, whistles, coaxes: Come, sheep! Come, sheep! It runs and flees, and the more you call, the more it runs, as if a wolf were after it, for it knows not the strange voice; but when the shepherd makes himself heard a little, they all run to him for they know his voice. This is how all true Christians should do. Hear no voice but their shepherd’s, Christ, as he himself says (Martin Luther, as quoted in ibid, p. 753).
“And I give eternal life to them, 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.”
Jesus gives the results of our hearing the gospel of Christ, God knowing us personally, and our believing in His provision.
- “I give eternal life to them.” Sometimes we speak of eternal life so often that its full meaning is diminished. As the saying goes, “familiarity breeds contempt.” Now that I am past three score and twenty, eternal life becomes more valuable each passing day. Just to know that come what may, I will be “with the Lord” who knows me and showers me with His grace each day is a wonderful thing indeed!
- “They will never perish.” This is the flip side of eternal life. Often, in the Gospel of John, Jesus gives a positive statement and then adds additional evidence so no one will misunderstand. We know the following verse well, but we never can read or contemplate it too often. It is pure gospel.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn. 3:16-18).
- “No one will snatch them out of My hand.” Whether one calls this “once saved, always saved” or “the assurance of salvation,” matters little. What we can say for sure is that those who hear the gospel and believe the good news therein are known personally by Christ, and He will never allow anyone to remove them from His protective 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.” This short phrase is added for two reasons. First, it gives us additional assurance. Not only are we protected by the power of Christ, but that same protection is from the Father. Second, the Jews asked Jesus to tell them who He is. In answer to that He shows the unity—the very “oneness” He has with the Father.
I and the Father are one.
This is a major revelation. The Jews fully understood what Jesus was saying because they picked up stones to throw at him, which will be discussed in the next lesson. The Jews reacted to this statement in the same way they did in John 8 when Jesus declared himself to be the I AM before Abraham. They wanted to know who Jesus was and He told them in no uncertain terms.
However, this statement raises questions which need to be addressed. In what way are Jesus and the Father one? Contextually, they are one in power. Jesus and the Father are not going to let anyone be taken out of their care. But the “oneness” of Jesus and the Father encompasses much more than being one in power. They are also one in character, purpose, and work. Yet that still does not completely explain this “oneness.” A literal rendering of the Greek is: “I Myself and the Father are one”—one thing, one being, one God, one Lord, one essence.” This is a powerful statement for the full deity of Jesus.
Application
- The Jews wanted to know who Jesus was and He clearly told them. In the same way, we are instructed to ask if we have questions about the Word and the work of God.
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Lk. 11:9-10).
We can rest assured that God will answer our inquiries according to His will and timing. - We should always study the Bible contextually and where we can, consider the historical setting as well. One should not be afraid to thoroughly study Daniel 8:12-14 even if it completely undermines the foundation of Adventism.
- Turning one’s back on truth, no matter what that truth is, hardens one’s heart and makes it more difficult to receive additional truth.
- Jesus has done everything necessary for our eternal salvation. His gracious offer is to “whoever believes,” but there must be a response to God’s gracious offer.
- Let us contemplate the blessings of knowing God and God knowing us: (1) We have eternal life. (2) No one can take us out of Christ’s protecting hands. (3) Not only is Christ our Protector, but the Father joins Christ in guaranteeing our assurance of eternal life.
- Christ is fully God. He and the Father are of one essence.
Prayer
Father, thank you for this message in John 10. Thank you that you give evidence of who you are to those who ask. May I always listen to your word, may I have that fellowship of You knowing me and my knowing you. Thank for eternal life and the assurance that no one can take me away from your presence.
In Jesus name.
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