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Let us have sincerity from the heart rather than piety in appearance
(John 10:22-39)
Mari Ikeda
Today we continue in the Gospel of John, reading 10:22-39. This passage records a dispute between Jesus and the Jews. It is an exchange that has been repeated in the past, but I believe that this passage calls us once again to be sincere with God. What God wants from us is not for us to be respectable believers in the eyes of others. Rather, what God asks of us is that we face our own weaknesses and come before God as we are, even if we have doubts and complaints about God.
Now, let’s read a little bit at a time, as usual. First, verses 22-27.
A. The Good Shepherd’s Love (22-30)
1. What does it mean to be Jesus’ sheep? (25-27)
22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Here the parable of the shepherd from the previous passage is used again. Jesus is the good shepherd and we are his sheep. But while the focus of the previous passage was on the contrast between the good shepherd and the bad shepherd, the focus here is on the fact that there are two kinds of sheep, those that are Jesus’ sheep and those that are not. And we are told that Jesus’ sheep will recognize his voice and follow him, while the others will not follow him because they do not recognize his voice.
What does it mean to be Jesus’ sheep? Does it mean that from the beginning our destiny is determined by whether we are Jesus’ sheep or not? I don’t think so. I don’t think we are predestined from the beginning to be Jesus’ sheep or not, but those who are willing to be His sheep will be His sheep. Jesus invites all of us to be His sheep, but it is up to us to decide whether or not we respond to that invitation.
However, it is important to note that God’s power is also at work in our decisions. If we are able to hear Jesus’ voice, it is made possible by both our own desire to hear and God’s power to give us that desire. The two are inseparable. Believing in Jesus is impossible by our own strength, but at the same time, I believe that God’s power cannot work in the heart of a person who has no desire or thirst for Him.
Thus, when Jesus said, “You are not my sheep,” he meant, “You do not need me.” Again, this does not mean that Jesus is rejecting them, but that they are rejecting Him.
Let’s move on to the next words of Jesus, verses 28-30.
2. Jesus never gives up His sheep (28-30)
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
I believe that Jesus’ strong desire is expressed here. Jesus came to this world to rescue us so that we would not perish in our sin and wickedness. The fact that we are controlled by sin and wickedness means that we have been captured by Satan. Jesus showed us through the cross that He would not let Satan do such a thing and that Satan’s power is not even close to His own. He gave his life on the cross to bring us back from the wandering and dispersed who had run away by ourselves from the Good Shepherd.
I would like to address one textual issue here: verse 29 has two original texts. One is as we now use it in the Japanese Kyokai-kyodoyaku translation and as the English NIV translates it: “The Father who gave them to me is greater than all.” The other is as the Shin-kyodoyaku translation adopted in Japanese, “What my Father has given me is greater than all.” In other words, the difference is whether “the Father is great” or “the sheep are great.” No one disagrees that God is great, but there are many objections to the statement that the sheep, or we, are great, and as a result, many translations have adopted the statement that God is great.
I cannot draw any conclusions here, but I think the emphasis here either way is the strong connection between Jesus and the sheep. To God, each of us is what He says, “You are precious and honored in my sight” (Isaiah 43:4). Therefore, I believe that Jesus himself boasts that nothing can separate us from God unless we ourselves desire to leave him.
Paul says the following in one of his letters.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
I believe that Jesus is speaking these words from the opposite position in today’s passage. The Good Shepherd, Jesus, will not let anyone else take away, separate, or give up even one of His sheep that need Him. And He will protect them so that they can be with Him forever. That is the love of the Good Shepherd.
So how can we respond to such love of Jesus? Let us read the second half. First, verses 31-36.
B. Our response (31-39)
1. Piety in appearance (34-36)
31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside — 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?
I think we need to be reminded from time to time that we are all sinners before God, whether we have faith or not. No one can always judge things correctly, and even if we can, it is often not accompanied by action. It is beyond our control, and if God had not forgiven us and helped us, we would have perished.
Therefore, it is only by God’s mercy that we are saved. We are loved by God because He has chosen to live with us rather than punish us.
When we forget that, we will mistakenly believe that we have earned God’s love on our own, or that God has chosen us because we are better than others. We will think that God loves us and that we are right, and that those who do not agree with us are wrong. Moreover, we think we are pious and respectable believers when we do this. The Jews who criticized Jesus for blaspheming God were just that presumptuous.
Read again Jesus’ words to them, verses 34-36.
“Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside — what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?
Unfortunately, I do not find this explanation of Jesus very convincing. Jesus here has in mind the Old Testament examples of priests and prophets being treated as equal to God as God’s agents and God’s spokesmen. He then argues, “Since they are called gods, it should be no problem for me to call myself God. But when Jesus says that He is the Son of God, He means not only that He is God’s spokesman like a prophet, but that He is the very Word of God, God Himself. So, in the end, it is a different dimension.
However, that does not change the importance of the point Jesus was trying to make. What Jesus was trying to say was, “Know that it is you who are blaspheming God, not me. Those who were criticizing Jesus thought they were right and did not understand God; they were the ones blaspheming God. Our arrogance and pretense of piety, instead of defending God, results in blaspheming, hurting, and eliminating Him.
So Jesus continued to speak. Read the rest of verses 37-39.
2. A heart that sincerely seeks to know God (37-38)
37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 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 in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
Jesus tells us that “you should be able to judge for yourselves” whether his actions are in accordance with God’s will. He then says that if we are truly serious about pursuing what God’s will is, we will know that Jesus is doing God’s will, and we will ultimately understand that Jesus and God are one.
In the first part of today’s discussion, I told you that being Jesus’ sheep means that both our will to be and God’s power to grant us that will are at work. The same is said here. In order to truly understand Jesus, we must examine, think, and judge for ourselves whether or not His words and deeds are pleasing to God. We need God’s help in that process as well, but if we do not have the sincerity to seek to know God, the process itself will not begin.
How on earth do we know what makes God happy and what makes Him sad? How can we determine that Jesus is really God Himself, the creator of this world? This is really a mystery, in fact. It is absolutely impossible for us to do this on our own.
But when we admit our smallness and face ourselves and God as we are, as weak as we are, there are things that come into view. And there are times when the meaning of the cross of Jesus comes to us. There are times when we can realize that the love of the Good Shepherd, who pursues one of his sheep that has gone astray and does not let anyone take it from him, is being poured out on us in a very real way. This happens when our cry of “Who are you and where are you?” and God’s call of “I am here, come to me” find each other. So all we can do is to continue to seek who God is, just as we are, without adornment, with our doubts and fears as they are.
What kind of heart do you have before God today? Please come before God with your heart as it is, with your shameful and proud parts as they are, with your joy, sorrow, and anger as they are. And as you share your thoughts and feelings, listen carefully to what God is telling you in your heart. That is all we can do, and that is our true worship.
(Prayer) Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd who comes after us when we forget You and go our own selfish ways and brings us back to safety. Please let us hear Your voice better. There is no one we can rely on more than You. Please help us to listen carefully in our hearts to what You are saying, not to be controlled by our own feelings and thoughts, not to be distracted by the opinions of others. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to do this. Please pour out Your Spirit abundantly on each one of us. Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
None of us can fully know what God is really like. If we forget that and think we know all about God, we make a big mistake. The important thing is to be sincere before God in order to know His thoughts. That does not mean that we have to use our own strength to get the right answer, but it means that we must remember that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and ask Him to lead us. Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus as long as we so ask.
For Discussion
- What can we do in order to be Jesus’ sheep?
- How can we know what pleases God and what grieved Him?