John 10:31-42
Why the Good Shepherd is so Good (part 4)
Introduction
We’ve seen Jesus in a variety of ways as we’ve gone through John’s Gospel. In chapter 10 we have seen Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The theme as we’ve gone through chapter 10 is Why the Good Shepherd so Good? That is what we have been letting Jesus answer for us. We’ve seen that Jesus Christ has the right credentials as the Good Shepherd; He meets all the prophetic requirements to be the Messiah. We’ve seen that He is protective of us and that He is personal with us. Last week we saw that Jesus has given Sufficient Evidence to verify that He is the Messiah and that He Secures Eternal Life for us.
The Jews are rejecting Him in this chapter as they’ve mostly done for the entire time so far.
The Good Shepherd is God (v30)
The Good Shepherd is Good because He is God. Verse 30 is the kicker for the Jews. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” This verse has often been misinterpreted as saying that Jesus and the Father are one and the same person. This is a serious error, and it is called Modalism. This is the teaching that God is one person, but, He has changed modes, or forms.
According to Modalism, God existed as the Father in the OT. Then, God changed forms and became the Son in the person of Jesus Christ. Finally, God changed again and He became the Holy Spirit. While Modalism teaches that God is the Father, and is the Son, and is the Holy Spirit, it says that God is never all three at the same time. In other words, God used to be the Father, then He was the Son. He used to be the Son, and now He is the Holy Spirit. That is heresy. God is always one God three persons at the same time. He has always been and always will be one God, three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
So, when Jesus says “I and the Father are one” He is not saying He is the same person as the Father, but, that they are the same essence. In other words, He is no mere man, but, God in human flesh. It is another clear statement by Jesus to be God. The Father and the Son share in the same divine nature. He is speaking of unity with the Father, not His identity as the Father.
And that is what infuriated the Jews; and that is why in verse 31 they pick up stones to stone him again. The last time they tried to stone Him was at the end of chapter 8. And they did it for the same reason – Jesus was claiming to be God. Every time Jesus claimed to be God they tried to stone Him.
Now, strange as it may sound, there are many people who think Jesus never claimed to be God. But, if you were a Jew at that time you knew exactly what He was saying. Maybe they didn’t get all the parables that Jesus spoke but when He claimed to be God they knew exactly what He was saying. This is obvious from verse 33 when they say, “We are not stoning you for any of these, but, for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” They knew what He was saying - and so did He. He never tried to correct their understanding of what He said. He never changed His message so that they would like it or accept it. He kept on declaring that He was God and they could either accept it or reject it.
And that’s true today. The message of who Jesus is does not change. He never changes. And because He who saves never changes the gospel message that saves never changes.
From the Father (v32)
But look at what Jesus says to them in verse 32 before they can actually throw a stone, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” That’s true – Jesus has shown them many great miracles. The Greek word for great is the same word for good in good shepherd over in verse 11. Kalos, it means excellent and beautiful. Jesus astounded the nation of Israel for 3 years with so many excellent works that benefited the well-being of people. And John said if every one of these miracles were written down there wouldn’t be enough room in the world for all the books. And it’s of these miracles that He’s done that Jesus asks them for which of them they have come to stone Him. The point is they couldn’t deny that He did so many miracles.
But, there’s more in His question. Notice what Jesus says, He says His miracles were “from the Father”. I think that is the key phrase in that verse. The works of Jesus Christ were not His alone, but, they were also the works of the Father. Jesus puts the Jews in a very tough spot here. To condemn Him is to condemn the Father. Jesus said the Father sent Him; He said the Father was with Him; He said the Father was in Him. All throughout His ministry He declared that He was God and that He was sent by God and the miracles that He did were only miracles that God could do and they were proof of that. To reject the proof of all the miracles and stone Him was equivalent to rejecting the Father. I and the Father are one, He said. How they treated the Son revealed how they really treated the Father: they hated Him.
How you respond to God’s Son reveals your true heart towards the Father. Rejecting the Son is equivalent to rejecting the Father. Jesus said in John 5:23, “He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father.” Your true heart attitude towards God is revealed in your attitude towards Jesus. DO you believe Him or doubt Him? Do you love Him or hate Him? Are you indifferent towards Him or responsive to Him? Are you obedient to Him or rebellious? How you respond to Jesus is how you respond to the Father.
They hated Jesus, but, they couldn’t deny the miracles. So they ignored them. In verse 33 they say, “We are not stoning you for any of these, but for blasphemy…” They couldn’t deny that what He did was from God, but, they would not accept that what He said was from God. According to them what He said was blasphemy. For a mere man to call himself God is blasphemy which was punishable by death.
The Defense of Jesus (v34-36)
Now the way Jesus responds is quite remarkable.
Notice again that Jesus does not deny their understanding that He is claiming to be God. And what He does is point them to their own Scriptures, in verse 34, “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods?’’”. He reminds them that in their own Law – that is, in the Scriptures – men have been called gods.
Where does the Bible refer to men as gods? Turn to Psalm 82 verse 6. Jesus quotes Psalm 82 verse 6. “I have said, ‘you are gods’; you are all sons of the Most High.” The Psalmist, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit calls men gods even though they are not God or gods. Scripture is clear from beginning to end that there is only one God and no man is God. So what is meant here if men who are not gods are called gods?
This psalm is dealing with the human judges of Israel. Notice how it begins in verse 1, “God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the ‘gods’.” In the Old Testament there were certain judges that were set to rule over Israel. These judges had the responsibility of judging the people of Israel and make sure justice was done. They were like magistrates. They judged in the place of God who was the supreme judge.
Any justice they did was God's justice.
Any judgment they gave was God's judgment.
Any rebellion against them was rebellion against God.
They ruled in the place of God and so in the OT they were called gods. Using the word for god was showing that they had divine authority or rule. They were called gods since they ruled in the place of God.
So, Jesus points this out to the Jews, and, just in case they think the authors of the Scriptures made mistakes, he adds in verse 35 that the Scripture cannot be broken. That simply means that the Psalmist did not make a mistake. He did not use the wrong word when He called men gods. He wrote exactly what the Holy Spirit intended for Him to write. The Scriptures do not have errors, they cannot be broken.
So what is the argument Jesus is making here? What is He explaining to them? It is this: if men who are not gods have been called gods in the Scriptures – the Scriptures which are not in error – then, how can you accuse me of blasphemy when I say that I am God’s Son and I do the work of God?
Notice in verse 36 two things Jesus says about Himself that no man can claim. First, He was set apart by the Father. That means that He was consecrated; He is not like any other and there is no other like Him. He is God’s One and Only Son. He is God’s unique Son and He has no other like Him. He was set apart from everyone and everything else to do a work that no one else could do. He came to die for men’s sins. He came to be the Messiah. He came to be the Good Shepherd.
And that is the second point – He came into the world. Jesus says that the Father “sent” Him into the world. This is not only a claim that He is on a mission from the Father, but, this is also a claim to His pre-existence. He existed before He came into the world. “In the beginning was the Word”, that means before the beginning began Jesus Christ the Word of God existed already. He existed with the Father in heaven, in eternity before coming into the world. No man can claim that because that is not true of any man. The difference between Jesus and every other man is the difference between the Creator and the creation.
These two things, that Jesus was set apart and sent into the world by the Father make Him infinitely superior to any human judge in the OT. And if the inerrant Scriptures call them gods – they who were also called sons of the Most High – then certainly Jesus, the Son of God, the Christ, cannot be charged with blasphemy. Certainly His claim to be God’s Son is not blasphemous. After all, Psalm 82:6 says, “I have called you gods; you are all sons of the Most High.”
Jesus never said anything that was a contradiction of the Scriptures. He fulfills the Scriptures.
Verse 37-38
But, Verse 37 says, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.” Jesus said, "Do not believe me just because of my words, my claims. If God does not confirm what I say by works then you do not have to believe me. In other words the Jews tried to say His works were from God but His message was not. That’s not possible! If God sent Him to speak then God would give Him power as well.
But, verse 38 He says, “If I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.” The point is that when you look at Jesus, you are looking at God. That’s what Jesus wanted them to know. That’s what they were supposed to see. The Father is in Me and I in Him. The miracles prove that. Look at the miracles and then listen to my words.
If you want to know who God is you have to turn to Jesus Christ. If you want to know what God is like, He has sent His Son so you can know. If you want to be in a right relationship with God, you have to come to Him through His Son. There is no way to God other than through Jesus Christ. He is the Gate. He is the only One who lets you in. He is the Good Shepherd who leads you to eternal life.
The Jews once again tried to seize Him. They didn’t like what He said at all. But, as we’ve seen every other time, it was not His time so He escapes them. He goes over again across the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing in the early days, in the days of chapters 1-3.
Conclusion (41-42)
I want to close with verses 41 and 42. And I want to point out three characteristics of the saved. Do these describe you?
First, Notice verse 41, “and many people came out to Him.” Have you come out to Jesus? You see, where Jesus was at was out of the way. In order to get there, you had to leave everything behind and go out to Him. You had to seek for Him. Have you left everything behind to follow Him? Have you come out to Him to find Him?
Second, notice verse 41 then says, “They said, ‘though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.’” They believed what they had heard about Jesus. They knew that He was true. Do you believe that Jesus is true?
And thirdly, notice verse 42, “And in that in that place many believed in Jesus.” And that is the reason why Jesus came. That people would believe in Him.
Why the Good Shepherd is so Good (part 4)
Introduction
We’ve seen Jesus in a variety of ways as we’ve gone through John’s Gospel. In chapter 10 we have seen Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The theme as we’ve gone through chapter 10 is Why the Good Shepherd so Good? That is what we have been letting Jesus answer for us. We’ve seen that Jesus Christ has the right credentials as the Good Shepherd; He meets all the prophetic requirements to be the Messiah. We’ve seen that He is protective of us and that He is personal with us. Last week we saw that Jesus has given Sufficient Evidence to verify that He is the Messiah and that He Secures Eternal Life for us.
The Jews are rejecting Him in this chapter as they’ve mostly done for the entire time so far.
The Good Shepherd is God (v30)
The Good Shepherd is Good because He is God. Verse 30 is the kicker for the Jews. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” This verse has often been misinterpreted as saying that Jesus and the Father are one and the same person. This is a serious error, and it is called Modalism. This is the teaching that God is one person, but, He has changed modes, or forms.
According to Modalism, God existed as the Father in the OT. Then, God changed forms and became the Son in the person of Jesus Christ. Finally, God changed again and He became the Holy Spirit. While Modalism teaches that God is the Father, and is the Son, and is the Holy Spirit, it says that God is never all three at the same time. In other words, God used to be the Father, then He was the Son. He used to be the Son, and now He is the Holy Spirit. That is heresy. God is always one God three persons at the same time. He has always been and always will be one God, three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
So, when Jesus says “I and the Father are one” He is not saying He is the same person as the Father, but, that they are the same essence. In other words, He is no mere man, but, God in human flesh. It is another clear statement by Jesus to be God. The Father and the Son share in the same divine nature. He is speaking of unity with the Father, not His identity as the Father.
And that is what infuriated the Jews; and that is why in verse 31 they pick up stones to stone him again. The last time they tried to stone Him was at the end of chapter 8. And they did it for the same reason – Jesus was claiming to be God. Every time Jesus claimed to be God they tried to stone Him.
Now, strange as it may sound, there are many people who think Jesus never claimed to be God. But, if you were a Jew at that time you knew exactly what He was saying. Maybe they didn’t get all the parables that Jesus spoke but when He claimed to be God they knew exactly what He was saying. This is obvious from verse 33 when they say, “We are not stoning you for any of these, but, for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” They knew what He was saying - and so did He. He never tried to correct their understanding of what He said. He never changed His message so that they would like it or accept it. He kept on declaring that He was God and they could either accept it or reject it.
And that’s true today. The message of who Jesus is does not change. He never changes. And because He who saves never changes the gospel message that saves never changes.
From the Father (v32)
But look at what Jesus says to them in verse 32 before they can actually throw a stone, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” That’s true – Jesus has shown them many great miracles. The Greek word for great is the same word for good in good shepherd over in verse 11. Kalos, it means excellent and beautiful. Jesus astounded the nation of Israel for 3 years with so many excellent works that benefited the well-being of people. And John said if every one of these miracles were written down there wouldn’t be enough room in the world for all the books. And it’s of these miracles that He’s done that Jesus asks them for which of them they have come to stone Him. The point is they couldn’t deny that He did so many miracles.
But, there’s more in His question. Notice what Jesus says, He says His miracles were “from the Father”. I think that is the key phrase in that verse. The works of Jesus Christ were not His alone, but, they were also the works of the Father. Jesus puts the Jews in a very tough spot here. To condemn Him is to condemn the Father. Jesus said the Father sent Him; He said the Father was with Him; He said the Father was in Him. All throughout His ministry He declared that He was God and that He was sent by God and the miracles that He did were only miracles that God could do and they were proof of that. To reject the proof of all the miracles and stone Him was equivalent to rejecting the Father. I and the Father are one, He said. How they treated the Son revealed how they really treated the Father: they hated Him.
How you respond to God’s Son reveals your true heart towards the Father. Rejecting the Son is equivalent to rejecting the Father. Jesus said in John 5:23, “He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father.” Your true heart attitude towards God is revealed in your attitude towards Jesus. DO you believe Him or doubt Him? Do you love Him or hate Him? Are you indifferent towards Him or responsive to Him? Are you obedient to Him or rebellious? How you respond to Jesus is how you respond to the Father.
They hated Jesus, but, they couldn’t deny the miracles. So they ignored them. In verse 33 they say, “We are not stoning you for any of these, but for blasphemy…” They couldn’t deny that what He did was from God, but, they would not accept that what He said was from God. According to them what He said was blasphemy. For a mere man to call himself God is blasphemy which was punishable by death.
The Defense of Jesus (v34-36)
Now the way Jesus responds is quite remarkable.
Notice again that Jesus does not deny their understanding that He is claiming to be God. And what He does is point them to their own Scriptures, in verse 34, “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods?’’”. He reminds them that in their own Law – that is, in the Scriptures – men have been called gods.
Where does the Bible refer to men as gods? Turn to Psalm 82 verse 6. Jesus quotes Psalm 82 verse 6. “I have said, ‘you are gods’; you are all sons of the Most High.” The Psalmist, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit calls men gods even though they are not God or gods. Scripture is clear from beginning to end that there is only one God and no man is God. So what is meant here if men who are not gods are called gods?
This psalm is dealing with the human judges of Israel. Notice how it begins in verse 1, “God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the ‘gods’.” In the Old Testament there were certain judges that were set to rule over Israel. These judges had the responsibility of judging the people of Israel and make sure justice was done. They were like magistrates. They judged in the place of God who was the supreme judge.
Any justice they did was God's justice.
Any judgment they gave was God's judgment.
Any rebellion against them was rebellion against God.
They ruled in the place of God and so in the OT they were called gods. Using the word for god was showing that they had divine authority or rule. They were called gods since they ruled in the place of God.
So, Jesus points this out to the Jews, and, just in case they think the authors of the Scriptures made mistakes, he adds in verse 35 that the Scripture cannot be broken. That simply means that the Psalmist did not make a mistake. He did not use the wrong word when He called men gods. He wrote exactly what the Holy Spirit intended for Him to write. The Scriptures do not have errors, they cannot be broken.
So what is the argument Jesus is making here? What is He explaining to them? It is this: if men who are not gods have been called gods in the Scriptures – the Scriptures which are not in error – then, how can you accuse me of blasphemy when I say that I am God’s Son and I do the work of God?
Notice in verse 36 two things Jesus says about Himself that no man can claim. First, He was set apart by the Father. That means that He was consecrated; He is not like any other and there is no other like Him. He is God’s One and Only Son. He is God’s unique Son and He has no other like Him. He was set apart from everyone and everything else to do a work that no one else could do. He came to die for men’s sins. He came to be the Messiah. He came to be the Good Shepherd.
And that is the second point – He came into the world. Jesus says that the Father “sent” Him into the world. This is not only a claim that He is on a mission from the Father, but, this is also a claim to His pre-existence. He existed before He came into the world. “In the beginning was the Word”, that means before the beginning began Jesus Christ the Word of God existed already. He existed with the Father in heaven, in eternity before coming into the world. No man can claim that because that is not true of any man. The difference between Jesus and every other man is the difference between the Creator and the creation.
These two things, that Jesus was set apart and sent into the world by the Father make Him infinitely superior to any human judge in the OT. And if the inerrant Scriptures call them gods – they who were also called sons of the Most High – then certainly Jesus, the Son of God, the Christ, cannot be charged with blasphemy. Certainly His claim to be God’s Son is not blasphemous. After all, Psalm 82:6 says, “I have called you gods; you are all sons of the Most High.”
Jesus never said anything that was a contradiction of the Scriptures. He fulfills the Scriptures.
Verse 37-38
But, Verse 37 says, “Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.” Jesus said, "Do not believe me just because of my words, my claims. If God does not confirm what I say by works then you do not have to believe me. In other words the Jews tried to say His works were from God but His message was not. That’s not possible! If God sent Him to speak then God would give Him power as well.
But, verse 38 He says, “If I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.” The point is that when you look at Jesus, you are looking at God. That’s what Jesus wanted them to know. That’s what they were supposed to see. The Father is in Me and I in Him. The miracles prove that. Look at the miracles and then listen to my words.
If you want to know who God is you have to turn to Jesus Christ. If you want to know what God is like, He has sent His Son so you can know. If you want to be in a right relationship with God, you have to come to Him through His Son. There is no way to God other than through Jesus Christ. He is the Gate. He is the only One who lets you in. He is the Good Shepherd who leads you to eternal life.
The Jews once again tried to seize Him. They didn’t like what He said at all. But, as we’ve seen every other time, it was not His time so He escapes them. He goes over again across the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing in the early days, in the days of chapters 1-3.
Conclusion (41-42)
I want to close with verses 41 and 42. And I want to point out three characteristics of the saved. Do these describe you?
First, Notice verse 41, “and many people came out to Him.” Have you come out to Jesus? You see, where Jesus was at was out of the way. In order to get there, you had to leave everything behind and go out to Him. You had to seek for Him. Have you left everything behind to follow Him? Have you come out to Him to find Him?
Second, notice verse 41 then says, “They said, ‘though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.’” They believed what they had heard about Jesus. They knew that He was true. Do you believe that Jesus is true?
And thirdly, notice verse 42, “And in that in that place many believed in Jesus.” And that is the reason why Jesus came. That people would believe in Him.
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