A Study in the Gospel of John John 10 February 5, 12, 2012 Introduction Organized opposition to Jesus came from two major sources, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The gospel of Mark records four examples from which we can discern at least four reasons why the Pharisees were against Jesus' ministry: 1. Jesus was accused of blasphemy when He said He forgave sin (Mark 2:1-12) 2. Jesus associated with sinners and publicans (Mark 2:13-17.) The Pharisees believed that a person could be defiled simply by coming into contact with a person who did not observe the law in the traditional manner. 3. Jesus apparently did not fast (Mark 2:1-22) 4. Jesus did not seem to respect the Sabbath, Mark 2:23-24; 3:1-6. a. He allowed His disciples to "harvest" on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-24). b. Jesus healed the man with a withered (paralyzed) hand (Mark 3:1-6) http://www.ministryserver.com/dsmtext/nttext13.htm Opposition also came from the Sadducees and chief priests. Their main issue with Jesus was His preaching of resurrection from the dead which teaching they said could not be justified in the Torah (the books written by Moses). The Sadducees also feared Jesus' preaching about another kingdom besides Rome might spark a rebellion that would bring the violent wrath of Rome upon Israel. (John 11:47-50 NIV) Then the chief priests [comprised mostly of Sadducees]and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. {48} If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." {49} Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! {50} You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." Continuing in our study, we note that . . . V. The "The Fisherman's Story" Contains the Record of Several Manifestations of the Opposition Against Jesus, John 9:1-11:57 A. Opposition to Jesus Was Manifested After Healing of the Blind Man, John 9:1-41 (John 9:39-41 NIV) Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." {40} Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" {41} Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. B. Opposition to Jesus Was Manifested After the Good Shepherd Discourse, John 10:1-31 1. Jesus describes the ministry of a shepherd to his sheep. (John 10 NIV) "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. {2} The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. {3} The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. {4} When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. {5} But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." {6} Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. This passage has much to say about the relationship between the Shepherd and His sheep: a. There is only one way into the fold. b. There is only one shepherd who has absolute access to the sheep. c. There are those who would seek to steal sheep from the shepherd. d. There is always one on guard with the sheep. e. The sheep know their shepherd and the shepherd the sheep. f. The shepherd leads, not pushes, the sheep on the path. g. The sheep are alert against strangers who might approach them. h. The story was meant to teach about the special relationship that exists between Jesus and those who follow Him. i. Those who are not His sheep do not understand the relationship 2. Jesus describes Himself as the gate into God's sheepfold, John 10:7-10. (John 10:7-10 NIV) Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. {8} All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. {9} I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. {10} The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. a. Jesus is the gate to a full and eternal life. When the sheep returned to the fold at night after a day of grazing, the shepherd stood in the doorway of the pen and inspected each one as it entered. If a sheep were scratched or wounded by thorns, the shepherd anointed it with oil to facilitate healing; if the sheep were thirsty, he gave them water. As Psalm 23:5-6 says, "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." After all the sheep had been counted and brought into the pen, the shepherd lay down across the doorway so that no intruder--man or beast--could enter without his knowledge. The shepherd became the door. The emphatic singular pronoun "I" (ego) emphasizes that the shepherd is the sole determiner of who enters the fold and who is excluded. It parallels the later statement: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:16). Merrill C. Tenney, The Expositor's Bible Commentary: New Testament, "John." b. The thieves and robbers are those who would steal Jesus' sheep and then kill or otherwise destroy them. Tenney surmises that Jesus is speaking about the "many factions that contended for the leadership of the nation and attempted by violence to throw off the Roman yoke." These efforts seemed to increase after Herod the Great died in 4 B. C. Jesus' purpose, however, was not political. Many in Israel were looking for a messiah to liberate them from Roman rule and since Jesus did not live up to that expectation, they opposed His spiritual kingdom. We have read the record of the Jews, especially the Pharisees willingness to kill Christ, such was their hatred for Him and His message. 3. Jesus contrasts Himself as the owner/shepherd to a hired hand, John 10:11-13. (John 10:11-13 NIV) "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. {12} The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. {13} The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
4. Jesus describes the depth of His love and care for His sheep, John 10:14-18 (John 10:14-18 NIV) "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- {15} just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. {16} I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. {17} The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. {18} No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." a. The sheep and Shepherd know each other. b. The Shepherd will lay down His life for the sheep. c. The Shepherd will bring other sheep (the Gentiles) from other places and make them all one flock. See John 17:20. d. The Shepherd receives the love of the Father because the He loves the sheep to the point of sacrificing His life for them. e. The Shepherd has the power and authority from the Father to take His life back. 5. The Jews are divided in their opinion of Jesus, John 10:19-21. a. The view of the opposition, John 10:19-20. (John 10:19-20 NIV) At these words the Jews were again divided. {20} Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" b. The view of the open-minded, John 10:21. (John 10:21 NIV) But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" C. Opposition to Jesus Was Manifested in the Debate in Solomon's Colonade 1. The time, place, and challenge of the debate, John 10:22-24. (John 10:22-24 NIV) Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, {23} and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. {24} The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." The Feast of Dedication was not an official pilgrimage feast mandated by the law. It was, however, a significant celebration in Israel as a commemoration of the re-dedication of the Temple in 165 B.C. after its defiling by Antiochus Ephiphanes in 167 B.C. The Second Book of Maccabees, though not included in the Jewish canon of Scripture, is valuable as a generally recognized reliable historical record of this period of Jewish history. It describes the violence brought upon Jerusalem, its inhabitants, and its worship of God in these two passages. When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery. 2 Maccabees 5:11–14 Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to force the Jews to abandon the customs of their ancestors and live no longer by the laws of God; also to profane the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and that on Mount Gerizim to Zeus the Hospitable, as the inhabitants of the place requested...They also brought into the temple things that were forbidden, so that the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the laws. A man could not keep the sabbath or celebrate the traditional feasts, nor even admit that he was a Jew. At the suggestion of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued ordering the neighboring Greek cities to act in the same way against the Jews: oblige them to partake of the sacrifices, and put to death those who would not consent to adopt the customs of the Greeks. It was obvious, therefore, that disaster impended. Thus, two women who were arrested for having circumcised their children were publicly paraded about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown down from the top of the city wall. Others, who had assembled in nearby caves to observe the sabbath in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned to death. 2 Maccabees 6:1–11 Perhaps the Jews wanted made clear what Jesus' mission was. If He was the Messiah, then they had every reason in their minds to believe that He was preparing at some point to lead a rebellion against the Romans. 2. The answer to the challenge by Christ, John 10:25-30. (John 10:25-31 NIV) Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for 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. {28} I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can 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." a. The Jews have been told. b. The Jews have been shown. c. The Jews have refused to hear and see. d. The sheep of Jesus' flock are known for their listening and following. e. The sheep are blessed with eternal life and security in the hands of Jesus by the Father's decree. f. The Shepherd and the Father are One and the same. 3. The violent reaction to Jesus' claims, John 10:31-32 (John 10:31-32 NIV) Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, {32} but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 4. The accusation of the Jews, John 10:33. (John 10:33 NIV) "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." There are two general forms of blasphemy: (1) Attributing some evil to God, or denying Him some good that we should attribute to Him (Leviticus 24:11; Romans 2:24). (2) Giving the attributes of God to a creature—which form of blasphemy the Jews charged Jesus with (Matthew 26:65; Luke 5:21; John 10:36). The Jews from ancient times have interpreted the command in Leviticus 24:16 as prohibiting the utterance of the name Jehovah, reading for it "Adonai" or "Elohim." The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, Quickverse, Omaha Nebraska 5. The rebuttal of Jesus, John 10-34-38. (John 10:34-38 NIV) 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 the Scripture cannot be broken-- {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'? {37} Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. {38} But 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." Jesus suggests that the Jews refer back to Psalm 82 where God assigns godly or godlike duties to His saints which they have neglected to perform on God's behalf. (Psa 82 NIV) God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods": {2} "How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah {3} Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. {4} Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. {5} "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. {6} "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' {7} But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." {8} Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. Jesus, however, does indicate that He was more than a representative of God the Father. He has proven by His works His own divinity which He shares with God Father as His Son. 6. The attempt to seize Jesus, John 10:39 (John 10:39 NIV) Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 7. The results of the debate, John 10:40-42. (John 10:40-42 NIV) Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed {41} and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true." {42} And in that place many believed in Jesus. a. Jesus returns to the place where He was first introduced as the Lamb of God. b. Many came to Him. c. Many concluded John was correct in identifying His as the Son of God. (John 1:34 NIV) I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." Conclusion Jesus, the Good Shepherd, should more accurately be called the Greatest Shepherd for these reasons: 1. Jesus is willing to save lost sheep at the expense of His own life, John 10:9,10b, 11. 2. Jesus obligates Himself to care for His found sheep, John 10:9. 3. Jesus promises His sheep eternal life and not to allow anyone to take it away from us, John 10:28. |
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
The Fisherman's Story
