Jesus the Christ (Messiah)
10:22-30
John placed a chronological marker for the setting of this story. It occurred during the Feast of Dedication.
This feast celebrated the dedication and sanctification of the second temple after it was defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes, the ruler of the Seleucid Empire, who controlled much of North Africa, including Judea. The Seleucids were Macedonian Greeks. Below is a bust of Antiochus that has been preserved.
Antiochus had resolved to eradicate the Jewish religion. He took control of the temple, barred the worship of the Lord, and made it into a temple for the worship of Zeus.
Judas Maccabaeus, known as the “Hammer”, led a revolt and liberated the temple. It was re-consecrated and dedicated to God. Judas decreed that all of the Jews would observe a feast to celebrate this event. It is not one of the feasts ordained by God. But it was joyfully observed for 8 days beginning on the 25th day of Cisleu according to the Jewish calendar, December 25th according to ours.
Jews still observe this feast today. They call it Hanukkah.
So, Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of the feast. It was winter. He was walking through the Colonnade, or porch, of Solomon, on the east side of the temple, in the court of the women. He may have been trying to stay out of the cold, winter wind.
A group of Jews recognized Jesus and confronted him, demanding that he say plainly that he is the Christ or not. (24) This was likely not a good faith question from some who wanted to believe. Jesus’ reply to them shows that is the way he took it. It was more likely the opening gambit of an attack.
Jesus replied “I told you and you do not believe”. (25) Now, Jesus had not made a public statement in Jerusalem that he was the Messiah. He said it to the Samaritan woman at the well. (4:26) Matthew recorded Jesus making the declaration as he affirmed Peter’s confession. (Matthew 16:13)
Why did Jesus avoid a plain declaration in Jerusalem?
First, the political and military ideas the people had attached to their concept of the Messiah would confuse people as to who Jesus was and what he came to accomplish. They would reject him once he said the Messiah comes to suffer and die, not kill and conquer.
Second, the Jews would not believe him anyway. They had enough evidence to believe already. That evidence was, first of all, his works, and then his other statements about himself. And that is what Jesus likely meant when he said “I told you”.
Further, Jesus used the title “Son of Man”, referring to the figure in Daniel who is given an eternal kingdom by the Ancient of Days. He also had cited Old Testament passages about the Messiah and applied them to himself. He also identified himself as the Son of God by calling God his Father and describing their intimate relationship. Despite all of this, the Jews still did not believe.
And the reason they did not believe, Jesus said, was they were not part of his flock. (26) If they were part of his flock, they would hear his voice and follow Jesus, who knew them. (27) Since they are not part of his flock, they do not hear his voice, he does not know them, and they do not follow him.
The word “know” means more than just having a knowledge of facts. It means there is a relationship.
To those Jesus knows, and who follow him, he gives eternal life, meaning they will never perish. (28) He stated this positively, then negatively.
The reason they will never lose their eternal life, is the power of God. Jesus has the power to hold believers in eternal life so that they are not snatched away. Otherwise, Jesus would fail in his mission. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should to perish but have eternal life.” (3:16)
Additionally, the Father gave believers to Jesus the Son. The Father is greater than all, so no one has the power to snatch believers away.
That is why you do not “lose your salvation”. It is not held by you, but by God. See also 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Jesus has the power to hold believers in eternal life because he is God. So, Jesus said “I and the Father are one”. (30)
He was not saying that he and the Father are the same person. John pointed this out at the very beginning of his gospel, saying that Jesus was both with God and was God. (1:1) But they are one in that they are in total agreement with each other. Jesus did what the Father did. The Father approved of the actions and words of the Son.
The Father and Son are separate persons, but shared the divine will.
But Jesus likely meant more than a sharing of the divine will. Jesus and the Father are of the same essence. The “fullness of God” dwells in Jesus. (Colossians 1:19)
The Christian creeds throughout the centuries have maintained this truth. The Nicene Creed, for example, said Jesus was “being of one substance with the Father”.
This is a claim to deity by Jesus, a claim to be God, to have the same essence as God. The Jews asked for a statement as to whether Jesus was the Christ. Jesus gave them more than that.
Jesus the Son of God
10:31-39
The Jews understood the claim to deity. They took up stones to stone him to death. Stoning was the penalty for blasphemy. A human being claiming to be God, or making himself God, would be blasphemy because there is only one God. Jesus was claiming to be God, but not a rival God to the Father.
Jesus did not leave this time. He stayed and confronted the crowd, asking which of his good works lead them to condemn him. (32) He still claimed the works to be the works of God. The Jews said it was not for the works, but for the claim to be God. (33) In effect, they were saying it is ok to do works, or miracles, only God could do, but not to actually say you are God.
The crowd, or mob, is beyond rational thought and discussion. They are crossing the line into mob violence. So Jesus responded with a statement meant to shock them into thinking about what they are doing.
Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 from the Septuagint. In that Psalm, God referred to the Israelites (those to whom the word of God came) as gods. God was referring to their lack of justice, their failure to judge correctly. Judging is the province of God, though he delegates it to humans to judge according to his standards.
So, Jesus was saying, if God refers to some people as gods, and scripture cannot be broken, how can you say I am blaspheming because I said I am the Son of God. (36) And, of course, he is not a mere human, but the one the Father consecrated and sent into the world.
Having brought a pause to the mob action, Jesus again offered the evidence of his deity. He said they could believe the works he did, which he did so that they could know and understand that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him. (38)
The last statement again stirred up the rage of the Jews for his claim of deity. So, they tried to arrest him. They could not, however, for his time had not come.
Jesus Retreats
10:40-42
Jesus retreated from the temple and crossed the Jordan to the sea where John had first baptized. There, the memory of the preaching of John the Baptist was still fresh. Those people compared John and Jesus, noticing that John did not do any miracles like Jesus did.
John’s ministry was to be the herald, not the miracle worker. He preached the coming of the Savior. And in this, the Jews of that place saw that everything John said about Jesus was true. Since that was the case, many of them believed in Jesus.
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