A Little Hanukkah...

Read John 10:22-39. After Christ finishes his Good Shepherd Sermon, Christ finished up his ministry in Jerusalem. John doesn't mention anything for the next three months until Christ returns to Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication (also called Hanukkah).

So, a little background: Judas Maccabeus instituted the Feast of Dedication in 165 B.C. when the altar was rebuilt and the temple was purified during a very brief period of Jewish independence. So, this was an 8 day feast that occurred during the winter (around our Christmas).

 

Picking up in verse 22, Christ is in the temple, specifically in Solomon's Porch, and the Jews (think religious leader) rush there again to ask him if He truly was the Christ. And Christ begins to lay out his credentials for them to prove his deity.

 

Starting in verse 25, Christ states that his sayings prove his deity. In addition, his message is matchless. There is no one else who can offer what Christ does (think John 3:16).  Staying along the lines of John 3:16, Christ also never wasted a word.  John 3:16 is exactly 25 words (in both Greek and English!) and it is the full message of salvation.

 

Also, Christ has always shown in all of his sermons that his wisdom is matchless. If you look at Luke 20, the Jewish leaders try to catch him with the issues of taxes. And Christ gives them the perfect answer. Verse 26 even says that they were amazed at his answer! Luke 4:22 says that the Jewish leaders were amazed at Christ and his words and the wisdom behind them, especially considering he was just a simple carpenter.

 

Christ's words are also powerful. Only Christ had the power to raise men from the dead with his words, heal diseases with words, bring men to conviction and salvation with his words. He also had control over his words. He never spoke out of anger and he never spoke unwisely. Christ spoke in ways that everyone could understand. And lastly, Christ's words were pure.1 Peter 2:22-23 says that Christ did not sin and no wickedness was found in his speech. Those are all ways that Christ's words alone proved his deity. And of course Christ's miracles prove His deity.

 

Christ not only has the credentials to prove His deity, but also the dignity of person, power, and position that accompany the deity of God. He has the power to save and to keep (vs. 28-29), he is the Father's equal (vs. 30-33), he is bold and honest (vs. 32), he is wise and intelligent (vs. 34-39), he is sent by God the Father (vs. 36), and he is the Father's Son (vs. 36). All these are qualities of someone who is truly God and shares in God's characteristics. Yet again, we see John highlighting the words of Christ to reveal his deity.

           

The Good Shepherd

Read John 9:39-10:21. This is Christ's final message to the public before He disappears for 3 months. Here, in John 9:39-41, we get a glimpse at the continued blindness of the Jewish leaders. They thought that they could see the truth, but they were truly blind. If only they had admitted their spiritual blindness and need for Christ, because then they could have received their spiritual sight. If you think about it this way, you have to realize that you are a sinner before you can become a saint. These Jewish leaders needed to receive their spiritual "sight" before they could receive Christ. But, instead of seeing their own sinfulness, they were always comparing themselves to someone else who seemed worse, making them look good. In reality, the only measure we can use is Christ and God's Word, and by that measure, there is no one truly righteous (Romans 3:10).

So, Christ proceeds to teach a lesson to further illustrate the difference between Christ's true followers and the Jewish leaders. And, he uses and illustration that the people could relate to very well. He uses the illustration of the sheep and the sheepfold. This was a place of shelter where the sheep would go at night to be safe from thieves and wild animals. This shelter had a stone wall that had a layer of protective thorns (think barbed wire) on top of the wall, a small building, and one single guarded doorway.

Now, the shepherd knew exactly which sheep were his and actually gave them each a name. And even though we consider sheep to be pretty dumb, they do recognize their own shepherd's voice and they will come when called by him and him alone. This is the scenario that Christ is using here. The sheepfold represents heaven, the sheep are Christ's followers, and Christ is the shepherd. Let's talk about the thief. If you think about it, most thieves try to enter into a building through something other than the door. So, who represents the thieves in this scenario? Well, specifically the Jewish leaders who are trying to get into heaven through works, but this can be used for an even bigger picture or anyone who tries to get into heaven through anything other than Christ.

What Christ is illustrating here for the people in a very relatable (is that a word?) scenario from their world, is that the only way into heaven is through him and that anyone who chooses to follow him will recognize his name and will only follow him.

One final thought on Christ as our true shepherd. A true shepherd would be willing to sacrifice his life for his sheep just as Christ willingly sacrificed his life for us.