I and the Father Are One

Jesus was a troublemaker, he was hung on a cross, he died the death reserved for those who broke the law. He died as a revolutionary. This is the basic argument of Reza Aghlan in his book, Zealot. He declares that Jesus was simply a revolutionary. And he's right. He looks at the most historical fact we know about Jesus. He died on a cross, and then he works backwards from there. The cross was reserved for revolutionaries. And he's right. Jesus came to turn the world upside down. Where he fails to see the greater implications is he denies two essential truths. He denies Jesus was God. He denies that death on the cross was for sinners. And this is where his theology or his understanding of Jesus just unraveled. He misses the significance of the death. He misses the significance of who dies. He can't accept the truth that is essential to Christianity. As we look at our text this morning, we're going to see that Jesus speaks very plainly about these truths. He declares that he is the Son of God, a claim, a declaration that he is sent by the Father. He is God himself. He clearly declares, I am the shepherd, the king who lays down his life for the sheep. His death was for sinners. What's amazing about Jesus' ministry as we've gone through the Gospel of John, and we'll continue to go through the Gospel of John, he presses in and makes his claims bolder and bolder. More offensive and more offensive, unless you're someone who's like the Jews and they deny him more confused and more confused. While contemporary scholars may not be able to understand that Jesus was claiming to be divine, the contemporary hearers clearly did. Look at John 5 verse 17. Jesus answered them, My father is working until now I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. John 8. He calls the religious leaders children of the devil and they seek to arrest him. And he says, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. Identifying himself with the God of Israel. So, they picked up stones to throw at him, but he just hid himself in one of the temples. His life is regularly in danger, as he is making very bold claims. Now, we have to ask ourselves, why were they successful? There was another attempt in John 7 to arrest him. Why were they successful? Why couldn't they arrest him? Why didn't they stone him? How did he keep getting away? We see this in chapter 7, verse 30. Also, in chapter 8, verse 20, these these are these words quoted. I'm quoting. So they were seeking to arrest him, John says, but no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come. God is sovereign over his plan of salvation. God has determined when and how Jesus would die. It would not be at the hand of these men in the stones. It'd be on the cross when God determined it. As we're looking ahead, We'll see in chapter 12, verse 23. Now, among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks, so these came to Philip, who was from Poseidon and Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus, and Jesus answered them. The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls on the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, It bears much fruit. The hour in the Gospel of John is always a reference to the hour of the cross, his death on the cross. We see that God is sovereignly leading this book to the death of the king. Now, Jesus made numerous bold claims. Our context is actually still following the Pharisees coming and asking, are we blind? And of course, he says yes. Then he gives them this figure of speech. I'm the good shepherd. The implication being you're the bad shepherds. You're the shepherds that fatten themselves in the sheep. I'm the good shepherd who will lay down his life for the sheep. He declared, I've come to my own, my sheep know me, they hear me. Because you don't believe, because you don't follow, you're not the sheep of God. Notice in chapter 10 in verse 19. There was, again, a division among the Jews because of these words. Many said, he has a demon and is insane. Why listen to him? Others said, these are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? We see here that the crowds are divided. There's confusion and there's offensiveness. They're offended and they're confused. He's told them they're blind. He's told them they're to the devil. In order to believe what Jesus says, there's a real difficult pill to swallow. Truths about ourselves that are difficult. As we think about our text this morning, we're in John 10. If you're using a pew Bible, which you're welcome to take that home with you. We're on page 896 and 897. I really think there's three basic responses to Jesus. Three basic responses. You'll either hate him, be confused by him, or worship Him. You'll either hate Him, be confused by Him, or worship Him. Those who hate Him really get what He's saying. They actually hear and they understand the plain truth that Jesus is saying and they realize how offensive it is. What Jesus is saying about us. And so we have to reject Jesus because He's telling us we don't have it all together. That we need help from outside. That we need a Savior for our sins. Those who hate him get what Jesus is saying about us and himself. Those who are confused, they keep Jesus at a safe distance. They don't really want to hear what Jesus truly says, or they have questions that they ask of Jesus to judge him that are never answered. These are agnostics. They like to always ask questions, but really never seek answers. The last option, those who worship him. Those are the sheep that hear his voice, that believe what he says, and that will always end in worship. Today, we're progressing in our message from chapter 10 and regarding the shepherd, but we're dropping in a different context. We're beginning in verse 22. The setting is quite different. It's the Feast of Dedication. This isn't a biblical feast. You don't find the Feast of Dedication in the Old Testament. The feast is celebrating when the Maccabees led a revolt against the Greeks. There was a king, Antiochus Epiphanes, which means God manifest, not a humble man. He had conquered Israel and sacrificed a pig in the temple, which made it unclean. And the Maccabees came, led a revolt, and re-consecrated the temple. So this is a feast that is not recorded in Scripture, but a feast that Jews still recognize today. Look at verse 24. They're at this feast. The crowd makes a request. How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Now, Jesus has been teaching for a couple of years now. He's done a number of miracles. His reputation is far and wide. And they're asking him, Would you just tell us plainly if you're the Christ? Would you quit speaking in this figure of speech that you just gave with the Good Shepherd? Speak to us plainly. If you would simply say it clearly without these figures of speech, we would believe. I think these folks asking this question, they've got the wrong assumptions. They think understanding leads to belief. They just want some clear understanding and then they'll believe. They think the problem is in the content and information they have. They don't realize the problems in their heart. We must believe in order to understand. Understanding does not lead to belief. More information will never lead to belief. Faith is not created by more information. Faith is given to us by God. It's changing a heart that hates God and leads it to worship. and then understanding. Look at Jesus response. I told you and you do not believe. I can give you all the understanding you ever asked and you still won't believe. I have told you very plainly. I am the Son of God, Jesus says. I have been sent to save sinners. The Father has set me aside and he has sent me. I've told you and you still don't believe. Jesus is here presenting what we will see clearly as the truth that faith seeks understanding. We must first trust him, submit to him, and then we will understand. When we approach him thinking we can figure him out, the Creator is going to approach him saying, as soon as I can understand the Creator, as soon as my finite mind can wrap itself around the infinite, then I'll believe. How foolish. Not to mention how sinful our minds and hearts are. We'll never understand in order to believe. Jesus has spoken clearly. If we believe him, then we will understand. He continues, the works that I do in my father's name bear witness about me. But you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father. who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. Did Jesus come? Just tell us if you're the Messiah. The problem is they've misunderstood their own problem. Jesus has come and he said, I am the Son of the Father. I've done these works. Look at the works. Judge the works. Remember in John nine, they saw a blind man healed, but they could not believe that that that clear demonstration of God's power could not lead to belief. When we approach Christ with our understanding, without trusting him, we will either leave confused or offended. When we approach Christ on our turf. With our understanding, we're either going to leave confused or offended. This is why we'll be offended. He says we're slaves to sin. You're not free, he says. You're not making free choices. When you choose sin, sin is your master. He says we're rebels worthy of wrath, that we're helpless. We need the Holy Spirit to come and give us new hearts. It's offensive because we really think we have it all together. It's offensive for Christians to hear these things, but we need to be reminded we never have it all together. We constantly need to hear the gospel of grace. If you're not a Christian this morning, the words of Jesus can be offensive because he tells us who we really are. We're slaves to sin, condemned by God. We can also be confused about Jesus because we like to take one part of Jesus, our favorite part, and then really emphasize that without considering everything else Jesus said. In this way, Jesus kind of becomes like Santa Claus. He's the one who gives us all our good gifts. We go to him and we just ask what we want and what we want and we expect him to be the Santa Claus. He gives us everything. Even worse, we treat Jesus like he's the eternal whiteout. That we can send all we want and he'll always forgive us. It's completely missing that he's the shepherd who laid down his life to take away your sin and free you of sin. Pretending he's just there to be an excuse to sin or a license to sin, how corrupt, how confused, how perverse. We treat Jesus sometimes like he's fortunate to have us. He's a shepherd who doesn't need sheep. He's a shepherd who came down to get us for us, for our benefit. He's the king who is glorious without us, but he's the king who's come to share his glory. For those who are rejecting Christ because he's offensive or confusing, why are you rejecting him? What are you expecting? What task must Jesus pass of yours before you'll believe in him? Is there an intellectual barrier? Do you have questions that you are forcing upon Jesus to say He needs to pass this particular test? When we approach Jesus' way, I just have a rule. This is a rule that should govern all our understanding of all our relationships, and it's this. There's two principles. We are always overconfident in our evaluation of others, and we're always incompetent in self-evaluation. Now, think about that as you're thinking of one another. And I realize I am evaluating us all, so I'm already demonstrating my incompetence and my overconfidence. I get the irony. But think about that. When we're thinking of others, we're always overconfident and thinking we know exactly who they are and what they're doing and why they're doing it. We're always overconfident in judging others, but we're so incompetent in judging ourselves. We're so self-deceiving. Think about this with Jesus. Are you overconfident in your ability as a sinful creature to judge the righteous creator? Let me challenge you. Let me challenge you. Stop being incompetent in judging yourself. Start thinking about if you're a sinner and how sinful you are. Take God's law and meditate upon the law for a week. Meditate upon how often you lie, how often you covet, how often you hate, how often you commit adultery with the lust of your heart and your eyes. Think about how sinful you are based upon what God's law says for a week. And then it's not a matter of Jesus makes sense to you anymore. You'll see that you need a savior. You'll see how sinful you are and what he says is true about you, you're a slave to sin. And I believe you'll start realizing, it's not a matter if he's intellectually appropriate or intellectually feasible, it's the fact that you have to have a Savior and Jesus is the only one. We think too little of God and too much of ourselves and we pursue him on our own turf. For the sheep. For the sheep. Look at verse 26. Let's begin there. But you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. Friends, if you're a believer this morning, it's by God's grace. You were given the opportunity to hear the gospel. You were given a heart to believe the gospel. It's by God's grace. Are you boasting in how good of a sheep you are? Are you boasting in how good of a shepherd Jesus is? There's a huge difference there. There's a complete dependence upon God's grace to call us by name, to call us out of our darkness and into his light. There's a complete dependence. So I ask you, what is your boasting? Is it in how good of a sheep you've been or how good of a shepherd Jesus is to call you to himself? Look at the three aspects of a sheep, the three things Jesus says about a sheep. They hear my voice. They know me. They follow me. They hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. So there's a hearing, a knowing, and a following. I believe to hear Jesus is faith. To hear Jesus as a sheep means he doesn't just capture your ears with an audible words. It's believing. A sheep hears a shepherd's voice and there's immediate trust. There's immediate obedience. A sheep recognizes the shepherd and they trust the shepherd. To hear Jesus is to recognize his authority. To hear Jesus is to say what he is saying, I'm going to submit to. It's faith. This is what real hearing looks like, I think. This is what belief looks like. It has a strange mixture of agony and relief. Faith has mixed in together. Agony and relief because when you have faith in Christ, there's a bit of agony because you would see that your sin was leading to death. There's agony because you would realize you've had it all wrong. There's agony because you realize the wrath of God was against you. There's relief because you see that Jesus took the wrath of God you deserve and put it upon himself. There's relief because, you know, you're now forgiven and you're free. There's relief because you now see there's a way to live that's life and life more abundantly. Do you know this faith? We're all so dull of hearing by nature. Do you know the agony of recognizing your sin in light of a holy God? You know, the relief of the grace that takes it away. Are you hearing Jesus this morning? If you've been a Christian for many years, are you hearing Jesus? Are you regularly being comforted and corrected? Unless you're now in a sinless state, you always need corrected. We need to be hearing the comforting and correcting words of Christ. To be known by Jesus, the second mark of a sheep. His sheep are known by him. And we're getting back now to this figure of speech we had last week. He's the good shepherd. Something I want to emphasize or reemphasize. The beauty of Jesus being the shepherd that holds us close, that holds us tenderly, that holds us with great care and love. He's the king who comes down to be the shepherd, who holds us tenderly and with great care. He's the king who cares for us. The sheep are cared for by the one who has all authority. To be known by Jesus is to know him personally. He came down to have a relationship with us. He came down to reconcile us to himself. One of the key ways we know him and are known by him is if he comes down and he takes us to himself, the way to keep that relationship going for us is prayer. And prayer isn't just talking, it's oftentimes listening. To sit at the feet of Jesus and to listen to enter into his presence, as we were just saying, arise my soul, arise, going into the presence of God in the name of Jesus with full confidence because of what Christ has accomplished, and glorying in Him, being known by Him, and knowing Him. If you want to experience a relationship with Jesus more, it's not something that just kind of happens passively. If you want to know Jesus, it means you love him because he first loved you. It means you have to stop loving the sin that's taking place in your heart and you have to repent of that sin and place that love on Christ. If you want to know Christ more, repent of more sin. You only have so much knowing capacity. You only have so much loving capacity. What keeps us from knowing Christ and loving him more is our enslavement to sin. Repent. You're free. And get to know Christ more. To follow him. We must follow him. We must know our master. We must hear our master. We must follow him. Let's learn to trust him. What he has for us is better than what we think is good for us. To follow Him means we're boasting in Him. To worship Him. To say, whatever you declare, you have a right over my life. You're not my master. And there's a logical order here I want you to see. You hear Him, which is faith. You are known by Him and you know Him. And then you follow Him. You give up everything you thought you had the right to. This is hard for us. Not just because we're Americans and rights are a part of our identity. As humans, we think we have rights to certain things, and Jesus, we have to recognize, he has a right to rule us. He's a king who loves us and laid his life down for us. Let's look at verse 28 and 29. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Now, here we see in verse 28 and 29, our inheritance, our salvation, is secure in Christ. We're probably all familiar with the mantra, once saved, always saved. Absolutely. Once someone is claimed sealed and forgiven by Jesus Christ that can't be taken. It is very clear from this passage. Once you are my sheep. I was taken out of my hand. Once I have you, no one can ever take you. And this is why it's so important that we realize it's the king almighty who has all authority, who comes down and lays on his life for you. He gave those who knelt under the cross The authority to do so, they didn't have it themselves. He gave them that opportunity so that he could say, I've died for them. Now no one has the authority to take you. See, sin and death, they had a claim to your life. But when Jesus dies in your place, he abolishes that authority. And he now takes you under his authority. No one can take you from his hand. He gives his life over to you so that no one can take it. from him. Your life is his. Your assurance, your security is his. Finally, we wrap up with this very bold claim. I and the Father are one. I and the Father are one. Now, one of the main points here is he's saying what the Father's doing, I'm doing. We're doing this together. There's an inseparable work here that we are. We're united in our purpose. We're united in what we're doing. This is just good Jewish family tradition here. The son does what the father does. Not just speaking of God, but a son would always follow in the father's footsteps. Here he's saying, I am the perfect son of the perfect father, and I reflect what he does exactly. The Father has sent his Son. I am that Son, and I am doing what he says. Now, this is getting into the doctrine of the Trinity, which is, we must understand, faith-seeking understanding. We're not going to understand the Trinity in order to become believers. But there are four truths I want us to think about, and we must hold these four truths in tension. And this is just relating to the Father and the Son. Not yet the Trinity. That's a few chapters ahead. The Holy Spirit. There is one God, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Father is not the Son. Those are the four truths that we have to hold together. They're beyond our comprehension. There's one God, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Father is not the Son. Those are four truths that are clear from Scripture. Those are four truths that we have a hard time understanding. Those are four truths we must believe because Jesus, our shepherd, has told us this is who he is as God. Now, that should rattle the understanding a little bit. That should rattle our arrogance and thinking we can understand everything there is to know about God. It shouldn't make us hesitant to study God's word more because that particular doctrine, that's of utmost importance. The son has to be the son of the father and the son has to be fully divine or else what he did was not salvation. Only God can save sinners and the son had to be God. This is worthy of our study, even though it will challenge the mind. And I pray it challenges your faith. Look at verse 31. He never claimed to be God. Verse 31, the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works and from the Father, for which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him. It is not for good works that we're going to stone you, but for blasphemy. Because you being a man, make yourself God. So clear. He's speaking plainly. They're offended. Because they have a preconceived idea who the Messiah is supposed to be. They have a preconceived idea of who God is supposed to be over against what he said in his word. Here they can't understand. And therefore, they must kill him. Jesus answers them very plainly. Look in verse 34. Is it not written in your law? He's appealing to their Old Testament. Now, this is also our Old Testament. The Old Testament books are ours, but he's appealing to them and what they claim is their authority. Is it not written in your law? I said you were gods. If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, you are blaspheming because I said, I am the son of God. There's a fairly technical argument being said here. Is it not written in your law? I said you were God's. He's quoting Psalm 82. Let's look at the verse in its entirety, verses six and seven. I said you were God's sons of the most high. All of you. Nevertheless, like men, you shall die and fall like any prince. Verse 35, Jesus is saying, God calls them gods who are not gods. Now, what we think that Psalm 82 is referring to is probably Mount Sinai. When the word of God came to Israel, the law came to Israel, this is when he said, you are gods, you are sons of the Most High. This also fits because in Exodus 4, God did call Israel the sons of the Most High. Jesus is appealing to this passage, not because he's looking for some kind of precedent. OK, there's a time whenever God said somebody who wasn't God was a son and was God. He's not looking for precedent. Notice what he's doing here. If in your law, God has called men gods, how is it that you make the accusation of blasphemy against the one the father has consecrated as a son? He's making an argument from lesser to greater. You see, in your own law, God has said others are gods. But that's not blasphemy for God to say. Here, what you actually are hearing is the father is declaring his son is God, which is true. Now, the father's true son has come. And they're wanting to stone him. But if I do them, then though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and understand that the father is in me. And I'm in the father. He is again sitting on it. It's very plain. It's very clear for everyone to see, but it's not a matter of understanding that will lead to faith. Notice, believe the words that you may know and understand. Believe that you may know and understand. There's a faith that must seek understanding. Once again, they sought to arrest him. They could not. He seems to disappear very quickly and very easily. As we think about this passage, if we think about Jesus declaring very clearly he's God, he's God's son to come to die for sinners, he's calling out sheep to himself. If you're not a Christian this morning, I challenge you. Do you seek to hear from God? on his grounds, according to his word, or have you created in your own mind a certain Jesus that you know you can reject, or are you already questioning in such a way that Jesus can never answer your questions? I challenge you. There's little Gospels of John in the back foyer. Take those little booklets. Read the Gospel of John, a chapter a day. Sit under Jesus' feet for a season. Actually, hear him for what he says, hear him for what he claims, and I pray that this will lead to belief and a knowing him and a following him. Christian, I ask you. How do you follow Christ? Do you boast in being a good sheep or do you boast in the good shepherd? Do you realize? That hearing him and knowing him and following him is all of grace. If we have a disposition, if we have a posture that that I'm in control and I'm going to do my discipleship the way I want to do it. You're not a sheep. If you're submitted to him and recognizing you're completely dependent upon him and that he is a good shepherd that leads you, that's the mark of a sheep. As we conclude, I want to read a passage from a pastor from the 11th century. His name is Anselm. And as we thought about this passage, there's been this contrast. Understanding doesn't lead to faith. Faith leads to understanding. Anselm articulated this beautifully. This is a prayer that he gives for us to follow. Look upon us, Lord. Hear us. Enlighten us. Show yourself to us. Give yourself to us that it may be well with us. For without you, it goes so ill for us. Have pity upon our efforts and our strivings towards you. For we can avail nothing without you. You call to us, so help us. I beseech you, Lord, let me not go sighing hopelessly, but make me breathe hopefully again. My heart is made bitter by its desolation. I beseech you, Lord, sweeten it by your consolation. I set out hungry to look for you. I beseech you, Lord, do not let me depart from you. Fasting. I came to you as one famished. Do not let me go without food. Poor, I have come to you. One who is rich, unfortunate. I come to one who is merciful. Let me discern your light. whether it be from afar or from the depths. Teach me to seek you and reveal yourself to me as I seek, because I can neither seek you if you not teach me how, nor find you unless you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in desiring you. Let me desire you in seeking you. Let me find you in loving you, and let me love you in finding you. I acknowledge, Lord, and give thanks that you have created your image in me so that I remember you, think of you and love you. But this image is so effaced and worn away by vice, so darkened by the smoke of sin that it cannot do what it was made to do unless you renew it and reform it. I do not try, Lord. to attain your lofty heights, because my understanding is in no way equal to it. But I do desire to understand your truth a little. Your truth, that truth that my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For I believe this also, that unless I believe, I shall understand. What a model. Anything we'll ever know about God that's true, he gives it to us. Anything we'll ever know about God that's true, he enlightens our hearts. The disposition here is the disposition that we must constantly have, that we are constantly submitting to the head Jesus Christ, to his word that he has declared. We need him to help us seek him and to find him. Will you pray with me? Lord, our hearts are so easily bent towards idols. Help us, Lord, to realize the freedom we have in Christ. Help us, Lord, to know the forgiveness we have in his death, the hope we have in his resurrection. Help us, Lord, to trust the promises that you have more to give us than the life of this world. Help us, Lord, to seek those things. Help us, Lord, to pursue them. Completely dependent upon you. Enlighten us, Almighty God. Free us from the vices that keep us from you. Separate the smoke that's in our hearts so we see your light. Help us, Lord, to believe you and trust you so that we can truly worship you. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.