John 10 ONE IN ESSENCE When the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, He did not come in judgment to condemn people, but He came to saved them from their sins. However, by His coming He created a crisis in the same way that light seriously affects darkness when people prefer darkness. The Pharisees had been losing in every confrontation they had with Jesus because He is the Light of life. They were determined to maintain the status quo of which they believed they were in control.
Those people who were not conscious of spiritual blindness had an illustration of the spiritual healing power of Christ when the blind man received his physical sight. One who can give physical sight has the power to give spiritual eyesight. On the other hand, those who claimed to know the answers to spiritual things by imposing their own addendums to the law of God, were still in spiritual blindness because of their unbelief and willful rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."
To teach them what He meant, He gave another illustration of his statement regarding blindness. There had been false prophets and false Christs who had come and deceived the people by saying there was another way to God. Such a person is like a thief who comes with sly and deceptive means to gain a following. Often when a person like that comes among the people, they use the same words as a believer would use only with a different meaning behind it. They gain followers by false promises and subtle criticisms of those who take the Bible literally and follow its teaching as the guide for what we believe and how we conduct our lives.
Robbers come with a more aggressive and confrontational attempt to keep earnest seekers from entering into the kingdom of God. Often, they will use open opposition against the preaching of the Gospel and the biblical practice of church truth. Anger is not uncommon when the truth of scripture is appealed to as the standard and source of faith and practice. The door of the sheepfold is a reference to Israel and the blessings God gave to that nation. Prophets of the past had opened the door to present the Shepherd who led them out from the bondage they had been in for so long. The Jews would have understood the imagery of the shepherd being the king of a nation. They considered themselves the keepers of the door and so had just put the newly healed blind man out of the fold. The man they had excommunicated because of the blessing he received from Jesus, was now received by the Lord Jesus Christ who said He is the Door of the sheep. It is not the sheepfold He is concerned about but the sheep themselves. This newly sighted man was put out of Judaism and had come to Christ and was gladly received into the kingdom of God.
Many people are concerned about the religious sheepfold they are a part of and do not consider the spiritual condition of the sheep. The Good Shepherd in contrast to the thieves and robbers is not only the Door to the kingdom of God, but is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. He deliberately laid down His life to bring blessing to the sheep. The result of that is abundant life in Christ and the good pasture of spiritual food to nourish the needs of the souls and spirits of every one who belong to Him.
Hirelings are those people who have made an occupation out of herding sheep rather than being a true and good shepherd who lays down His life because of His love for those who belong to Him. The Lord Jesus laid down His life on our behalf so that we can be free from the guilt and consequences of sin. He also gave His life that we too might have the same kind of live the Father and the Son share. The eternal life they have, they have given to us to have and enjoy now and will have and enjoy forever. The fellowship of the Father and Son is because of the love they have. That love is extended to us and because of the new nature we have, "We love Him because He first loved us and gave Himself for us..."
At the feast of lights (Hanukkah), the winter feast of dedication, the Jews came and hemmed in the Lord Jesus like a pack of animals around Him and demanded that He say exactly what they wanted to hear. His claims of being the Christ were clearly stated to the Samaritan woman and to his own disciples. They found great joy in the assurance that He was the promised Messiah. The statements and proofs of Him being the Christ did not match the Jews preconceived ideas of what the Messiah would do. They wanted deliverance from Rome and their place restored as a world recognized kingdom. Jesus had told them who He was by His teaching and showed them by His works. Still they would not believe His testimony. He plainly told them the reason they did not know who He was, was because they were not His sheep. Those who hear His voice and believe on Him, He knows and gives them eternal life - His kind of life.
When a person has received that life as a gift from God, both the Father and the Son secure them in the safety of divine hands - Almighty power. The two Persons are united in keeping those who believe on Him, safe and secure. The two are One in essence and substance - not one person. What the Father is to us, the Son is also. The Jews knew what He meant and took stones in their hands but were powerless to throw them because His "hour was not yet come." No one can do what God will not allow. We may never know the reason for the pressures and hard things that happen to us in life, but we can keep our faith in Him, and by His grace, go through what life holds in store for us.
The claims of the Lord Jesus to be the Christ were well substantiated but those people ignored those claims. Even after they found they were powerless to stone Jesus and He continued to point out the fact of the Godhead being one in essence, they tried to take Him by force. They could not take Him because the time had not come for Him to be crucified. Another year of public ministry still had to take place. That was the last time He was in Jerusalem until He came as the rejected king riding on the donkey into the city a week before His crucifixion.
When the Lord left there, He went back to the place He was baptized and first began His public ministry. of great interest is that many came there to be with Him and to hear His teaching. Those who came recognized the difference between a prophet and the Lamb of God who would bear away the sin of the world. Even though He was rejected in Jerusalem, many believed on Him there. Because the door is shut against the Lord and the Gospel in one place, doesn't mean there are no people who want and need to hear the way of salvation. It is up to us to bring people to Jesus that they might find the great blessing of eternal life.