Scott
Jonas
Series:
The Story Title: I am in the Father Text: John 10:22-39
Exegetical
statement: Jesus said, “I and the Father
are one.”
Goal: That the hearers would know themselves by
knowing Jesus
Who is Jesus? Here in John chapter 10, Jesus is speaking as
plainly as possible. No long parables
that can be misinterpreted. Just pointed
words about His relationship with the Father.
“I am the Son of God,” Jesus
says. Getting Jesus’ identity right is
crucial. If we get Jesus wrong, we
misinterpret everything else. We his
church need to dedicate ourselves to understanding Jesus, so we can know him,
know the father, know his church and know ourselves.
John 10, starting at verse 22. “22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took
place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the
colonnade of Solomon.” Do you know what
the feast of dedication is? It’s the
festival of lights, Hanukkah, celebrating the rededication of the Temple in
164BC. The Temple was destroyed by
Babylon in 597BC. It lay in ruins for
400 years until the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild it. It was the focal point of Israel’s
worship. Through the Temple a Jew
understood God. But the Temple was just
a created thing. God allowed it’s
building but knew that people would place too great an importance on it. People began to see their identity in the
Temple rather than in the Lord. The
Temple was a conduit for knowing the Father. It was like a telescope that
allowed you to see the North Star. The
North Star is much more valuable than a telescope, but people neglected the
North star and treasured the telescope.
Elsewhere Jesus says that he is the
Temple. “Destroy this temple and in
three days I will raise it up.” Through
Jesus you know and worship God. When you
sacrifice for Jesus you are sacrificing to the Father. When you love Jesus, you are loving the
father. So here is the uncreated Temple,
Jesus, walking in the created Temple and the Jews don’t get it. They can’t figure out who this guy is. It’s like they have a blindfold over their
eyes.
Verses 24-25 “So the Jews gathered
around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are
the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus
answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe.” Jesus uses so many methods of revealing his
identity. There are the parables, which
are figurative stories that point to Jesus as the good shepherd and the son of the vineyard owner. There are John’s “I AM” statements. Jesus says I am “The Bread of Life”, “The
Light of the World”, “The Gate”, “The Vine”.
In the next chapter he is going to say to Lazarus’ sisters He is the
“Resurrection and the Life” “The Way the
Truth and the Life.” That is pretty bold
language. His words sound like something
God would say. But the people don’t get
it. Some say he was insane, including
his family. Some say he was possessed by
a demon. Jesus reveals his identity but
people refuse to believe him. People
still refuse to believe him.
Verses 25-30 “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 the Father's
hand. I and the Father are one.”
In the church we have a lot of ways to
describe God. We can describe Him by his
Biblical Titles, “The Most High God” , Wonderful Counselor, Prince of
Peace. A lot of our songs describe Him
this way. For communion today we are
going to sing “Holy and anointed one” and “You are my King.” Another way we can describe God by his
attributes. In systematic theology we describe God as all knowing, all powerful
and Omni-present. Only God can know
everything, do anything and be everywhere.
In this situation, Jesus doesn’t describe himself with titles or
attributes. Instead Jesus describes his
relationship to the Father. When Jesus
is asked to speak plainly about his identity, He explains himself as a
Son. Everything Jesus does is in his
Father’s name, meaning that his works are directed by the Father, sanctioned by
the Father, powered by the Father and a love offering to the Father. The Father because He loves the Son loves the
Son’s followers. The Father loves the
son so much that nothing can happen to the son without the Father’s
permission. The Son puts his flock in
the hands of his father and their identity is perfectly safe there.
I hope you see yourself in through
Jesus. Your identity is secure in the Lord.
You are loved by him. It doesn’t
matter what the world says about you.
People may call you worthless, but your Father calls you beloved. Your earthly Father may have called you a
disappointment but your heavenly Father calls you his joy. The Father loves Jesus and all of his friends
and you, church, are Jesus’ friend. That
is your identity. If you look at the
word picture here, the Father chose you and gave you to his son. You are placed in Jesus’ hands, yet it says
you are still in the Father’s hands as well.
The devil can’t pry open the Son of God’s hands. The world can’t move the fingers of the
almighty. Your identity as a child of
God can’t be stolen.
“The Father is in me and I am in the
Father.” There is no more explosive
words from Jesus than that. Those words
put him under a death sentence. ’Again
they sought to arrest him but they escaped from their hands.” Later in John 11 after Jesus raises Lazarus
from the dead, the Jewish leaders say, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will
believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our
nation.” These leaders placed their
identity in their position and their nation.
They were right to see Jesus as a threat to that. If you see yourself as Jesus’ friend all
other identities must become under that.
Jesus placed his identity under the Father. He calls us to put our identity under Jesus’
name. The relationship between us and
Jesus is primary. If you get that
relationship right then you can get your other relationships right.