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John

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Recognisably Safe

John 10:2-5

In a corrupt world, where we feel we cannot trust people, it is a relief to meet someone who seems to be safe.  Jesus had just described the religious leaders of the time as sheep-stealers (John 10:1).  They were supposed to be the 'watchmen' of Israel, but instead had persecuted the prophets and would shortly send Him to the cross (Acts 7:51-52).  So, He contrasted their behaviour with His own, by describing the relationship a shepherd has with casual labouring farm hands and the animals.
 

The Way to be Saved

John 10:6-9

Jesus used parables to speak about Himself and God's kingdom.  But, often, His hearers (including the disciples, Jesus’ trainee apostles) did not understand (John 12:16).  Speaking to the Pharisees about a truly motivated shepherd versus false shepherds had not provoked them to think about Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:14).  So, Jesus told them plainly that He is the gate through which people come to the safety of God's kingdom.  He claimed to be the only way to be welcomed by Father God (John 14:6).

Life Or Death

John 10:10

The souls of men and women are very valuable.  And rightly so because each one is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 9:6).  They belong to God.  Yet Satan wants to tear us away from our Maker.  The Evil One is the thief of heaven's riches.  His desire is to take away from God all that belongs to Him - His power, His honour, His glory, His people and His kingdom (Isaiah 14:12-15).  And Satan wants to steal the life which God gives to human beings; the physical human life in which we learn to trust the Lord, and the eternal life of divinely-loved security which continues for e

Sacrifice Is The Fruit Of Love

John 10:11-13

Jesus proclaimed His identity: the Shepherd of Israel (Matthew 2:6).  This would have been understood as being the true King of Israel (the Old Testament prophets rebuked the unfaithful kings for failing to be shepherds: as in Ezekiel 34:1-24).  King David started his working life as a shepherd and understood.  The shepherd was not only the authorised leader and protector of the flock; shepherds felt their responsibility  deeply … if there was danger, they would risk their own life (1 Samuel 17:34-37).
 

Known Through And Through

John 10:14-15

Jesus describes Himself as “… the good shepherd” in contrast to the pious-sounding religious leaders of His day who He called “thieves and robbers” (John 10:1; John 10:8) who ravage God’s flock for their own gain, and the ‘contract farmhands’ who have no care for God’s people and abandon them at the first sign of difficulty or danger (John 10:12-13).  Although such attitudes came to a head in opposition to Jesus, they were not new (Matthew 21:33-39).  Such religious leaders were described in Ezekiel 34:1-10 as inwardly selfish and callous - exploiting God’s people.  But in

Enlarging The Flock

John 10:16

Sheep, left to themselves, will wander.  Although they like the security of being led, they are also independent animals.  Some will easily forget where they are and roam, and others will follow them until they are away from their shepherd and be at risk of predators.  That is why Jesus has come to be “the good shepherd” - to bring His sheep back to safety.  

Mad, Bad Or God?

John 10:17-21

Jesus did amazing miracles and preached great wisdom; but who was He? (Mark 4:41; Luke 7:49).  That question refused to go away.   Every time Jesus spoke or acted with authority, He challenged the position of the religious leaders and made everybody wonder about His true identity (Matthew 7:29).  What He did was so compassionate and kind, so uniquely powerful; yet what He said was considered to be blasphemous because He claimed to have a uniquely intimate relationship with Father God (John 10:30) and allowed Himself to be worshipped as God (John 20:28-29).  

Ears That Refuse To Listen

John 10:22-26

The religious people and their leaders kept asking Jesus who He was.  How much more evidence did the people need?  They had witnessed blind people being able to see, paralysed people walking, sick people healed, demonised people released from Satan's bondage (Matthew 11:2-6).  They had heard Jesus speak about God in a way they had never previously understood, and they knew that He was good and kind.  He had compassion on despised people and was willing to forgive sinful people.  Yet they did not get the message that Jesus was God, the One who was promised to be the God’s King of the world (

Safe in God's Hand

John 10:27-29

The shepherd's job is to lead the sheep to good pasture and to protect them.  Jesus is the Shepherd and He guides everyone who listens to His words and obeys them (Psalm 23:1-6).  He leads them to live a spiritually healthy life, called 'eternal life' - which starts when we are born again and continues through death into an eternity of provision and service.  While He leads us, nobody (person, angel or demon) has any authority to capture us, and take us away from Jesus or Father God (Romans 8:38-39).
 

Blasphemy Or The Truth

John 10:30-33

Although many people today have great difficulty in understanding that Jesus was God in a human body, these verses remind us that the people listening to Him understood exactly what He was saying.  “I and the Father are one” was, to biblically literate Jewish ears, a clear claim to be God.  “One”, meant one in nature and one in authority.  The Nicene Creed of 325AD, which is still accepted as being biblical, expresses Christ’s divinity like this: ‘We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true Go

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