1-18-2020       I Do The Works of My Father

                             

John 10:19-42

Jesus had just concluded identifying God as His Father and that He (Jesus)  is our Shepherd.  The Jews were divided and some thought He had a devil and was mad.  Others said ‘can a devil make the blind see?’ 

Jesus was on Solomon’s porch, in the temple, and a crowd gathered around Him challenging to declare plainly that He was the Messiah.

(V25-26)  Jesus replied to them “I’ve told you and you didn’t believe.  The works I do in my Father’s name bear witness of me.  Yet, you didn’t believe because you are not of My sheep.” 

 Jesus went on to tell them: I’ve already told you My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life that they don’t perish neither can anyone pluck them out of My hand.  My Father gave them to Me and He is greater than all, so no one can pluck them out of His hand.  Father and I are one.

The Jews gathered stones to stone Him and Jesus asked ”I’ve shown you many good works from My Father.  For which of these works do you want to stone me?”

And the Jews replied: We don’t stone you for any of the works, but rather that You have blasphemed and declared yourself God.  Jesus answered “Is it not written that you are gods (Psalm 82:6)? 

If God called those to whom the Word of God came gods, the scripture cannot be broken.  You declare that he, whom God has sanctified and sent into this world blasphemes because I said “I am the Son of God?”

If I don’t do My Father’s works, don’t believe Me.  But if I do them and you don’t believe, at least believe the works.  This way you might realize and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.

Again the Jews tried to seize Him, but Jesus escaped out of their hand. 

He went to Jordan, where John baptized, and stayed there.  Many came to Him and said “John didn’t do any miracles, but everything John said of this man is true.  And there, many believed on Him.

“I do the works of My Father.”  The Jews were looking for a conquering hero, so when they asked Jesus to declare Himself, they were asking Him to overthrow Rome and free the Jews.  Jesus is showing two realities here. 

1) He is establishing our faith in Him by not immediately showing why He has come to earth.  Jesus is our conquering hero, but first He had to cleanse us from our sin and unrighteousness so we could be faithful followers. 

Many witnessed the miracles Jesus did but not all received.  Not all understood that first our heart had to be cleansed, then the miracles would follow.  Faith is what we hope for but don’t yet see.  That is, knowing that something is coming our way though we don’t yet see it as reality.  Had Jesus showed Himself the conquering hero then, where would the faith be?  People would have accepted Him as King (because He delivered them from the Romans), but their hearts would not have been changed.  They would have continued to live as before save that they would have been delivered from physical bondage (of the Romans).  Father delivered the Jews from Egypt and when the going got tough, they wanted to go back into Egypt (bondage).  Jesus knew He had to shed His blood in order to cleanse our hearts from sin.  Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). 

About thirty-five or forty years ago, Keith Green released a song titled “So You Wanna Go back to Egypt”.  When the going seems unbearable, even bondage seems better.  Consider what we are talking about here:  bondage to sin or freedom in Jesus Christ.  Bondage is falling back into sinful ways and death and eternal separation from God.  But freedom from bondage gives us the promise of eternal life and fellowship in Jesus.  There is a price to obtain freedom, giving up the ways of this world, but is it worth it?  I think so.

2)  Jesus had to redeem us, His mission on earth.  And what does He redeem us from?  As well as sin, our own hearts.  Because Adam and Eve sinned against God, all are born into sin.  Without Jesus, we are, if you will, Satan’s playthings.  He manipulates us and controls our lives (whether we admit it or not) by keeping us in world values.  I want!  I want!  I want!  Whoopeee!  An unbridled lifestyle.  Anarchy!  If I feel like doing it – so I do it!  Doubt my words?  Look around you at the world today.  People are focused on sex, getting what they want and doing what they desire – no matter what it takes, or should I say no matter who it harms.

Father says that cleansing comes through the blood.  For the Jews, it was the sacrificial lamb upon the altar.  Today, Jesus IS that sacrificial lamb and His altar is the cross – where He shed His blood (for us).

He cleanses us to we can live for Him, in Him and through Him.  And why do we live for Him?  He give us peace, safety, He meets all our needs and as we walk closer with Him.  As we walk closer with God, He gives us even our hearts desire.  Oh, and not just the hope, but the promise of eternal life with Father through Him.  Because we believe Jesus IS who He said He is.  Our belief (faith) is established in Jesus and through that faith in Jesus, we know we will be with Him forever.  We aren’t physically with Him yet but spiritually, through faith, we walk with Him.

The Jews thought Jesus, being a mere man, was declaring Himself to be God.  Jesus goes on to declare that He and the Father are one.  Nothing can take us out of Jesus’ hand therefore nothing can take us out of the Father’s.  The apostle John tells that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1).  How’s that for unity?  John goes on to explain that the Word is the light of men and that light came to live amongst us.  in HIs walk amongst us Jesus knew what He was saying and doing!       

Jesus spoke in parables so that those who weren’t seeking a relationship with Him would be confused.  BUT those who were truly seeking a relationship with Him could come to understand and come to know His voice.

A baby knows mama from birth.  Actually from before birth, the nine months spent in the womb.  Mother and child develop a relationship of knowing each other.  As dad interacts with mom, even in the womb, baby can start a relationship with papa.  And surely, after birth, as papa interacts with the child, father and child develop a relationship.

We have to be around Jesus to develop a relationship.  That is, read the bible, pray and associate with other Christians.  Then we become as Jesus’ sheep and come to know His voice. 

Gods?  I’m sorry ‘gods’ (little g).  Satan tells Adam and Eve that God knows that knowing good and evil makes them as a god (Gen. 3:5).  Adam and Eve were created in innocence and put in the garden in Eden.  They lost that innocence when they disobeyed the only commandment God gave them (Gen. 2:16-17).  So Jesus threw it back on the Jews “Why are you condemning Me for saying I am the Son of God when God has declared us gods?”  Read Luke chapter three, especially v38.  What does it say?  The son of Enos, who was the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam …  and how does sit describe Adam? (who is the son of God (Luke 3:38).  When we let Jesus into our hearts, we all become the children of God (Gal. 3:25-29).  Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers (Rom. 8:29), those who follow God. 

Because the Jews were entrenched in legalism and they knew nothing about having a true relationship with the Father, to put it bluntly, Jesus split (left)!  He got out of their company.

Jesus healed the sick, cured diseases, caused the blind to see and he deaf to hear and, in Lazarus, He raised the dead (John 11:1-44).  John declared that Jesus, the living Word of God, was God.  Jesus says here He and the Father are one.  The apostle Matthew explains Jesus in that Isaiah (the prophet) said the child would be called “Emmanuel” – God with us (Matt. 1:18-25).

The Jews said that they didn’t condemn for the works, but because He declared Himself the Son of God.  And guess what.  Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers (collectively – Rom. 8:15-31).  The Son of God because He had come into this world in the flesh, but if you have read the hi-lited passages, He is God, Himself, come amongst us.  Jesus, as the Word, was God.

Jesus did (and still does) the works of His Father and so should we.  Jesus says we will do the works He did and greater (John 14:12).  I don’t know that we can do anything different from what Jesus did, but we can surely do more of the same works which He did.  So Jesus is still doing works today, through believers.  Jesus is the Holy Spirit, that is the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.  The Holy Spirit was with the disciples in Jesus.  Jesus has now given us His Holy Spirit so we can have the power to do as He did (Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-16).

I didn’t go into an explanation of  Romans chapter eight, but go back and read it again – and again.  We are in Christ Jesus, also children of the living God and we should do the works of our Father.  

Yes?

Amen