Sunday, August 30, 2020
John 10:22-42
“Listen, Believe, Follow”
Service Orientation: Belief compels a response. And while Jesus left no margin for doubting who he is, he places the responsibility of responding to who he is in the hands of people. How are you responding?
Memory Verse for the Week: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” 1 John 10:27-28
Background Information:
- (v.22) The Feast of Dedication was the newest of feasts. In fact, some of those there had heard stories from their great-great-grandfathers, who had heard them from their great-great-grandfathers about how in 175 BC a madman named Antiochus Epiphanes came to rule over the area and attempted to mix Hebrew and Greek culture. In doing so, he desecrated the temple, forced pork down the priests’ throats, turned the chambers of the temple into a brothel, and converted the altar meant for burnt offerings into an altar for Zeus! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 247)
- (v. 30) “I and the Father” preserves the separate individuality of the two Persons in the Godhead; the neuter pronoun “one” (hen) asserts unity of nature or equality (cf. 1 Cor 3:8). The Jews were quick to apprehend this statement and reacted by preparing to stone Jesus for blasphemy because he, a man, had asserted that he was one with God. For them Jesus’ language did not mean simply agreement of thought or purpose but carried a metaphysical implication of deity. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 112)
- (v. 34) Though these people held high offices and were called “elohim—gods” (Ex. 21:6), they were only humans and would be judged for their sins. Privilege brings responsibility, and responsibility brings accountability. Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 (John 10:34–36) to defend His own claim to be the Son of God. For, if the Lord called “gods” the imperfect human judges chosen by men, how much more should Jesus Christ be called “the Son of God,” He who was set apart by the Father and sent to earth! (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, 964)
- Jesus did not mean that he and the Father are the same person, because the word for “one” in Greek is neuter. The Father and the Son are two persons in the Trinity, but they are one in essence. Given this essential oneness, the Father and Son act as one—what the Father does, the Son does, and vice versa. This is one of the clearest affirmations of Jesus’ divinity in the whole Bible. Thus Jesus is not merely a good teacher—he is God. His claim to be God was unmistakable. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 215)
The question to be answered is…
How does Jesus’ response challenge the beliefs of those confronting him in this text?
Answer…
Jesus’ response posits him as both the promised messiah, and equal in nature with the Father. He left no margin for other considerations.
The word of the day is… believe
What can we learn from Jesus about genuine belief and believers from this text?
- Proof doesn’t always lead to belief.
(Gen. 15:6; Ps. 14:1; 78:32; Mat. 26:59; Mark 14:55; John 14:11; 20:29)
Our reading at this point implies, then, that those who demanded a “clear answer” would not have believed had they been given one. A clear answer by Jesus would have become only another round of ammunition in their arsenals, spurring them on in their hostility. (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 133)
So long as the heart of man is without grace, so long we must expect to see it dislike the Gospel of Christ. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 148)
- Genuine belief is marked by listening and following.
(Jer. 7:23; Luke 6:46; 11:28; John 14:15; James 1:22-25; 1 Peter 1:14; 1 John 3:24; 5:1-5)
Just as sheep hear the voice of their own shepherd, and follow him, so do believers follow Christ. By faith they listen to His call. By faith they submit themselves to His guidance. By faith they lean on Him, and commit their souls implicitly to His direction. The ways of a shepherd and his sheep are a most useful illustration of the relation between Christ and the true Christian. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 148-149)
The sheep that belong to the Lord’s flock are characterized by obedience, recognition of the shepherd, and allegiance to him. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 112)
- Those who do believe are gifted with eternal life.
(John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 8:51; 17:3; Rom. 6:23; 8:38-39; Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Tim. 1:16; 1 John 2:25)
Eternal life is neither earned as a wage, merited as a prize, nor won as a crown. It is a free gift, sovereignly bestowed. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 551)
Conclusion… How can our faith and belief grow in light of this text?
A. Rejoice in the fact that saving anyone is ultimately Jesus’ job, not yours.
(Ps. 37:39; John 6:44; 14:6; Rom. 5:8; 6:23; Eph., 2:8-9; Titus 3:5)
The reason for the rejection of Christ is not in the evidence, but in the heart. (J.C. Macaulay, Expository Commentary on John, 131)
From the human standpoint, we become His sheep by believing, but from the divine standpoint, we believe because we are His sheep. There is a mystery here that we cannot fathom or explain, but we can accept it and rejoice (Rom. 11:33–36). God has His sheep and He knows who they are. They will hear His voice and respond. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 266)
B. Trust in Jesus’ to help preserve your faith while being diligent in the role you play.
(John 6:37; 10:27-29; Eph. 2:10; Phil. 1:6; 2:12; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 3:6; 4:11; Jude 1:24)
The protective grasp of the Shepherd’s hand wins the day only because the Shepherd’s grasp is empowered by the Father’s grasp! Since the Father is greater than all, and the Shepherd and the Father are one, every sheep may rest safely in the care of Jesus. (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 134)
C. Challenge yourself to more-fully regard and respond to Jesus’ voice in your life.
(Mark 8:34; John 8:12; 10:27; 12:26; Rom. 10:17; 12:2; Phil. 4:13; 1 Thes. 2:13)
This Gospel touches once again upon the mysteries of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. We have both the call of God and the response of faith on the part of the sheep. B. F. Westcott captures the balance well when he says we must distinguish between… the certainty of God’s promises and His infinite power on the one hand, and the weakness and variableness of man’s will on the other. If man falls at any stage in his spiritual life, it is not from want of divine grace, nor from the overwhelming power of adversaries, but from his neglect to use that which he may or may not use. We cannot be protected against ourselves in spite of ourselves. He who ceases to hear and to follow is thereby shown to be no true believer, 1 John ii. 19… The sense of the divine protection is at any moment sufficient to inspire confidence, but not to render effort unnecessary. (Westcott 1908:2:67) (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 269-270)
Worship Point…
Jesus is worthy of worship because being in very nature God, he put on flesh to save and protect those he loves.
(Ps. 32:7; Is. 41:10; Phil. 2:6-7; 2 Thes. 3:3; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 1:3; 13:6; 2 Pet. 1:4)
[Jesus] has a threefold relationship to His sheep. He has a loving relationship because He died for the sheep, as well as a living relationship because He cares for the sheep. It is also a lasting relationship, for He keeps His sheep and not a one is lost. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 266)
God is the Creator and the protector and the lover. For until I am substantially united to Him, I can never have perfect rest or true happiness, until, that is, I am so attached to Him that there can be no created thing between my God and me. (Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, 14th century)
Gospel Point…
Jesus offers full and eternal life to those who by faith listen, believe and follow him. Have you done that? Are you doing that?
Some people are naturally hesitant about the decision to accept Christ. They hold back because they don’t want to be impulsive, they wonder if they have thought it through well enough, or they are concerned about what friends and relatives might say. We must realize that indecision is rejection. Perhaps a clarifying question we can ask ourselves is: Am I looking for a clear reason to believe in Jesus or am I really looking for a clear reason not to believe in him? Our honest answer has eternal consequences. Jesus gave us many reasons to believe in him. The decision process does not have to be difficult. We can read about Jesus, think about him, listen to his words. We can reflect on what others have discovered in trusting him. We do not have to remain tentative or suspicious. We can respond to Jesus, believe in him, and love him. Many are still coming to Christ. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 219)
The two distinguishing marks of Christ’s sheep are that they recognize His voice, and they follow Him. They may be slow to hear and slow to follow, but they ultimately do it. (J.C. Macaulay, Expository Commentary on John, 131)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or life group.
- What are ways you regularly seek exposure to the voice of Jesus?
- What practices or habits might you develop that would allow you to better hear from Jesus in your life?
- What did you find most challenging about today’s text? What aspect of its implications do you find most challenging to live out?
- What aspect of following Jesus do you find most challenging at this time in your life? What might you do to change that?
Quotes to note…
The Hebrew word elohim can be translated as “god” or as “judges,” as in Exodus 21:6 and 22:8–9. It is also one of the Old Testament names for God. The Jewish rulers certainly knew their own language and they knew that Jesus was speaking the truth. If God called human judges “gods,” then why should they stone Him for applying the same title to Himself? (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 266)
Jesus used Psalm 82:6, where the Israelite judges are called gods (see also Exodus 4:16; 7:1) to counter the Jews’ charge of blasphemy. In Psalm 82, the supreme God is said to rise in judgment against those whom he calls “gods”, because they had failed to be just to the helpless and oppressed. These “gods” were those who were the official representatives and commissioned agents of God; they were the judges executing judgment for God. If they were called “gods,” how was it blasphemous for Jesus to call himself the Son of God when, in fact, he was the one the Father sanctified and sent into the world? (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 216)
The parenthetic statement “and the Scripture cannot be broken” illustrates the high regard Jesus had for the OT. Throughout this Gospel the constant assumption is that the Scripture is the revelation of God, setting the timing, content, and character of Jesus’ ministry. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 113)
Man always turns the things of God upside down. When he comes to something in the Word which is peculiarly distasteful, instead of meekly submitting to it and receiving it in simple faith because God says it, he resorts to every imaginable device to make it mean something else. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 549)
Right next to the temple, at a feast commemorating the rededication of the temple, Jesus gives his clearest teaching about his own identity. It is this identity that is the grounds for his replacement of the temple as the place where forgiveness of sins is available and God is to be met. (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 268)
FURTHER QUOTES AND RESEARCH:
22 Chanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, in which Jews since 164 B.C.E. have celebrated the victory of the Makkabim over Antiochus IV, king of Syria. This is the earliest mention of the holiday in all literature and the only mention of it in the Bible, since the Tanakh was completed before that date (the book of Daniel contains prophecy about the event celebrated). The apocryphal books, 1, 2, 3, and 4 Maccabees, present historical and other perspectives on what happened. Antiochus, recently defeated in Egypt, expressed his frustration by attacking Judea, ruthlessly slaughtering men, women and children, and invading the Temple. There he carried off the golden altar, menorahs and vessels; and to show his contempt for the God of Israel he sacrificed there a pig to Zeus. He forbade circumcision, observing Shabbat and keeping kosher, and commanded that only pigs be sacrificed in the Temple; he
himself cooked a pig in the Temple and poured its broth on the holy Torah scrolls and on the altar. Syrian officers were dispatched to enforce these cruel and blasphemous decrees. One day when the Syrian officer in Modi ‘in commanded Mattityahu HaMakkabi (Mattathias the Maccabee or Hammer), head of a family of cohanim, to sacrifice a pig, he and his five sons killed the first Jew to comply (see Ac 6: IN) and then killed the officer and his soldiers. This was the start of a rebellion. After Mattityahu’s death his son Y’hudah (Judas Maccabeus, about whom Handel wrote his oratorio so named) assembled a number of courageous Jews and led them to victory over the Syrians, first in guerilla warfare, then later in open battle. On the 25th of Kislev they rededicated the Temple and consecrated a new altar. The ner tamid (“eternal light”) was relit, but there was only enough consecrated olive oil to keep it burning for one day, and it would take a week to prepare more. By a miracle of God reported in the book of 2 Maccabees the light burned for eight days, by which time a new supply had been prepared. For this reason Jews celebrate Chanukkah for eight days, starting on Kislev 25, which can fall between November 27 and December 27. (David H. Stern, The Jewish New Testament Commentary, 186-187)
24 The verb translated “gathered around him” (ekykliJsan) means “encircled” and implies that the Jews wanted to compel Jesus to make a categorical statement of his identity. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 112)
Their demand, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly,” reveals their impatience. If he was the Messiah, they wanted him to fulfill his calling by achieving independence for the nation; if he was not the Messiah, they would look elsewhere. They could not escape the fact that his miracles (erga, “works”) exceeded the powers of any ordinary man and that his teachings carried an authority greater than that of the established religious leaders. On the other hand, he had not formally presented himself as the Messiah, nor had he evinced any political ambitions. The crowd was demanding a declaration that would either dispel an illusion or enlist their allegiance. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 112)
He charged them with unbelief because they refused the evidence he had so plainly given them. He said the reason they did not believe was that they were not his sheep. By telling them that they did not belong to his flock, he implied that it was not descent from the chosen line that was the criterion of salvation. His sheep manifested their nature by following him. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 112)
Psalm 82:6 represents God as addressing a group of beings whom he calls “gods” (Reb. elohim) and “sons of the Most High.” If, then, these terms can be applied to ordinary mortals or even angels, how could Jesus be accused of blasphemy when he applied them to himself whom the Father set apart and sent into the world on a special mission? Jesus was not offering a false claim; he was merely asserting what he was by rights. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 113)
36 Jesus unmistakably referred to himself as the Son of God. To him it was not a strained assertion but a logical statement, for he was fully aware of his relation to the Father and to the responsibility the Father had committed to him. The accusation of blasphemy seems to be utterly unreasonable in the light of that relationship. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 113)
It was winter-time (verse 22); the season of ingathering was now over; the “sun of righteousness” had completed His official circuit, and the genial warmth of summer had now given place to the season of chilling frosts. The Jews were celebrating “the feast of the dedication,” which commemorated the purification of the temple. But for the true Temple, the One to whom the temple had pointed—God tabernacling in their midst—they had no heart. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 543)
The feast of dedication was observed at Jerusalem in memorial of the purification of the Temple after it had been polluted by the idolatries of Antiochus Epiphanes. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 544)
The “feast” here referred to must be that which had been instituted by Judas Maccabaeus, on his having purified the temple after the pollution of it by Antiochus, about 165 B. C. This “feast” was celebrated every year for eight successive days in the month of December (1 Maccabees 4:52, 59), and is mentioned by Josephus (Antiq. 12:7, etc.). Thus the words, “and it was winter” enable us to identify this feast. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 544)
This tenth chapter of John closes the first main section of the fourth Gospel. From this point onwards the Lord Jesus discourses no more before the religious leaders. His public ministry was almost over. The Jews knew not their “day of visitation,” and henceforth the things which “belonged to their peace” were hidden from their eyes (Luke 19:42). (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 544)
the last half of John 10 closes the first great section of John’s Gospel, a section which has to do with the public ministry of Christ. The second section of this Gospel records His private ministry, concluding with His death and resurrection. The distinctive character of these two sections correspond exactly with the two chief purposes of our Lord’s incarnation, which were to present Himself to Israel as their promised Messiah, and to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 545)
By now, it was unmistakably plain that the religious leaders received him not, and this request of theirs for Him to tell them “plainly” or “openly” if He were the Messiah, was obviously made with no other purpose than to gain evidence that they might apprehend Him as a rebel against the Roman government. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 547)
His miraculous works—ever termed “signs” in John’s Gospel—were more than sufficient to prove Him to be the Messiah unto those who were open-minded; but yet they were not such as to make it possible for the prejudiced to refuse their assent. This is ever God’s way of dealing with moral agents. There are innumerable tokens for the existence of a Divine Creator, sufficient to render all men “without excuse”; yet are these tokens of such a nature as not to have banished atheism from the earth. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 547)
When God arraigned Adam, the guilty culprit answered, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Gen. 3:12). So it is today. Instead of tracing the cause of unbelief to his own evil heart, the sinner blames God for the insufficiency of convincing evidence. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 548)
A believer may fall, but he shall not be utterly cast down (Ps. 37:24). Quite impossible is it for a sheep to become a goat, for a man who has been born again to be unborn. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 551)
“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him” (John 10:31). This is quite sufficient to settle the meaning of the previous verse. These Jews had no difficulty in perceiving the force of what our Lord had just said to them. They instantly recognized that He had claimed absolute equality with the Father, and to their ears this was blasphemy. Instead of saying anything to correct their error, if error it was, Christ went on to say that which must have confirmed it. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 554)
“The meaning and force of our Lord’s argument is obvious. If, in a book which you admit to be of Divine authority, and all whose expressions are perfectly faultless, men which have received a Divine communication to administer justice to the people of God are called ‘gods’ and sons of the Highest; is it not absurd to bring against One who has a higher commission than they (One who had been sanctified and sent by the Father), and who presented far more evidence of His commission, a charge of blasphemy, because He calls Himself ‘the Son of God’? You dare not charge blasphemy on the Psalmist;— why do you charge it on Me?… He reasoned with the Jews on their own principles. Were the Messiah nothing more than you expect Him to be, to charge One who claims Messiahship with blasphemy, because He calls Himself the Son of God, is plainly gross inconsistency. Your magistrates are called God’s sons, and may not your Messiah claim the same title? (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 556-557)
There are a thousand evidences that the Holy Scriptures are the inspired Word of God, yet are there multitudes who believe them not. There is a great host of unimpeachable witnesses who testify daily to the Saviourhood of the Lord Jesus, yet the great majority of men continue in their sins. (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 548)
The “Feast of the Dedication” (Hanukkah, “the feast of lights”) takes place in December, near the time of the Christian Christmas celebration. The feast commemorates the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in 164 BC, after it had been desecrated by the Romans. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 266)
The word one does not suggest that the Father and the Son are identical persons. Rather, it means that they are one in essence: the Father is God and the Son is God, but the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. He is speaking about unity, not identity. (See John 17:21–24 for similar language.) (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 266)
It is worth noting that John the Baptist’s witness was still bearing fruit long after he was dead! His witness to Jesus Christ led many to trust the Savior. John was not a miracle worker, but he was a faithful witness who pointed to Jesus Christ. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, 267)
The true Christian has surely no right to wonder if he meets with the same kind of treatment as our blessed Lord. In fact, the more like he is to his Master, and the more holy and spiritual his life, the more probable is it that he will have to endure hatred and persecution. Let him not suppose that any degree of consistency will deliver him from this cross. It is not his faults, but his graces, which call forth the enmity of men. The world hates to see anything of God’s image. The children of the world are vexed and pierced in conscience when they see others better than themselves. Why did Cain hate his brother Abel, and slay him? “Because,” says John, “his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” (1 John 3:12.) Why did the Jews hate Christ? Because He exposed their sins and false doctrines; and they knew in their own hearts that he was right and they were wrong. “The world,” said our Lord, “hates Me, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” (John 7:7.) Let Christians make up their minds to drink the same cup, and let them drink it patiently and without surprise. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 157)
There are difficulties in Scripture, we need not shrink from conceding, things hard to explain, hard to reconcile, and hard to understand. But in almost all these difficulties, the fault, we may justly suspect, is not so much in Scripture as in our own weak minds. (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John Vol.2, 158-159)
- I and the Father are one – Not by consent of will only, but by unity of power, and consequently of nature. Are – This word confutes Sabellius, proving the plurality of persons: one – This word confutes Arius, proving the unity of nature in God. Never did any prophet before, from the beginning of the world, use any one expression of himself, which could possibly be so interpreted as this and other expressions were, by all that heard our Lord speak. Therefore if he was not God he must have been the vilest of men. (John Wesley, Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, 249)
But the problem all along had not been a lack of clarity about the identity of Jesus. His teaching (in which He presumed to know the full “will of God) which offered salvation through faith in himself, which offered himself as light, life and bread, and which gave Abraham reason to rejoice … all of these powerful evidences should have made it clear that Jesus understood himself to be the unique bearer of salvation. (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 133)
Actually, their charge was largely right, and fundamentally flawed. They had correctly concluded that the sort of unity Jesus claimed with the Father transcended that harmony with God enjoyed by an obedient, godly human being. In claiming to be “one with the Father,” Jesus had crossed a line of propriety which no person with the right reverence for God would approach. But however clearly they had perceived this radical drift in Jesus’ statement, they misconstrued it at a deeper level. Such a claim to unity, they imagined, represented rivalry with the Father, the haughty boast of one who would make himself out to be God. Had this been the case, the threatened stoning of Jesus would have been fully justified. But Jesus, as the Gospel has described Him throughout, rather than being a mere man, was the eternal Son of God, beloved by, obedient to, and dependent upon His Father. (Joseph Dongell, John: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, 136)
The last scene in Jesus’ public ministry takes place at the Feast months after the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a time of great hope, for it marked the last national deliverance. It also celebrated the restoration and purification of the temple, particularly the altar, by Judas Maccabeus three years after its desecration by the Greek general Antiochus Epiphanes in 178B.C. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 186)
If these Jews cannot believe in Jesus, then they should at least test the credibility of His works, accept them for what they are, and through that insight, come to know that the Father has sent Him, for the Father is standing behind His works. (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 189)
This encounter is the last public teaching before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which is the beginning of his Passion. (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 267)
This teaching occurs at the Feast of Dedication (v. 22), about two months after the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast commemorates the rededication of the temple in 164 B.C. (1 Macc 4:36-59; 2 Macc 10:1-8; Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 12.316-26). The Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes had forbidden Jews to continue to practice their religion the temple in Jerusalem and sacrifice was offered on this altar on the 25th of Chislev, 167 B.C. This led to a revolt known as the Maccabean Revolt. It was initiated by a priest named Mattathias and then carried on under the leadership of his son Judas, known as Maccabeus, “the hammer” (1 Macc 1—3; 2 Macc 5—9; Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 12.248-315). The revolt was successful, and the temple was restored and rededicated, with proper sacrifice being offered once again, beginning on the 25th of Chislev, 164 B.C. An eight-day feast was held and has continued each year from that time, and it is known today as Hanukkah. (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 267-268)
The problem lies not in his lack of clarity, but in their lack of faith (v. 25), for they are not his sheep (v. 26). In this way Jesus continues to work with the imagery of sheep and shepherd, and now he applies it to his opponents. (Rodney A. Whitacre, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: John, 269)
Many people who ask for proof do so for wrong reasons. Jesus had never plainly told the Jews in Jerusalem that he was the Christ because the term Messiah or Christ connoted a military leader or political liberator for them. Therefore, Jesus wisely avoided using that term. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 213)
Jesus’ hand provides such powerful security that he pledges the full power of God to fulfill it. “No one can snatch them out of my hand” shows the impossibility of true believers being lost. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 214)
How, then, had the Jews failed to perceive the testimony of the works of Jesus? Not because the works were lacking in evidential value, but because of a native alienation of their hearts from Him. (J.C. Macaulay, Expository Commentary on John, 131)
The Scriptures, which cannot be broken, call them gods who were hearers of the Word of God. If mortal men were so dignified with the divine title, how much more should He, the sanctified and sent One, be allowed His claim to the unique title of “the Son of God” (10:36)? There is no modification of the claim here, only the appeal to Scripture was an effectual answer to the charge of blasphemy. (J.C. Macaulay, Expository Commentary on John, 132)
