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Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus told them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone 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 My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."
- John 10:19-30
In Saturday's reading, Jesus was continuing His dialogue on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, at the temple in Jerusalem. He taught: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes if from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?" Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" This is the end of the passage regarding His dialogue with the leadership (and many who believed) at the Feast of Tabernacles. We see the divisions; even among the leadership, there is not unanimity, at all, regarding their opinion of Jesus. We recall that "opening the eyes of the blind" refers to the sixth sign in John's Gospel, Jesus' healing of a man blind from birth at the Feast of Tabernacles (see the readings As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world and One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see). My study bible tells us: "Those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by the signs, but perceive the holiness of His words."
Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." My study bible explains that the Feast of Dedication took place about three months after the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Dedication is known as the Festival of Lights (also called Hanukkah). It commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it in 167 BC (see 1 Maccabees 1-4). At this festival, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, many of whom were themselves shepherds. The term "the Jews," as used in John's Gospel, refers to the religious leadership.
Jesus told them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me." My study bible notes: "Both what Christ told them and the works He had already done have already answered their question. Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind or perform these miracles that bear witness to Him. Likewise, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as Christ had."
"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Jesus tells them, "as I said to you," referring to His dialogue at the fall festival the Feast of Tabernacles (see Saturday's reading, I am the Good Shepherd).
"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone 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 My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." My study bible says here that Jesus responds to their question by revealing Himself to be fully God: One means one in nature or essence. He is God before all ages, and He remains God after the Incarnation and for all eternity. The plural verb are indicates two distinct Persons, while confirming a continuous unity." In tomorrow's reading, we will see how the leadership responds, recognizing His claim of divinity.
As events unfold in John's Gospel, we see also Jesus' emphasis "unfolding" or growing. There is a constant stream of thought here that refers us back to His love: His love, as Good Shepherd, for the sheep. That is, those who know His voice, those who know Him and are known by Him. In fact, He has said that He knows and calls each by name. This is at once an intimate relationship, and a "group" relationship of sheep to shepherd, even those who will come to Him from many disparate flocks. There is the promise of unity here in His protection and care: it is the Father who has given to Him the sheep who know His voice and whose names He knows, and He promises that He will not lose even one of them. He's the good shepherd who will go after even one stray. But we're given a promise here, that rests on His claim to divinity, that this holding and keeping of the sheep extends not just to our worldly lives, but to something much greater and infinitely more potent. It is life "of the age(s)" so to speak. That is, a life that survives the temporal quality we know, into a promise of more life to come. His divinity allows this to be so; His promise of life everlasting is also a promise of life in abundance, a quality we can't measure. We simply know this promise, this covenant, and that both His and the power of the Father will maintain this hold, this power to keep and to preserve, so that none of us is lost. It is at once a statement both regarding the grandeur of divinity beyond our understanding (even beyond the ages or cycles of time we know), and infinitely greater than the kind of life that we know. When Jesus says that "I and My Father are one," it's not just a statement of divinity, but rather an emphasis on the promise He makes to the sheep; that He is fully equipped with the power to carry out that promise as Good Shepherd, with all the power and might of a universal God that is all at once in this relationship with us as well, and knows each of us by name. Jesus does not need to declare His divinity except in service to His sheep, the ones who know Him and hear His voice, and who are each known by Him. From there, it is up to each one to discern and declare whose "sheep" they are, whose flock they belong to. So, how do you "hear" His voice? Do you feel that you are known, and loved as precious to the Shepherd? His sacrifice teaches us of His love for the sheep.
