I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me

 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 answered 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 our current readings, Jesus has been at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  On the last, great day of that Feast, Jesus preached to the crowds and also disputed with the religious leaders.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus continued:  "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 it 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?"   John is writing of the leadership when he uses the term the Jews.  It is important for us to know that there was a division among them, they are not united in their condemnation of Jesus.  My study bible says that 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."  The Feast of Dedication took place about three months after the Feast of Tabernacles.  (John's Gospel reports Jesus' time at the Feast of Tabernacles from 7:1-10:21.)   The Feast of Tabernacles is an autumn harvest festival; the Feast of Dedication takes place in winter and is also known as the "Festival of Lights" (also called Hanukka).  It is a commemoration of 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, Israel's past leaders were commemorated, many of whom were themselves shepherds.   The religious leaders come to Jesus immediately, and demand that He reveal to them if He is the Christ.

Jesus answered 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."  Jesus replies that both what He has told them and the works He has done have already answered their question.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind or work the miracles that bear witness to His identity.  Likewise, my study bible adds, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as Christ did (7:46; 9:21).  The phrase as I said to you gives us indication that these are the same Pharisees whom Christ had addressed three months earlier at the Feast of Tabernacles (10:1-5).

Jesus sets the example for us:  His revelation of His identity is in the works that He does in His Father's name; they bear witness of Him.  And what He has told them, the words He has said, they also bear witness to His identity.  So He sets the tone for us as His followers, both what we say and what we do should reflect our own identity as followers of Christ.  How do we act in His name?  How do we bear witness to the love of God the Father in our own hearts?   He sets the example so that we should "like Him."  In the Sermon on the Mount, He has told us, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  In John's Gospel, on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus has declared, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (see this reading).  We must think of this light as the great lamps at the Feast of Tabernacles, a great flame.  Flame is easily shared and spread from one place to another.  So through our faith we may carry that flame, that light, from one place to another, as He shares His light with us, just as in Christ lives the bright flame of God -- even the same that guided the Israelites in the dark through the search for the Promised Land.   Our words and works shall bear out that flame in the world as our own identity, as Christ's did.  Our faith is to be lived.  A flame is a bundle of energy, burning, living, at work all the time.  It puts out light, and so our work is to bear this light and express it into the world.  Jesus tells us, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house" (Matthew 5:14-15).  How do we let that light shine through us, as He's taught?  There is but one way that makes sense.  We stoke that flame within us so that it becomes all things in us, burning away what we do not need, and illuminating everything around us as it casts it light.  Our flame within is that which unites us with God who is the true light, and it is enhanced and brightened and fed through faith, through prayer and love, all the things that Jesus does and teaches us through the Gospels.  For the earliest hearers of the Gospel, these words were given for this light to shine in a world hostile to His faith.  We, too, may live in a world of great plurality, and the light is also to shine to all, particularly in the form of the fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  Let us remember to let our light shine by feeding this flame, keeping it bright and growing, and also by allowing it to do its work in us.  So shall our identity shine and glorify our Father who is in heaven through words and works -- just as He did.  If we are truly His sheep and know His voice, we follow Him.