If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him

 

 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 the one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in the 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."  

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  

 

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

 

- John 10:19–42 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day autumn festival.  It is the final year of His life.  Many of His memorable teachings took place against the images and commemorations during this Festival, which are recorded in John 7:1-10:21.   In our recent readings, Jesus has been disputing withe the religious authorities.  Yesterday we read that Jesus 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 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 the one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  Once again, we recall that the term "the Jews" is used in John's Gospel as a political label, to designate the religious rulers, and not the people.  Here that is made evidently clear, as there is a division among these members of the leadership who have been disputing with Jesus in the temple.  Some plot again Him, and say He has a demon and is mad.  But others question, asking, "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"   My study Bible comments that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by the signs, but perceive the holiness of His words ("These are not the words of the one who has a demon").

 

 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in the Jerusalem, and it was winter.  The Feast of Dedication took place approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles.  It was known as the Festival of Lights (also called Hanukkah).  My study Bible explains that it commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it in 167 BC (see 1 Maccabees 1-4).  We recall from yesterday's reading (above) that, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd.  At the Feast of Dedication, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, many of whom were themselves shepherds.  

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."  Both what Christ told them and the works He had done already answered their question, my study Bible notes.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind (see this reading, in which Jesus healed a man blind from birth, the sixth sign of seven in John's Gospel) or perform these signs that bear witness to Christ.  Moreover, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as Christ did (John 7:46; 10:21).

"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."  My study Bible remarks that Christ's words, "As I said to you," indicate that these are the same Pharisees whom Christ addressed three months prior (see John 10:1-5, from yesterday's reading, above).

"I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus responds to their question by revealing Himself to be fully God.  My study Bible explains that one means one in nature or essence.  He is God before all ages (John 1:1), and He remains God after the Incarnation and for all eternity.  The plural verb are (in "I and the Father are one") indicates two distinct Persons, while at the same time affirming a continuous unity.  These leaders clearly recognize the claim of divinity, and therefore they accuse Jesus of blasphemy.

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jesus cites Psalm 82:6 ("I said, 'You are gods'").  My study Bible explains that people who receive God's grace in faith will partake of God's divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and thus can rightly be called gods.  My study Bible quotes St. John Chrysostom, who comments that Christ is effectively saying, "If those who have received this honor by grace are not guilty for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?"  Additionally, Jesus again refers to the works He does as testimony to that divinity.

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.  As Christ goes voluntarily and according to His own will to His Passion, these accusers are not able to arrest Him until He is ready (John 7:30; 8:20; see also Luke 4:28-30).  Let us note the many who believed in Him there.

In today's reading, Jesus says to the religious leaders:  "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  In these words, it seems to me that one can hear Jesus doing His best to save even these leaders who oppose Him, right to the last minute.  Here, in this confrontation, He is at the Feast of Dedication, a winter festival (we know it commonly as Hanukkah), which is taking place during the final year of Christ's earthly life.  When the Passover comes, it will be time for His final entry into Jerusalem, on what we know as Palm Sunday.  But here, these words seem to plead for their faith -- not to save His life, for He already knows He will go to the Cross, but to save theirs.  He is offering to all the people, even these most arrayed against Him and who plot against Him, an abundant life, an eternal life, if they can but believe and come into communion with the Father in this way.  He offers them the witness of the works that He does.  These are "signs" with which these religious leaders, experts in Scripture and Jewish spiritual tradition, must be already familiar.  They are signs which they are abundantly capable to recognize in this spiritual and religious context, but they do not, and they will not.  What this suggests is that this is, indeed, Jesus' deepest need, His most fervent desire.  He seeks to save all, to bring all into communion with Him to the Father.  In yesterday's reading, He said to 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."  He is the door, the gate, to the more abundant and eternal life that is offered, and they have but to heed the signs and take faith from that recognition.  So many have understood the spirit and truth in His words, even among these leaders.  There are those who say, "These are not the words of the one who has a demon."  And they ask about the signs,  "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  Three times in yesterday's reading, Jesus reiterates that He will die for the "one flock," for the sheep.  He finally says, "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."  There can be no doubt, therefore, that He knows He is going to His death, and that as He does, therefore, His greatest desire is to save all those whom He can -- and to offer to these religious leaders the salvation of communion through Him with the Father for the promise of abundant life.  He is not pleading for His own sake, or for His own life, but for theirs.  So let us consider the depth of His love, His fervent wish that all be saved.  For this must be the deepest command of all, the depth of Christ's priorities above all things, and the reason behind all things.  When we go through difficulties, if we survive even our own mistakes and errors, when we are tempted to think of our lives as unneeded, unwanted, discarded, or tainted, we should think about this.  For Christ wants most fervently for each one of His sheep to be one with Him and the Father, for the abundant life He promises, and that trumps every objection and every obstacle.  That fervent love and desire can overcome anything.  Let us never give up on that love, and hold fast to it, above all things.  

 

 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow 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 Saturday's reading, Jesus continued His dialogue with the Pharisees, after having healed a man blind from birth.  He told them, "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 is 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?"  We recall that Jesus has been disputing with the religious leaders.  Chapters 7 - 9 have been concerned with events at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival, and the Gospel has begun reporting the events of Jesus' final year of earthly life.  My study Bible comments here that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by the signs, but perceive the holiness of His words.   During this Feast of Tabernacles, the leaders had sent temple police to arrest Him, but they returned having failed to do so.  Their response when question as to why they had not arrested Him:  "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:46).  Jesus Himself has taught, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).  

 

 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 approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21), and was known as the "Festival of Lights," which we know also as 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, my study Bible explains, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, many of whom were themselves shepherds.  We recall again that, for the greater part, John's use of the term the Jews is akin to a political context, used to designate the religious leaders, not the people.  All the people mentioned here in the text are Jews, including Jesus, His followers, and the author of this Gospel, the disciple John Zebedee.

 

 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."  My study Bible comments that both what Christ told them and the works He had done have already answered their question.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind (particularly one born blind; see John 9:32), or perform the signs that beat witness to Christ's identity.  Likewise, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of the people as Christ has (John 7:46).  

"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you."  My study Bible points out that "as I said to you" indicates these are the same Pharisees whom Christ addressed three months earlier at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 10:1-5).  

 

"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."  Once again, Jesus returns to His repeated theme of communion with the Father.  His mission and power are given by the Father.  This communion is so close that He says, "I and My Father are one."  Here and in the verses that will follow, Christ confirms that He is fully God, for one means one in nature or essence, while are indicates two distinct Persons, while confirming a continuous unity.

In today's reading, we're given both a sense of the union Christ has with the Father, and also the power of Christ's words.  What is indicated seems to be the seamless unity of both of these things.  The power of Christ's words -- and indeed, of His actions and ministry -- is completely tied in to His union with the Father.  It is this spiritual reality that informs His words and gives them power.  Above is quoted once again Christ's own statement regarding His words:  "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."  We know that Father and Son are united; we also understand through our theology in the Church, and Christ's words, that where one member of the Trinity is present, so is the full Trinity.  Where Father and Son are united, the Spirit is also present.  In chapter 4, Jesus taught the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well:  "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).  From this also we may understand the united power of the Trinity itself, and the words of Christ.  The power of spirit and truth is present in His words, because they come from the Father; but also the Father is seeking those who will worship in spirit and in truth, and so we may also be united in this communion as well, and through His word.  How else can Christ's words penetrate the heart, and come to us with recall when we need them, even if their meaning is not completely clear to us?  They call to us through this power of spirit and truth, and especially to that part of ourselves that will respond, be drawn in, and seek to know more.  In this our hearts respond, the center of ourselves, that "better part" that is drawn to what will guide us through difficult circumstances in life, where what's good and what's not good may not be easy to discern to our immediate conscious minds amidst the jumbled impulses of fears and doubt and dread.  Life offers us all kinds of circumstances that leave us seemingly in the lurch, so to speak:  difficult choices, unknown roads or dilemmas, without clear answers how to solve our problems -- or even what might be right or wrong.  But the words of Christ, if we are not overwhelmed by circumstances or "choked by the cares of this world" (see the parable of the Sower), will echo in us, call to us.  They have a way of echoing in our minds, coming back to us at times that are seemingly incongruous or unrelated.  But the words remain powerful for us because they remain spirit and truth.  They are part of an energy that does not die because it is immortal, coming from God.  And this is what we need to remember.  We have been through many circumstances of history since these words were spoken, but they have a meaning that transcends circumstances for us and endures through time.  They will find their way to us through our own challenged lives, through difficulties both modern and ancient, even in the midst of a world no one at Christ's time could have imagined.  But let us consider the problems that remain for us today, and were present for Christ's earliest followers:  persecution, powerful and ruthless states with the latest technology for manipulation and coercion, popular movements, rumors of all kinds, ambitious politicians, and even false prophets and wolves who dress themselves in sheep's clothing.  These things don't change even if they change appearances and slogans, for they are all still with us, and were present in the extreme for the early Church -- and maybe especially for these first followers of Christ we read about in the Gospels.  Whatever comes our way, we have these words of spirit and truth. As St. Peter put it, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).   Together with St. Peter, let us be the sheep who hear His voice, today, as yesterday, and also tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods'"?

 

 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."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

 

- John 10:19-42 

 

In our present readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (John 7:1-10:21), and this is the continuing setting for the beginning of our reading today.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued in His dialogue with the religious leaders, after healing the man blind from birth (the sixth of seven signs given in John's Gospel).  He said, "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 whoever 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?"  My study bible comments that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by the signs, but perceive the holiness of Christ's words.  In this statement, "These are not the words of one who has a demon," there is yet another acknowledgement, as runs throughout John's Gospel, of Christ as Logos, the Word, and His relation to all of Scripture, which is also understood to be the Word of God.  "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure" (John 3:34).

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 approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21, the section we have just covered).  The Feast of Dedication is also known as "The Festival of Lights" and Hanukkah.   My study bible explains that 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, Israel's past leaders were commemorated -- many of whom were themselves shepherds, a theme Christ has recently expanded upon regarding Himself (see yesterday's reading, above).   The term the Jews is used as a political term in John's Gospel, indicating the religious leaders, who continue to question Jesus.

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 the 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."  Christ repeats His assertions from the previous encounters with the religious leaders, that both what He told them and the works He had already done answered their question regarding His identity as Christ.  According to the Scriptures, only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind, or perform these miracles that bear witness to Jesus' identity.  Also, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as did Christ (John 7:46, 9:21).   Jesus uses the phrase "as I said to you," indicating that these are the same Pharisees whom He had addressed three months prior (John 10:1-5).  Once again (as in yesterday's reading, above), Jesus emphasizes that He is the good shepherd, whose sheep know His voice, and He knows them.

"I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."   Jesus responds to the question regarding His identity by revealing Himself to be fully God.  My study bible explains that one (in the statement, "I and My Father are one") means one in nature or essence.  Christ is God before all ages (John 1:1), and remains God after the Incarnation and for all eternity.  The plural verb are indicates two distinct Persons, while confirming a continuous unity.  The religious rulers clearly recognize this as a claim of divinity and therefore accuse Him of blasphemy.  

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jesus quotes from Psalm 82:6 ("I said, 'You are gods' ").  My study bible comments that people who receive God's grace in faith will partake of God's divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and can thereby rightly be called gods.   St. John Chrysostom writes that Christ is effectively saying, "If those who have received this honor by grace are not guilty for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?" 

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  As Christ again affirms His divinity, they sought again to seize Him.  But because He goes to His Passion voluntarily and according to His own will (John 10:17-18), they cannot arrest Him until He is ready (John 7:30, 8:20; see also Luke 4:28-30).  

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.  Jesus goes to the region on the other side of the Jordan river (see this map and the area marked "Bethany East of the Jordan"; see also John 1:28).  Because of the preparation of John the Baptist, and the witness of the works done by Christ, many believed in Him there. 

As today is the day on which we also commemorate the Annunciation, we can consider the event of the Annunciation also in light of today's reading.   The most explicit text we have on the Annunciation is Luke 1:26-38.   The archangel Gabriel greets Mary with the following words:  "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"  The command, Rejoice! (in Greek,
Χαῖρε/Chaῖré; also meaning "be joyful") has also been translated into English as "Hail!" and remains to this day a formal greeting in Greek.  Possibly the most interesting Greek word in the original text is κεχαριτωμένη/kecharitomeni.   This single word, used here as a title for Mary by Gabriel, means "full of grace."  It is also related to the archangel's greeting, "Rejoice!" as in fact, the deep root of both words (χαρ-) is the one meaning "grace" or "favor from God."  In Greek, χαρα means joy, and χαρις is grace; they are cognate (related) words sharing this same root.  According to Strong's definitions, this command to rejoice means "to delight in God's grace ('rejoice') – literally, to experience God's grace (favor), be conscious (glad) for His grace."  She is the one who is "highly-favored because receptive to God's grace" (also quoted from Strong's commentary, on the title Gabriel uses for Mary).  In today's reading, Jesus says of Psalm 86:2 that the statement "You are gods" was made to the people because the word of God came to them.   In the Annunciation, the word of God comes to Mary, and the great good news (literally the gospel, or εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion) in the Greek) is that Christ the Word will be born from her into this world.    For this, she carries another title in the Eastern world, Theotokos, or "God-bearer."   In our current place in John's Gospel, Jesus has taught that He is the good shepherd, that He and the Father are one, that He has been sanctified and sent into the world by the Father, that we who are His sheep hear His voice, and that He knows us by name.  His works testify also to His identity.  But as we celebrate the Annunciation to Mary, let us consider the joy of the word, the same joy in the blessings God gives to our lives, and what it is to receive both the word and the blessings of God.  The definition of the title given to Mary by the angel suggests that she is "highly-favored because receptive to God's grace" (my italics added).   In this sense, she herself is a stand-in for all of God's people, and thereby the Church has revered her as the greatest among the saints, encompassing both the New and the Old Testaments.   Mary is the one who was capable of receiving such grace, and shows us the example of what it is to bear the word (and literally to bear the Word!) into the world.  She is the one who heard first, and accepted this grace in her extraordinary capacity, the place of honor at being able to receive.  How do we receive the word?  How do we receive Him who is the Word?  Are we capable of receiving the grace at the voice of the Good Shepherd, as He calls us by name?  Do we know Him as we are known?

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow 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 recent readings, Jesus has been at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (beginning in chapter 7, with this reading).  He has had extensive dialogue and confrontation with the leadership.   On the last day of the Feast, they attempted to stone Him.  As He passed from the temple As He passed from the temple,  He met a man blind from birth whose sight He healed.  The leadership questioned both the healed blind man, and later Christ Himself.  In Friday's reading, Jesus spoke again about His identity, and His mission.  In Saturday's reading, 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 fleas; 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 up 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?"   My study bible says here that those who respond in faith to Christ are not merely impressed by the signs, but they perceive the holiness of His words.  John's Gospel opens up our eyes, as well, to the true texture of this movement, and of faith. There are those who respond, and those who do not -- and John reveals also the divisions among the people as well as the leadership.

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  From chapter 7 up until this point, the events unfolded at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight day autumn harvest festival, which is the Feast of the Coming Kingdom and commemorates the time Israel dwelt in tabernacles (or tents), led by Moses.  Here events begin at the winter festival.  The Feast of Dedication took place approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles (7:1-10:21).  It is also known as the "Festival of Lights" (and as Hanukkah).  This festival 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, says my study bible, the leaders of Israel's past were commemorated, many of whom were shepherds themselves.

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."  Once again members of the religious leadership in Jerusalem surround  Christ and demand to know plainly His identity.  My study bible says that both what Christ told them and the works He had done have already answered their question.  Only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind (as part of prophesy) or perform the miracles that bear witness to Him.  In addition, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as did Christ (see 7:26, 9:21).

"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."  The phrase as I said to you indicates these are the same Pharisees whom Christ addressed at the Feast of Tabernacles three months earlier (10:1-5).  Jesus once again denotes the deeply personal qualities of the Son:  His sheep hear His voice.  He knows them, and they follow Him.  He has come to give life abundantly (see Saturday's reading, above), even eternal life.   And those who are His remain His; through the power of the Father, no one is able to snatch them away.

"I and My Father are one."   Jesus reveals Himself as fully God.  To be one means one in nature or essence.  The plural verb are, my study bible points out, means two distinct Persons, but confirms at the same time a continuous unity. 

Jesus reveals the unity of faith:  it is a unity of persons.  There are the divine Persons of the Trinity, and there are the persons who are the sheep.  The sheep are dependent upon Christ and grow in Him for an abundance of life, even an eternal life.  The Son and Father are two Persons, but one in essence and unity.  John's Gospel gives us a picture of the growth of the understanding of the Church, and the depth of love and relationship given by Christ in His words and teaching.  John also reflects the early Church's experience of the work of the Third Person of the Trinity, God the Holy the Spirit.   We are given deep insights into faith and meaning.  St. Paul speaks also of the unity of faith in the Letter to the Ephesians (see Ephesians 4:11-16), when he speaks of the Church as one body having many members, each with their own part but working as one and growing to the unity of what it means to fully mature spiritually in Christ, the true fullness of personhood.  Each of these teachings gives us insight into the fullness of faith as a unified power, coming from the Father, but bringing growth to each through this depth of relatedness, of love.  We read Christ's words about each sheep.  In Saturday's reading (above), Jesus says of Himself as the good shepherd, that the sheep hear the voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  Those who know Him and respond to His voice are each called by name; that is the true personal identity -- and He leads those who hear Him into the fullness of what that means.  In today's reading, He makes clear His total unity with the Father, and His sharing in the power of the Father to hold and keep each one that is truly His.  No one can break that bond.  Again, in the Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul says that we are led "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up i all things into Him who is the head -- Christ" (Ephesians 4:13-15).  John's Gospel lays all the groundwork for this understanding, stating clearly the power of God and the work of the Son, and the relationships between Father and Son, Good Shepherd and sheep.  May we be blessed with that understanding and the fullness of the faith in the knowledge of His love and truth.  That is where we begin for real life and the fullness of that life.

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

 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 then out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works have I shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."

 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

- John 10:19-42

In our current readings, it is the end of the Feast of Tabernacles and Jesus is in Jerusalem at the temple.  This is a fall harvest, and it is approximately six months before Jesus' Passion.  Jesus is in dialogue with the leadership, who have already sought to stone Him, and to find accusations against Him.   He has just restored the sight of a man blind from birth (the sixth sign in John's Gospel), which the Pharisees challenge.  Most importantly, they dispute Jesus' authenticity and authority.  Jesus said to them, "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 whoever 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?"  Again, it's important to note that the term "the Jews" as used in John's Gospel is indicating the religious leadership of the time, and not the Jewish people.  My study bible says of this passage, "Those who respond is 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 text moves us to the next holy day festival, the Feast of Dedication.  This was a commemoration of the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it (167 BC -- see 1 Maccabees 1-4).  This festival took place in winter, approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles.  It is also known as the Festival of Lights -- also called Hanukkah.

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."  My study bible says that both what Christ told them and the works He's done answered their question.  It notes, "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 (7:46; 9:21)."

"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 then out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works have I shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."   Jesus refers back to His words given at the Feast of Tabernacles (as we've just read), and thereby we know that He is speaking to the same Pharisees again now.  My study bible says that in responding to their question, Jesus reveals 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."   His audience here clearly recognizes that He is claiming divinity; they thus accuse Him of blasphemy.

 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  My study bible says that people who receive God's grace in faith will partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and can rightly be called gods.  According to St. John Chrysostom, Christ is effectively saying, "If those who have received this honor by grace are not guilty for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?"  His works are evidence enough of that nature.

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.   My study bible says that because Christ is going to His Passion voluntarily and according to His own will, His accusers cannot arrest Him until He is ready (7:30; 8:20; see also Luke 4:28-30).   The text tells us that outside Jerusalem, where John first baptized, there are those who believe, and follow what John taught about Jesus.  The text is never without reminders that there are many who believe; this is even true of many among the leadership as well (see John 12:42), some of whom play prominent roles in this Gospel as believers (Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea).

We have to think, sometimes, that Jesus' questions to the leadership take on an air (I imagine) of near-exasperation.  He's saying everything so that they may "see," just as He has healed the man blind from birth.  That healing, the sixth sign of seven given in John's Gospel, is truly spectacular by Scriptural standards, as it was unheard of for a man blind from birth to be healed, to have sight restored.  But still, they don't want to see.  It sounds to my ears almost like a desperate last-minute plea here from Jesus (who knows when His time will come, a few months later on), when He tells them, "Though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."    If we consider that it is their salvation He's pleading for, we may understand Christ a little better, and we may see what is essential to Him in this mission.  He's here to save, and they don't want to be saved.  They don't want to accept what is right in front of them.  We have to believe, in accordance with the Gospel, that He understands what is in store for them -- and for the people -- as a result of these choices.  That's part of why everything goes back to the Father.  Perhaps (and again, I use my imagination here) it's unthinkable to the human Jesus that this leadership can be so wrong, so wrong-headed, so headed for a dangerous and disastrous path.  But Jesus' faith in the Father is complete, and the journey of His ministry began with this faith, and as it has continued this faith has deepened.  The subject of Jesus' relationship to the Father, and the Father's role in this ministry, has played an increasing part in the words Jesus teaches to the world, especially in dialogue with the leadership.  There are those who are His sheep -- and He will lose none of them, because of the power of the Father, and the sureness of that faith that Christ places in the Father.  But think of the dangers present in human terms:  how the people can be misled by a leadership that is not willing to open their eyes to the evidence of even the works He's done, the signs that are present here.  One may imagine all kinds of human temptations to fear, to fear the failure of mission, and the outcome of the disasters that are ahead (such as the siege of Jerusalem, which He predicts in the Gospels) or the open rejection by the leadership and their swaying of the people, and His understanding of His Passion and death to come.  When Jesus tells Thomas and the rest of the Apostles, "Blessed are those that have not seen, and yet believed," later on in this Gospel, we can understand that He's keeping in mind all those who will come later, and all those who recognize themselves as His sheep.  All these human fears regarding His mission of salvation must be at work, and yet it is His own faith in the Father that is complete and triumphant.  He says in today's reading, once again, that "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."  And He links this always with the Father and the Father's work in us and in His mission:  "No one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."   Jesus' faith in the face of so many possibilities and potentials for disaster becomes a great polestar for each of us.  Just think of all the disasters that can happen, that might happen, that He knows are going to happen -- including the scattering of the disciples, the betrayal of one of His own chosen twelve, even the denial of Peter who also gave us the confession of faith.  It's impossible to imagine the pressures of this mission, and the factors that He knows are present.  And yet, in this speech what I hear is the desire to save, the constant reasoning and defense has nothing to do with Jesus and His identity in the sense that He doesn't need anyone to affirm that He is the Son.  He is, was, and always will be the Son; only the Father can determine that.  We have to see in His repeated remonstrance with the leadership His own choice to repeatedly endeavor to save, to attempt to give every opportunity for them to do what is in fact best for them.  In His plea for them to at least allow the works He does to speak for Him, even if they don't want to accept Him, is the plea for them to evade disaster and to find the pearl of great price, even a life of abundance.  He is doing His mission, which is to save and not to condemn.   It may be hard to recognize, as we so often layer our own experience and lives onto the words we hear, but when we take into consideration Jesus' point of view, we have to hear these words as pleas of love -- as remonstrance to get these "children" to do what will be best for them.  It must be clear that whatever blindness remains is deliberate, and persistent in the face of all opportunity to change, to repent.  We have to believe that our own lives are similar -- that the One who knocks is always waiting for us to open the door; the One who is the Door is always wanting us to enter.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow 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 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.