The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
February, 1957
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Twenty-five)

JESUS AT JERUSALEM DURING THE FEAST OF DEDICATION

According to Leviticus, chapter 23, there were six feasts in Israel's religious calendar. These were as follows: Passover, fourteenth day of the first month; Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), fifty days later in the third month; Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month; and finally, seven days after Yom Kippur was the Feast of Tabernacles, also called the feast of ingathering.

Originally, Israel had the old agricultural year, the beginning of which, Rosh Hashanah, was in the fall—falling either in our September or October.

When, however, Israel was brought out of Egyptian bondage, the Lord gave him a religious calendar, beginning six months later—about our Easter. Each of these feasts set forth in symbolic, pictorial manner some of the great epochs in the life of the Chosen People. The significance of Passover and Pentecost have already been fulfilled nationally with Israel. The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles await their fulfillment in the future.

In John 7:1-10:21 we read of happenings at Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles during the last full year of Jesus' personal ministry. As stated above, the Feast of Tabernacles—the feast of joy over the crops God had given Israel—occurred in the late fall.

About three months after the Feast of Tabernacles was the Feast of Dedication. But, let us remember that this latter feast was not of divine origin. It was purely a Jewish feast which was inaugurated to celebrate the victories which Judas Maccabees won over the Syrians in Israel's war of independence. In the year 161 B.C. Judas, by his great generalship, won a decisive victory and delivered Jerusalem out from under the heel of the oppressor. To commemorate this day of deliverance, the Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights was inaugurated. It is held around the time of our Christmas and is a time of special rejoicing.

The events which we have to study today, John 10:22-42, occurred at the time of the Feast of Dedication.

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem

According to John 10:22, Jesus was at Jerusalem at the Feast of Dedication, which was celebrated in the winter. When Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch, the Jews who had become indeed hostile to Him approached Him, saying, "How long doest thou hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly." It is clear, from what we know of these Jewish leaders and what they did on this occasion and later, that they were not asking this question concerning Christ's being the Messiah in order to learn the truth; but were simply asking Him in an attempt to ensnare Him in some way.

Jesus' First Address

The Lord Jesus sensed the entire situation. He therefore replied to them, saying "I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; 28 and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is abele to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one" (John 10:25-30). In this statement Jesus called the attention of His opponents to the fact that he had told them on some former occasion who He was and that they would not believe Him. The speech to which He referred is found in John 5:19-47. In this long passage we find the conversation which He had with the leaders and the statements that He made when He healed the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda (in Jerusalem) on the Sabbath. At that time they attacked Jesus for healing this man on the Sabbath. When they began persecuting Him because of His healing this man Jesus declared, "My Father worketh even until now, and I work." For this cause, therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill Him because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God His own Father. In making this statement He made Himself equal with God (John 5:17,18).

In this first statement that Jesus made publicly concerning His being equal with God and His doing the work of God as He had done, Jesus set forth clearly and unequivocally who He was. Those opposed to Him did not want the truth. They ignored what He said. In a pious, hypocritical manner they came and asked Him, on the occasion of which we are studying, that, if He were the Christ, He should tell them plainly.

Jesus also called their attention to the fact that they did not believe Him. Then He insisted that the works which He was doing in His Father's name bore ample witness of Him—concerning who He was.

Continuing His answer to these opponents, the Lord Jesus declared, "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:26,27). On several occasions Jesus spoke of certain ones who would hear His voice and said that they were His sheep. Just as the Palestinian sheep harken to the voice of their own shepherd, so Jesus said that those who were His Sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Everyone who wants the truth and will accept it when it is presented to him will follow the Lord Jesus and recognize Him as the Great Shepherd of the sheep. No one need have any doubt as to whether or not he is one of the Lord's sheep. Everybody can look into the depth of his heart and discern whether or not he really and truly wants to know and do the will of God. Whenever one is of this attitude, the Lord will bring the truth to him that he may have an opportunity to accept it. When it is presented, he will accept Christ and will follow the Lord. The fact that a person wants truth and accepts the Lord and acts accordingly is proof that he is one of the Lord's sheep.

The Lord Jesus said concerning His sheep, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand." This interpretation is in perfect accord with John 5:24, which states that the one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has eternal life and has passed out of death into life. The believer who accepts the Lord Jesus as his Saviour has life now and shall never perish. No one is able to snatch one of the Lord's sheep out of His hand. This is a glorious, wonderful doctrine which is taught throughout the Scriptures. In verse 29 the Lord Jesus emphasizes the security of the believer by stating that His Father holds the sheep in His hands and that no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hands: "My Father, who hath given them unto me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." Some of the Lord's sheep may wander far away and go off into sin and transgression, but the one who is genuinely born again can never be snatched out of the hands of either the Father or the Son.

In order to emphasize the close cooperation and fellowship that exist between the Lord Jesus and the Father, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." They are one in essence, nature, and substance. At the same time they are one in plan, purpose, and co-operation. When Jesus uttered this tremendous truth, the Jews picked up stones again that they might kill Him.

Second Address of the Lord Jesus

"Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou being a man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), 36 say ye of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do them, though ye believe not me believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. 39 they sought again to take him: and he went forth out of their hand" (10:32-39).

When the Jews picked up stones to kill Jesus, He asked them this question, "Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?" Immediately their reply was, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." The opponents of Jesus had blinded themselves. They knew not the Scriptures; neither did they know God in a personal manner. Hence, they could not see the truth as it was. Naturally, they asserted that they were not condemning Him for good works, but for blasphemy. The blasphemy of which they thought He was guilty was based upon His claim that He and the Father were one and that He was doing nothing but what He had seen the Father doing. They thought that He was an ordinary man—the same as they. When He spoke of His being in continual fellowship with God, they interpreted His language correctly, understanding Him to assert that He bore a unique, special relationship to the Father. They could not see how an ordinary man could sustain this special relation to the Almighty. They jumped to the conclusion that He was blaspheming. Had they known the Scriptures, they would have known that God was sending His Son into the world to redeem it. For instance, if they had only known and interpreted Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6 correctly, they would have understood His language. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Is. 7:14). "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). People make a fatal mistake in not studying the Scriptures and not taking them at their face value. A number of passages of Scripture found in the Old Testament foretold that God would appear in human form for the redemption of humanity. When Jesus performed miracles in the name of the Father and delivered the messages that He did, those who knew God and the Scriptures recognized instantly that He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

The Jews were condemning the Lord Jesus for making Himself equal with God. In order to show their inconsistency and the emptiness of their argument, the Lord Jesus quoted from Psalm 82 and asked them this question, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), 36 say ye of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 10:34-36). A careful study of the use of the word Elohim in the Hebrew Bible, translated gods, can enable us to understand the meaning of Psalm 82, where it is applied to heathen gods or idols. Still, in other connections, it is used to indicate angels. And in still other contexts it refers to the men of Israel, especially the leaders to whom the Word of God came. One has to study the context of each passage to know which of these four meanings it has in a given passage. When we study carefully Psalm 82, we see that the Lord was referring to the men of Israel to whom the Word of God came. Because of their being lifted to such a high and exalted position as to receive the Word of God, the Lord called them gods, meaning of course men granted such unique privileges in the spiritual economy of God.

The leaders of Israel did not complain against God for His using the word god in this special sense. Jesus said, in substance, to His opponents that they did not object to the Lord's using the word gods with reference to their leaders. But, because He used the phrase, "Son of God," and applied it to Himself, they were strenuously objecting. Thus, He showed their inconsistency.

Continuing His condemnation of His opponents and His proving Himself to be what He claimed, the Lord Jesus said, "If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:37, 38). In this sentence Jesus was appealing to their sense of reason, righteousness, and justice by asking them if they would not receive His testimony concerning Himself to examine carefully the works which He had wrought; because they proved definitely that He, Jesus, was the Son of God and was working in co-operation with God the Father.

When a person's heart is not right and he cannot answer the arguments that are presented, often he resorts to violence. The opponents of Jesus on this occasion did this very thing: "They sought again to take him: and he went forth out of their hand." Knowing that these men were not wanting truth, but were bent on causing trouble, Jesus withdrew from the scene and left them to their fate.

Jesus in Retirement

"And he went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was at the first baptizing; and there he abode. 41 And many came unto Him; and they said, John indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true. 42 And many believed on him there" (John 10:40-42). Jesus retired from the country of Judaea to a place east of the Jordan where John was originally baptizing, and remained there awhile. Many people hearing of His whereabouts resorted to Him, some of whom believed that He was the Messiah. They reasoned as follows, "John indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John spake of this man were true." People, as a rule, believed John's message. In introducing Christ to the Jewish nation, John pointed Him out as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He held Christ up before the people as the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel. The people were convinced that Jesus was exactly what John said that He was. Many of them, therefore, believed on Him.

If anyone is honestly in doubt as to who Jesus of Nazareth was, let him be honest with himself and courageous at the same time. If a man is honest and conscientiously is seeking the truth, he will make an effort to find out what is truth. The God of truth will see that he has the opportunity of learning it in order that he might accept Jesus and be saved for time and eternity. Oh, the riches of the grace of God!