Jesus the resurrection and the life

 

Dialogue with Martha       v17-27.

There is so much spiritual truth in this exchange it is worth considering it in detail.  Martha lived with her sister Mary and her brother Lazarus in the village of Bethany about 2 miles from Jerusalem.  The family was well known in the city.  Whenever people heard of their distress many came to bring their condolences.  Martha comes to the fore and the difference between the two sisters is marked.  Previously, it was recorded that Martha was the more practical of the sisters and Mary was the more pensive.  This comes out in this extreme event here; when they heard of the arrival of Jesus Martha went immediately to see Him while Mary remained at home.  Her absolute confidence in the Lord comes out.

Martha  “Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died.” She acknowledges His power over all bodily illness.  She addresses Him, not with familiarity, but as Sovereign Lord over every situation.

Martha… she continues, “But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God He will give it thee.”  This is amazing faith; she knew of His power to heal the sick, and she knew that whatever He asked, God would give it to Him!  She believed that even in this humanly impossible situation, He could do something.  She recognises His close links with God and her faith in Jesus was unshaken.  Had she heard of the word of John the Baptist who said of Jesus “The Father loveth the Son and giveth all things into His hand?”-John 3v35.  In order to get the force of this we must ask ourselves, what would we do in this situation….how much do we really trust Him in extreme situations?

Jesus  “Thy brother shall rise again.”   

Martha  “I know he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Not everyone in Israel believed that, including the ruling Sadducees.

Jesus  “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believest thou this?”

Jesus declares His Sovereign authority over death, as He makes the ultimate claim to Deity, that the last enemy, which is death, will succumb to His word. This is the first revelation that some will go to heaven without dying and that both dead and living will rise together. This is expanded later in 1^st Corinthians 15 and 1^st Thessalonians 4. The dead shall rise and many of the living shall never die.  Risen and glorified, Jesus now has the keys of death and of hell-Revelation 1v18. Death will yield up the bodies and hell will yield up the souls at His command.  Jesus is indicating here what is later revealed as a doctrine by Paul, namely, that many will go to heaven without dying.  This is imprinted on the sacred pages, and we may well answer the question posed to Martha, do we believe this?  There are those who will die, who will be raised from the dead; there are those living who will never die, of those who believe in Him.

In Genesis 5, concerning those of faith, it is recorded that they died; in the same chapter Enoch was taken to heaven without dying.  On the Mount of Transfiguration, two men appeared speaking with Jesus, Moses who died and was buried; and Elijah who was taken up in the chariot to heaven without dying.  In 1^st Thessalonians 4v14-18, the truth of the secret rapture, when the dead will be raised and the living will be changed, is stated in the context of belief in Jesus-if we believe that Jesus died and rose again…” This truth is pictured in the Old Testament, declared by Jesus in the Gospels and expounded by Paul in the Epistles.  There is nothing clearer, that the faithful dead will be resurrected, and the faithful living will be transformed.  The emphasis is on belief in Him!

Martha then makes the astonishing confession, “Yea Lord. I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God which should come into the world.” In other words she was saying, Yes, Lord because of who you are, I believe that you could do anything. This is one of the great confessions of faith in the whole Bible. Martha understood and accepted what the scribes and Pharisees and lawyers, and elders, and most of the people could not. She knew that here was the long-promised Messiah, the Seed of the woman the rightful King of Israel standing before her-John 4v42; 6v14; 6v69; 1^st John 4v14.  Martha understood more than all her peers including the disciples.  In a situation of deep sorrow she was prepared to believe that He could do anything even for her dead brother.   She had no more questions, just illuminating faith, and she immediately went to find her sister Mary “The Master is come and calleth for thee.”

Jesus the resurrection and the life

 

Discussion with His disciples      v7-16.   Jesus used every incident to further the faith of His disciples.  Firstly, we should note the delay was for two days.  In a prophetic sense this is significant.  Two days appears in scripture a number of times, and on each occasion it prefigures and symbolises the spiritual revival of Israel.  The references are; Hosea 6v2  “after two days will He revive us; on the third day, He will raise us up and we shall live in his sight.”  This is referring to Israel in the future.  In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke10v30-37 it is recorded that the Samaritan found the Jew half dead, and he revived him and took him to an inn and left enough payment for two days (two pence is what he paid, and since one pence or denarius was the wages of a man for one day, it equates to two days money), at which time he would return.  This again links the two days to the revival of Israel and the return of the. Saviour.  Now here in John chapter 11 the delay of Christ is for two days which will culminate in the resurrection of Lazarus, symbolic of the revival of the nation. This is not the primary interpretation but the scriptures present things beyond the actual incidents.  We cannot escape the fact that 1000 years is with the Lord as one day-2^nd Peter 3v8 from Psalm 90v4.   And so, two days would symbolise 2000 years. This has been, already, almost the length of the period of grace in the calendar of God.  For sure we are on the cusp of His return and that will mean the revival of Israel as God’s people.  Beyond the resurrection of Lazarus is the greater picture of the resurrection of His people, when He returns just as He said He would.

“Then after that saith He to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again.  His disciples say unto Him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee and goest thou thither again?

They were concerned for His safety, for He was a wanted man in Jerusalem.  But Jesus was resolute and His answer was that He still had a work to do.  He says, “Are there not 12 hours in the day?  If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not because he seeth the light of this world.  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth because there is no light in him.”

He seems to be indicating that right now he had the freedom to move, but the time would come when he would not-reference to day and night.  He is expressing the importance of using time wisely, which is a major bible topic.  He is also indicating the night is coming, speaking of the Cross which was now looming large in His sight.  He could have raised Lazarus remotely without going to Jerusalem.  But that was where He must go, and that was where He had set His face.  Jesus was keenly aware of the passage of time, as we should be, and He stressed the need to use opportunities when they came for time was limited.  He is saying here His work was not yet done and so must continue, regardless of the threats. 

“These things said He, and after that He saith unto them, our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.  Then said His disciples Lord, if he sleepeth he shall do well.  Howbeit Jesus, spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking rest in sleep.  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent the ye might believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”

Shocked, as they were at the news, Thomas responded with a declaration of courage, saying to his fellow disciples “let us also go that we may die with Him.”  With some commentators, Thomas has become a bit of a joke amongst the disciples, many labelling him “doubting Thomas”, but they tend to forget this incident where he declared that he was prepared to die with Jesus.  It is wonderful how Scripture always gives the other side of a person’s character.   Any doubts that Thomas had was because he was not gullible, and he was not prepared to accept anything unless he knew it to be true.  There can be no doubting his devotion and he is, in fact, credited with the greatest declaration of belief when he uttered reverently, in the upper room, “My Lord and my God”- John 20v28.

Jesus the resurrection and the life

 Dilemma at Bethany       v1-3

A dear friend is sick, Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary.  The home at Bethany, which had become a haven for Jesus and His disciples in His visits to Judea, is now facing serious illness.  It is always a serious matter when sickness besets a home, and we can be sure that God is compassionate towards those who are so suffering.   The family at Bethany were especially close to the Lord’s heart, and this was opportunity for Him to relieve their suffering.  Lazarus is equivalent to the Old Testament Eleazar, which means the “Lord is my helper”-and the family is about to experience His help.  The sisters sent word “He whom thou lovest is sick”.  The love of Christ for His people pervades chapters 11-18, and, indeed, the whole book.

11v3 “He whom thou lovest; 11v5 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus”; 11v36 “…behold how He loved him”; 13v1 “…having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end”;  13v34 “…a new commandment. I give to you, that ye love one another as I have loved you”; 14 v21 “He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him”; 14v31 “…that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father giveth me commandment, even so do I”; 15v9 “…as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you”; 15 v12 “…this is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you”; 16v27 “…for the Father Himself loveth you because ye have loved me”; 17v26 “…and the love wherewith thou lovest me, may be in them and I in them”.

There is no question of Jesus love for His people, and we ought to note the example.  Mutual love is the essence of Christianity. 

Delay of the Lord      v4-6.

He sends the message not only to His disciples, but also to the sisters, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God; that the Son of man may be glorified thereby.  In chapter 11v40, He refers back to this, “Said I not unto thee that if thou were to believe thou shouldest see the glory of God.”?  If we pay attention to the word “therefore”, we understand the point of the whole chapter better.  Jesus loved each one of them individually, yet He abode two days in the same place. There is no conflict between His love for them and his intentional delays.  We will only learn why He delayed later in v17.  When Jesus arrived at the scene, Lazarus was four days already dead.  It was the belief at the time, that when a human body dies, there remains activity in the body for three and a half days after death.  In order to avoid the thought in the minds of some of resuscitation rather than resurrection, Jesus made sure there was no possibility of resuscitation, that Lazarus was truly dead, and so required resurrection.  Jesus, love for us has more in mind than our immediate needs.  He sees the whole picture.  Paramount in His mind was the glory of God, the faith of His disciples, and the challenge to the unbelieving world.  This had to be beyond the realm of doubt.  This is one of three events in John where Jesus acts in the very same way.  In chapter 2 He delayed action at the wedding at Cana in Galilee; in chapter 7, He delayed attending the feast of tabernacles at the request of His brothers; now in chapter 11 He delays action at the request of His close friends, Martha and Mary and Lazarus.  They wanted him to come immediately. He delayed because their request was purely from human emotion.  He did come, but when it was the right time, and for the right reason.  We must take a lesson from this; we should not expect God to act immediately, or in accordance with our request-“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts”-Isaiah 55v8-9.  Jesus would not act immediately for his mother, his brother, and now for His close friends.  We should expect nothing less in our own circumstances.  He will respond but not in our time and not in our way.  The disciples were learning, His presence with them was all about teaching them the ways of God.  We need to take this on board.  Divine love does not consist in giving us what we want, rather it consists in what God knows to be the best for us.

Jesus the resurrection and the life

 Chapter 11    Jesus the resurrection and the life

Chapter 10 ends where chapter one begins-preaching in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; people flocking to hear the word of God, and many people believing.  Chapter 11 is the record of the 7th public sign proving his Deity.  The section from chapters 2-11 contains 7 miraculous signs by which He manifests His glory, so much so it demanded an answer from who were in contact with Him.  As always, He divided opinion-some believed, others ignored, others opposed Him.  Jesus demonstrated the power and the proof of His claims.  He said he was the bread of life, He fed 5000 and more; He said he was the light of the world, He made the blind man to see; He said he gave to his sheep eternal life, He raises Lazarus from the dead.

Dilemma at Bethany       v1-3

A dear friend is sick, Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary.  The home at Bethany, which had become a haven for Jesus and His disciples in His visits to Judea, is now facing serious illness.  It is always a serious matter when sickness besets a home, and we can be sure that God is compassionate towards those who are so suffering.   The family at Bethany were especially close to the Lord’s heart, and this was opportunity for Him to relieve their suffering.  Lazarus is equivalent to the Old Testament Eleazar, which means the “Lord is my helper”-and the family is about to experience His help.  The sisters sent word “He whom thou lovest is sick”.  The love of Christ for His people pervades chapters 11-18, and, indeed, the whole book.

11v3 “He whom thou lovest; 11v5 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus”; 11v36 “…behold how He loved him”; 13v1 “…having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end”;  13v34 “…a new commandment. I give to you, that ye love one another as I have loved you”; 14 v21 “He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him”; 14v31 “…that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father giveth me commandment, even so do I”; 15v9 “…as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you”; 15 v12 “…this is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you”; 16v27 “…for the Father Himself loveth you because ye have loved me”; 17v26 “…and the love wherewith thou lovest me, may be in them and I in them”.

There is no question of Jesus love for His people, and for His Father and we ought to note the example.  Mutual love is the essence of Christianity. 

True and false sheep

 John 10v 31-42

Jesus had been walking in the temple in Solomon’s porch, which was the place where most of the teaching was done.  He wasn't actually teaching, he was just walking, and the Jews had encircled Him, surrounding Him, and demanding that He speak to them in plain language-v23-24.  In the event, He did as we have seen, and they didn't like it.  They took up stones to throw at Him, but He escaped out of their sight, for it was not the time. He would submit, when the time came (a few months hence), but not until then.  He simply reasserted the fact that He was the son of God, and the evidence was plain because the works He had done were beyond any human ability.  He had just demonstrated to them that He was who He said He was.  He refers them back to the scriptures in Psalm 82v6 “Is it not written in your law, I said Ye are gods?  If He called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken, say ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world,  thou blasphemest , because I said, I am the Son of God.  If I do not the works of my father, believe me not.  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works that ye may know, and believe that the Father is in me and I in Him.  This was a searing condemnation and Jesus left immediately for He will not debate with those who don't want to hear Him.

The rulers of Israel have challenged His integrity and rejected His word.  Jesus wanted to separate from them as far as he could possibly go, so He went away again beyond Jordan to the place where John at first baptised, and there he appeared. This is a few months before he would return to Jerusalem, which would lead to the crucifixion.  Facing, shortly, the end of His public commission, He retreats to the beginning of it all, where John baptised beyond Jordan.  What thoughts must this have evoked within Him?

Ø John was preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Jesus had no sins of his own but He identified Himself with the repentant people of Israel-a place of renunciation.

Ø It was there, the Spirit of God came in bodily shape like unto a dove and rested upon Him-a place of repose.

Ø It was there, the voice of the Father's approval was heard from heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”-a place of recognition.

Where better to retreat, to refocus on the task ahead, but to rest in the Father’s approval, and to proceed in the Spirit’s power?

It was here, for the few months before the cross, He was able to rest.  It was also here many resorted to Him, and many believed in Him.  The people who came gave the greatest commendation of John the Baptist ever given by men, “John did no miracle, but all things that John spake of this man were true.”

In contrast to the rejection in Jerusalem, the scene ends with the happier note “…and many believed on him there.”

True and false sheep

 

Hannukah--- the Feast of Dedication    v19-30

The searing light of truth once again exposes the darkness of the Pharisees’ hearts.   Jesus words cause division among them and leads Him to declare those who are true and those who were not.  They are arguing amongst themselves, extreme positions are laid bare.  Some said He had a devil and was mad;  others, how could one who is mad speak as He does; and can a devil open the eyes of the blind?  There is an important aside here, with the reference to the feast of dedication and the fact that it was winter. It was not only winter weatherwise, their hearts were frosty in their unbelief toward the Son of God.  The Feast of dedication was not one of the set feasts instituted by the Lord, but here it is recognised, and continues until this day. It is a commemoration of the great work of the Maccabees during the previous 200 years under Greek, then Roman occupation.  This takes place late November early December and lasted for eight days.

The Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, is a Jewish holiday also known as the Festival of Lights.   Hanukkah is celebrated during the Hebrew month of Kislev (late November or early December), beginning on day 25 of Kislev and continuing for eight days and nights.  Many believe that the reason why they celebrate Hanukkah for eight days is that the Maccabees, upon recapturing Jerusalem, conducted a belated Feast of Tabernacles celebration.  Solomon himself had chosen that very same Feast of Tabernacles to dedicate the Temple when it was newly built.

From Jewish legend, “The story of Hanukkah, which tells the origins of the Feast of Dedication, is recorded in the First Book of Maccabees.  Hanukkah is called the Feast of Dedication as it celebrates the Maccabees' victory over Greek oppression and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.  A miraculous event occurred during the rededication of the Temple when God caused the eternal flame to burn for eight days on one day's worth of oil.  To remember this miracle of provision, candles are lighted and burned during the eight days of the Feast of Dedication.”   A converted Jew has given this perspective,  “Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that reaffirms the ideals of Judaism, and commemorates in particular, the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by the lighting of candles on each day of the festival.  Although not mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures, Hannukah came to be widely celebrated and remains one of the most popular Jewish religious observances.”  The main issue arising from this is that Hanukkah was instituted to commemorate Divine preservation of the people under foreign domination, which festival was associated with a Divine miracle, and brought joy and thanksgiving to them.  Conversely, the leaders have just witnessed a Divine miracle in their midst in the healing of the blind man, yet there is no joy, no celebration, just argument and dissension!  What should have been a time of joy became a time of debate.  They demand He tell them plainly if He is the Messiah.  The doubts they had were borne of unbelief, and Jesus defines what it means to be one of His. 

“Jesus answered them, I told you and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.  As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand, I and my Father are one.”

There is nothing plainer than that, He is one with the Father, and His sheep hear His voice.  If they don't hear his voice, they are not His people, and they are missing out on the greatest deliverance that has ever come to mankind: the gift of eternal life, and the guarantee that they will never perish.

The Hanukkah, the festival of lights, was a time for exchanging gifts-much like we exchange gifts at Christmas in the Western world.  The Good Shepherd gives the priceless gift of eternal life; life that is of such a quality, that He describes in chapter 17 as the knowledge of God.  No gift like this, never ending life of bliss to learn forever the wonders of Deity.  It was a time for celebration of victory over their enemies, knowing that all danger is removed.  The word for “never” is emphatic and can be stressed six times over-there is no possibility that His people will come to any harm.  The guarantee that God Himself shall not rescind His word to them they shall never, never, never, never, never, never, never perish; the guarantee that no man, and no creature shall be able to prise them from the Divine grasp.  That’s what it means to belong to Him.  His sheep hear His voice, and they follow Him.  That is the definition of a disciple.  His sheep are secured with unbreakable Divine protection-note the double security, "none shall pluck them out of my hand...no one can pluck them from my Father's hand."   They are secure in the unbreakable union of the Father and the Son.   No one will break the eternal union of Divine beings, nor the union between the believer and their God.

The true shepherd

 

The message is loud and clear.  Don't be taken in by breakneck public activity that serves only for the aggrandisement of would-be leaders.  The true shepherd cares only for the good of the flock, seeks only their betterment, leads them into fresh pastures, feeds them, tends them, protects them, opens to them abundant life, that only He can give.  He gives them love, He is prepared to lay down his life for the sheep.  He gives them life, abundant life, progressive life, eternal life as He says in v28.  He gives them liberty, freedom to go in and out, to explore, to enjoy.

He is the door into the sheepfold, that is the way of salvation.   He is the shepherd of the flock, that is the way of satisfaction.   There are many  qualities of the Lord, as the true Shepherd-familiarity, the sheep must know His voice; intimacy, He calls them by name-each one individually known to Him; leadership, He leads them out and they follow Him; devotion, He protects them from danger to the extent of laying down His life.

Above all, he has the approval of His Father, which is the single most important factor in shepherding the people. “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep.” The pattern for the perfect shepherd is-approved of God and accepted by men.  The imagery of human beings, characterised as sheep is not a very complimentary one and we would probably prefer to be seen as more noble animals like jaguars or tigers, or lions, or eagles and the like.  However, the imagery of sheep is perfect because sheep are oftentimes silly; they tend to wander and they get lost.  Also they follow the pack, not always in a good way.  The one who created us knows us best, and knows what we need and how to guide us.  We can be sure that He is the Good Shepherd and always has our best interests at heart.  Good in scripture denotes nobility, attractiveness worth, beauty. His was a voluntary life of sacrifice laid down for the welfare of the sheep.  His familiarity with the sheep, and they with Him, is rooted in His intimate relationship with the Father. 

“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take it again.  No man, taketh 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 commandment have I received of my Father”   v16

Until now, he has been speaking of the fold of the sheep of the true Israel.  Now He refers to Gentile believers who would come at His bidding, and under His care.  It should be noted that in this verse there are two different words translated fold. The first  refers to a place where sheep gather; the second should be translated flock and refers to the sheep themselves. There are two folds but one flock and one shepherd.  This has been perverted by world religions, each suggesting that they, and they alone, are the one fold into which people can come.  The two folds are “the lost sheep of the house of Israel”-Matthew 10v6; and the strangers of the Gentiles-1^st Peter2v10. In that wonderful outline by Paul in Ephesians 2v15-18 we find that God creates out of two folds “one new man”, and there is one flock, and one shepherd.  The work of the Shepherd will continue on into the future end times, when He will gather His sheep and tend them, according to Revelation 7v15-17.

False shepherds

 John 10v1-10

He says they are thieves and robbers-v1, v8, v10.  They were self-appointed, not God appointed. They did not become spiritual leaders through the normal channels-they did not come through the door, at the invitation of the porter, as all other proper leaders had. Their intention was not for the good of the people, but for their own self-gratification.  Instead of giving to the people, they would fleece them.  In contrast, Jesus entered the realm of spiritual leadership in the right way. He came in through the door.  The keeper of the fold (the Porter-this is none other than God, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep- Psalm 121v4); only God can appoint spiritual leaders, for the welfare of His people is at stake. These scribes and Pharisees were never appointed by God; but God declared Christ to be the shepherd of the sheep.

“He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the Porter openeth and the sheep hear His voice…(Divine approval, and human acceptance)…and He calleth His own sheep by name and leadeth them out.”  Kept safe through the night in the sheepfold, the Shepherd calls his own sheep in the morning, and leads them and they follow him because they know his voice and they trust him.  

The rogue shepherds are seen as strangers-v5; “And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.”   This is the second description of the false shepherds, they are strangers to the flock; they are distant from them; they are aloof from them. The sheep don't know them, they don't know their voice and they don't follow them.  When they speak, people shy away from them, because of their demeanour. 

“This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which He spoke unto them.”  His audience was spiritually thick and so He had to change tack, and explain step by step what He meant.

Jesus went on to explain, “Verily, verily, I say to you; I am the door of the sheep.  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.  The thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling flees because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.  I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine.   As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Having stated that He came in by the door, He is now the door into the sheepfold of all the true people of God.  The Pharisees closed the door of the synagogue to the blind man, Jesus opens the door to him and all true believers into the fold of God.  “Saved”, in this case refers to deliverance from a religion that was taking the members away from God.  Peter spoke of being “…redeemed from a vain manner of living received from the tradition of the fathers…”1^st Peter 1v18. Judaism had become an empty religion run by men, which strangled the life out of their members and kept them in bondage to extreme human rules.  Jesus saves from that and gives life, abundant life, to His people.  He saves them, He succours them, He strengthens them, He satisfies them, He secures them, He brings them in, He leads them into ever fresh pastures.  They go in and out and find nourishment, there is a liberty about their experience, unlike the heavy burdens placed on them by the scribes and lawyers.  He gives them life, a life that is abundant and growing in ever-increasing joy, beyond any life they anyone else can give.

Here He reintroduces the third characteristic of the false shepherd, he is an hireling-v12, v13, that is he does it for what he can get out of it. There is no heart in what he does; he does not care for the sheep, and when trouble comes, he will flee.  In contrast, the true Shepherd will lay down his life for the sheep.  We must get the force of what Jesus is saying here.  He is speaking to Pharisees and lawyers who have set themselves up as spiritual leaders of the nation; and He is calling them thieves and robbers, strangers and hirelings.  This is an ever present threat in the communities of the Lords people.   There are men, who have set themselves up, who were not appointed of God; whose purposes are evil, whose practises are evil, whose very presence is evil.   As thieves and robbers they are fleecing the people. As strangers they remain aloof from the people.  As hirelings they do what they do because they have to-someone has to do it.  He is laying all this at the feet of the public rulers of Israel, and He is charging this to the rogue leaders of today.

Thieves and robbers are not quite the same, although they have the same effect.  Thieving can refer to petty theft, deceptively removing from you what is your rightful possessions.  Robbery refers to theft by force, armed robbery if you like.  Both evils were being perpetrated in the nation, and the people were being robbed, and denied their spiritual rights.  What is it that these men were stealing from the people, which is their right?  They are stealing their life, their spiritual life, the abundant life that Jesus offers to every believer.  He said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”- there is no life like the life that Jesus can give us.  Men who are rogue shepherds want to strangle that life out of us, by controlling us through their petty rules.  They either do it by deception or by force. These are stealing the liberty of the people of God.  They steal our joy, they kill our dreams, and they seek to manipulate our destiny.  This is as close as we can come to Cult mentality.  Jesus came to give, they come to take; they feed themselves instead of feeding God's people.  Jesus said all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers.  Notice the word “are”- He is not referring to spiritual leaders of the past. He is referring to spiritual leaders who appointed themselves in His generation. And there's not one of them who is a true shepherd.  Consider how the Pharisees and lawyers ruled the people of God.

·      Jesus said they “devoured widows’ houses”-Matthew 23v14; Mark 12v40; Luke 20v47.   According to the Law of Moses, the spiritual leaders were supposed to be taking care of the widows and orphans in the community, and providing for their needs-Deut 26v12.  But here they are doing the opposite. They are taking away from the widows what little they have left, leaving them destitute, without even a home to live in.  The word devoured is really defrauded.  When widows could not pay their dues, they took possession of their houses.

·      They “bound heavy burdens and grievous to be born and laid them on man shoulders, but they themselves would not move them with one of their fingers”-Matthew 23v4.  They took the interpretation of Scriptures to the “nth-degree”, adding to the law their own extreme interpretations, many of which were never intended by the original word.  These rules became traditions, which negated the word of God.  The extent of these man made rules was nothing short of outrageous.

·      They were the supreme evangelists because they travelled land and sea to convert one person to their way of thinking.  But when they found them they made them to be twofold more the child of hell than themselves-Matthew23v15

·      They were the ultimate hypocrites. Who presented a clean image in public but the reality was that they were corrupt on the inside. Matthew 23v26-27.

·      They were usurpers, who should not even have been in that position, for only the Levites, separated by God to this work were to be the teachers of God's people-Malachi 2v4-8.

·      They were using the devotion of religious people to promote themselves, much like the elite of today run things to their own aggrandisement.  The church is plagued today with self-appointed leaders and evangelists who are fleecing the people of God, as well as dominating their thinking to their own advantage.

The message is loud and clear.  Don't be taken in by breakneck public activity that serves only for the aggrandisement of would-be leaders.  The true shepherd cares only for the good of the flock, seeks only their betterment, leads them into fresh pastures, feeds them, tends them, protects them, opens to them abundant life, that only He can give.  He gives them love, He is prepared to lay down his life for the sheep.  He gives them life, abundant life, progressive life, eternal life as He says in v28.  He gives them liberty, freedom to go in and out, to explore, to enjoy.

Jesus the good shepherd

 

Chapter 10     Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Verses 1-18     True and false shepherds

Verses 19-42   True and false sheep

True and false shepherds       v1-5  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the Porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and he leadeth them out.  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.”  

This is called a parable in v6-Gr. paroimia which is mostly translated proverb; it simply means a natural illustration of a spiritual truth, which illuminates the meaning.  He is speaking here of a door into a sheepfold into which strangers seek to enter with other intentions than the good of the fold.  In contrast, He speaks of the true shepherd who only has the welfare of the sheep at heart.  The sight of shepherds in the fields with their sheep on Judean hills was a common sight.  God used this common everyday occupation to illustrate the need for the care of His people.  Indeed, the figure of the shepherd and the sheep is a major biblical topic that goes from one end of the Bible to the other.  This bespeaks the fact that God has the welfare of His beloved people at heart.   Some of the most notable characters in scripture were shepherds: Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, was a shepherd; Abraham; Isaac; Jacob; the sons of Jacob were shepherds; Moses kept the flock of Jethro in the backside of the desert; David was a shepherd; the prophet Amos; even the Assyrian king Cyrus was a shepherd-Isaiah 44v28.  These were important and leading people involved in the work of God through the ages, and it seems that God prepared His leaders this way. This is so because God Himself is a Shepherd, as is stated in many portions of scripture.  The main word used for Shepherd in the Old Testament is translated keep or feed.  The work of the shepherd was to feed the flock, and to protect them from danger, and to tend to them in times of illness.  The image of God’s people as sheep, reminds us of their vulnerability, and also the compassionate heart of God who provides for their every need.  Sheep need to be fed; they need to be nursed; they need to be protected from danger.  They tend to wander and get lost; they need to be restored, and sought out whenever they go astray; they need to be treated gently, and to be led into ever-fresh new pastures.   The work of the shepherd is one of the noblest works on earth, for it is nearest to the heart of God.  King David translated his experience as a shepherd to his rule over the people of God.  God said of him, through the prophet Samuel, “The Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people”-1^st Samuel 13v14, Acts 13v22.  The man who will rule for God will have a shepherd heart, for that is what best reflects the Lord.  This is because the Lord himself is a Shepherd and looks after the interests of the people.  The work of a shepherd, when applied spiritually to God’s people, is very close to His heart, and He will have all His leaders to be pastoral in nature.  He is described as a shepherd in the following scriptures:

Genesis 49v24; 2^nd Samuel 7v7; Psalm 23v1; 77v20; 80v1; Isaiah 40v11; Jeremiah 23v1-4; Ezekiel 34v1-19.

Christ Himself is referred to as a shepherd: Zechariah 13v7; John 10 the Good shepherd; Hebrews 13v20, the Great shepherd; and 1^st Peter 5v4 the Chief shepherd.  It is the noblest work of all, and is the work that God loves to see prosper.  As the Good Shepherd He gave His life to be their Saviour; as the great Shepherd, God raised Him from the dead as their Sanctifier; as the Chief Shepherd, He is coming again as their Sovereign to whom all under-shepherds will give account.

The problem was that the leaders of Israel were false shepherds; like those in Ezekiel 34, they were in it for themselves, they cared not for the flock, only for their own position.  The pattern was clear back then; the shepherds starved the sheep, they stripped them and they scattered them.  This pattern was being repeated in Jesus’ day. They had just cast a man out of the synagogue, simply because he believed in Jesus. They were continually plotting how to get rid of Jesus because they saw Him as a threat to them.  Later on, in Matthew 23 Jesus would say of them “The Pharisees sit in Moses seat; whatever therefore they bid you do, that do, but do not as they do for they say and do not.” They were guilty of a  hypocrisy of the worst kind-religious hypocrisy.   C.S. Lewis, the converted atheist, said “Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst.” He contrasts his own work for God with theirs and holds nothing back.  He has just charged them with spiritual blindness, and later He will say that they are the “blind leaders of the blind.”

Trust and obey

 

Obedience     “He went his way therefore and washed, and came seeing.” Simple obedience to the word of the Great Physician, Nothing more, nothing less.  Naaman the Syrian wanted to object to obeying the word; when he did he was cleansed.  The man who was blind from birth obeyed without question.  In Romans chapters 1 and 16, faith is stated simply to be obedience.  Paul spoke of the obedience, which is faith.  It stands therefore that lack of faith is just disobedience. There is no middle ground in the things of God.

 Chapter 9v8-41   Deflecting opposition

The remaining verses are all about opposition to Him, when there should have been joy and gratitude at such a notable miracle in their midst.   A man who was born blind can now see!  Yet the focus is on debate rather than delight.  Through the verses we shall see that this opposition came from many quarters.

·      Opposition from the neighbours-v18-they were sceptical.

·      Opposition from the Pharisees-v13, v15 and v16 who stated that healing on the Sabbath day was not of God.  They had no concern for the man, only the philosophy of their own religion.

·      Opposition from the Jews-v18; these were the ruling class who recommended excommunication of the man who had been healed, what perversion!

·      Opposition from the parents of the man-v20, v22, v23; this was because of the fear of what might happen to them in the community.

·      Opposition from others-v9, v16.  There were many hangers-on who just went with the flow for the sake of peace. It is true now, it was true back then.

·      Notice that the opposition was constant, there was no let-up in their vehement behaviour-v15, v17, v24, v26, all verses highlighted by the word the word again.  Their voices were joined together in opposition from all quarters. The man who was healed, we are glad to say, overcame this situation.  In v11, he talked of a man that is called Jesus; and in v17 a prophet; in v8, he called him Lord.  His appreciation of Him is increasing all the time.  For this he was cast out of the temple-v34.  This is the way it will always be-excommunicated from man’s religion to be with Christ.  As we move into chapter 10, we shall see that the Lord has His own people, His own flock, His own fold, into which all worldly outcasts are welcomed, and fed, and tended, and protected.   

·      The chapter which began with Jesus healing a blind man ends with Jesus declaring that the rulers of Israel are themselves blind.  They expose themselves to be frauds when they cast the man out of the synagogue simply because he declared that Jesus healed him.  On top of that evil, they had murderous intentions in their heart towards Jesus.  The man who was healed worshipped Him, the rulers rejected Him.  “Jesus said for judgment I am come into this world that they which see not might see; and that they  see might be made blind.  Some of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, are  we blind also?  Jesus said unto them, if you were blind ye should have no sin, but now ye say, We see, therefore your sin remaineth.”  They were so blinded to the truth of God, they couldn't even see their own sin.

Giving sight to the blind

 John 9v6-7

Operation.    Jesus moves swiftly into action in v6-7.  He turns from the philosophy of a blind world to meet the need of a blind man and immediately goes into action.

“When he had thus spoken, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and said unto him Go wash in the pool of Siloam- which is by interpretation “Sent”.  He went his way therefore and washed and came seeing.”

We take time to grasp the meaning of the wonder of what is here.  Each and every step is full of spiritual truth: only the Lord can open the eyes of the blind-Psalm146v8.  The medicinal use of spittle was well known in the ancient world.  Jesus didn't need to use it, but the man needed to know that his condition was being treated.  He would feel the action of the softened clay on his eyelids-every sinner needs to realise his need and to know that the Lord is acting upon him.

The use of the dust of the ground is a reminder that man was formed from the dust in an act of creation-Genesis 2v7. This man has never opened his eyes and so what is happening here is an act of creation.

The application of the clay to the eyes was to target the specific needs of the man. Jesus uses different means to cure people as He knows the individual need, as He does with all of us. 

The healing was not complete until the man heeded by faith the word of the Great Physician.  “Go wash in the pool of Siloam”-there was nothing magical in the water, it was obedience to the word of the Physician that was key.  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”-Romans10v17. 

However, there was significance in the location, for there was a constant flow of water from the spring Gihon which was the primary supply of water to the city of Jerusalem.  Due to the incessant attacks by Sennacherib King of Assyria against Jerusalem, and the fear that they could cut off the water supply, under king Hezekiah a remarkable feat of engineering was accomplished where a conduit was cut under the rocks to divert the flow of the Gihon.  Thus fresh water supply was assured to the city, free from the threat of the invaders.  This spring fed into the pool of Siloam-the details are found in 2^nd Chronicles 32v2-8, and v30; also 2^nd Kings 20v20, and it is referred to in Isaiah 22v9-11.  The waters of Shiloah are mentioned in Nehemiah 3:15 and Isaiah 8v6.  According to legend, there was a steady flow of water from the spring which trickled softly, gently, and continually through the rocks for a distance of over 2000 feet. This speaks of the source of the fountain of constant supply of refreshing sustenance of God’s provision.  During the feast of Tabernacles, the water was taken every day from the pool of Siloam.

The meaning of Siloam is stated as “Sent”. This is significant. Because it was God who sent the streams of water to the pool, underground, in a never ending supply.  It was also His Son whom He sent for the preservation and provision of His people.  This is a major topic in Johns Gospel.  We must, at this point underline the mission of Christ into this world to do the works of God: the Greek word is apostello and refers to one sent on a specific mission.  This is applied to the mission of Christ to the world, which is found in 3v17, 3v34, 5v36, 5v38, 6v57, 7v29, 8v42, 10v36, 11v42, 17v3, 17v18, 17v21, 17v25, 20v21.

Each case is different as is indicated of this as follows: Mark 8v22-26, Jesus spat on the eyes of the blind, then  touched them-the healing was gradual; Mark 10v 48-52, He healed blind Bartimaeus by speaking only; Matthew 20v29-34, there were two blind men, and He simply touched their eyes; Luke 18v35-43, He spoke and the healing was immediate; Matthew 12v22-23, two men both blind and dumb, and He healed both of their conditions. Not all the same way, not all at the same pace. But every one of them was cured. Here in John 9 He used the spittle, the clay, and the washing in the pool.  We are all different, but He will meet each individual need.