Safe and Secure from All Alarm

This morning, we come to the end of John 10.

 

In the recent Sundays, we have heard Jesus telling an allegory of a shepherd and his sheep.  We know that Jesus is the shepherd, and we are His sheep.

 

Today’s text is related to that allegory, and we will finish John 10 today.  The next time we are in John’s gospel, it will be in John 11.

 

I want to share a message with you this morning entitled, “Safe and Secure from All Alarm.”  In today’s text, I am going to show you three proofs.

 

 

1. The First Proof is the Proof of Jesus’ Deity, John 10:22-25, 30

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 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.”  25 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.  30 I and My Father are one.”

 

In this first section, John tells us that it was winter.  Keep in mind, there is probably a three-month gap between John 10:21 and John 10:22. 

 

Jesus was in Jerusalem, and it was the Feast of Dedication.  This feast was not one of the main three in Judaism, but it was the celebration of the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus.  Today, it is known as Hanukkah. 

 

Jesus was in Solomon’s porch under the covering and out of the cold weather and rain.  The Jews surrounded Him and told Him to verify His identity.  Specifically, they wanted to know if He was the Messiah. 

 

Notice Jesus’ answer.  Essentially, He said yes, and I have already told and shown you.  Two proofs of Jesus’ deity were His words and His works.

 

As for His words, I have told you about the 7 I AM Statements in this Gospel.  So far, we have seen four. 

 

In every instance, Jesus is claiming to be God, the Promised Messiah, the Christ.  I am the bread of life.  I am the light of the world.  I am the good shepherd.  I am the gate for the sheep.

 

In verse 30, He said He and the Father are one.  That doesn’t mean the same person, but it does mean the same purpose.  They are unified in their purpose as they are both God.

 

In addition to His words, Jesus’ works are also proof of His deity.  The gospel of John is not only built around 7 I AM Statements but also 7 Miraculous signs. 

 

So far, we have seen six of the seven.  Jesus turned water to wine. He healed the nobleman’s son from a distance.  He healed a man who was a paralytic for 38 years.  He walked on water and calmed a storm.  He fed 5,000 men.  He healed a man born blind.  When we get to John 11, He will raise the Lazarus from the dead.

 

Jesus did what no else had done and what no one else could do.  His words and His works were proofs of His deity.

 

 

2. The Second Proof is the Proof of the Believers’ Security, John 10:26-30

26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 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. 30 I and My Father are one.”

 

In our next few verses, we see two proofs for the Believers’ eternal security.  There is an external proof, and there is an internal proof.

 

The external proof is the believers’ intimacy with the Shepherd.  Unlike the Pharisees and false prophets who did not believe, Jesus’ sheep hear His voice and know Him and follow Him.  There is an intimacy between the Good Shepherd and His sheep. 

 

It is that intimacy that is the external proof of a believers’ security.  Our obedience and following Jesus is what the watching world sees and proves that our salvation is secure, and when were not obedient and living in rebellion, the watching world begins to wonder.

 

On the other hand, the internal proof is remembering the authority of the Son.  In verse 28, Jesus gives us eternal life, and the thieves and or robbers will never snatch us from Jesus’ hand.  We are safe and secure from all alarm. 

 

But please remember, we aren’t safe and secure because religiosity or generosity or genealogy or ingenuity.  Our security is based on Jesus and the authority He has that was given to Him by His Father, and no one is able to snatch us from Jesus’ hand or the Father’s hand.

 

Our intimacy with the Shepherd and the authority of the Son are the two proofs that a believer is secure for eternity in heaven.  He or she is safe and secure from all alarm.

 

 

3. The Third Proof is the Proof the Unbelievers’ Futility, John 10:31-42

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”  33 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.”  34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? 35 If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 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’? 37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 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.” 39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.

 

In verse 31, the Jews took up stones to stone Jesus.  Jesus asked them why, and it was because He claimed to be God. 

 

The unbelievers’ first proof of futility was the charge of blasphemy.  They didn’t think Jesus was God so when He said He was God, that was blasphemy in their minds. 

 

Jesus challenged the logic of their charge by taking them back to the Scriptures.  In Psalm 82:6, God called Jewish judges gods…with a little “g.”  They were gods because they made judgments, and this is what the Bible says.

 

Therefore, if the Bible says this, and the Bible can’t be wrong, and God the Father called them gods with a little “g,” then surely it should be ok to call the One that God sent the Son of God.  Again, Jesus put them in their place.

 

Not only do we see their charge against Jesus as a proof of their futility, but we are so their lack of belief in Jesus as a proof of their futility.  In verse 37-38, Jesus took them to His works again. 

 

If they believe remember and believe His works, they can believe that God sent Him.  However, verse 39 says they attempted to seize Him again. 

 

Chapter 10 ends with a brief description of Jesus’ ministry in another area.  Some believed Jesus because of the witness of John the Baptist.

 

 

Conclusion

Do you need proof that Jesus is God?  Think about His words and His miraculous works.

 

Do you need proof that you as a believer are security for eternity?  The proof for the world is our intimacy with Shepherd.  The proof for us is remembering the authority of the Son.

 

Do you need proof that unbelievers will end their lives in futility?  They will when they claim Jesus isn’t God, and the fail to believe what He did.